A Time to Part
(By Ama Pomaa)
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| Author | Ama Pomaa |
Seven years ago, Jasmine left everything she knew behind. Her mother had killed herself, her father was terminally ill, and she had broken Hagan, the only man who ever loved her. It was the perfect time to start over.
Except she never parted with any of it.
When a tragic incident forces her back into the past, she has to decide if letting go is too high a price to pay for everything she wants.
Excerpt
The rain wasn’t going to relent. That much was clear from the increasing intensity. But he couldn’t focus on that. Selase was going to come back safe, alive. And he was taking her home.
Hagan shut his eyes. Please, God.
His uncle shouted from the living room. Hagan clenched his jaw. They could have been arrested three days ago, or even earlier, and none of this would have happened. But for some reason, Jasmine had thought it better to say nothing. He looked at her. She had squatted, her back against the wall. Every minute or so, she glanced at her watch. In spite of everything, he knew she was worried.
Hagan walked up to her and squatted be her side.
“We’ll find her.” He forced conviction into his voice.
She nodded, but the worry in her eyes remained.
“Why do you think she didn’t tell me?”
Jasmine turned to him. “I don’t know.”
“C’mon. You know me. I mean, I tried to be as close to her as I could be. Why would she keep this from me?”
She seemed to consider for a moment. “Shame. Fear. They told her it was her
“I would have. I love that girl.”
A sad smile crossed her face. “Sometimes that's not enough.”
Hagan returned his gaze to the street. A few people had ventured outside with umbrellas.
“You know what amazes me?” He rested an elbow on his knees. “It’s understandable she has trust issues. She lost her parents and has lived with strangers all her life. But she trusted you, which is surprising since you don’t trust anyone.”
Jasmine laid her head back. “That’s not true.”
Hagan held out his hand and held a finger down. “You planned a trip to London and didn’t let me know until you were at the airport. I barely knew anything about your family. When you got typhoid and spent weeks in the hospital, I had to hear it from Kojo. Need I go on?”
“It wasn’t you, Hagan.” Jasmine picked a stick off the floor, a wistful expression in her eyes.
Hagan sat up. him? Did that mean what he thought it meant? “Was there someone … before me?”
She concentrated on breaking the stick into little pieces.
Based on her careful lack of reaction, he was on to something. “You don’t have to tell if you don’t want to.”
Was that it? Someone had broken her heart once and he had to bear the brunt? She had told him she never dated. Her father was too strict to allow that. Had it all been a lie?
Jasmine lifted her head and met his gaze. “If Selase makes it out of this, she won’t be the same. No matter how hard you try to make it go away, she’ll always remember that someone defiled her body. Everything is going to change. She’ll need you to be there for her.”
Hagan blinked. She was speaking with an eerie certainty that made the hairs on his body stand on end. The conviction in her voice was more than what mere thoughts or opinion could convey. And her eyes held a passionate look he remembered from long ago.
“It’s good to know that you haven’t really changed.”
Jasmine wiped the corners of her eyes and gave him a questioning look.
“You were passionate about things like this back in school too, remember? I was impressed by the fact that even though you had it all, you cared about such matters. Your father was rich, powerful and very protective. He wouldn’t let any man come close to you. I remember the day he asked me to leave your birthday party. He was so furious. The look he gave me. It was almost as if he was a jealous boyfriend or … or …””
