The Abandoned Wife's Second Chance (Scarlett and Jasper) novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53

(Virginia’s POV)

No! I won’t let that happen.

No one can find out about what I did four years ago. No one!

Picking up my phone, I call the private number again.

“Virginia Stone, calling me twice in less than 24 hours? To whom do I owe this grace?”

“Shut up and listen carefully.” I snap, anxiously biting my nails.”I just received a call from the police. They have a lead, evidence or something, of the food poisoning incident. I want that evidence destroyed! Do you hear me? I want it destroyed! I’ll pay three times the price of the previous task.”

“Oh? I just warned you, and your demons are already catching up? Man, karma’s a bitch.”

“Shut up, John, and tell me. Do we have a deal or not?”

“Deal. Of course we have a deal. Only a fool will say no to money. I’ll have whatever clue the cops got their hands on destroyed by midnight at the latest.”

“Good.” I end the call, finally able to breathe easy.

As long as he takes action, there’ll be nothing to link me with Sunrise Bakes food poisoning incident. And if there’s no link, there’ll also be no case.

I won’t need to worry about what I did four years ago coming to light.

(Scarlett’s POV)

I return to the apartment, shaken.

My hands won’t stop trembling as I fumble with the keys. The plane tickets Blair showed me burn in my memory like acid.

Once, such desperation would’ve melted my heart. Now, I only feel dread.

And after the text from Jasper…I feel as if my world is about to fall apart.

“Scarlett?” Chloe appears in the doorway, her face creased with worry. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I push past her into the apartment, my legs threatening to give out. Lily’s asleep on the

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couch, her little body curled around her favorite stuffed rabbit. Safe. She’s safe.

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“What happened?” Chloe follows me to the kitchen, her voice sharp with concern. “What did

Blair want?”

I can’t speak. Can’t form words around the lump in my throat. Instead, I pull out my phone and show her Jasper’s texts.

Chloe reads them, her face going pale. “How does he know?”

“I don’t know.” My voice comes out strangled. “Maybe Virginia told him. Maybe he figured it out on his own. Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter–he knows, Chloe. He knows Lily is his daughter.”

The words come out in a rush, making my voice quiver. My chest tightens, making it impossible to think properly. The kitchen walls feel like they’re closing in on me.

“Hey, breathe.” Chloe grabs my shoulders, her grip firm and grounding. “You’re hyperventilating. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

But I can’t. Panic spiraling through me like a tornado.

“He’s going to take her.” The words tumble out between gasps. “He has money, lawyers, connections. I’m nobody–just some woman who runs a small bakery. What judge won’t give him custody?”

“Stop, Scarlett. You’re Lily’s mother. You’ve raised her alone for four years. No court is going to take a child away from a loving, stable mother.”

“You don’t understand.” Tears stream down my cheeks. “He’s Jasper Blake. He has influence, power. He’ll make me look unfit, unstable-”

“Scarlett.” Chloe’s hands frame my face, forcing me to look at her. “Listen to me. Remember what he said last night? That no one would take Lily without your permission. Not even him.”

The memory hits me like cool water. Jasper’s voice, firm and protective. The pain in his eyes when he promised Lily would stay with me.

“He’s changed,” I whisper, though the words feel foreign on my tongue. “I saw it last night. The way he stood up to James and Blair, the way he spoke up for me…”

“Exactly.” Chloe’s voice softens. “The Jasper from four years ago never would have done that. You don’t need to think about what Blair said. Just think about yourself and what’s best for Lily’s future.”

I pull away, wiping my eyes with shaking hands. “Too much has happened. There is no going

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<Chapter 53

back for us.”

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“And you don’t need to, habibti.” She follows me as I pace around the kitchen. “Only that little. girl in there deserves to know her father. And maybe he deserves a chance to know her.”

I whirl around to face her. “After what he put me through?”

“After he spent four years searching every city in America trying to find you,” she counters gently.

The plane tickets flash in my memory again. Phoenix. Denver. Seattle. All those lonely hotel rooms, all those dead ends.

“I can’t.” My voice breaks. “I can’t risk it, Chloe. What if he hurts her the way he hurt me? What if he abandons her when someone more important comes along?”

“Then you protect her. You set boundaries. You make sure he earns his place in her life.” Chloe reaches for my hand. “But you can’t run from the truth forever, Scarlett. And you can’t keep lying to yourself about what you saw in his eyes when he looked at her. Jasper is Lily’s father, and no one and nothing can change that fact.”

I know what she means. The love, wonder, the desperate need to hold Lily I saw in Jasper’s eyes wasn’t fake. He loves her already.

But love wasn’t enough to save our marriage. Why would it be enough to save his relationship with Lily when Virginia is still in the picture?

“I need time.” I head towards the couch, lifting Lily in my arms. “I just need some space to

think.”

I carry her into her bedroom and lay her on the bed, sitting on the edge, watching her sleep. Her dark hair spreads across the pillow like silk, and her face looks so peaceful, so innocent.

She has his eyes. His stubborn chin. Even the way she wrinkles her nose when she’s

concentrating.

How long before she starts asking questions about her father? How long before she wonders why other kids have daddies and she doesn’t?

My phone buzzes on the nightstand. Another text from Jasper.

Please don’t run away again. We need to talk.

The plea in those words breaks something inside me. This isn’t the demanding, entitled man I used to know.

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That man didn’t know a word about pleading. This man…he’s nearly begging.

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I turn off my phone and climb into bed beside Lily, pulling her warm little body against mine. She mumbles something in her sleep and curls into my chest, her breathing soft and even.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I whisper into her hair. “No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

But even as I say the words, doubt creeps in. Will I be enough? What if protecting her means letting her father into her life? What if keeping him away is the real cruelty?

Sleep comes in fragments, broken by nightmares of courtrooms and custody battles. Of Lily crying for me as strangers take her away. Of Jasper’s face when he realizes I’ve been lying to him all along.

When I finally wake up, pale morning light filters through the curtains. Lily stirs beside me, her face red, eyes watery.

“Mama?” Her voice is small, congested. “I don’t feel good.”

My heart clenches as I press my palm to her forehead. She’s burning up.

“It’s okay, baby.” I smooth her hair back, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “Let’s get you some medicine.”

I carry her to the kitchen, her small body limp in my arms. Chloe must have left early for work -there’s a note on the counter saying she’ll check on us later.

Lily whimpers as I give her children’s Tylenol, her usually bright eyes dull with fever. I’m settling her on the couch with her favorite cartoon when my phone rings.

Jasper’s name flashes on the screen.

For a moment, I consider not answering. But something in his texts last night–the desperation, the plea–makes me hesitate.

“Hello.”

“Scarlett.” His voice is rough, like he hasn’t slept. “About this morning-”

“She’s sick.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “Lily has a fever. I can’t meet you today.”

Silence stretches between us. Then: “How high?”

The concern in his voice catches me off guard. “What?”

“Her fever. How high is it?”

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I glance at the thermometer on the coffee table. “101.3.”

“Have you given her anything? Tylenol? Ibuprofen?”

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