The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 149

Chapter 149

(Scarlett’s POV).

Jasper’s face lights up the moment he sees me, and despite everything, my heart skips a

beat.

“There’s my beautiful wife,” he says, his voice soft and husky.

And God help me, for just a moment, I feel a familiar heat rush to my cheeks at the address.

I walk in slow, my legs heavy as lead, as if they haven’t made up their mind if I’m here to stay or if I should bolt back to the reality where Dorian is waiting.

I hold the coffee cup–a flimsy, temporary prop–like a lifeline.

He shifts in the bed, wincing slightly as he reaches out his arm. “You’re late, Letty.” The slight reprimand is so utterly Jasper, that the knot in my chest loosens a fraction.

“I brought coffee,” I reply, trying to keep my voice light, setting the cup on the side table as he grabs my wrist. “Don’t push your luck.”

He doesn’t listen. Instead, a devious grin stretches his lips. He pulls me closer…

But then he winces–just a little–and I’m moving before I can talk myself out of it. My hand slides into his, and he doesn’t waste time. He tugs me forward, stubborn and relentless, until I’m perched on the edge of his bed, and his arms lock around my waist.

“Jasper-”

“Shh.”

He pulls me in tighter, guiding my head down until my head rests against his shoulder. His chin settles on top of my head, and I feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek.

Strong. Steady.

You’re clingy,” I mutter, my voice muffled against the fabric of his hospital gown. “You were never like this before.”

His arms tighten around me. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. Then his voice comes, quiet and rough against my ear.

“Before, I didn’t know how easily life could end.”

Everything in me goes still.

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He shifts just enough to press his lips below my jaw–gentle, lingering. My breath catches.

“And because of that… I didn’t know the time we have together is precious. That it should be

cherished.”

My throat closes up. I try to pull back, to put some space between us so I can think, but his hold doesn’t loosen. If anything, he holds on tighter.

“When we got caught in that storm-” His voice cracks, just barely. “I realized I never told you how much I love you.”

My heart twists. Hard.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, and the expression on his face–God, it almost breaks me. There’s regret there. Pain. But underneath it all, something fiercer. Something that hits me hard in the chest.

“So I made a vow,” he says, his thumb brushing across my cheek. “If we get out of this alive, I’ll tell you I love you every single day. In words. In actions. However I can.” His gaze holds mine, unrelenting. “But never again will I allow myself to experience the regret of not expressing my feelings for you.”

My lips part, but nothing comes out. My chest feels too tight, my eyes burning in that way that means tears aren’t far behind.

I don’t trust my voice. Don’t trust myself not to fall apart.

So I just stay there, caught in his arms, caught in his words, caught in the terrifying, overwhelming truth that maybe–just maybe–I never stopped loving this man.

“I love you, Letty,” he murmurs again, pulling me tighter, his voice full of the honest, heavy weight of his vow.

I close my eyes, and for the first time in five years, the sting of his love is more agonizing than the pain of his betrayal.

My phone vibrates against the hospital nightstand, pulling me from the shallow sleep I’d managed to find curled up in the uncomfortable chair beside Jasper’s bed. The screen shows Dorian’s name, and guilt crashes over me like ice water.

I glance at Jasper, who’s sleeping peacefully for the first time since he woke up. His face is relaxed, the worry lines smoothed away.

Slipping out of the room quietly, I answer the call in the hallway.

“Dorian.”

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“I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.” His voice is strained, tired. “Your phone was off.”

“I’m sorry. I was with Jasper, and I didn’t want to disturb him.”

Silence stretches between us, heavy with everything we’re not saying.

“Can you meet me?” he asks finally. “There’s a coffee shop on the ground floor of the hospital. I’m already here.”

My heart sinks. “Dorian, I can’t leave him right now. The doctor said-”

“Five minutes, Scarlett. That’s all I’m asking for.”

I peek back into Jasper’s room. He’s still sleeping, his breathing steady and calm. Though he’s asleep now…I don’t feel comfortable leaving him alone.

What if he suddenly wakes up and finds me missing?

But Dorian… The exhaustion in his voice breaks something inside me. He drove all the way here, probably didn’t sleep either. The least I can do is give him five minutes.

I open my mouth to say yes, to tell him I’ll be there.

Instead all I can think about is Jasper, the confusion and pain in his eyes when he first saw

1. me.

The way he held me like I was his whole world.

“I can’t,” I whisper. “Not at the moment. Can this wait until later?”

Dorian goes quiet. All the nerves in my body go tight as I wait for his response, somehow, knowing whatever his answer will be will determine the direction of our relationship.

At long last, all he says is, “I see.”

And somehow, that makes me feel even worse. “He doesn’t have anyone else. His parents are gone, and Virginia…she can’t be trusted. If I leave now and something happens to him-” “Something like what? He’s not dying, Scarlett. He has amnesia. There’s a difference.”

“But what if he gets upset again? What if his condition gets worse because I wasn’t there?”

“Then that’s on him. Not on you.” Dorian’s voice is gentle now, which somehow makes it worse. “You can’t save him, Scarlett. You couldn’t save your marriage, and you can’t save him either.”

“He saved my life, Dorian. He threw himself in front of a car to protect me. The least I can do

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is make sure he recovers.”

+25 Points

“And then what? What happens when he recovers, Scarlett? What happens when he remembers everything that went wrong between you two? Do you think your entanglement is going to end?”

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