<b>Chapter </b><b>103 </b>


    (Jasper’s POV)


    The living room feels like a tomb.


    James sits with his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. ir hasn’t stopped crying since Virginia ran out three hours ago. The sound cuts through me like broken ss.


    “We failed her,” ir whispers for the tenth time. “We failed both of them.”


    James looks up, his eyes red and hollow. “How did we not see it? How did we miss all the signs?”


    I want to tell them it’s not their fault. Virginia fooled everyone. But the words stick in my throat because I have no right to say anything here.


    They failed to pay more attention to her. To see through her mask.


    But how am I any better?


    “She’s our daughter,” ir cries. “Our biological daughter, and we let her be… this.”


    “And Scarlett,” James’s voice breaks. “God, what we put her through. What we let Virginia put her through.”


    The silence stretches between us, heavy with guilt and regret.


    “Jasper,” ir turns to me suddenly, her eyes desperate. “Would you… could you go see Virginia? Talk to her? She might listen to you.”


    My stomach churns. “ir, I don’t think-”


    “Please,” James cuts in. “She’s not in the right mindset. If she goes to some club, and starts drinking herself


    into oblivion…”


    “She could get herself in trouble” ir pleads. “But she won’t listen to us. She listens to you. No matter what happened, she’s still the girl who grew up with you. Didn’t you say you see her as a sister?”


    you.


    I want to say not anymore. Virginia ceased to be my sister the second she drugged me. But looking at their broken faces, I hear myself say, “I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”


    I find her at a hotel bar reeking of stale cigarettes and desperation, slumped over a table in the corner, three empty bottles in front of her with a fourth clutched in her hand.


    She looks up when I approach, her eyes unfocused and bloodshot.


    “Well, well,” she slurs. “If it isn’t my knight in shining armor.”


    “Virginia, you need to go home.”


    Sheughs, the sound bitter and sharp. “Home? What home? The one where Scarlett’s presence haunts every


    corner? Where James and ir still keep her childhood clothes in the closet?”


    “They love you-”


    “They love the idea of me,” she spits. “Their perfect biological daughter who was supposed to be the center of


    their world. Now? Now I’m just filling in the hole Scarlett left behind.”


    I pull out the chair across from her and sit down. “That’s not true.”


    “Isn’t it?” She takes another swig from the bottle. “You know what the funny thing is? When we were kids at the orphanage, I thought no matter what happens, you’ll always be on my side… But when we grew up…”


    “Virginia-”


    “You met her.” Her voice turns venomous. “The rich heiress Scarlett Stone, with a perfect life and perfect family. And suddenly I didn’t exist anymore.”


    The pain in her voice is real, but I can’t let it make me forget what she’s done.


    “You lied to me,” I say quietly. “And drugged me.”


    “I tried to save you from her!” Virginia screams, drawing stares from other patrons. “She was going <i>to </i>destroy you just like she destroyed me!”


    “She never destroyed you. You destroyed yourself.”


    Virginia’s face crumples. For a moment, she looks like the lost little girl she used to be. Then the mask slides


    back into ce, hatred and jealousy twisting her features.


    “Of course you would take her side,” she sneers. “Why wouldn’t you?”


    I stand up, pulling out my phone to call James. “I’m taking you home.” <fn26c0> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? f?ndnovel</fn26c0>


    “I said get away!”


    She swings the bottle at me. I catch her wrist, and she copses into sobs.


    “I hate her,” she keeps mumbling. “I hate her, I hate her, I hate her.”


    But I think she’s talking about herself now.


    It takes me two hours to get Virginia sober enough to walk out of the hotel. By the time we reach the house,


    the sun is rising and she’s passed out against my shoulder.


    I carry her up the front steps, my back aching from her dead weight. The front door opens before I can knock.


    “Oh, thank God,” ir rushes out to help me. “Is she okay?”


    “She’s drunk.”


    James appears in the doorway, looking older than I’ve ever seen him. “Bring her inside.”


    We’re halfway up the stairs when a car pulls up in the driveway. Through the window, I see Scarlett preparing


    to get out of the car.


    My chest tightens. What is she doing here so early in the morning? I think about Lily, and wonder if she’s


    okay.


    “Jasper?” Virginia mumbles against my neck. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”


    The words are slurred, pathetic. But they make my skin crawl.


    “I’m not leaving,” I say, walking into the house.


    I get Virginia to her room and dump her on the bed. She curls up like a child, still muttering about being


    abandoned.


    When Ie back downstairs, Scarlett is in the kitchen with Lily. She’s setting a container of what looks like gingerbread cookies on the counter.


    “Mama made these for Grandma and Grandpa,” Lily is announcing proudly.


    ir tries to smile through her tears. “That’s so sweet, baby. Thank you.”


    Scarlett looks up as I enter the kitchen. Our eyes meet for just a second, and I <b>see </b>something flicker across


    her face. Disappointment, maybe. Or disgust. She must’ve seen me carrying Virginia upstairs<b>. </b>


    Who am I kidding? I chuckle. Even if she saw me carrying Virginia, she wouldn’t care.


    “Come on, Lily. Time to go home.”


    “But I want to see Daddy-”


    “Another time, sweetheart.”


    She doesn’t look at me again as she leads Lily toward the door. Doesn’t say goodbye. Doesn’t acknowledge


    that I exist.


    The front door closes behind them with a soft click.


    And with it, I realize Scarlett’s indifference cuts deeper than Virginia’s lies.


    Violet Moon


    #Vote#