(Jasper’s POV)
I stand frozen on the driveway, staring at the closed door of Dorian’s house. The image of Scarlett hurrying Lily inside burns in my mind like a brand. The way she looked at me–like I was a stranger. Worse than a
stranger. Like I was a threat.
Jasper?”
Virginia’s voice cuts through my thoughts, but it sounds distant, muffled. I can’t seem to focus on anything
except that door.
The way Lily had smiled and waved at me before Scarlett yanked her away.
My daughter. My own daughter, and her mother won’t even let her say hello to me
“Jasper!” Virginia’s voice is sharper now, demanding attention. “Why are you just standing there looking
stunned?”
1 blink, trying to shake off the fog in my head. “What?”
“I’ve been talking to you for five minutes.” She crosses her arms, looking irritated. “What are you thinking
about?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh?” Virginia studies my face, and something shifts in her expression. “The movers have been waiting for a
while now.”
The movers. Right. I was in the middle of helping the movers rece the dining table.
“You know what? The movers can figure it out themselves.” She links her arm through mine, her grip surprisingly strong. “Come see my room. It’s almost finished.”
I don’t really want to see her room. Don’t want to be here at all, to be honest. But I let her pull me toward the house because it’s easier than exining why I can’t stop staring at Dorian’s front door.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Virginia gestures around the foyer with obvious pride. “James spared no expense. He said I deserved the best after everything I’ve been through.”
“It’s nice,” I manage.
“Nice?” Sheughs, but there’s an edge to it. “Jasper, this house cost three million dors. It’s more than
nice.”
I nod absently, following her up the curved staircase. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and for a wild moment!
hope it’s Scarlett.
But when I unlock the screen, it’s just an email alert about a board meeting.
“Here we are.” Virginia throws open the double doors at the end of the hallway. “My bedroom.”
The room is massive. King–sized bed with silk sheets, walk–in closet bigger than some apartments, floor–to–ceiling windows overlooking the manicured backyard. And overlooking Dorian’s house.
Of course.
“What do you think?” Virginia spins in the center of the room, her dress ring around her legs.
“It’s…” I pause, searching for words that won’t hurt her feelings. “It’s very luxurious.”
“But do you like it?”
The question catches me off guard. “Does it matter what I like?”
Her face falls slightly. “Of course it matters. Your opinion has always mattered to me.”
I walk to the window, needing distance. From her. From this conversation.
Through the ss, I can see into Dorian’s backyard. There’s a swing set there. Probably installed for Lily. The
thought makes my chest tight.
“Jasper.” Virginia’s voice is right behind me now. “You seem distracted today.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Because you’ve barely said two words since we got here.” Her hands settle on my shoulders,
and I tense. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Is it because of her?<b>” </b>
I don’t need to ask who she means. “Virginia-”
“You turn silent whenever you think about her.” Her fingers dig slightly into my shoulders. “How can you still
care about someone who treats you like air?”
Because she’s my wife. Because she’s the mother of my child. Because I despite everything, despite knowing I don’t deserve her, knowing there’s no chance between us, I still love her.
“It’splicated,” I say instead.
“No, it’s not.” Virginia moves around to face me, her eyes bright with tears. “She’s moved on, Jasper. She’s building a life with another man. When will you ept that?”
I smile bitterly. I wish I knew.
But I don’t have an answer for that. At least, not one I’m willing to share.
“Come on.” Virginia slides her arms around me from behind, her cheek pressed against my back. “Let me show you something that will cheer you up.”
I should pull away. Should put distance between us. But I’m so tired of fighting, so tired of pretending I’m okay when I’m falling apart.
“See that?” She points across the room to her nightstand. “Do you remember what that is?”
I follow her gaze and freeze. Sitting on the expensive marble surface, lookingpletely out of ce among the designermps and crystal vases, is a cheap deskmp I bought at a discount store five years ago.
“You kept it,” I say, more surprised than anything.
“Of course I kept it.” Her arms tighten around me. “It was the first gift you ever gave me. Do you remember? I was workingte in the library, and you said I was going to ruin my eyes reading in the dark.”
I do remember. She’d been having one of her episodes, crying because her adoptive parents had forgotten her
birthday again. I’d wanted to help, to make her feel better somehow. Themp cost twelve dors,
“I can’t believe you still have it.”
“I’ve kept everything you’ve ever given me.” Her voice is soft, wistful. “Every card, every flower, every birthday gift. They’re all I had of you for so long.”
The guilt hits me like a wave. All these years, I thought Virginia understood that we were just friends. That my marriage to Scarlett though forced, was permanent. Unexpectedly, she has always been dreaming of a
future with me. <fn3e24> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? fin?novel</fn3e24>
“Virginia-”
“I know what you’re going to say.” She turns me around to face her, her hands on my chest. “You’re going to tell me it didn’t mean anything. That you were just being nice. But it did mean something, Jasper. At least to
me.”
I look at her face, really look, and see something that makes my stomach clench. Hope. After everything that’s happened, after all the ways I’ve made it clear that I can’t give her what she wants, she still has hope of something happening between us.
“I’m sorry.“.
“For what?”
“For stringing you along for so long. For not making myself clear from the beginning-”
“Don’t.” She presses her fingers to my lips. “Don’t apologize for being the one good thing in my life.”
s of The desperation in her voice is painful to hear. This isn’t love, I realize. It’s obsession born from years abandonment and rejection. Virginia has attached herself to me so tight for being kind to her when no one else was, that now she can’t let go.
“Themp looks good there,” I sigh, gently removing her hands from my face.
“Really?”
“Really.” I take a step back, needing space. “It fits perfectly.”
It doesn’t. The cheap stic and metal look ridiculous surrounded by all the luxury James bought her. But Virginia’s face lights up like I’ve given her the world.
“I’m so d you like it. I wasn’t sure where to put it at first, but then I thought, what better ce than right beside my bed? That way I can see it every morning when I wake up and every night before I sleep.”
The image that creates makes me ufortable. Virginia in silk pajamas, staring at a twelve–dormp and thinking about me. Building fantasies for a future that’ll nevere to be.
“I should go. The movers-<b>” </b>
“Stay.” She grabs my arm, her grip desperate. “Please. Just for a little while longer. We never get to spend time together anymore.”
“We spend time together everyday.”
“Not alone. Not like this.” She gestures around the room. “This is my space, Jasper. My new beginning. I want. to share it with you.”
The way she says it makes my skin crawl. There’s an intimacy in her voice that I don’t want to hear, have never wanted to. But I don’t know how to tell her that without destroying what little stability she has left.
“The room is beautiful,” I say instead, checking my watch: “But I really do need to go.”
Her face crumples slightly. “You hate it.”
“No, I don’t.”
“You do. I can tell. You think it’s too much, don’t you? Too shy, too expensive for someone like me.”
“That’s not what I think at all.”
“Then what do you think?” She moves closer again, searching my face. “Tell me the truth. What do you really
think of all this?”
“I think it’s fine,” I say finally. “As long as you like it. It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not.”
Violet Moon
n
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