He’d made it clear long ago;she was to stay away from his daughter.
And she couldn’t blame him.
She looked away, walked to the water cooler, and filled a plastic cup. Her hand slipped into her purse, fingers closing around the familiar bottle of pills.
Seeing Lynn had knocked her off balance completely. Old wounds had ripped open again—old doubts, old guilt. She felt herself slipping back into that place where she still hated herself for being too weak all those years ago.
For abandoning her own flesh and blood.
She barely had time to pull the bottle out before it was yanked from her hand.
Nina jerked her head up.
Jasper stood too close. Much too close. His fingers brushed hers for a split second—the heat of his skin shot through her like an electric jolt. She flinched violently and stepped back.
“Give it back.” Her voice came out sharp.
A flash of déjà vu struck her like a knife.
Frank had done the same thing—grabbing her medication when she was at her most vulnerable.
Jasper didn’t return the bottle.
He studied the label instead, reading the name, the dosage. His jaw tightened. And then… he walked toward the trash can.
“Don’t you dare—!”
She lunged for him, but it was too late. He emptied the entire bottle into the trash. The white pills scattered and fell like sand. Nina stared, stunned, helpless, as the last pill dropped into the bin—followed by the empty bottle itself.
“What the hell are you doing?!” she nearly screamed. Rage and panic burned through her chest like fire.
Had he lost his mind?
Jasper turned to her—his eyes cold, narrowed.
“Who prescribed this crap to you?”
The question squeezed all the air out of the room.
Nina blinked rapidly, desperately trying to breathe. Her pulse hammered in her temples. Fear twisted sharply inside her, raw and humiliating.
“My doctor,” she forced out, her voice trembling despite her efforts.
His expression only darkened.
“Get a new doctor,” he said, voice edged with steel.“These pills are too strong for you. And they’re addictive.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“What? I’ve been taking them for along time, and I’m fine. They… they help.”
“You callthat helping?”
He stepped toward her.
She shrank back instinctively until her spine touched the wall, trying to make herself smaller.
“You’ve been numbing stress with pills. That’s a dead end. Stop.”
