Can't Win Me Back

“Yes, but I’m…” Alyssa tugged him hard, signaling Sean to shut up. Sean quickly caught on and kept quiet.

“Well, Jonah didn’t spare any expense when he assigned his most trusted secretary to you, Alice,” Jasper sneered. “He must think highly of you. Congratulations, you’re about to marry into another wealthy family. You fooled me completely, and now it’s Jonah’s turn. I hope he never sees your true colors.” Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

The words cut through Alyssa’s heart like sharp blades, and Jasper didn’t stop there. He seemed intent on further unsettling her.

Sean immediately noticed Alyssa’s unsteady breath and her trembling shoulders in his arms. What baffled Sean were Jasper’s words. Was Jasper out of his mind? What nonsense was he spouting?

“Sean, allow me to introduce you,” Alyssa said. Her voice was steady despite the turmoil inside her. “This is Mr. Beckett from Beckett Group, my ex–husband of three years.”

“What?” Sean was utterly shocked, his face turning as white as a sheet. He couldn’t believe that Alyssa had disappeared for three years and had secretly married Jasper. Alyssa had kept it hidden from the world and the Taylor family. What was she thinking?

“We are divorced now. I have severed all ties with the Beckett family,” Alyssa said firmly, trying to hide her pain with a smile. “From now on, we are strangers.”

“But we are not officially divorced! Grandpa’s birthday…” Sean tried to reason.

‘That’s enough! Stop using Grandpa as an excuse!” Alyssa’s frustration and anger were evident in her trembling voice. Her eyes turned bloodshot. “You’re just using Grandpa as an excuse to keep humiliating me, aren’t you? You know I care about Grandpa!”

Jasper’s body shuddered as he felt the impact of Alyssa’s sharp words. He tried to compose himself amid their intense exchange. He couldn’t recall a time when Alice had been so wrathful.

In his memory, she was always as calm as a summer’s day, rarely showing her emotions. She looked angry, and her brows furrowed with deep–seated resentment. This was worse than their previous encounter at the hospital.

“We were merely lingering in a dying relationship. You ended our relationship with your own hands. You had an affair while we were married, and yet, did I ever blame you for anything? So why should I suffer as a widow and remain chaste for you? Do you expect me never to marry again? How can you be so selfish!”

“Selfish?” Jasper felt a pricking pain in his chest. He couldn’t fathom why his actions were becoming erratic. He couldn’t understand why he clung to his divorced wife.

“Besides, I’ve never been unfaithful to my word. I intended to keep our divorce a secret until Grandpa’s birthday. Your mishandling of the situation led to Liana exposing everything,” Alyssa said, her lips tugging with bitterness.

The last glimmer of affection in her eyes faded away. “Now you’re turning it around and blaming me, but I can see why. You can only blame me. You can’t bring yourself to blame her, can you?”

Jasper stood frozen in the wind as if turned to stone. He watched Sean lead Alyssa away. His cheeks burned as if slapped repeatedly.

“I won’t look back on what’s left behind.” Jasper clenched his hand. Although he had been the one to initiate the divorce, he now felt abandoned. His throat filled with bitterness. His heart shattered.