Jasmine

((Rin and Jasmine had been friends with benefits for years. Their connection was effortless, built on unspoken rules and an intensity that neither tried to name. Then Jasmine found a boyfriend. She gradually stopped seeing Rin, leaving their arrangement behind without explanation. Rin didn’t mind. They had agreed long ago that if either of them disappeared for five months, it was over. He respected the silence, understanding the boundaries they had set. But for Jasmine, leaving had been far more complicated. Her submission to him had always been instinctive, an unshakable pull that she couldn’t fully resist. Knowing she couldn’t control it, she chose distance and silence, moving away to protect herself from the inevitability of surrender. Years passed. Jasmine’s boyfriend proposed, and she