Jasper sighed as he sat on the chair. His shirt and pants were stained with blood, traces of blood were on his face, his hair was messy as strands were scattered on his face, he was sweating profusely.
He groaned in frustration as his eyes landed on the girl squatting at the other end of the room, she looked tattered.
"How are you feeling, are you scared," he asked in a low tone.
The girl shook her head. "I'm not scared anymore,"
Jasper nodded and smiled, he then gestured for Mike to enter the room.
Mike walked in, he scanned the girl before going to meet Jasper. "Sir, you called," he muttered.
Jasper nodded. "Take her to her room,"
Mike nodded and walked to the girl but she quickly moved past him and ran to Jasper, holding him tight.
Jasper widened his eyes in shock. "What the hell is going on?" He asked himself
"What are you doing?" Jasper whispered.
"Please don't send me away," she begged.
"I'm not, don't worry my men will protect you," Jasper assured.
"No, no, no, no," she begged as she tightened her grip on him. Mike walked closer and tried to loosen her grip from Jasper and so did two other men but she wasn't budging, instead she tightened her grip on him.
Ouch!
Jasper winced in pain, her grip on him was becoming painful.
"Fine then, you can stay here with me. But you have to wash up," Jasper said.
She shook her head. "But you'll go, don't go,"
Jasper's eyes drifted to Mike, who widened his hands showing that he didn't know what to do.
Jasper hissed."I won't,"
"You promise," she asked.
"I think so, I do," he replied.
She gradually loosened her grip on him, Jasper let out a loud sigh.
"I'm going to shower," she said and walked away, Mike followed behind.
Jasper slowly sat down, his mind drifted to Sophia.
"I hope you are okay," he mumbled.
He then took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.
"Good evening auntie," he said, when the person at the other end of phone picked up.
"Hello Jasper," a woman's voice replied.
"How did she take it," he asked. The woman sobbed.
"I don't know what to do anymore, she didn't take it well," the woman replied.
Jasper frowned. "What was her reaction when you told her," he asked.
"She was angry, sad, it broke her," the woman replied.
There was a brief silence, then he continued.
"Where is she now," he asked.
"She walked away," the woman replied.
Jasper tightened his jaw, his silver eyes were filled with anger as he squeezed the paper in his hands.
"That will be all, Auntie—"
"Jasper I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your relationship with Sophia—"
"I'm sorry, auntie but I hope you understand but for a few days you can't see her," he replied.
A brief silence.
"I understand," she said with a shaky tone.
"I should go now auntie, please do take care of yourself and don't worry about Sophia I got her. And as long as I'm here she will never be alone," he replied.
The woman sobbed. "Thank you Jasper, thank you for always being there with her even when she pushes you away, you are still there holding her. You don't know what you doing for me," she said.
"Alright auntie, goodnight," he said and hung up the phone.
Jasper exhaled deeply, his gaze fixed on nothing as his thoughts drifted to Sophia. He wondered what she must be feeling now. He knew she was trying to run— not from him, but from the weight of her own pain. She hated being a burden, hated the thought of anyone worrying about her. He had tried to comfort her, but Sophia always needed space to breathe, a place where she felt safe… a place that gave her the peace the world never offered. And Jasper was determined to protect that for her, to make sure that little pocket of peace stayed untouched.
He knew how deeply she hurt. She had spent her whole life crying in silence, breaking alone. Forcing her to face that past again would only tear her apart. A past she had tried so hard to bury—yet he had dragged her back into it.
"Oh my God! What have I done?" Jasper muttered as he slammed his palm to his face.
He dialed another number and Maya picked up.
"Hello, sir jasper," Maya said from the other end of the phone.
"Where is Sophia," he asked in a panicked tone.
"She is with me in my house," Maya replied.
"What's her state?" Jasper asked.
"She is drunk—"
"Drunk!" Jasper exclaimed. "Oh my God, she must have been really down," Jasper thought to himself.
"Make sure she gets some rest, I will be back as soon as possible," he said.
"Yes sir, you don't need to worry sir jasper, I'll take care of ma'am Sophia," Maya assured.
"Thank you Maya, I'll call tomorrow," he said and hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, the woman who had stepped out to the bathroom returned just in time to overhear Jasper's conversation with Maya.
When he hung up, she stared at his phone, her expression darkening.
"Who is this woman… and why does he care so much about her?" she muttered, jealousy tightening her jaw as her fingers curled into a fist.
Jasper let out a slow sigh, his gaze drifting toward the woman at the doorway.
"You should rest," he said calmly.
She smiled softly and slid under the blanket, her eyes never leaving him.
"What about you? We could… share the bed," she said with a hopeful tilt of her head.
Jasper gave a small polite smile. "Don't worry. Rest."
He poured himself a glass of water, unfazed.
"Sir… could you maybe tell me a story? Or sing something?" she asked, voice small.
Jasper chuckled lightly. "No. Get some sleep," he replied, then walked over to the window.
The woman's expression fell as she watched him turn away.
"It's because of her…" she whispered bitterly.