CHAPTER TEN

NADIA

Since it was the weekend the next day, Jasmine had asked me to come help her with the house chores. “I’ll pay for your services,” she said playfully over the phone, her tone light as if it were a casual conversation about the weather. I chuckled even though I had said nothing about being paid. The truth was, I desperately needed the money to keep up with my college expenses, but I wasn’t entirely convinced about going over to her house. The thought of seeing her husband, Hardin, made my stomach turn.

Hardin was known for his over the hills temper, and the last time I saw...