Looks like tonight isn’t going to be my lucky night.
Releasing my chin, he lightly taps the side of my face with his open palm and then keeps his hands to himself. Pulling out his phone, it lights up his face and he remains preoccupied with that for the rest of the drive.
We arrive at the newly opened, classy restaurant and Desmond drops us off at the front door, bypassing the valet parking and parks the car himself. Jasper doesn’t trust the valet parkers with his vehicles, so Desmond stays with the car regardless of where we go. It’s not like he doesn’t have insurance on all the cars we have; it’s just another thing that Jasper can have control over.
That’s what everything in life boils down to with Jasper. The monster that he hides inside has an insatiable hunger for control and he’ll do whatever he has to, as long as it means that he doesn’t lose that.
He’s the CEO of my father’s company, but when I take his last name, he’ll be the owner, alongside me. He’ll have complete control of my family’s empire unless I find a way to stop it all from happening.
Sitting down at our private table, Jasper does all the talking between us, as well as ordering my food and drinks for me. I’m never to speak to any of our servers, only him. I’ve tested him before and challenged his demands, to see what would happen… my eyes were swollen shut and I couldn’t see for a week after that.
I learned my lesson time and time again, so now I sit silently and let him rule the conversation. An occasional smile and nod keeps his monster content and keeps him from laying a finger on me.
It still confuses me, how I ended up here in this position. I was never weak, and I didn’t bow down to anyone; my father taught me to be stronger than this and not to take shit from anyone.
I don’t stand up as straight and my head isn’t held as high anymore. I’m not weak, but I’m not strong either.
I’m broken.
I already had a crack in my soul when Jasper came to my rescue. I thought that he would fix that crack and make me whole again, but I was wrong.
Jasper wasn’t my hero, he was my destroyer.
He knocked me down and refused to help me back up. The crack inside me splintered and I shattered into a million pieces when he broke me. Perhaps I deserved to be broken after what I had done.
I took something that wasn’t mine to take, and for that, I will pay for the rest of my life. I deserve every single beating, every bruise and every broken bone that I get.
Sometimes things are broken beyond repair, and sometimes those broken things don’t deserve to be pieced back together.
Like me—I’m meant to stay broken.
♦♦♦
We finish our dinner and Jasper asks for the check abruptly as he drains his glass of wine. He glares at me as I slowly sip mine. If I drink too fast, I’ll get drunk and if I get drunk, I’ll get myself in trouble.
Drunk Jaslyn holds her head up higher and she stands up straighter. She’s arrogant and defiant, she’s a glutton for punishment. Although she’s still broken, she holds the pieces together as best as she can.
Drunk Jaslyn doesn’t give a fuck what happens to her, so long as her voice is hers. I wish that I had the strength to be her, but I’d rather not be heard. I deserve to suffer, and she would only get us killed.
Death would be a blessing; it would end the misery that I live in and it would save me from the ugliness of the world.
When you’re broken like me, you don’t deserve a blessing, you deserve the misery.
Staring down at my glass of wine, I swirl it lightly as I avoid Jasper’s hateful gaze. He doesn’t say a word as our server returns to the table and he throws some cash in the black folder. The glass is quickly ripped out of my hand as Jasper takes it from me and drinks it himself.
“Next time I order a five-thousand-dollar bottle of wine, you fucking drink,” he growls as he sets the empty glass down on the table. I wince and jump subtly from his volatile act as I envision the glass shattering on the table. “You’re lucky that I treat you the way that I do. Do you know how many women wish that they had what you have?”
If these women knew how he really treated me, they would never want it.
Folding my hands on my lap, I stare down at the table in front of me and quietly shake my head.
Jasper sits up taller in his seat as he drives the toe of his oxford into my shin. I bite down on my lip, hard enough to draw blood, and swallow the cry that forms in my throat.
That will leave a mark, one that people can see, another one for me to cover up.
“Look at me, cunt.” His voice is low and demanding. Reluctantly, I look up at him and blink as I take in his sinister face. He wears an expression that I’m all too familiar with; it’s how he typically looks at me.
“Your disrespect will get you nowhere pretty fucking fast. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll curb your attitude before I do.”
His threat isn’t in his words, as much as it is heard in his tone. Jasper won’t hesitate to fuck me up and I keep breaking on the eggshells that I walk on.
Jasper glances down at the Rolex on his wrist and mumbles under his breath. Rising from his chair, he grabs my hand and quickly pulls me to my feet. “Let’s go,” he commands as he links his arm with mine. “We’re going to be late.”
“Late for what?” I ask as I trip over my feet, struggling to keep up with his long stride.
Ignoring my question, Jasper drags me through the front door and to the car that Desmond has parked along the curb already. He holds open the door for us with an emotionless expression and softly shuts it after we climb in.
Jasper’s undivided attention goes straight to his phone and his fingers type aggressively as he ignores my presence. I welcome the silence as I watch out the window as Desmond drives us out of Miami. We drive into Everglade territory and pull into the driveway, stopping at a massive black iron gate. Desmond’s window slides down and he reaches outside, pressing a call button.
“Name?” A deep voice rumbles through the small speaker next to the button.
“Lafar,” Desmond speaks clearly. “Jasper and his…” He pauses and glances back at us in the rearview mirror as if he’s unsure how to address me. “Jaslyn Astor.”
Silence fills the air for a moment, and no one responds as the gate slowly opens. Desmond drives us through and continues down the driveway through a row of trees.
“Jasper,” I start hesitantly as I peer through the tinted window as the trees part, revealing rows upon rows of foreign cars lined up outside a brightly lit, massive barn. I turn to face him, finding him already watching me. “What is this place?”
His eyes glimmer and a smile plays on his lips as Desmond parks the car. “You’ll see.”
“What are we doing here?” I ask him quietly, the confusion evident in my voice.
Jasper looks past me out the window at the barn before his eyes focus on mine. “You’ll see.” He winks and a sinister grin forms on his face as my door is slowly pulled open. “Think of it as a business investment.”
Stepping out of the car, I stare at the luxurious barn across the parking lot in confusion, but within that confusion there’s also a peculiar curiosity.
Where the hell are we?