Pearl was relieved to find Jasper came down easily from her rage, which either meant she got angry a lot, or she was just really mindful of how she acted in her surroundings, and considering she had a daughter, it was likely the later mention. When it was clear everything was going to be OK, Pearl allowed herself to finally feel that small bit of happiness that she would have felt earlier when Jasper came to help deal with the situation. The woman's sad gaze as she was looked over made her feel a bit small and insecure, though. The last thing she wanted was to bring sadness to this wonderful woman before her. At least Jasper didn't want to kick her out after that display, if anything, it seemed to just cement Pearl's place in the household; confirmed in that rough tone of hers that sent shivers down her spine, even now.<br/><br/>The compliment about her punch and Jasper's surprise didn't register quite the way the taller woman may have wanted as Pearl balled her hands again and frowned deeply. "She insulted you and Mala... I'm against most violence unless used as self-defense and with Mala standing there--Well, I didn't want her to have to hear any more words that could be more poorly used to describe such an amazing little girl..." She was still upset to have caused Mala any possible pain in all this, knowing all too well what bullying did to someone, as her mother likely knew as well, but she smiled towards the end remembering how resilient that child also was<i>because</i>of her mother. As Jasper led her back into the house, still holding onto her hand, Pearl gripped it softly in her own and stared at it all the way into their home. Hopefully those were the only pieces Jasper had truly heard, but as she mentioned calling her sister and then they were going to have a talk, Pearl immediately had a sinking feeling in her gut.<br/><br/>By the time Mala had left, Pearl had already apologized to the child until even Mala was telling her to stop, and she'd smothered her in kisses and hugs and love and forced Mala to look her in the eyes as she reinforced to the child over and over again how beautiful and amazing she thought she was. It made Pearl feel a little better, but it seemed Mala was already OK. The child had been mostly unphased by Shay's comment after she'd allowed herself a moment to reflect on it. Jasper really had raised her to be such a strong child and as she left out the door, Pearl just stared after in awe, her hand still hovering in the air after waving good bye. She truly was graced with some amazing people in her life, which was nice after having sloshed through all the bad ones in thigh-high shit for so long.<br/><br/>Pearl glanced at the cup of iced coffee placed in front of her and nodded a soft thank you, but she remained sitting on the couch with her legs curled up to her chest instead for the time being, a thumb to her lips as she nervously chewed at her nail. It was a habit she was usually very heavily against, but it was barely on her mind compared to everything else that was swarming around. When Jasper spoke, she jumped a tiny bit and glanced over at the woman. "I'm s--Mm." She paused, immediately getting caught in her typical reflex, and took a moment to compose herself before she started again. "That was... my ex, Shay. We'd been dating for a little over a year now, but I only see her when she comes in on business in town. She travels a lot for work. When you asked me to come move in, I realized a few... ah, things, around that time and one of them was that I just...." She paused again and her shoulders slumped. Even though she had no feelings for Shay anymore, she was still a bit heartbroken that it couldn't have worked out with all the effort she had put in. "I fell out of love with her long ago. I don't even know if I could have called it love. It was exciting never quite knowing when we'd see each other next like some sort of big spy romance." Pearl chuckled and seemed to ease a little, but her body was still curled up and a little apprehensive. "I didn't want to bring that baggage into a new place around your daughter, around... you. So I broke up with her and then accepted your offer. And as for the debt..." She wanted to apologize again, but decided to go against it. "She's unfortunately correct in that." And that was all she would say on that matter. Pearl glanced over at Jasper to gauge a reaction.