<i>(</i><i>Virginia’s </i><i>POV</i><i>) </i>
Men.
It wouldn’t be far–fetched to call them beasts in human skin. Their eyes are always on the meat ahead instead of the one in front of them.
So I know I can’t trust Jasper.
When Scarlett was in front of him, he couldn’t wait to be at my beck and call. Now that I’m by
his side, he can’t stop thinking about Scarlett.
But if he thinks I’m going to tolerate his attitude, then he’ll have to think again.
Because I’m not Scarlett. I won’t sit back and wait for him to choose another woman over <ol><li>me. </li></ol>
The key slides into the lock like it was made for my hand. I’ve been carrying this key for four years since he gave it to me, pretending I only use it for emergencies when he’s out of town.
The house is dark, silent except for the hum of the refrigerator and the distant tick of the grandfather clock in the hallway. I slip inside, my heels clicking softly against the hardwood floors that Scarlett chose, in the house she decorated, filled with the life she abandoned.
The living room still smells faintly of her perfume, even after four years. Like she’s haunting this ce, refusing to let go.
I find him in the bedroom–their bedroom–sprawled across the king–sized bed with one arm flung over his eyes. He’s still fully dressed, his tie loosened but not removed, shoes kicked off carelessly by the dresser.
He looks destroyed. Completely, utterly destroyed.
And it’s all her fault.
“Jasper?” I whisper, testing to see if he’s awake.
No response. His breathing is deep and even, exhausted sleep of a man who’s been carrying too much weight for too long.
I should leave. I should go back to James and ir’s house, pretend I never came here, never saw him like this. But my feet won’t move. Instead, I find myself studying his face in the moonlight streaming through the windows.
< Chapter 41
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Even in sleep, his brow is furrowed with pain. His lips–lips that used to smile when he saw me–are pressed into a thin line of suffering.
This is what loving Scarlett Stone does to a man. Reduces him <i>to </i>this broken shell, this shadow of who he used to be.
I’ve watched it happen for seven years. Watched him pour himself into their rtionship, giving and giving until there was nothing left. And what did she do? She ran. The moment things got difficult, the moment she had to share attention with someone else, she ran.
Leaving him here to pick up the pieces of himself.
My hands clench into fists at my sides. After everything I’ve done–years of being patient, supportive, avable whenever he needed me–she waltzes back into town and destroys him all over again.
With another man, no less.
Dorian Cross. I researched him the moment I got home, scrolling through business articles and society photos on my phone. He’s everything Jasper isn’t–shy, publicly sessful, the kind of man who makes headlines just for existing.
Of course Scarlett would choose someone like that. Someone who can give her the spotlight she’s always craved.
“Virginia?”
I jump<i>, </i>my heart mming against my ribs. Jasper is sitting up now, running his hands through his disheveled hair, squinting at me in the darkness.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I was worried about you, and when you didn’t answer your phone…”
He reaches for the bedsidemp, flooding the room with soft yellow light. His eyes are red–rimmed, whether from exhaustion or tears, I can’t tell.
“What time is it?”
“Almost midnight. I used my key. I hope that’s okay.”
He nods absently, like he doesn’t really care about boundaries right now. Like nothing matters except the pain eating him alive from the inside.
“I brought you something to eat.” I hold up the container I carried in. “ir made extramb stew. I thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m not.”
< Chapter 41
“You need to eat, Jasper. You can’t let this destroy you.”
Heughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Can’t I? Because it feels like it already has.”
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The broken sound of his voice makes my chest ache. This is the man I’ve loved since we were children, the boy who held my hand during thunderstorms and promised we’d always be friends. Seeing him like this–seeing what she’s done to him–makes me want to scream.
“She looked happy,” he says quietly, staring at his hands. “With him. Happier than she ever
looked with me.”
“Jasper-”
“Four years, Virginia. Four years I’ve been looking for her, and she’s been building a life with someone else. Someone who can give her things I never could.”
The self–loathing in his voice is almost unbearable. But underneath it, I hear something else. Something that makes my blood run cold.
Love. He still loves her. Even after everything, even after seeing her with another man, he still
loves Scarlett more than he realizes.
“She doesn’t deserve you,” I say, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “She never deserved you.”
He looks at me then, really looks at me, and I see something shift in his expression.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she had everything, Jasper. Everything. Parents who adored her, money, education, a husband who would have done anything for her. And what did she do? She threw it all away
the moment she didn’t get her way.”
His jaw tightens. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Wasn’t it?” I sit on the edge of the bed, careful to keep some distance between us. “She knew I had panic disorder. She knew I didn’t have anyone else. But she couldn’t stand sharing your attention for one night. On her birthday, yes, but people were dying, Jasper. I was dying.”
“She was pregnant. She needed me too.”
“And you searched for her every day for thest three years!” The words explode out of me, louder than I intended. “Every day, you looked for her. You married her, lived with her, loved her. But the one time–the one time–you chose to help someone else, she couldn’t handle it.”
Jasper stares at me, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. The doubt creeping in.
< Chapter 41
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“She left you,” I continue, my voice softer now, more persuasive. “She was carrying your child, and she left you. What kind of woman does that?”
“She was hurt-”
“She was selfish.” I lean closer, letting my hand rest on his arm. “And now she’s doing it again. Parading her new rtionship in front of you, making sure you see how well she’s doing without you. That’s not the behavior of someone who ever loved you, Jasper. That’s
cruelty.”
He pulls away from my touch, standing up and pacing to the <i>window</i>. “You don’t understand. You weren’t there for our entire marriage. You don’t know what it was <i>like</i>.”
“I know enough. I know she made you feel guilty for being my friend. I <i>know </i>she tried to make you choose between us, over and over again.”
“Because she was jealous-”
“Because she was possessive. Because she couldn’t stand the thought of you caring about anyone but her.” I stand too, crossing to where he’s standing. “That’s not love, Jasper. That’s ownership.”
The words hit their mark. I can see it in the way his shoulders tense, the way his hands
clench at his sides.
“She gave up on us,” I press on. “She gave up on your marriage, on your child, on everything you built together. And now she’s back, unting her new life in your face while you’re still here, still carrying the <i>pieces </i>of what she destroyed.”
“Stop,” he whispers.
“She doesn’t love you, Jasper. She never loved you the way you deserved to be loved. If she had, she would have fought for <i>you</i>. She would have stayed. She wouldn’t have sent you divorce papers and disappeared without a backward nce. Maybe to her, you never meant anything more than an amusement.”
“Stop.”
But I can’t stop. Not when I’m this close to making him see the truth. Not when I have the chance to finally, finally make him understand what Scarlett really is.
“You were an amusement to her before. And now? Now she’s using you. Using your guilt, your feelings, your regret over choosing me over her. She wants you to suffer, wants you to know what you lost so you’ll always-” <fn92dc> The rightful source is find?novel</fn92dc>
“I said stop!” He whirls around, his eyes zing with fury and pain. “Don’t. Don’t do this.”
<Chapter 41
“I’m trying to help you-”
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“No, you’re not. You’re trying to make me hate her, and I won’t. I can’t.” His voice breaks on thest word. “Whatever she did, whatever I lost, I still love her. I’ll always love her.”
The words m into me like physical blows. After everything–after all these years of being there for him, supporting him, loving him unconditionally–he still chooses her.
Even when she’s with someone else. Even when she’s made it clear she doesn’t want him
anymore.
“I should go,” I say quietly, moving toward the door before he can see the tears gathering in
my eyes.
“Virginia, wait-”
But I’m already gone, slipping back into the hallway, back through the house that should have been ours by now. The key feels like it’s burning a hole in my palm as I let myself out into the cool night air.
He still loves her. After everything she’s put him through, everything she’s taken from him— from us–he still loves her.
Well, if he won’t let me help him see the truth about Scarlett, maybe I need to help her precious new boyfriend understand what kind of woman he’s involved with.
Violet Moon
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< Chapter 42