The Billionaire Recluse & The girl who stayed.

Dont pity me.

~ Jasper ~

The house had never felt this quiet before.

Not even in the years I'd shut myself away from the world.

There had always been noise—staff moving about, Lilly's voice, the distant hum of life continuing around me.

But now...

It felt still.

Too still.

Like everything was holding its breath.

Lilly, Charlotte, and Lauren had taken over the business side of things without question. Emails, meetings, clients—they kept everything running while I stayed here.

While I focused on her.

On Lexi.

Or at least... tried to.

Because the truth was—

I didn't know how.

I'd dealt with loss before.

Death.

Grief.

Fire and ashes and silence.

But this?

Watching someone still here... still breathing... but hurting in a way I couldn't fix?

That was something else entirely.

I sat on the edge of my bed, elbows resting on my knees, staring at the floor.

She'd been through too much.

Her ex.

John Oaks.

That sick sale.

And now this.

Paralysed.

Because of all of it.

Because of a world she should have never been dragged into.

My world.

I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly.

What the hell do I even say to her?

There were no words for this.

No fix.

No solution.

And that was the part that was killing me.

Because I fix things.

That's what I do.

But this?

I couldn't fix.

I pushed myself to stand, ignoring the pull of pain through my body.

It didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

Not when she was in that room.

Alone.

I walked slowly down the hall, each step heavier than the last.

When I reached her door, I stopped.

My hand hovered near it.

For a moment—

I almost turned back.

What if she didn't want to see me?

What if I reminded her of everything that happened?

What if—

No.

Not this time.

I knocked.

A small pause.