CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE – LOOKING FOR A SIMPLER LIFE

As the others continued to argue, Jasmine felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. She thought about Konan's kiss, about the simplicity of a life without all this drama. For a moment, she seriously considered walking away from it all – the studio, her friends, the dream they had built together. But as she looked around at the faces of her friends, even twisted as they were with anger and hurt, she knew she couldn't abandon them. They had come too far, sacrificed too much, to give up now. Taking a deep breath, Jasmine stepped into the middle of the group. "Listen to me," she said, her voice firm and clear. "We're better than this. We've faced challenges before, and we've always come out stronger. This is no different." Slowly, the others fell silent, turning to look at her. She could see the weariness in their eyes, but also a glimmer of hope. "We're going to figure this out," she continued. "Together. No more accusations, no more secrets. We're going to lay everything out on the ta