The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110

(Jasper’s POV)

Virginia stares at me, her chest heaving. “You still love her.”

The accusation hangs between us.

“This isn’t about love,” I retort. “This is about speaking the truth.”

“The truth?” Virginia laughs. “The truth is, you should’ve chosen me over her four years ago. You should’ve

married me from the beginning like you promised. The truth-”

“The truth,” Blair interrupts, her voice stronger than I’ve heard it in weeks, “is acknowledging that we raised Scarlett for twenty–three years. We loved her, cherished her, called her daughter. That doesn’t disappear just because we found our biological child.”

Virginia goes very still. “What are you saying?”

James sighs, suddenly looking tired. “We’re saying that we love you, Virginia. We can do anything for your

happiness. But that won’t change the truth that we also love Scarlett. That house…it holds twenty–three years

of our memories with her, and they matter.”

“More than me?” Virginia’s voice is small now, broken.

“No, sweetheart. Not more than you. But they do matter.”

I watch Virginia process this, various emotions flickering across her face. Part of me feels sorry for her – she really is a lost child, desperate for the security she never had. But I can’t let that sympathy override what I

know is right.

“What if we don’t sell it at all?” Blair suggests suddenly. “What if we just keep it?”

“Keep it for what?” Virginia snaps.

“For Lily,” James says slowly. “For our granddaughter to have a place to visit, to know where her mother grew up. For family gatherings, maybe. Or Christmas mornings.”

—

Virginia’s face goes through several emotions anger, hurt, resignation. Then she looks directly at me, and I see something in her eyes that makes my stomach turn.

“Fine,” she says. “Keep the house. But I want something in return.”

“What?” James asks warily.

Virginia’s smile is sharp as broken glass. “I want Jasper to move in here. With me. Permanently.”

The request hits me like a physical blow. “Virginia-”

“You want to do the right thing, don’t

you?” She tilts her head, her voice sickeningly sweet again. “Well, the right thing is taking care of me. Daddy and Mommy are getting older. They will need help dealing with my attacks. And you’re the only one who can help.”

I see the trap she’s setting, the way she’s manipulating the situation to get what she wants while appearing reasonable. But before I can object, Blair speaks up.

“That’s not necessary, Virginia. Jasper has his own life-”

Chapter 110

“What life?” Virginia laughs. “He lives alone in that big house, pining after a woman who called him a mistake. At least here, he’d be useful. He’d be helping family.”

Tm not moving in here,” I say firmly.

“Then sell the house to someone else,” Virginia shrugs. “But if you keep it, if you choose her connection to this family over my comfort, then I need something to make up for it.”

The manipulation is so blatant it makes me sick. But I can see it working on James and Blair, see them wavering between their daughter’s outrageous demands and the right thing to do.

“We’ll keep the house,” James says finally. “But Jasper doesn’t have to move anywhere he doesn’t want to

Virginia’s mask slips for just a second, revealing the fury underneath. Then she’s all sweetness again.

“Of course, Daddy. Whatever you think is best.”

But her hands clenched into fists at her sides, the promise of retribution flickering in her eyes. Only God

knows what she plans to do now.

With my goal achieved, I have no reason to stay. Turning down Blair’s invitation for dinner, I walk out of the

house.

An hour later, I’m back in my office, dialing Scarlett’s number with shaking hands.

She answers on the first ring. “Jasper?”

“They’re not selling the house.”

The silence on her end stretches so long I think the call might have dropped.

“Scarlett?”

“They’re keeping it then?” Her voice is small, hopeful.

“Yes. Blair wants to preserve the memories associated with the house.”

(Virginia’s POV)

Rage burns through me like acid.

I pace my pristine new bedroom, my hands shaking with fury.

Blair’s words echo in my head like a taunt. “We raised her for twenty–three years,”

Those memories. Always those damn memories of their perfect adopted daughter while I rotted in foster

care, unloved and unwanted.

My phone buzzes with a text from some college friend congratulating me on the new house. I throw it across the room, watching it crash against the wall.

It’s not enough. This house, this room, this life they’ve handed me – none of it matters while she still exists in

their hearts.

I stop pacing and stare at myself in the floor–length mirror. My face is flushed, my eyes wild. I look like the unstable girl everyone thinks I am. The one who has “episodes” and needs to be handled with care.

But I’m not unstable. I’m strategic.

They want to keep that house for Scarlett? Fine. Let’s see how much good it does her when she can’t access

2/4

1. it.

Chapter 110

225 PRHINE

Three days ago, when I was helping Blair pack the last of her jewelry, I saw where she keeps the important documents. The safe combination written on a slip of paper tucked behind her jewelry box – sentimental fool

that she is.

The house deed is there, filed neatly with all their other papers.

I wait until they go to bed, then slip downstairs to James’s study. The safe opens with a quiet click, and there

it is the deed to 1247 Maple Street.

The house is worth at least two million, probably more in today’s market. James bought it outright thirty years ago, back when he was building his business empire. No mortgage, no liens, just a clean title in his

name.

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