(Jasper’s POV)


    “You want to talk about marriage, Jasper? Aboutmitment and loyalty?” Her voice rises, drawing stares from other people in the lobby. “Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about how <i>you </i>spent three years treating me like a stranger in my own house while you unted your mistress. How you chose another woman over your pregnant wife, left her on a highway in the middle of the night because your precious Virginia called.”


    Each word grits on my nerves. Not because they’re true, but because she believes them to be. And she’s not done.


    <i>“</i>And let’s not forget how you brought that woman into our home, let her wear my clothes, sleep in my bed-”


    “Scarlett-<b>” </b>


    “Or better yet,” she continues, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “let’s talk about how you’re standing here with her right now, ying the devoted husband while lecturing me about not being with someone else when I’m still married to you.”


    She looks between Virginia and me, and her smile turns vicious.


    “Tell me, dear ex, how long have you been f*****g her?”


    The words m into me, rendering me speechless. Virginia gasps behind me, and I hear her start to cry. But all I can see is Scarlett, my gentle, soft wife, transformed into a fierce creature I can barely recognize, spitting venom, looking at me like I’m something disgusting she found stuck on her shoe.


    “It’s <i>not </i>like that,” I shake my head, unable to believe she just said that.


    How could she even think that I would get together with a woman other than her, let alone say it out loud?


    “Isn’t it?” She tilts her head, studying me with those sharp eyes that used to look at me with love. “You abandoned your wife for her. You live with her. You take her to doctor’s appointments and rush to her side whenever she snaps her fingers. If that’s not a rtionship, then what is it?”


    I don’t have an answer for that. Because I can’t exin the obligation I feel towards Virginia without sounding like I’m making an excuse.


    “But I’m the one who can’t move on?” Sheughs again, the sound hollow and broken. “I’m the


    <Chapter 38


    one who has to stay loyal, otherwise it’ll be viting our marriage vows?”


    “You are still my wife-”


    More Rewards <b>> </b>


    “No.” The word cracks like a whip. “I stopped being your wife the night you chose her over <ol><li>me. The night you proved that I meant nothing to you.” </li></ol>


    She turns to Dorian, her voice softening. “Can we go? I’m tired.”


    “Of course.” He starts to wheel her toward the exit, but I step in front of them.


    “This isn’t over, Scarlett.”


    She looks up at me then, and for just a moment, I see a sh of pain, resentment? in her


    eyes.


    “Yes, it is.” Her voice is quiet now, final. “Whatever we had, whatever we were–it’s over. It has been over for a long time.” She reaches up and touches Dorian’s hand where it rests on her shoulder. <b>“</b>And I found someone who sees me, truly sees me, without me begging for his


    attention.”


    The gesture is small, but it feels like a knife to the chest. Because it’s not just about the touch–it’s about the warmth in her voice. The way she looks at him like a safe–haven.


    That’s the way she used to look at me.


    “Dorian’s been there for me when I needed him,” she says, her eyes never leaving mine. “He’s never made me feel like I was asking for too much, or wanting too much, or being too needy. He sees <i>me </i>as I am. Nothing more, nothing less.”


    Each word is calcted to wound, and they hit their mark perfectly.


    “So thank you, Jasper. Thank you for showing me what I was worth to you. Because it helped me realize what I’m actually worth to someone who cares about me.”


    Behind me, Virginia’s crying gets louder, more dramatic. But I can’t bring myself to care about her performance right now. All I can think about is the finality in Scarlett’s voice, the way she’s looking at me like I’m already a memory.


    “Scarlett-”


    “Goodbye, Jasper.”


    Dorian wheels her past me, and I watch them go. Watch my wife–because she is still my wife, divorce papers or not–leave with another man.


    A man who’s apparently been taking care of her for God knows how long.


    2/3 <fn50ea> Official source is fin?novel</fn50ea>


    :


    < Chapter 38


    More Rewards >


    The automatic doors slide shut behind them, and I’m left standing in the lobby with Virginia’s sobs echoing in my ears and the taste of failure bitter in my mouth.


    “Jasper?” Virginia’s voice is small, broken. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you had to see that.”


    I turn to look at her, this woman who’s been the center of so many of our problems. Her face is streaked with tears, her blue dress wrinkled from sitting in ufortable hospital chairs.


    And for the first time in four years, I don’t feel the automatic urge <i>to </ifort her.


    “How long do you think they’ve been together?” I ask quietly.


    “I… I don’t know. But Jasper, you can’t keep torturing yourself—”


    “My baby.” The word feels foreign on my tongue. “Do you think it’s alive?”


    Virginia’s eyes widen slightly. “I… I don’t know? But if it did…would a man like Dorian get involved with a single mom?”


    “So…it didn’t make it,” I whisper. “My child. He or she never got the chance to see this world.”


    Virginia doesn’t contradict me. She just stands there, tears streaming down her face, letting mee to my own devastating conclusions.


    Scarlett didn’t just move on. She started over. With another man.


    And the worst part? She looks happier with him than she ever did with me.


    Violet Moon


    #Vote#!


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