Chapter 16 The Bridge Is Falling.
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Sunlight filtered through the curtains, warming the silk sheets tangled around Layla's bare skin. The taste of last night still lingered on her lips — his hands, his kisses, the fire in his eyes when he made love to her like she was his everything.
But this morning?
The air was cold. Too quiet.
She stirred, but Jasper wasn’t beside her.
Layla sat up slowly, wrapping a robe around herself. The weight of the secret she had buried deep inside her chest returned like a hammer. She should have told him before the wedding. Before last night. Before it all felt real.
Her steps were soft as she walked down the hallway, barefoot, heart pounding. The sound of Jasper’s voice cut through the silence. Harsh. Controlled.
“…You’re telling me she signed up for money?”
Layla froze.
The voice on the phone — it was the woman from the agency.
“I told you everything was in the file, Mr. Tate,” she said coolly. “She agreed to give you an heir in exchange for the payment. You signed too. It’s all legal.”
Jasper's voice lowered, furious. “She never mentioned that to me. Not once.”
“Perhaps she was scared. But it’s done now.”
He hung up, the phone clattering on the marble countertop. When he turned around, Layla was standing there.
His eyes met hers.
She didn’t know what expression she wore — shame, guilt, heartbreak. But Jasper’s face was stone cold.
“How long?” he asked. Voice hollow. “How long were you going to lie to me?”
Layla opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her throat burned.
“I wanted to tell you. I tried—”
“But you didn’t.” His jaw clenched. “You let me fall for you. You let me touch you, kiss you, marry you… and you were hiding this?”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Jasper, I needed the money. My sister—”
“I would’ve helped you!” he shouted. “Without this. Without the manipulation. Do you think I’m so heartless I’d let your sister suffer?”
His words sliced deeper than any blade.
“I didn’t plan to fall for you,” she whispered. “None of this was meant to happen… but I did, Jasper. I love you.”
He flinched. “You love me… or you love the billion dollars?”
Her heart shattered in her chest.
“No,” she said softly. “Not anymore. I just wanted you.”
But it was too late.
He stepped back like she was poison.
“The bridge between us?” he murmured. “It’s falling. And I don’t know if I can rebuild it.”
With that, he turned and walked away — leaving her standing alone, in a house that suddenly felt like it wasn’t hers at all.
Layla dropped to her knees, the sob escaping her chest like a storm. The ring on her finger glinted under the morning light — a cold reminder of everything they could’ve been.
And everything they might now lose.