The Destiny Concept | Jasper Hale

Chapter 14 ✔️

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—Jasper
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Althea wants to talk about me, and it scares me.

My past. What I've done... It could drive her away. It will drive her away. I'm not proud of what I've done. I don't want to ruin our destiny.

Her eyes are growing worried. My silence is worrying her. She can see that I'm hiding something. She can see that I'm contemplating something.

Please don't leave me, Althea. Don't leave me after you learn the truth. I've fallen so deeply in love with you, that I can't live without you.

"Jasper?" I can hear pain in her voice. My silence is hurting her. I don't mean to hurt her.

"Can you promise me something?" Her eyebrows furrowed, and her expression was perplexed.

"What is it?" She doesn't say yes.

"Can you promise me something?" I repeated, which made her cross her arms.

"That depends, Jasper." Her voice was more stern. A little temper sat behind it. She still doesn't trust me. I should expect that.

"Can you promise that my past won't shape your current view of me?" I looked into her beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ocean blue eyes.

Her silence pained me.

She said nothing.

Her head was down.

She was biting her lip.

Her eyes followed the lines of the hardwood flooring.

Her brain was running laps.

I can't tell what she's feeling.

She's fighting me.

"Only if you can promise me that whatever it is, that it's exactly that. The past." She was worried. She was scared. I can see it in her eyes. She's scared. She's never seemed scared before. Anxious, yes, but not scared. Not fear. I've made her afraid.

"Trust me, it is. I never want to go back to that. I promise." She still looked worried, and I'll be honest, it makes sense. I was warned that she wasn't trusting. I was stupid to think that she'd trust me so easily.

"Then I promise your past won't shape my view of you." I can't shake the sound of uncertainty from her voice out of my head.

I took her hand in mine, and we sat down together. This is the hardest thing ever.

"I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings, if you couldn't already tell." I paused momentarily to remove my jacket, revealing my arms to her. Several bite scars covered my arms. I saw her eyes go wide. She remained silent.

"Did this happen during the civil war?" She asked curiously, biting her lip anxiously.

"I was the youngest major in the Texas cavalry. All without having seen any real battle." I spoke and her eyes practically saw through mine. It was like they were windows to her. Perfectly clear, and she could see everything by looking into them. She still intimidates me.