My Best Friend Of 15 Years Thinks My Boyfriend Is Her Soulmate. She Crashed His Family Dinner And Refused To Leave. Am I Losing My Best Friend Or My Mind?

Preparing for Court

Lincoln called back Tuesday afternoon to tell us the restraining order hearing was scheduled for the following Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. He walked us through what to expect, explaining that Jasmine would be in the courtroom because she had the right to face her accusers and defend herself against the order.

He warned us that she might try to speak directly to Alex, might try to make eye contact or gesture or do anything to get his attention and prove their connection was real. We needed to stay calm no matter what happened.

We needed to let the legal process work and trust that the judge would see through her delusion to the documented pattern of harassment and stalking. He said to dress professionally but not fancy, to answer questions clearly and honestly, and to focus on facts rather than emotions when we testified about what she’d done.

His voice was steady and reassuring but I could tell he was preparing us for how hard this was going to be, for having to face Jasmine in person and recount everything she’d done while she sat there watching us.

That weekend Alex and I barely left my apartment, ordering takeout and watching movies we’d already seen because neither of us could focus on anything new. We were both emotionally exhausted, drained from weeks of constant stress and fear and looking over our shoulders everywhere we went.

Alex kept apologizing like this was somehow his fault for being polite to my friend, for laughing at her jokes and complimenting her haircut when she asked directly. For all the normal friendly behavior that her brain had twisted into proof of secret love.

It broke my heart because he’d done absolutely nothing wrong, had just been his usual kind and socially anxious self, and now he was carrying guilt for something that existed only in Jasmine’s delusion. I told him over and over that this wasn’t his fault, that mental illness doesn’t need a reason or a cause, but I could see he didn’t fully believe me yet.

Sunday evening I finally gave into the temptation I’d been fighting all week and listened to one of Jasmine’s voicemails. I regretted it immediately.

I wished I could unhear her sobbing voice saying she knew Alex was forced to do this by his controlling family, that their love was tested like Romeo and Juliet or some other tragic romance. She said she’d wait for him no matter how long it took, that real love could survive anything including restraining orders and family interference and temporary separations.

Her voice had this dreamy quality to it like she was narrating a movie in her head instead of talking about real life with real consequences. I felt sick listening to how completely she believed the false reality she’d constructed.

I deleted the voicemail and blocked her number on yet another level then sat there feeling dirty and sad and angry all at once. Cordelia showed up at my apartment that evening with Thai food and a determined expression.

She’d taken time to help us prepare mentally for the hearing, explaining in her calm professional voice that facing Jasmine in court might be harder than we expected because delusional people can be very convincing in their false reality. They believe what they’re saying completely with no doubt or hesitation and that conviction can make others question what they know to be true.

She said we needed to stay grounded in facts in the documented evidence and witness statements and police reports rather than getting pulled into the emotional story Jasmine would tell. She practiced questions with us, had us recount incidents clearly and specifically, and reminded us that the judge had seen cases like this before and would know what to look for in someone experiencing erotomania.

The Day of the Hearing

Monday night I couldn’t sleep no matter how tired I was, my brain refusing to shut off as I lay there staring at my ceiling. I kept thinking about middle school Jasmine who’d moved from Arizona and didn’t know anyone, how scared and alone she’d looked that first day until I invited her to sit with my friend group at lunch.

I remembered helping her catch up in classes, introducing her to everyone, promising we’d always be friends no matter what because that’s what best friends did. The grief of losing that person to mental illness hit me in waves, rolling over me until I was crying in a way I hadn’t let myself since this whole nightmare started.

Alex held me while I sobbed, not saying anything because there was nothing to say. I mourned the friendship that had shaped who I was for 15 years but would never exist again in any form I recognized.

Tuesday morning I woke up with my stomach in knots because today was the hearing and I’d have to see Jasmine in person for the first time since that night at Alex’s parents’ house. We got to the courthouse 40 minutes early because Alex wanted to be prepared and Lincoln had told us to arrive with time to spare in case there were any last-minute issues.

The building was this old brick structure downtown with marble floors that echoed every footstep and made everything feel more serious and official than I was ready for. Lincoln met us in the lobby wearing a dark suit and carrying a leather folder thick with papers, and he walked us through what would happen step by step so we’d know what to expect.

We sat on a wooden bench in the hallway outside the courtroom and I kept watching people walk by, wondering if any of them were going through something similar or if our situation was as crazy as it felt. Alex held my hand and his palm was sweating which made me feel slightly better because at least I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

At exactly 9:30 I saw Jasmine come around the corner with a woman in a gray pants suit who must have been her public defender. Jasmine had curled her hair and was wearing a blue dress with heels like she was going to brunch instead of a restraining order hearing.

When she saw Alex her whole face lit up with this hopeful smile that made my skin crawl. She looked at him like he was her boyfriend who she hadn’t seen in weeks and was so excited to finally be near again, completely ignoring the fact that we were literally in court because she wouldn’t leave him alone.

Alex squeezed my hand so hard it hurt and turned his body slightly away from her and I could feel him shaking next to me. Jasmine’s lawyer tried to guide her into the courtroom but Jasmine kept looking back at Alex over her shoulder with that same dreamy expression.

I wanted to scream at her that this wasn’t a romantic movie, this was real life with real consequences. We filed into the courtroom and sat at a table on the left side while Jasmine and her defender sat on the right.

The whole time we were waiting for the judge Jasmine kept stealing glances at Alex and smiling like they were sharing some private joke. The judge came in and everyone stood up.

She was this older woman with gray hair pulled back in a bun who looked tired and like she’d seen every kind of case imaginable. Lincoln stood up and started presenting our evidence in this calm organized way that made everything sound even more disturbing when laid out chronologically.

He showed the judge printed copies of Jasmine’s texts to Alex where she said I’d given her permission to date him, then the security reports from Alex’s office building documenting the two times she’d been escorted out, then the police report from when she showed up at his parents’ house.

He called Quentyn as a witness and Quentyn described seeing Jasmine in the office lobby multiple times looking for Alex and how uncomfortable it made everyone in their department. He brought up our mutual friends who’d submitted written statements about how Jasmine had told them different versions of events to keep them from comparing notes and realizing she was lying.

Jasmine’s Testimony

Jasmine’s public defender was this young woman who looked increasingly uncomfortable as Lincoln kept stacking up evidence. During a recess she asked to speak with Jasmine privately in the hallway.

Through the courtroom door, I could hear Jasmine’s voice getting louder and more upset, insisting that the evidence was misinterpreted and that Alex was just scared to admit his feelings publicly. When they came back in, the defender looked defeated and Jasmine’s eyes were red from crying but she still had this stubborn set to her jaw like she refused to accept what was happening.

The judge called Jasmine to the stand and she walked up there with her shoulders back and her head high. I realized she genuinely thought this was her chance to finally make everyone understand the truth as she saw it.

She started talking about how she and Alex had developed this deep connection over the months, describing long conversations that I knew for a fact never happened because I was literally there during most of their interactions. She said Alex would look at her across the table during group dinners with such longing in his eyes that he’d find excuses to text her about random things just to have contact with her.

That he’d mentioned her name constantly because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She spoke with such complete conviction like she was describing memories that were absolutely real to her.

I finally understood how she’d managed to convince some of our friends initially because she wasn’t lying; in her mind, she truly believed every word. She talked about how Alex had joined her gym to be near her and how he’d shown up at places she frequented hoping to run into her.

Which was the exact opposite of reality where he’d been actively avoiding her and changing his routine to get away. The judge was taking notes and her expression stayed neutral but I saw her eyes narrow slightly when Jasmine described a conversation where Alex supposedly confessed his feelings.

Lincoln immediately pulled out Alex’s work calendar showing he’d been in a meeting during the time Jasmine claimed this happened. Jasmine didn’t even seem bothered by the contradiction, just said the meeting must have been on a different day because she remembered the conversation so clearly.

When Lincoln asked her about the text where Alex explicitly said he wasn’t interested, Jasmine smiled and said that was just him being cautious because he was worried about hurting me. That she could see the real truth in how he looked at her when he thought no one was watching.