CHAPTER 9: GRACE

IZZY'S POV,

“Are you sure about Jasper, Izzy?” Grace asked out of the blue. We were on a call, talking about the latest season of The Bachelor as I drove to my mom's house. She sneaked that question between us discussing our favourite contestants. “As a friend, I should warn you against it.”

“Let's not talk about men right now,” I tried to end the conversation because I knew Grace. She was one of those girls who believed in moving on and was against my petty revenge idea. "We will have this conversation when I see you on Sunday, and not over the phone.”

“Okay,” she agreed, but I noticed the subtle disappointment when she sighed. “Any idea why your mom called all of a sudden?”

“I don't know, but I get the feeling it's something important,” I said, staring at the familiar street. “But, I am not sure what it is about.”

“Oh! give me a call after you meet your mother, okay?” I heard noises in the background and realized her sons must be back from school. “I have to go now, the demons are back from school.”

“Yeah, I can hear them,” I answered because, in the background, I could clearly hear them complaining to Bryan about her calling them demons. “See you on Sunday.”

“Yeah, see you soon. Take care.” I ended the call and focused back on the road. I could see my house at a distance, but my mind drifted back to Jasper.

It had been two days since I met with Tyler and then Jasper in his office. I was confident of my plan when I walked out of the building, but it had been two days and he was yet to reach out. So, I started to worry that I might have trusted my luck a little too much.

However, there was another thing that had been in my mind for the last two days.

As soon as I stepped out of the Black Industries that day, I felt like I could finally breathe normally again. The city noise welcomed me from all directions—cars honking, people rushing past without even looking, and the usual chaos. But inside my chest, things were much worse.

Storms of emotions were swirling in my heart, and my brain wasn’t sure how to process it all.

I had gone down on Jasper, in his office, and neither of us noticed that the door was unlocked the whole time. I was trying to manage that thought when I noticed something else within me, and it was the worst thing that could have happened. I started to have a weird feeling about Jasper.

I liked the way he felt inside me, and the way he reacted to my touch. I wanted that again.

‘What the hell are you doing, Izzy?’ I asked myself because it was supposed to be about revenge—about making Tyler regret ever thinking I was beneath him.

But Jasper… he made me feel something else entirely. It wasn’t just the way his fingers touched my skin, or the way he looked at me like I was something to be worshiped. It was the way he listened to things I was saying, the way he spoke to me about his feelings without any shame.

He made me feel like I was more than just an accessory, more than just a woman to be shown off at big dinner parties. Even though that's what I wanted him to do, to show me off in the Gala. It was wrong on many levels, but I was blinded by revenge to see that.

I had spent years with Tyler, yet in just two encounters Jasper had done what Tyler never could. A part of me wanted to run—to go home, take a cold shower, and text him that it was a bad idea and we shouldn't see each other again. But I didn't. Instead, I went back home and texted Grace everything.

It had been two days since that happened, and I still couldn't stop thinking about Jasper. 

By the time I pulled into the driveway, I saw Anthony pacing around the porch. I got out of the car and noticed his jaw was clenched in frustration. He was waiting for me and when I got closer, he threw his hands in the air dramatically.

“Finally,” he muttered. “You better have a damn good reason for not picking up my calls.”

“What is happening?” I asked, coming to stand in front of him. “What are you doing here, outside the house?”

“If I am inside with that bastard, I might kill him.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, but in my heart, I knew what he was talking about. I just wanted the voice in my head to be wrong.

“Tyler showed up hours ago and is not leaving,” he said and I could feel the annoyance in his voice. “He apologized to mom for hurting you and looks like a trainwreck.”

“What?”

“I SWEAR if you even consider going back to that jerk, I’ll have to disown you as my sister.” Ant noticed the smile on my lips but didn't know it was not for the reason he was thinking.

I rolled my eyes and walked past, ignoring him.

I pushed open the gate and walked inside, and there he was, sitting on the couch. He turned in my direction when he heard the door. He smiled whe he saw me, and I noticed the ice pack pressed against his bruised cheek and a miserable expression on his face.

Mom was standing near the fireplace, watching us carefully. Her arms were crossed in disapproval. I rolled my eyes at her too, before shifting my attention towards Tyler, and was about to open my mouth when Tyler spoke.

“Izzy,” he said, his voice was softer than I had expected. “I made a mistake.”

I almost laughed. “Which one? Because you’ve made a lot of them.”

He winced at my comment but didn’t argue.

“I shouldn’t have done what I did at the restaurant. It came out wrong. I wasn’t thinking.” He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I get it. You’re mad. You probably hate me right now. But you and I… we had something special.”

“Not special enough to stop you from cheating.” He looked down at his hands, like a child caught stealing, making me shake my head.

“I was stupid. Selfish,” he admitted. “I didn’t realize what I had until I lost it.”

I stared at him, waiting for the real reason he was there. Tyler wasn't the type to apologize unless he wanted something. Can't believe I never noticed it before that day, and sure enough—

“I don’t want to lose you,” he continued, his eyes searching for some affection in mine. “I know I screwed up, but… I can fix this. We can fix this.”

A slow, cold realization settled in my chest when I thought about the things he was saying. He wasn’t sorry because he wanted to make things better. It might be because he realized that he couldn't find a woman in such a short time, who wasn't after his money.

I glanced at my mother. Her expression was unreadable, but I knew she was waiting to see what I would do.

I turned back to Tyler and smiled sweetly. “I appreciate your apology,” I said. “Really, I do, but you’re a few days too late.”

His expression darkened. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I’ve moved on,” I thought about telling him right then and there about his dad but held my tongue. I wanted a bigger show for that. “I met a hot man in a club, and he made me realize how many things I overlooked because I was in love with you.”

Tyler’s entire body went rigid. The ice pack slipped from his fingers and landed on the wooden floor with a dull thud.