The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142

(Scarlett’s POV)

I post it before I can second–guess myself.

+25 Points

Within minutes, the comments start pouring in. Messages of support, people asking what happened, speculation about why I’m closing.

I turn off my phone and set it aside. I can’t deal with the outside world right now.

Lily wanders out of her room around ten, dragging Mr. Hopscotch behind her.

“Mama, I’m hungry.”

“What do you want for breakfast, baby?”

“Pancakes?”

I nod and start pulling ingredients from the cupboard. Cooking has always been therapeutic for me, and making pancakes for my daughter feels like the most normal thing I can do right

now.

As I mix the batter, Lily climbs onto her step stool beside me.

“Can I help?”

“Of course.”

She carefully measures vanilla while I c***k eggs. For a few minutes, it feels almost normal. Just a mother and daughter making breakfast together on a rainy morning.

But then she asks, “When can we see Daddy?”

And the illusion shatters.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. Maybe in a day or two, when he’s feeling better.”

“Is he still sleeping?”

“Yes, he’s still sleeping.”

“Like Sleeping Beauty?”

The comparison makes my chest tight. “Something like that.”

“Will Prince Charming wake him up?”

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125 Points

I flip a pancake, using the motion to hide my face from her. “I don’t think Daddy needs Prince Charming, baby. He just needs time to get better.”

But her innocent question echoes in my mind as we eat breakfast. Who would be Jasper’s Prince Charming? Virginia, probably. The woman who’s been by his side through everything, who rushed to the hospital and stayed all night.

The woman who might actually love him, in her twisted way.

After breakfast, I try to distract us both with movies and coloring books. But Lily keeps asking about Jasper, and I keep thinking about the diary entries.

He makes me feel like I’m the only person who matters.

He’ll always find me when I’m lost.

I want to marry him. I want to have his babies. I want to grow old with him.

Had I really felt that way once? Had I really believed our love could conquer anything?

It seems impossible now, looking back at the mess our marriage became. But the evidence is there in my own handwriting, in memories I thought I’d buried.

Around noon, Chloe shows up with takeout from our favorite Thai restaurant.

“Thought you might need some comfort food,” she says, unpacking containers of pad thai and green curry.

“You’re an angel.”

“How are you holding up?”

I shrug, not trusting my voice.

“That’s what I thought.” She pulls me into a hug. “Talk to me. What’s really going on in that head of yours?”

“I found my old college diary last night.”

“Oh, honey.”

“All these entries about Jasper. About how much I loved him, how perfect I thought we were together.” The words tumble out of me. “I’d forgotten how good it was in the beginning. Before Virginia, before the distance and coldness. He really loved me once, Chloe.”

“I know he did.”

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“Then why did it all go so wrong?”

+25 Points

Chloe sits beside me on the couch, her expression sad but knowing. “Because love isn’t always perfect. Because people change. Because sometimes we hurt the ones we love most.”

“He threw himself in front of a car for me.”

“Yes, he did.”

“What does that mean?”

“I think you know what it means.”

I close my eyes, leaning against my best friend’s shoulder. “I’m engaged to Dorian.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I love Dorian.”

“Do you?”

“I think so…But..”

“But you’re human, Scarlett. It’s okay to have complicated feelings about your past. It’s okay to grieve what you and Jasper lost.”

“Is it? Because I feel like I’m betraying Dorian just by thinking about it.”

“You’re not betraying anyone by processing your emotions. What happened last night was traumatic. Of course it’s bringing up old feelings.”

We sit in comfortable silence while Lily plays with her dolls in the corner. Outside, the rain continues to fall, washing the world clean.

“Do you think I made the right choice?” I ask quietly. “Saying yes to Dorian?”

“Does he make you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Does he make you feel safe?”

“Always.”

“Then you made the right choice.” Chloe squeezes my hand. “Your past with Jasper doesn’t diminish your future with Dorian. They’re separate things.”

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“But what if-”

+25 Points

“No what–ifs,” she interrupts gently. “You can’t build a life on what–ifs. You have to build it on what is. And what is, is that you’re engaged to a man who loves you completely. Who sees your worth and treats you like the treasure you are.”

I nod, knowing she’s right but still feeling torn.

My phone buzzes with a text from Blair: “Jasper is stable. Still unconscious, but the doctors are optimistic. Thought you’d want to know.”

I stare at the message, my heart clenching. Part of me wants to rush to the hospital, to sit by his bedside like I would have four years ago. But that’s not my place anymore.

Virginia is there. It’s her vigil to keep now.

“What if Jasper never wakes up?”

The question comes out barely above a whisper, but it’s been haunting me since last night.

“The doctors said he’s stable-”

“But what if he doesn’t? What if he stays in that coma forever because he tried to save me? How am I supposed to live with that?”

Chloe is quiet for a moment, studying my face. “Is that what this is really about? Guilt?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Scarlett, look at me.” She waits until I meet her eyes. “Jasper made a choice. He saw you in danger and he acted on instinct. That’s not your fault.”

“But if I hadn’t been there-”

“If you hadn’t been there, you’d have been somewhere else, and God forbid, possibly dead as well. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not.”

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