There was a brief silence as Jasmine chewed over Jered's tale. The way she puffed up her face in thought was painfully cute, but he would never tell her that. It would get to her head. She stared at him and released a sigh, "I can't believe you went through all that. I feel bad for resenting you now... I was so scared and lonely when you left. But now I'm relieved. You're fine, and that's all that matters," she chirped, her smile so contagious he chuckled.

"Ohh, woah, my sister is being mature! Did you grow up while I was away?" Jered wore an interested smile as he blinked theatrically at her.

"Shush!" Jasmine pounced at him, pinning him down on her bed, "You deserve tickles!"

He was surprised, not by the childish action, but by her strength. He was no gym junkie, but he wasn't a twig either. Jasmine had a skinnier body definition than his, though she was plump in some areas—well, the important ones anyway. He couldn't offer any resistance as her hands pushed him down. Of course, he wasn't about to give up without a fight.

Jasmine barely had time to relish in her victory that an unseen force grabbed her, and levitated her off of him.

"W-What..."

"Hmm. Did you become stronger? It must have been the Shadow's power," he analyzed calmly.

"Bad. Very bad!" she crossed her arms mid-air, her lips puckered into a pout, "Put me down. I demand it!"

Jered tilted his head, "And who are you to boss me around?"

She smirked, "I'm your queen!"

"Blah blah blah. I didn't even have to lift a finger, yet here you are, completely helpless in front of me. I'm your king."

For some reason, she didn't retaliate with her barbed-wire tongue, instead, she blushed.

"Umh... y-you can put me down now... please?"

Jasmine was being weirder than usual. But he obliged and released her from his telekinetic grasp.

"There. Happy?"

She regarded him with a wary look, but nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

He asked. And it was a serious question. It was not about her well-being, because he could see that she was fine. It was more about herself.

"I... feel good, better than I ever was actually," the conviction in her voice didn't go unnoticed, "I also feel stronger... oh, Jered, so much stronger! You have no idea. Just yesterday, I could lift my bed a few inches off the ground with just one hand!"

Yeah, definitely the Shadow's work.

"I'm happy for your newfound power, sis... but we need to tread carefully here. Good things always come with a price, and you will never realize you can't afford it until it's too late."

Fortunately, Jasmine was smarter than he gave her credit for. She nodded apprehensively, "I know, lil bro. B-But what am I supposed to do? It whispers to me!" she flopped her cute little ass next to him, "Sometimes I'm tired of fighting, but then I think of you... of the things you said to me, the things you did to help me. And then, like some sort of twisted miracle, I find the will to keep going. Haha, really, I can't get you off my mind. You're some sort of hero while I'm the monster."

"The beauty and the beast," he chuckled.

She giggled behind a hand, "Yes, with the exception that you're the beauty."

"I've always been beautiful."

The ghost of a smile graced her face, "And I've always been a monster."

"..."

"This is no fairy tale, Jaz. In real life, monsters win too."

A spark of hope was reignited, though she did her best to tone it down, "Ha, I wonder how long I'll have to wait then..."

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Jered figured that they were talking about different things. She was romanticizing whatever he was saying. Not that it was a bad thing, but it had been a while since he noticed the way she was staring at him. It was not normal. It reminded him of the way Evelyn, or Kenny, would stare at him sometimes. And he knew for a fact that Kenny was in love with him, while Evelyn was the mother of his child.

"Not long, I'm sure..." he said.

She scooted slightly closer to him.

"You're so clingy."

Jasmine smiled, but didn't refute his statement. Actually, she gave it more credibility by shoving herself even closer to him.

"..."

She sniffed him again, going from his arm up to his neck. And to do that, she had to paste herself further into him.

"Jasmine..." Jered stopped her.

"S-Sorry..." she pulled back, "It's just that... that..."

"Don't worry," a sigh, "I'm going back to my room. I need some peace."

"W-Wait!" Jasmine blocked him, flustered, "Umh... please, let me clean it up for you first. You can rest in my bed in the meanwhile, hehe..."

"..."

She didn't give him time to answer—aka refuse—and darted out of the room, leaving a light tang of perfume behind.

Jered was finally alone with his thoughts. He was not sleepy, his mana made sure of that. He just wanted to sort out his problems and shelf them according to their importance. He didn't expect Jasmine to be so lively, and also so... problematic. He had to get his mind off her. Rolling around on her bed, he grabbed the laptop she had been fiddling with ever since he set off for Little Spirit Forest.

It was already turned on, he noted.

"Hmm..."

As soon as the screen lit up, an embellished forum popped up.

From the title, color scheme, and the various usernames on the page, Jered figured it was a forum that targeted mostly women, if not only them. Naturally, he wasn't going to lurk around and peep into Jasmine's secrets, but then he noticed the title of the thread she was viewing.

'I'm in love with my brother... what do I do???'

"..."

It must have been a coincidence. There was no other way. He wanted to leave the tab and forget about it; going down that rabbit hole was simply not worth it.

'Jammie'

That was the name of the thread maker. It was a name that shouldn't have meant anything, but to him, it meant everything. He remembered it. Their mother used to call Jasmine that way. As for him? She called him Jeddie. He was not fond of that pet name, but it did make Jane happy, so he never complained. Of course, it could have been another coincidence, but Jered didn't like to lie to himself. The truth was there, in front of his eyes—both on the forum and on Jasmine's smiles.

'I fell in love with my brother shortly after our father passed away. At first, I thought it was a crush... I mean, I was very young, I didn't think much of it. But as I grew up, and due to our mother's constant absence in our lives, my feelings just... I don't know... grew. It was then that I learned of the word 'incest' and how bad it was. With no one to talk to, I tried to strangle back those feelings. It was no use, because love can't be contained, or forgotten. And the more I tried, the more it hurt. So I decided to run away... well, not really. I just distanced myself from him, and from our mother. I would have sleepovers at my friend's place every day. You could say that I began to live there... and it worked. I had finally managed to take my brother off my mind. I was not happy, but it was a small price to pay. Then my birthday came around, and after a long time, I decided to celebrate it with my real family. I thought I was healed, and that I could face him. Hah, turns out I was far from healed. And seeing him again, so close to me, re-opened old wounds, and rekindled... my desires. I can barely keep my hands off of him these days, and I'm scared of doing something stupid. I don't want to ruin my relationship with him, but at the same time, I want to risk it. This is tiring me out... and I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like he suspects something... I have been giving him hints. A part of me hopes he finds out, so this game can finally end.'

'P.S: No judgment please, this is not a joke. Serious answers only.'

"Fuck..."

Jered shouldn't have read that. The thread was a week old, so Jasmine must have logged in to check the answers.

The comments didn't look helpful.

'I think you should talk to a psychiatrist.'

'That's an icky topic for me. You should consider going to live somewhere else.'

'Tbh you should just go for it. The problem would be keeping it secret :P'

'Is he hot?'

'I've had the same problem in the past, but with my cousin. I've been attracted to him for as long as I can remember, and the feeling was mutual. One day we sat down and talked it out. A relationship was not something we could pursue, but that didn't stop us from having mind-blowing sex every now and then. That was over ten years ago, he's now married, and so am I. I'm not in love with him anymore, but from time to time I do think what my life would have been like if we ended up dating.'

...

With a sigh, Jered placed the laptop back on the nightstand. He stroked his mouth, lost in his thoughts. Should he do something about it or just ignore it? It would be safer to ignore it, but in the long term, it would only cause more issues. What if Jane found out? It was literally a pandora's box, and he couldn't afford to open it. At least not now.

The bedroom door was swung open, and a panting Jasmine dashed inside, throwing herself next to him, "Hehe, all done! You can go now," she exclaimed as the bed bounced.

"..."

"Jered?"

"..."

"Jeeeereed..." she waved a hand in front of his face.

"..."

It was then that Jasmine began to worry, "H-Heeeey... what's wrong?"

He looked at her, "Jasmine... I'd like to ask you something, and I hope you will be honest with me."

"Umh..."

Something was wrong, but she didn't falter.

"What is it?"

A brief pause.

Jered unloosened a sigh and stared straight into her eyes, "Are you in love with me?"