Chapter 82

~Jasmine~ “Please, Jasmine, take a break,” Mav pleaded, but I simply shook my head, my eyes glued to the stack of papers before me. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” I said with a weak smile. Truthfully, ever since I’d seen Greg in that condition, I’d been anything but fine. It had only been five days, but I’d fought tooth and nail over the weekend, pouring my blood, sweat, and tears into this research. I couldn’t afford to get sick or succumb to despair. His condition fueled me, a heavy weight of responsibility pressing down on me. “Please, baby…” Mav said softly, coming closer and gently massaging my tense shoulders. After seeing Greg like that, my long-held wish to reconnect with my brother had become a desperate need, but not like this. I’d cried relentlessly; it hadn’t been easy, but Mav had made it… tolerable. Driven by this newfound urgency, I’d resorted to my last option: revisiting my father’s personal laboratories. I’d retrieved every single piece of his work—experiments, jou