Her pulse sped up.
“And what can he do for me?”
“He’ll make sure your husband walks away with nothing. And if things go well, you might end up with more than you think. He has connections. And, as I said, he doesn’t always operate cleanly. If you’re willing — I’ll connect you.”
Nina tightened her grip on her sleeve, weighing the danger against the temptation. The offer sounded too good. Too risky. Too intoxicating.
Jasper stood there casually, as if it made no difference to him whether she took the offer or not. But something flickered in his eyes — heat, interest, anticipation.
“And what if he can’t help me?” she finally asked.
Jasper shrugged lightly.
“Then we return to your bankruptcy idea.”
She inhaled deeply.
“What do I need to do?”
Jasper pulled out his phone, typed something quickly, then extended the screen to her.
“Write down the number. I’ll let him know you’ll be calling.”
She looked at the digits. Then at him. Jasper appeared serene — almost too serene.
“This man can really… do something?” she asked quietly.
“Trust me — you’ll be surprised.”
Nina bit her lip. She wanted to ruin Frank. Strip him of everything just as he’d stripped her. And the chance was right in front of her.
Why not take it?
“One…minute,” she muttered, glancing around for her phone.
In the end she grabbed a notepad from the shelf and returned to Jasper, who still stood motionless in the center of the living room, like a shadow carved into the space.
Her hands trembled as she wrote the number down. Somehow this simple act felt harder than anything she had said tonight.
Jasper watched her. Silently. Pressingly. Too attentively.
She closed the notepad and lifted her gaze.
“That’s it,” she said evenly, although her heartbeat was still erratic.“I hope we won’t see each other again. Sorry, but I have no desire to meet with the man who—”
The sentence collapsed on its own. They both knew who he was. And that nothing could erase it.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Jasper didn’t argue. He just lifted one shoulder slightly and turned toward the exit.
Nina watched him go, tension climbing her spine again. Everything felt too strange. Too fast. Too wrong.
His hand was already on the doorknob when she couldn’t hold it back:
“Wait.”
Jasper paused. Slowly turned his head. One brow arched.
“What else?”
