The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 114

Vote

323

Chapter 114

125 Peric

Chapter 114

(Virginia’s POV)

The door closes behind him with a soft click that sounds like a gunshot in the silence. I stand frozen in the middle of my room, staring at the space where he just stood.

“It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not.”

The words echo in my head, each repetition cutting deeper than the last. I spent days planning this room. Choosing every fabric, every piece of furniture. I wanted it to be perfect for when he saw it. I wanted him to see how far I’ve come, how worthy I am now.

But he looked at it all like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.

My legs give out, and I sink onto the silk comforter, my hands shaking. The designer pillows that cost more than most people’s monthly rent feel cold against my back. Everything in this room is cold. Beautiful and expensive and meaningless.

Just like me.

I look across the room at the lamp sitting on my nightstand. That stupid twelve–dollar lamp that I’ve treasured for five years like it was made of gold. It looks so pathetic surrounded by all this luxury now. So out of place.

Just like me.

“Why does this keep happening?” I whisper to the empty room. “What does she have that I don’t?”

The silence mocks me. Even in my own space, my own sanctuary, Lcan’t escape the truth. Jasper will never

look at me the way he looks at her. Never feel for me what he feels for Scarlett.

”

The tears start slowly, just a few drops that I wipe away quickly. I don’t cry. I haven’t cried since I was twelve

and realized that crying doesn’t make people love you. It just makes them uncomfortable.

It was a tool best used for manipulation, not expression.

But tonight, alone in this prison James bought me, I can’t hold back the tears anymore.

They come in waves, years of rejection and longing pouring out of me. I sob into my hands, my whole body shaking with the force of it. All the careful control I’ve maintained, all the sweet masks I’ve worn, crumble away until there’s nothing left but raw, desperate need.

“Why? Why can’t you see me?”

I thought money would be enough. I thought if I had what she had–the house, the clothes, the parents who adore me he would finally see me, notice me. That he’d realize I’m worthy of being loved too.

But Scarlett doesn’t have any of that now. She lives in a tiny apartment and runs a small bakery. She drives an old car and wears simple clothes. Her parents cast aside to keep me happy, and still…

Still, he loves her.

I stumble to the window, pressing my palms against the cool glass. Through the tears, I can see Dorian’s house. Light spills from the windows, warm and golden.

< Chapter 114

$25 Plu

Jasper thinks I don’t know. But I saw her car the second it pulled up. Since then, he’s been lost in thoughts of

her.

Inside, she’s probably laughing with Dorian’s family, Being welcomed and cherished the way she always has

been.

The way I am never welcomed. Or loved.

“What is it?” I whisper again, my breath fogging the glass. “What is it that she has that I don’t? I have everything now. Status, money, parents who worship me. So why is it still her? Why is it always her?”

But even as I ask the question, part of me knows the answer. It’s not about what she has. It’s about who she is. Scarlett has something I’ve never possessed, no matter how hard I’ve tried to fake it.

She has a kind heart. A strong spirit. And the courage to love or walk away.

The realization bends me to my knees. All my scheming, all my manipulation, all the ways I’ve tried to tear her down–they’ve only managed to magnify her good qualities, while highlighting my dark heart.

Jasper must’ve realized…I’m not worthy of the love I crave.

I press my forehead against the window, breaking completely

(Scarlett’s POV)

“Higher, Elena! Higher!”

Lily’s delighted laughter carries across the lawn as Elena pushes her on the swing set. I watch from the patio,

a cup of tea growing cold in my hands, and feel something ease in my chest. The last time Lily was this happy was…

I shake my head, chasing away the images of the Christmas celebration, and focus back on Lily and Elena.

“She’s a natural grandmother.”

“She really is.”

I turn to find Margaret, Dorian’s aunt, settling into the chair beside me. Her earlier coolness seems to have thawed during lunch, and now she’s watching Lily with something approaching fondness.

“Elena lost her own daughter young,” Margaret says quietly. “Car accident when Dorian was fifteen. She’s never gotten over it.”

My heart clenches. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Not many people do. The Cross family doesn’t talk about painful things. We just buy expensive things and pretend that fixes everything.” She gives me a meaningful look. “Sound familiar?”

I think about the house where I grew up, about James and Blair buying Virginia a mansion to ease their guilt. “More than you know.”

“Thought so.” Margaret sips her wine. “You have that look. Like someone who knows what it’s like to be replaced.”

“Margaret-” I start, but she waves me off.

“I’m not prying. Just observing. And what I observe is that Elena hasn’t looked this happy since Stephanie

died.”

Chapter 114

I watch Elena catch Lily at the bottom of the slide, both of them dissolving into giggles. There’s such joy on Elena’s face, such pure delight in making my daughter smile. It reminds me of Blair when I was small, before everything got complicated.

“I haven’t been this peaceful in a long while either,” I admit.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify