“Not really.”She could guess, but Jemma wanted Jasper to admit it, to talk about his anger and the emotions roiling inside of him.
He groaned and shut his eyes.“It was stupid.I know.But I’ll pay him back.I swear.”
She exhaled.“He said the payment for the graffiti is me turning Sinstack Designs around.If I can make it profitable, he’ll take the cost out of the profits.”
Jasper looked down at Jayla’s tiny fingers, then back at Jemma, frowning.“But… you got a huge promotion, right?And you like your job now.So… it’s all good?”
Ah.the logic of a sixteen-year-old.Still, she wasn’t about to pile guilt on him.“Yeah,” she said gently, tousling his hair.“It’s all good.And yes, I love my new job.”
She crossed the room and pulled out Jayla’s stroller from the coat closet.“Grab the baby and we’ll go together.I’ll push the grocery cart so you won’t be embarrassed.Sound fair?”
Jasper grinned with relief and stood up, cradling Jayla.“Have I told you what a great sister you are?”
“Not lately.”
He smirked, bouncing his niece in his arms.“Huh.That’s a shame.”
He snapped the stroller open with one hand and tucked Jayla inside, bundling a blanket around her legs.“Ready to get some food?”he whispered to her.
Jemma poked his ribs with her elbow.Not hard, just enough to sayI see you.Jasper snorted, checked his pockets for the keys, and headed for the door.
“Come on, moneybags,” he called out, pushing the stroller toward the elevators.
Luckily, the elevators were working today.A small, but significant win.
Outside, the crisp fall air greeted them.The sidewalk bustled with weekend life, but Jemma and Jasper were in their own little world—bantering one minute, talking seriously the next about their future now that the weight of medical bills was finally gone.
Chapter 17
Prince Rylan Al-Sintra cruised down the street, admiring the mix of architecture around him.He was en route to another meeting, interviewing engineers for a bridge project in Lativa that was already behind schedule and bleeding money.Worse, he had serious concerns about the structure itself.Something wasn’t right—either the math, the materials, or both.He needed a second opinion, and a name kept surfacing: Sam Bennet.A brilliant engineer with a reputation for understanding both architecture and structural integrity.
As they passed a quiet block, Rylan’s attention snagged on a woman walking along the sidewalk.She wore loose jeans and a bulky sweater, her dark curls bouncing as she pushed a baby stroller beside a teenage boy.
Rylan blinked, then blinked again.
Was thather?
She looked like the woman Saif had been gutted over last year.He’d seen the pictures—Saif had shown them during a drunken night of cousinly bonding, slurring her name and swearing off women entirely.And now here she was, walking down the street like some ordinary mortal,with a babyno less?
Rylan frowned.
Was that why she’d vanished?Had she cheated?Gotten pregnant by someone else?
For a split second, he nearly told the driver to pull over.But instead, he grabbed his phone and snapped a quick photo.
She looked thinner now.Tired.But that smile—soft, open, luminous—Rylan understood immediately why Saif had fallen so hard.The guy beside her leaned in to check on the baby, and Rylan noted the protective way he moved.Was that the baby’s father?
Their SUV rolled on, but his mind stayed on the woman.Saif wasn’t over her.Rylan had seen it last week at the soccer match.There’d been no shortage of gorgeous women trying to catch his cousin’s attention.Saif hadn’t noticed a single one.
Nope.Not over her.
Maybe seeing that she’d moved on—had a kid, a new guy, and was living her life—might finally snap Saif out of whatever spell he was under.
Worth a shot.
Chapter 18
“Hey there, cuz!”Saif called out as Rylan stepped into the house.
