The sound was barely audible and at first hoa nhài questioned whether hoặc not she actually heard it. She slowed the riding lawn mower to a stop and turned it off. She flinched as the âm nhạc from her headphones suddenly became louder without the noise of the lawn mower. She quickly pulled the ear buds out of her ears.

Silence.

Then a crash. It was loud; as if something had gone through a large window. hoa nhài was almost positive it was the same noise she had heard earlier. She jumped off the lawn mower, stumbling slightly but then running towards the house. Her father was in the city for the day, so only Tzipporah was in the house. Jasmine's first thought was that Jafar had come back and Tzipporah was starting trouble with him.

hoa nhài was just pulling open the back door when she heard shouting coming from upstairs. She recognized the voice immediately as Tzipporah's. But who was she yelling at? They very rarely got visitors; with the exception of Jafar and there was no way Tzipporah would let him anywhere near the inside of their house.

hoa nhài darted towards the stairs. She was halfway up when she heard a gun shot. The deafening noise halted Jasmine. Her tim, trái tim thumped rapidly and she gripped the railing tightly. Fear froze her in place as silence filled the house. A few beats passed before she heard scrambling. hoa nhài tried to calm her heavy breathing as she quietly continued to make her way upstairs. Every instinct told her to run outside and call for help, but she had to check on Tzipporah.

"Get back here, bạn con chuột bastard!" Tzipporah shouted.

hoa nhài sighed in relief to hear her sister's voice. It sounded like it was coming from the hallway outside of Jasmine's bedroom. She hurried the rest of the way. As she turned the corner, she crashed hard into someone running from the opposite direction. They both tumbled to the ground. hoa nhài landed on hàng đầu, đầu trang of the person.

"Don't move," Tzipporah demanded.

hoa nhài wasn't sure who she was talking to, so she stayed put. She looked down to see a young man her own age pinned beneath her. He was gorgeous with thick black hair, tan skin, big brown eyes and muscular arms. If he wanted he could have easily shoved hoa nhài off of him, but he just looked stunned and almost afraid. Beside him was a sack, though hoa nhài couldn't tell what was in it. Tzipporah pointed her súng trường at him as she picked up the sack. She glanced inside, then turned her attention back the man.

"Please don't shoot me." His voice was surprisingly calm despite the look on his face and the situation he was in.

"Why not?" Tzipporah growled. "Did bạn really think bạn could break into our house, steal from us and get away with it?"

The man wiggled underneath Jasmine, but she leaned phía trước, chuyển tiếp and pressed her hands against his chest to keep him down. His pecks were hard and sculpted and momentarily distracted her.

The man gave up trying to wiggle free. "Please. My sister and I have been out of work for months and we're trying to take care of our mother." He turned his pleading gaze towards Jasmine. "She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and we can't afford to get her help."

A small part of hoa nhài doubted his story, but a bigger part of her felt sympathy and pity for him. If he was telling the truth, he certainly needed the money thêm than they did.

hoa nhài slowly stood up. Both the man and Tzipporah gaped at her. Tzipporah quickly regained composure and pointed the gun at him again.

"Don't bạn dare get up."

"Calm down, Tzipporah," hoa nhài said, holding out her hand to the man. He made no attempt to move.

"Wise man," Tzipporah muttered.

hoa nhài shook her head. "Don't be afraid; we're not going to hurt you."

Tzipporah snorted. "Speak for yourself."

hoa nhài ignored her sister. "What's your name?"

"Aladdin," he replied, not taking his eyes off the rifle.

hoa nhài offered her hand to him again. "I'm hoa nhài and this is my sister, Tzipporah."

Tzipporah stared hard at hoa nhài for a moment, but finally rolled her eyes and lowered her gun. She dropped the sack on the floor with a clank. "It's all stuff from your room, Jaz."

"I'm sorry," Aladdin và cây đèn thần told her. "It was the easiest room to sneak into."

hoa nhài nodded. She knew that; it was also the easiest room to sneak out of. She rummaged through the sack, but there didn't seem to be anything of real importance in it. She picked up the sack and turned around. Aladdin và cây đèn thần was now standing, but remained tense. His gaze kept falling on Tzipporah's rifle. She noticed this and gave him a smug smile. None of them had any doubt that she would use it if she got the opportunity.

hoa nhài held the sack out to Aladdin. "Take it. bạn need it thêm than we do."

"Are bạn serious?" Tzipporah practically shrieked.

hoa nhài glanced at her sister. "I'm serious. It's not like we're in danger of going broke. We can do a good thing here bởi helping Aladdin và cây đèn thần and his mother."

"If he's telling the truth, bạn mean," Tzipporah spat.

hoa nhài shrugged and turned back to Aladdin. "They're my belongings and I don't feel like it's a loss. Take them, Aladdin, and get your mom some help."

Aladdin và cây đèn thần hesitantly took the sack. "Thank you."

hoa nhài smiled at him, but before she could say anything Tzipporah stepped between them.

Tzipporah was a good few inches taller than Aladdin và cây đèn thần and she stared down at him. "You've taken enough advantage of our hospitality. Now, get out of here before I pull the trigger."

Aladdin và cây đèn thần turned and quickly ran downstairs. hoa nhài crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at her sister.

"What?" Tzipporah asked, innocently.

"Were bạn really going to shoot him?"

"Well, yeah; he's an intruder."

hoa nhài shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"I'm unbelievable? You're the one who just let a criminal get away with stealing from us."

"I felt bad for him."

A small smile formed at the corner of Tzipporah's lips. "You always did have a thing for tortured bad boys."

hoa nhài blushed. "What are bạn talking about?"

Now Tzipporah laughed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. bạn let him go because bạn thought he was hot."

"That's not true."

"You're lying." Tzipporah pointed at her with the gun. "Just admit it."

hoa nhài couldn't help smiling. "Fine. I admit it; I was attracted to Aladdin."

"I knew it."

hoa nhài sighed. "That's because bạn know me better than anyone."