Chapter 2

Jasper answered in a low, hushed voice, “I just missed you too much. I came over specifically to catch a quick glimpse of you.”

“Well, you’ve seen me, so go. We agreed that after last night, we were breaking things off.”

Even though Jean was telling him off, her voice sounded soft and coy.

“You’re getting married tomorrow. I don’t want Aria noticing anything. You know how she’s always been terrified of betrayal. She gets paranoid about every little thing. She literally just asked me if my boyfriend’s last name was Cook.”

Jasper let out a dry laugh.

“So you do realize she’s terrified of betrayal.”

A brief silence hung in the air before the rustling of clothes pressed directly against the stairwell door.

“Jean, I crossed the line last night,” Jasper said.

“So what are you saying?”

“I have to marry Aria. I owe it to her.”

Jean’s breathing turned ragged. “You love her?”

“I do,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve known she was the one since college. The house is under her name, my paycheck goes to her, and I won’t let her go through any hardship after we’re married.”

“Then what am I to you?”

“I’m sorry, Jean. Call it a moment of weakness, call it losing control,” Jasper’s voice lowered.

“Over the years at work, I got used to having you by my side. Whenever you were sad, you came to me, and whenever I was under insane pressure, you were the only one I could talk to. When you cried last night and said we couldn’t see each other anymore, I just couldn’t hold back.”

It sounded like Jean gave his chest a soft thump.

“If you love her so much, why are you coming to find me right now?”

“I miss you.”

Those three words landed soft as a sigh, but they shattered every bit of trust I had built over the past seven years.

I grabbed the door handle, my legs barely able to hold me upright.

So a man could love me with complete clarity, while also missing another woman. He treated his loyalty like some lavish gift, wrapping it up to present to me at the altar tomorrow. But right before handing it over, he opened it up to give Jean a test run.

“Jasper, after you’re married, are we really going to end things?”

“We have to.”

“Can you really bring yourself to do that?”

“Even if I can’t, I have to. Aria won’t tolerate it. If she finds out, she’ll never forgive me.”

“She loves you so much. How could she ever leave you?”

Jasper gave a low chuckle. “Of course she won’t leave me.”

His absolute confidence cut deeper than the betrayal itself.

“She’s been busy preparing for this wedding for six months, and the house is completely renovated. Our families are arriving tomorrow, and the thing she fears most is making a fool out of her mom. Even if she found out, she’d wait until after the wedding to deal with it.”

Jean’s voice choked up.

“Then what about me? Have you ever thought about how I feel? I’m clearly the one in love with you, yet I have to be her maid of honor and watch you marry her!”

Jean burst into tears.

Jasper spent a long time soothing her before finally saying, “The smart lock passcode to the new house is her birthday. Go over there and wait for me first. I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise.”

“Are you crazy? That’s the home she decorated with her own hands!”

“After tomorrow, I’ll never be able to hold you like this again.”

“What if she finds out?”

“She’s staying at the hotel with her bridesmaids tonight. She won’t go to the house.”

I caught the faint sound of a brief, urgent kiss. Then, Jasper whispered huskily, “Wait for me.”

As the sound of footsteps drew near, I backed into a bathroom stall.

Through the thin door panel, I heard Jean walk in. She turned on the faucet in front of the mirror, humming a cheerful tune. Right then, my phone screen lit up.

[Aria, I’m feeling a bit under the weather, so I headed back home early. Don’t be mad. I’ll definitely be there on time tomorrow to be your maid of honor!]

I stared at the text, the corner of my mouth twitching into a bitter smile. I typed back: [Get some good rest.]

Half an hour later, I sat alone in my car parked in the hotel’s underground garage.

A smart lock notification from our new home’s living room camera popped up at the top of my screen.

We had taken out a joint mortgage on that house. After the renovations were finished, I had installed a security camera in the living room to prevent break-ins, though I hadn't gotten around to telling Jasper yet.

In the cloud livestream, Jean showed zero hesitation. She pulled a pair of men's slippers from the shoe rack, then opened the wine cabinet as if she owned the place.

Twenty minutes later, Jasper walked through the front door.

Jean threw herself into his arms. “It’s our last night. Don’t bring up Aria again.”

“Jean, don’t be stubborn.”

“You can’t even grant me this one thing?”

Jasper wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Fine. We won’t talk about her tonight.”

They kissed all the way from the living room into the hallway, the camera feed cutting off right at the master bedroom door.