“Yeah. Right outside his office. Handcuffs, cops—the whole movie scene. Something drug-related. I can’t believe it.”
Nina’s breath hitched.
She slowly turned toward the voices, as if making sure she hadn’t imagined it.
No. Not imagined.
A lab tech was waving her tablet and gossiping excitedly. Neither woman had any idea that the almost-ex-wife of the man they were loudly discussing stood only a few feet away.
Nina’s mouth felt dry.
Her heart lodged somewhere in her throat. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot. And over all of it washed a wave of pure, overwhelming relief.
“He…” she whispered, barely believing it.“He was arrested?” She looked at Jasper.
“He won’t touch you—or anyone else—again,” Jasper said calmly.
Her mind seemed to stall.
A sharp, electric wave shot through her entire body. Something heavy in her chest—something she’d nearly accepted as permanent—suddenly burst apart.
And vanished.
She heard nothing except those words:
Frank Osborne was arrested.
He would never control her life again.
A smile spread across her face before she realized it. A rush of joy mixed with something close to madness. She didn’t understand what she was doing—she simply reacted.
She let out a breathless cry and flung her arms around Jasper’s neck.
It was pure instinct.
Like the first gasp after nearly drowning.
Her arms wrapped around him, her cheek pressed to his chest.
“This isn’t a dream, right?” she whispered.
She felt him freeze completely, from head to toe. He didn’t even raise his hands to return the embrace.
They stood like that for several seconds. And then she realized what she was doing.
God. This was Jasper. And she had just flung herself at him like some hysterical teenager. She shouldn’t have touched him. She shouldn’t have allowed herself to be that close.
Nina jerked back. Dropped her hands. Stepped away.
“I’m sorry…” she breathed, not daring to lift her eyes.“I just… lost control.”
Silence. Not a sound. Only her own uneven breathing.
“Well, looks like the reporters really did lie about your tragic past,” came a cold, faintly mocking voice behind them.“You look like a real couple.”
Nina jumped and spun around. Jasper did too.
Lynn stood several steps away, a phone in one hand and a plastic folder in the other. No smile. Not even a hint of one. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.
