16. Casey #2
I think about it for a second, about the way he’d taken over without making me feel like I’d lost control of anything.
“He was very considerate,” I admit. “He just… did things. Didn’t make it into a whole discussion.
Or make a fuss. He just handled it and was even sweet at times.
I even got him to watch that show we like, Murder on the Island. ”
Isabella hums softly. “I love that show.” Her head cocks to the side. “He’s not like that with many people.”
I glance at her. “You sound surprised.”
“I am.” She pauses, then adds lightly, “He’s hot, too. Although don’t tell Nic I said that.”
I choke on my drink. “That’s not relevant. He’s my boss.”
“It’s extremely relevant. Nico was my arch-nemesis, and look how that turned out, so boss seems like a weak excuse.”
“It’s not.”
“It is,” she insists, completely unfazed. “You’re far more likely to tolerate things from a man you find attractive.”
“I tolerated him because I didn’t have the energy to argue,” I say, even as the words sound weaker than I’d like.
“Hmm.”
I shake my head, pushing past it. “Let’s move on from me and my boss. What about you and Nico?”
Her expression softens instantly. “We’ve been talking about trying.”
It takes me a second. “Trying?”
“For a baby.”
My smile comes easily this time as I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. “Izzy… that’s amazing.”
She laughs, a little breathless. “It’s terrifying.”
“It’s supposed to be. You’ll be incredible parents.”
“I hope so.”
“You will be,” I repeat.
She watches me for a second, then nods, something grateful in her expression before she takes another sip of her drink. “Have you heard from Jasper?” she asks gently.
My fingers tighten slightly around my cup. “He showed up,” I say after a moment. “At the Rockefeller ice rink when I was with Letty.”
Her expression sharpens. “What?”
“He just… walked up to me. Like nothing had happened.”
“And?”
“And said he wanted to talk, then Adriano showed up,” I say, something shifting in my chest at the memory. “I didn’t call him. He just… knew. Or I guess his security team informed him.”
Isabella exhales slowly. “Of course he did.”
“He didn’t make a scene,” I add. “Just stepped in, and that was it. I guess Jasper saw him and left.”
She studies me for a moment. “He’s a good man, Casey.”
“I’m not doing that,” I say immediately.
“Doing what?”
“Whatever it is you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything,” she replies. “I’m stating a fact.”
“He’s my boss,” I say. “And I’m his nanny.”
“And you think that means he’s not allowed to be interested in you?”
“I think it means he barely tolerates me most days.”
Isabella actually laughs. “You cannot be serious?”
“I am.”
“Casey,” she says gently, “I’ve never seen him like this with anyone.”
I look down at my drink. “What about his wife?”
Her expression shifts slightly. “He doesn’t talk about her.”
“At all?”
“No. Nico says they met in Law school, married, and had Letty very soon after and she died suddenly when Letty was still a toddler.”
That sits heavier than I expect. He’s been through a lot and still manages to be an amazing dad to Letty. “I’m not ready for anything like that anyway,” I say quietly. “Not after—”
I don’t finish it.
I don’t need to.
Isabella reaches across the table, squeezing my hand. “I know.”
I nod, lifting my gaze—
And freeze.
Across the room, near the bar, as if conjured up by my thoughts—
Jasper.
Standing beside the woman from the Farmer’s Market with the baby in her arms. Her glare is full of hatred and anger. She’s beautiful, slim, tall, blonde, and cold.
And his eyes—they’re fixed directly on me, full of anger and longing.
Watching.
Like he’s been there long enough to see everything.
My stomach drops, sharp and immediate, the warmth of the room suddenly feeling too close, too tight.
“Casey?” Isabella says, her voice low now, alert.
I don’t answer.
Because I can’t look away.
And something tells me—
He didn’t come here by accident.
The woman says something to Jasper, and his jaw tightens as they exchange words.
Then she looks directly at me and starts walking.
My stomach drops as she approaches. “Oh, God.”
“What?” Isabella asks.
But I already know.
I know from the expression on her face.
I know from the way Jasper doesn’t stop her.
I know from the fact that he’s following a step behind.
Not leading.
Not intervening.
Just letting it happen.
The woman stops beside our table.
Up close, she’s younger than I’d realized before. Beautiful in that polished, expensive sort of way. The baby tucked against her shoulder is fast asleep, completely oblivious to the tension crackling around the adult carrying her.
For a second, nobody speaks, but I feel Isabella bristle and place a hand on my side in silent support.
She looks me over with a sneer. “So you’re Casey.”
Not hello.
Not nice to meet you. Not sorry I stole your boyfriend and made a fool of you.
Just accusation.
I set my glass down carefully, trying to hide the shake in my hand. “Yes.”
Her mouth tightens. “I thought you’d be older.”
That catches me off guard enough that I blink. “Okay.”
Behind her, Jasper shifts, feigning discomfort, but I can see he’s enjoying this.
The woman’s gaze sharpens. “I don’t understand why you can’t leave us alone.”
For a second, I genuinely think I’ve misheard her. “What?”
“You keep showing up.”
The words are so absurd I actually laugh.
Not because they’re funny.
Because I honestly don’t know what else to do.
“I’m sorry?”
“The market.” She adjusts the baby on her hip. “The restaurant in Tribeca.”
I stare at her. “I’ve never been to Tribeca.”
“And now here.”
She continues as if I hadn’t spoken. Beside me, Isabella goes very still.
I can feel it without looking. The shift in her posture. The way she’s suddenly paying very close attention. My friend is ready to go to war for me, and, God, I love her for it.
The woman straightens. “I think it’s time you moved on.”
A strange calm settles over me.
Maybe because I’ve spent months imagining what I would say if I ever saw Jasper again.
Maybe because reality has turned out to be so much more ridiculous than anything I imagined.
Or maybe because looking at him now doesn’t hurt the way it used to.
Mostly, I just feel tired. “You think I’m following you?”
She lifts one shoulder. “I think some women struggle to let go when they get dumped by a man like my Jasper.”
The comment lands harder than she probably realizes. Because there was a time when she would’ve been right.
A time when I would’ve begged for answers.
A time when I would’ve looked at Jasper and wondered what I could’ve done differently.
That woman feels very far away now.
I glance past her.
Directly at him. “Is that what you’ve been telling her?”
Jasper finally steps forward. “Casey.”
There it is.
That tone. That patient, condescending tone I hate.
The same tone he used to use whenever he wanted me to doubt my own version of events. The same tone that convinced me for years that every argument was somehow my fault.
I hate that I recognize it immediately.
“I think everybody needs to calm down.”
A disbelieving laugh escapes me. “Everybody?”
The woman turns toward him. “Jasper—”
He places a hand lightly against her back and gives her a loving, sickly sweet look. “It’s fine, my sweetest angel.”
God, I’m gonna get diabetes from that sickly tone and then lose my lunch. Gross.
His gaze returns to mine.
Soft, full of fake concern.
Performative enough that I almost stand and clap.
“I know this is difficult for you.”
For a second, I can’t speak. Not because I’m upset, but because the audacity of the statement has genuinely left me speechless. “Difficult for me?”
“Casey.” The warning slips into his voice briefly.
A crack in the mask.
Gone almost immediately, but I see it.
And judging by the look on Isabella’s face, she sees it too.
“You cheated on me.”
The words come out calm.
The woman stiffens.
Jasper’s expression closes slightly.
“You got another woman pregnant while we were together.”
A flush creeps slowly up his neck. The baby shifts sleepily against the woman’s shoulder. Around us, conversations have quietened. People are watching now. I don’t care. For the first time in a long time, I genuinely don’t care what people think.
Jasper exhales.
Like he’s the victim here.
“If I could change what happened, I would.”
The lie lands between us, making me laugh. “No, you wouldn’t.”
His jaw tightens, just slightly. “You need to let this go.”
Something inside me settles completely.
Because there it is. The thing I couldn’t see when I loved him.
The thing Adriano saw immediately.
Jasper doesn’t want forgiveness.
He wants control of the narrative.
He wants everyone comfortable again.
He wants the consequences to stop.
And suddenly, looking at him standing there with another woman and another life and another version of the truth, I don’t feel heartbroken.
I feel free.
The woman looks between us uncertainly.
For the first time since this began, she doesn’t look angry. She looks confused.
Good.
Maybe she should be.
Jasper notices the shift immediately. His hand slides more firmly to her back. “We have a reservation to get to. Let’s head over.”
It’s the first genuinely smart thing he’s done.
He turns her gently toward the other side of the restaurant.
Not toward the exit.
Just away from me.
Away from the conversation.
Away from any questions she might start asking.
But before he goes, he looks back.
And for the first time, the mask slips completely.
The anger in his eyes is unmistakable.
He wanted this encounter to go differently.
He wanted me upset.
Still wanting him.
Still chasing him.
Still stuck.
Instead, all he’s done is remind me exactly why I left.
And exactly how lucky I was that he made room in my life for someone better.