The Billionaire Recluse & The girl who stayed.

Acceptance.

~Jasper~

I didn't remember walking to my office.

I just knew I was there.

Bottle in hand.

Glass untouched.

For once... I didn't drink.

I stared at it instead.

The amber liquid sat still, untouched, reflecting a version of me I barely recognised anymore.

Because for the first time in a long time—

I wasn't running to it.

I was sitting with it.

With everything.

My chest felt tight, my thoughts loud... louder than they'd been in months.

Baby Monroe.

The words echoed in my head.

A baby.

My baby.

With Lexi.

My grip tightened around the glass.

I should've been over the moon.

I was over the moon.

So why did I walk away?

Why did I leave her like that?

My jaw clenched as I ran a hand through my hair, pacing slowly across the room.

Because the truth was—

I didn't walk away from her.

I walked straight back into my past.

—

Fire.

Screaming.

Smoke choking my lungs.

Mollie.

Her hand slipping from mine.

Her stomach—

God... her stomach.

Our baby.

My daughter.

Gone before I even got to meet her.

"Poppy..." I whispered hoarsely, my voice breaking on her name.

Ten years.

Ten years and it still felt like yesterday.

I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing heavily, trying to ground myself.

That night had taken everything from me.

My family.

My wife.

My child.

My future.

And now—

Now I was being handed something just as big.

Just as fragile.

Just as easy to lose.

Fear crawled up my spine like ice.

What if it happens again?

What if I lose them too?

What if loving them destroys me all over again?

I braced my hands against the desk, head dropping as I exhaled sharply.

"That's why you ran," I muttered to myself.

Not because I didn't want it.

Not because I didn't love her.