"What!!! What's going on here?" Lisa screamed as she stepped into the bedroom she shared with Jasper, only to find him tangled with a woman she had never seen before.
Lisa froze.
Her world stopped.
The man she loved with everything in her, the man she defended, stayed for, and held onto with hope was on their bed with a stranger.
Jasper's eyes widened the moment he saw her. He jumped off the bed and rushed toward her in panic.
"I… I can explain," he stuttered, immediately dropping to his knees and grabbing her legs as she tried to pull away.
"I don't know her… I swear. I was influenced by the amount of alcohol I took," Jasper said, twisting the blame and trying to hide his betrayal behind excuses.
He hurried back into the bedroom, dragging the half-dressed woman out. She ran from the house in shame, leaving Jasper and Lisa standing in the ruins of trust.
"I trusted you, Jasper. I did," Lisa whispered as tears streamed down her cheeks.
He begged.
He cried.
He blamed the alcohol.
He begged again.
And after all his pleading, Lisa already fragile and blaming herself for "not satisfying his needs". She forgave him. She convinced herself it was partly her fault, even though it wasn't.
After that day, Jasper came home with gifts after every outing. Flowers, jewelry, clothes, anything to numb her pain and silence her confusion.
Naive Lisa was moved by his sudden efforts, believing he was trying to fix things. She clung to the hope that he still loved her.
Days passed.
Gifts continued.
But Jasper was getting tired.
"I can't continue doing this," he whispered one night, exhausted from pretending.
He didn't keep Lisa because he loved her.
He kept her because he believed her father would eventually soften and accept whoever Lisa brought home. Meaning Jasper could access what belonged to her.
But days kept moving, and nothing changed.
Jasper grew impatient.
He convinced himself that Lisa would never go back home… and never get what was hers.
And with that belief, his mask began to crack.
"Heeeyyy… I made your favorite," Lisa said brightly as she walked into the room with a tray of food, smiling wide as she tried to lighten the mood.
"I'm not hungry," Jasper replied coldly.
"But you've not eaten since morning. You've been on the bed all day, laughing at your phone…" Lisa said, watching him carefully.
"I said I'm not hungry!!!" Jasper snapped, anger exploding through his voice.
"Shut the door behind you and leave me alone," he added harshly.
Lisa stood still, stunned by his sudden shift back into the heartless man he had become.
"I… I thought we were good. What happened?" she whispered to herself later, confused and lost, trying to understand what she had done wrong.
Jasper didn't care.
He brought multiple women to the house; young women, older women, even women old enough to be his mother.
Lisa was shattered.
He introduced her as a cousin… sometimes even as a house help… just to get favors, money, or attention from those women.
Lisa grew tired.
Worn out.
Fed up.
This time, she was ready to leave for good but she needed answers first.
"Jasper… I know I did you no wrong. So why hurt me this much?" Lisa asked quietly one night, standing in front of him while he scrolled through his phone without care.
He paused.
"Do you really want to know why?" Jasper asked, not looking up.
"Yes," Lisa replied, bracing herself.
He lifted his head slowly, meeting her eyes with a coldness that pierced straight through her.
"Because I never liked you," he said, voice flat and emotionless. "All I wanted was money, something I could call my own. I thought you were the perfect catch because your father is wealthy."
Lisa's breath caught in her throat.
"Yes, that's the reason I was with you," he continued. "But you were so dumb, you couldn't notice anything. And now? You have nothing to your name. What exactly can I do with you?"
Every word hit her like a blade.
Lisa sat down, disbelief washing over her.
Her heart cracked open in the middle of the room.
"Jasper!!!... why?" she cried out, her voice breaking as tears poured uncontrollably.
He stood up, unmoved.
"Now you know the truth. Get out of my house," he said coldly.
And just like that… the man she gave everything to told her she was nothing.