His Jemma?Confident, radiant, fierceJemma?
The idea of anyone humiliating her like that made his blood boil.And the thought of her being pressured into something so degrading—he wanted to hunt those bastards down and crush them.
But more than anger, something else slid beneath his skin.Something sickening.He didn’t know.He’d never known these parts of her.And that unsettled him more than anything.
“She found our dad,” Jasper went on, his voice dropping.“Right before her graduation.She tracked him down.Sent him an invitation.”
He looked away, jaw flexing, eyes locked on a gum-stained spot of pavement like it had done him personal harm.“He emailed her back.Said he’d be there.”
The silence that followed stretched long and thick.Saif could hear the faint hum of traffic, the distant bark of a dog, the ache in his own throat.
“He didn’t show, did he?”Saif asked softly.
“Nope.”Jasper’s voice was quiet, his eyes shuttered as he tried to hide the pain clawing at the edges of his memories.
“She had a boyfriend in college, too,” he continued after a moment.“He was two years ahead of her.”Jasper shrugged, his shoulders tight, still staring at the grimy sidewalk as he scuffed his sneaker against a crack.“I don’t know all the details.Most of what I heard was secondhand, pieced together from overheard conversations and gaps she never filled in.”
He paused, then lifted his gaze to meet Saif’s.His eyes were shadowed but steady.“She was twenty-two when he walked out.No fight.No warning.Just kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye.He’s in California now.Doing something with computers.”
Saif muttered several expletives under his breath, switching between five languages as fury and something else—shame—twisted in his gut.
“And then,” Jasper said quietly, “Our mom died of breast cancer.”
The fury drained from Saif’s limbs, leaving behind a hollowness that chilled his bones.His voice was rough.“She told me.”
But Jasper didn’t look at him.His gaze drifted toward the horizon, unfocused.He swallowed hard, then asked, “Did she tell you Mom didn’t have to die?”
Saif blinked, unsure what he meant.
“She stopped the treatments,” Jasper explained, his voice cracking at the edges.“The bills… they were putting us into debt.Jemma tried to convince her not to do it.Begged her to keep fighting.But Mom… she thought we’d have a better future if she just let go.”His hands balled into fists, and he scrubbed them roughly against his eyes before looking off into the distance.“She died thinking it would protect us.”
Jasper’s breath hitched, and he turned away again, shoulders trembling as he tried to compose himself.
Saif stepped forward and pulled the boy into his arms without a word.Jasper resisted for a heartbeat, then sagged against him.Just for a moment.His thin arms wrapped around Saif in a clumsy, too-quick hug, the kind that spoke about someone who didn’t get held often.
Then he pulled away and sniffed, shaking his head.His dark curls bounced with the motion.The kid needed a haircut.And braces, Saif realized as Jasper wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve.And food—more food.The baggy shirt didn’t fully disguise how gaunt his frame had become.
He’s not eating enough,Saif thought grimly.Probably skipping meals to help Jemma with expenses.
Jasper stepped back and squared his shoulders.His voice was steadier when he said, “Now that you know how everyone in her life has left her, I’m asking you—don’t do whatever it is you were about to do to her.”
Saif remained silent, listening.
“She’s a good person,” Jasper went on.“She really didn’t think you’d stay.Not because she doesn’t care.But because no one ever has.Not our dad.Not her boyfriends.Not even our mom in the end.”He took a breath.“Jemma didn’t think she was worth staying for.”
“You’ve stayed,” Saif said quietly.
Jasper’s jaw flexed.“Yeah, but she knows I’ll be going to college in a couple of years.In her mind, that’s just another goodbye.”He shook his head, eyes distant.“It’s not rational, I know.But the way life’s kicked her around?It’s shaped how she sees the world.”
Jasper turned slightly, then looked back over his shoulder.His voice was low, but steady.“So maybe it’s time someone proved her wrong.”
Then he walked inside, the heavy apartment door clicking shut behind him.
Saif stood frozen, the air thick around him.He felt like he was standing at the edge of a cliff, wind howling in his ears.Jasper’s words swirled in his mind, tangled up with memories and guilt and something that felt suspiciously like regret.
Jasper was right.
Saif had been ready to call his lawyer.He’d been ready to rip Jemma’s life apart without even knowing their daughter’s name.He’d wanted revenge.Control.Justice, he’d told himself.But now...
