Chapter 2: Morrison Is Back

QUINN

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Rainwater slid down my hair and soaked through my clothes, but the cold inside my chest was worse.

Seraphina Jason stood in front of me, smiling like she had finally won.

The anonymous messages, intimate photos and lipstick I once noticed near his collar and convinced myself to ignore. It was her. All along, it was her.

She stepped out of the car and approached me. Her eyes swept over the boxes near my feet.

“You have always been slow, Quinn,” she said, “even when it comes to leaving.”

Something inside me snapped. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand flew across her face.

Seraphina gasped as her head whipped sideways.

For one full second, silence swallowed everything. Even the servants froze. A sting burned through my palm, but it was beneath the rage shaking through my body.

“You disgusting bitch,” I whispered.

Seraphina slowly touched her cheek, disbelief flooding her expression before it twisted instantly into rage.

“How dare you—”

“How long?” My voice cracked violently. “How long have you been sleeping with my husband?”

She smiled proudly, and that hurt even more.

“Oh,” she breathed softly, “so you finally figured it out.”

My stomach twisted hard. God. No element of remorse from her. Even now, she looked proud of it.

“You sent those messages,” my fingers curled tightly at my sides. “You sent those photos.”

She tilted her head. “And?”

That single word scattered the last fragile restraint in me. I lunged toward her again.

“Seraphina!”

Jasper’s voice thundered across the driveway as he strode out of the estate. His eyes landed first on Seraphina’s reddened cheeks, then on me and back to the luggage scattered around the driveway.

His expression hardened. “What the hell is going on?”

Seraphina moved instantly, slipping behind Jasper and clutching his arms possessively.

“Jasper,” she cried shakily, “she attacked me.”

Before I could stop myself, I crossed the distance between us and slapped him hard across the face.

The entire driveway fell silent again. Jasper’s head turned from the impact.

Slowly, he looked back at me, once, then again. Apparently shocked by my reaction.

My chest churned violently.

“You disgusting man!” I yelled. “What is this you have done to me?”

The guards rushed toward me, grabbing my arms before I could move again.

“Ma’am, please stop.”

“Let go of me!”

I struggled violently against their grip. My chest burned fiercely.

“Let her go.”

Jasper’s voice rang through the air. The guards immediately released me. I stumbled slightly before regaining balance.

“How long?” I asked again, quieter this time.

Jasper said nothing.

“After everything I endured for you…” My voice shook despite efforts to control it. “Your family treated me like I was nothing. Your mother called me barren to my face while you did  nothing.”

His jaw tightened faintly.

“I waited for you every night like an idiot,” I continued, “I defended you even when everyone else saw what I refused to see.”

I reached into my bag and pulled the printed photos. Then threw them directly to his chest.

“They are yours,” I said, “take a good look.”

The photos scattered slightly before Jasper picked them. The moment he saw them, his expression changed.

His eyes darkened instantly as he turned toward Seraphina.

“What did you do?”

“I-I didn’t send those,” she said quietly, “someone else must have.”

“What did you do?” he yelled again.

Seraphina forced a laugh, “Jasper, it’s not a big deal. She already signed the divorce papers—”

“Not a big deal?”

His voice was dangerously sharp. He stepped closer, the photos crumpling in his hands.

“Do you have any idea what happens if this leaks?”

Seraphina frowned. “Why are you reacting like this? You said you were ending things with her anyway.”

His eyes snapped towards her. “If you can’t control yourself,” he said dangerously, “then stay out of my affairs.”

For the first time, uncertainty flickered across Seraphina’s face.

Jasper shoved the photos into his coat roughly before turning away.

“Handle the media if anything surfaces,” he barked toward one of the guards.

His gaze dropped briefly to the suitcase in my hand. Then, to the wedding ring still on my fingers.

He exhaled, “You should leave,” he said finally.

The words shouldn’t have hurt, but they did more than I expected. I laughed softly under my breath.

“You don’t need to worry,” I replied, “I finally understand where I stand now.”

He took one look at me, then turned away.

Seraphina stepped toward me the second he walked away. “You really are pathetic,” she murmured, “still standing here after all this.”

By this time, exhaustion had drained almost everything out of me already.

“You won,” I said, “but I don’t think you understand him nearly as much as you think.”

“You really thought he loved you?”

I said nothing.

Seraphina stepped closer. “Tell me, when was the last time he touched you?”

My fingers tightened around the suitcase handle.

“He stayed with me for three nights,” she whispered. “He never once tried to leave.”

Every word struck.

“You are right,” I said quietly.

She blinked, clearly not expecting me to agree that fast.

For the first time in three years, I understood something clearly. There was no place left for me inside the Finn family.  

When the gates of the Finn estate shut behind me, I didn’t look back.

The cold night air hit my face as I walked down the empty road, dragging my suitcase behind me.

And for the first time since Jasper asked for a divorce, the full tears finally came.

I paused in the middle of the road. God. I really loved him. That was the most humiliating part of all. 

Even after watching him destroy me, some foolish part of me still wanted him to come after me.

I wiped my face harshly and reached out for my phone. There was only one person I trusted enough to call.

“Quinn?”

Joe sounded shocked.

“Is that really you?”

I closed my eyes briefly at the familiar warmth in his voice. I disappeared for three years after marrying Jasper, but Joe still answered on the first ring.

“Hi, Joe.”

Something in my voice must have alarmed him instantly. His tone changed immediately.

“Are you alright?”

I looked back once toward the distant Finn estate glowing against the night sky. 

“Jasper and I divorced.”

“What?”

“He’s involved with my stepsister.”

Joe cursed under his breath.

Jasper was cold, yes. But not impulsive. He calculated everything, which means this had been planned carefully.

His voice sharpened instantly. “What do we do?”

We? God. He still carried my burden! Even after what I did.

“I want to know why Jasper suddenly wanted this divorce now,” I said quietly.

“...Quinn,” he called hesitantly.

The seriousness in his voice slowed my breathing.

“What?” I asked.

Joe exhaled slowly. “If Jasper suddenly agreed to divorce you right after Morrison returned to the city…”

My grip tightened on the phone.

“…then this might not be about Seraphina alone.”

My heartbeat slowed dangerously.

“What does Morrison have to do with this?”