Whispers of the Pearl Curse

Keeping that in mind, I asked Dad to go through the books meticulously and brought in some trusted people to examine the pesticides. We also pulled an all-nighter, keeping an eye on how the seedlings were doing.

After all that hustle, three days had flown by.

Luckily, we caught it in time. Daniel had the contract ready but was waiting on Dad's signature. Dad was scared stiff and ran straight to the cops.

Finally, I could catch some sleep without worry.

When I woke up, my phone was blowing up with missed calls and texts from Jeffrey.

[Yazzy, did you remember to buy a lottery ticket on your birthday? Hit me up if you're the big winner.]

[Yazzy, I've been checking out some swanky villas in town. Which one do you reckon has more swagger?]

[Yazzy, check out this Tesla. Pretty cool, huh?] Jeffrey texted, along with a barrage of pics showcasing swanky villas and sleek cars.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jeffrey's profile picture with a look that screamed, 'Are you serious?'

[You sure about that?] I texted back. [This Tesla's sticker price is over one hundred fifty grand!]

He shot back almost instantly, [Sure, it's only a mid-tier model, but it'll do.]

Then he bombarded me with a stream of ID pics.

[Hey, Yazzy, if you're going to buy it, put it in my name, will you? Driving is risky business, and I'm willing to shoulder that for us.]

I tried not to gag. [You're pulling in, what, seven hundred fifty a month? After gas, can you even keep yourself afloat?]

Jeffrey was shameless. [But I've got you, Yazzy. Once you hit that hundred fifty-million jackpot, will we even care about chump change?]

[And come on, Sophie already spilled the beans about your dad setting you up with a seventy-five thousand dollar BMW. I'm the guy here—I can't be driving anything less than that.]

His audacity floored me. [Why don't you get your dad to buy you one?]

He was typing... and typing…

After an eternity, or like, three minutes, Jeffrey came back puffing with indignation. [Yazzy, do you think it was a walk in the park for my folks to raise me? I can't just mooch off them!]

[Your situation is different. You're an only child, right? Your dad's money is basically yours down the line. Why not have him jump on our wedding pad?]

He showed me the first picture of the villa with a grin. [Check this out, it's a steal at just fifteen million dollars. Just slap my name on it, and we're all set! Saves you the hassle later with all the house checking and key grabbing. I'd hate to put you through that.]

I could not help but roll my eyes. 'Classic you, scamming like it's nothing,' I thought. The guy's got skills in the con department, that's for sure.

I left Jeffrey on read.

However, that did not stop him. He went on a lottery ticket-buying spree online, all under my name. Then he would call, non-stop, making sure I would be glued to the screen when the numbers rolled out.

Maybe he caught on that I was not thrilled because he switched gears and started with the apologies. "Yazzy, I just can't wait to build a life with you, to make you my wife," he cooed. "If you're worried about the RV title, just park the cash in your bank for now…

"Make sure it's your account, okay? A girl should have much in the bank. It's all about that financial confidence, right, Yazzy?"

In my previous life, I missed all that because I did not go home after my birthday. I never saw that side of Jeffrey. At the time, he was all about pushing me to rake in the money, probably to fund his flashy cars and playboy lifestyle. No way was I playing into his hands.

So, I did a complete turn. I resigned from my job, bought some gear, and started working out at home. I even set up a shop online to help my dad sell his fruit.

In my previous life, I fell for Jeffrey's tricks because I was insecure and had my head in the clouds, thinking it was love. However, not this time. I had a second shot, and I leveled up, inside and out!

So there I was, ten pounds lighter, when out of the blue, my phone buzzed with Jeffrey's name in the dead of night.

I hit 'end call' and rolled over, sleep mode activated.

At the crack of dawn the next day, Sophie stormed in after a hundred-mile drive, pounding on my door like it owed her money.

"Yasmine, how could you just quit your job like that?

"Do you even realize? Jeff's family's in a crisis. He's been freaking out trying to find you!"