The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 120

Chapter 120

(Scarlett’s POV)

The day had started out so beautifully.

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A nice restaurant with soft lighting, quiet music, and tables set with real flowers instead of plastic ones.

Dorian pulls out my chair like I’m someone precious, someone worth caring for.

“You look stunning,” he had said, as I sat down.

“Thank you.” I smooth my blue dress, suddenly self–conscious. “I haven’t done this in a while.”

“What? Eat dinner?”

I laugh despite myself. “Go on a real date. With someone who actually wants to be here with

me.”

Something flickers across his face. Pain, maybe. Or anger on my behalf.

“His loss,” he says simply, reaching across the table to cover my hand with his. “Completely his loss.”

We order wine and pasta, and for the first hour, I almost forget about everything else. About Virginia’s lies and James and Blair’s betrayal.

And Jasper.

Dorian tells me about his travels, his bakery chain, his plans to expand internationally. He asks about my dreams, my goals, what I want for Lily’s future.

“I want her to never long for love,” I say, twirling pasta around my fork. “I want her to stand on her feet, and reach for the sky, knowing I’ll always be standing behind her.”

“She will. You’re teaching her that every day.”

“Am I? Because sometimes I wonder if I’m failing her. If watching me struggle and cry and fall apart is teaching her that love means pain.”

Dorian leans forward, his eyes serious. “Scarlett, you left an unhappy marriage to build a better life for your daughter. You started your own business, and refused to settle for less than you deserve. What exactly about that is failing?”

The words hit something deep inside me. For so long, I’ve felt like a failure. Like I wasn’t enough

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to keep my husband’s attention, wasn’t enough to earn my parents‘ loyalty, wasn’t enough to matter to anyone.

“I lost everything,” I whisper. “My husband, my family, my childhood home…”

“No.” His voice is firm but gentle. “You lost things that were never really yours to begin with. A husband who didn’t appreciate you, parents who chose someone else, a house full of fake memories.”

“They weren’t all fake.”

“The good ones weren’t. And no one can take those away from you. They’re in here.” He touches his chest. “And in here.” He touches his temple. “Virginia can sell the house and throw away the photos, but she can’t steal your memories.”

The day had started out so beautifully. But Jasper…

He just had to come and ruin it!

I stumble back to Dorian’s car, my composure shattering the moment the bistro disappears

from view.

The calm façade I’ve painstakingly constructed crumbles, and a sob tears its way from my throat. It is raw, ugly, and unstoppable.

Dorian, ever the gentleman, doesn’t comment. He simply opens the passenger door, and I practically collapse into the plush leather seat.

The moment the door clicks shut, sealing us in, the dam breaks.

Tears stream down my face, hot and furious, blurring the city lights into streaks of painful color. My chest heaves, each breath a struggle against the suffocating weight of everything

I’ve lost.

I bury my face in my hands, trying to hide the mess of emotions. But it’s pointless. They come too fast. Too violently. I can’t stop them, and I don’t know how to explain why they’re pouring out of me.

Dorian rests his hand on my shoulder, the contact gentle, steady, grounding.

“Scarlett…” His voice trails off as if he doesn’t know what to say. And I feel even more awful because of it.

“I’m homeless.” I choke out, the words barely making it through the sobs. “I don’t have a home. I never did.”

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“It’s okay,” he pats my back. “I’ve got you.”

“I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me.”

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“I don’t feel sorry for you. I’m in awe of you.” He pulls back my shoulder to look at my face, using his thumbs to wipe away my tears. “You have strength and kindness and the most beautiful laugh I’ve ever heard. You have a daughter who lights up every room she enters. You have talent and drive and the biggest heart in the world.”

“Dorian…”

“I’ll help you create new memories,” he says, his voice steady and sure. “Beautiful ones that no one can take away. I’ll give you and Lily a new home, a safe place where you never have to worry about being abandoned again.”

Then, he leans over, his warmth a stark contrast to the cold void inside me, and pulls me gently into a hug.

His embrace is strong, protective. It isn’t a romantic hug, but more like a shelter, a safe harbor in a storm that has been raging on in my life for far too long.

I bury my face in his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his expensive cologne, letting myself lean into his strength.

His words, simple yet powerful, resonate deep within me.

A new home.

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