~Jasper~
The worst part about memories like this—
Is that they don't stay in the past.
They don't sit quietly where they belong.
They come back.
Uninvited.
Unrelenting.
And when they do—
They don't feel like memories.
They feel real.
—
It always starts the same way.
The smell.
Smoke.
Thick.
Heavy.
Burning through my lungs before I even realise where I am.
Then the heat.
It wraps around me.
Consumes everything.
And suddenly—
I'm there again.
—
That night.
—
I remember the quiet before it.
That's what stays with me the most.
How normal everything felt.
Mollie was upstairs.
She had been tired that evening.
Said the baby was making her restless.
She always said that with a smile.
Like it was a good thing.
Like every little discomfort meant something was growing.
Something was coming.
Our daughter.
I can still see her standing at the top of the stairs, one hand resting gently over her stomach.
"Don't stay up too late," she had said.
I laughed.
"I won't."
A lie.
I always stayed up late.
Work.
Emails.
Anything to keep busy.
But I remember looking at her—
Really looking at her.
And thinking—
That was enough.
That was everything.
Her.
That life.
That future.
—
Then—
The smell.
At first, it didn't register.
Just something faint.
Out of place.
Then stronger.
Sharper.
Wrong.
I stood.
The moment I realised—
Everything changed.
YOU ARE READING
The Billionaire Recluse & The girl who stayed.
Romansa⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️ This story contains themes of violence, kidnapping, human trafficking, trauma, grief, and mental health struggles. Reader discretion is advised. He was broken. She stayed. And loving him almost destroyed her. Jasper Monroe is a...
