Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

Jasmine was gone.

Those words hit like a ton of bricks, leaving everyone feeling crushed and breathless. Just a moment ago, Shelly had been passionately arguing with the Bryant family, determined to bring Jasmine back into the fold. She was ready to stand her ground, even if it meant giving up her own claim to the family legacy. Yet now, Jasmine was gone, and all her efforts seemed pointless. She'd never again see the sister she used to banter with.

She hadn't even had the chance to properly call her "sister." How could Jasmine be gone!

Tyler stood by the hospital bed, staring at the body beneath the white sheet. He reached out but couldn't bring himself to pull it back. He remembered how welcoming Jasmine was when he first arrived in the States. If he had known this would happen, he would never have let Jasmine walk away feeling disappointed.

His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Fiona left the hospital, heading back to the city by herself. She wanted to visit the place where Jasmine had left a gift for her. Before she left, she took a bottle with cream-colored insects from Tyler's hand.

No one asked where she was going. Only Shelly quietly followed, determined to protect Fiona just as Jasmine had.

Even though she wasn't skilled at anything and lacked any sort of fighting ability, she thought, "Jasmine must have started just like this."

Fiona knew Shelly was tailing her and only stopped when she reached the secret hideout she and Jasmine shared in the city. Shelly, caught off guard, nearly bumped into her but managed to stop just in time.

"Stop following me. Jasmine didn't like outsiders coming in here."

True to her word, Shelly stayed put, standing like a sentinel not far from the door.

Fiona ignored her and went inside.

The place looked just as it always had, though a thin layer of dust covered everything. She headed to the hidden room, and when she opened the door, she was stunned. The room was almost filled with gifts.

The secret space wasn't small, usually a spot for storing random items, all of which Jasmine had cleared out. Not only that, but Jasmine had repainted the place in Fiona's favorite shade of pink.

A nod to the everlasting spirit of youthful joy.

Each gift was marked with an age, from nineteen to one hundred. She picked up the one labeled for her nineteenth birthday and opened it to find a delicate necklace. Fiona recognized it as Jasmine's first design project, something she had planned to perfect before showing the finished product to anyone.

But Jasmine had completed it herself.

Fiona put the necklace around her neck and from that day on, she never took itnoveldrama

off.

On the table, she noticed a computer with an SD card inserted. Curiously, she opened it to find numerous

short video clips, each about ten net

minutes long, documenting from age five to one hundred. She clicked on the one labeled nineteen.

"Happy Birthday, Fiona darling! By the time you see this video, I suppose I will have left your side..."

With tears choking her up as she watched all the videos, Fiona realized Jasmine had always been prepared for the worst, truly protecting her with every bit of her being.