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Chapter_54
Jasper stood motionless in the vast expanse of Seaview Manor, the once welcoming walls now closing in around him. The opulent space, filled with expensive furniture and gleaming surfaces, seemed devoid of warmth. The echoes of his own footsteps in the empty halls felt like an accusation, reminding him that everything had changed. Everything had crumbled under the weight of his own mistakes, and the one person who had once filled his life with light and purpose—Alyssa—was now just a painful memory.
His chest tightened as he stood by the grand window, staring out at the vast ocean, though his mind was far from the view. “I don’t hold any sense of indebtedness for the time we shared.” The words she had spoken to him earlier still rang in his ears, cutting through his thoughts like a blade. Alyssa. Gone. Not just physically, he realized, but emotionally.
The idea of her moving on—of her no longer caring about him, no longer even hating him but simply existing apart from him—sent a searing ache through his chest. The regret was almost unbearable. She had loved him, once. He had known that love, felt it in the way she looked at him, the way she trusted him even when everything around them was falling apart. But he had taken it for granted, mistaking her unwavering loyalty for something that would always be there. Now, that love was a shadow, slipping through his fingers, leaving only emptiness.
He couldn’t stop replaying their last confrontation. Her sharp, bitter words, her cold demeanor, all the walls she had built between them. “I loved Jasper willingly, without regrets for what has passed.” Those words had struck him harder than any of the cutting things she had said before. She had given herself to him—heart, soul, and body—and he had betrayed her in ways she could never forgive. And the worst part? She had moved on, without even a shred of anger left for him.
Jasper ran a hand through his hair, his fingers trembling with frustration. He could still see the way her eyes had narrowed when he accused her of playing both sides, of using him. But it wasn’t just her—it was him, too. He had been blind. She had tried so hard to make him see, but he hadn’t been willing to listen. He had been too focused on his own pride, his own ego. Now, standing in the cold silence of the manor, it seemed like the reality of his own failings was crashing down on him, suffocating him.
The weight of regret pressed heavily against his ribs, and the air felt thick, suffocating. He hadn’t realized until now how deeply he had hurt her. In the past, he had told himself that his mistakes were justified—that he was doing what was necessary for the business, for his family. But now he saw it all through her eyes. She had been there, had stood by him when no one else would. She had loved him with an intensity he never deserved, and yet, he had thrown it all away.
I should have fought for her. I should have seen it before it was too late.
But it was too late now. The words, the actions—there was no undoing any of it. She had closed the door, and he was left standing on the other side, trying desperately to reach her, only to find that the distance between them was too vast to bridge.
The memories flooded him in waves—Alyssa’s soft laughter, the way her eyes had sparkled when she spoke of her dreams, the way she had looked at him with such hope and trust in the early days. How had it all gone so wrong?
The echo of her voice saying, “I don’t hate you,” was the most painful of all. How could she no longer hate him? She had every right to. She had every right to feel the fury that had once burned so brightly in his chest. But her indifference—the distance in her words—was the most damning thing of all. It was as though she had given up on him, on them, completely.
Jasper sank into the nearest chair, his hands gripping the armrests as though trying to anchor himself in reality. The weight of his own failure pressed against him, making it hard to breathe. What did I expect? He had hurt her beyond measure, betrayed her in ways she could never forgive, and now, she was a stranger. A distant memory that he could no longer reach.
His mind raced. He should have done something different. He should have fought for her. But now, it was over. The last flicker of affection she had held for him was extinguished, and there was nothing left to do but carry the pain of it, the weight of his regret, like a stone lodged in his chest.
As he sat there, lost in his thoughts, the silence of the manor felt suffocating. The echoes of the past haunted him at every turn. But the present was even worse. The present was the crushing realization that he had lost the one person who had meant everything to him. And there was no way to undo the damage.
She’s gone. And she’s never coming back.