Chapter 2 Jase

"It's me." I knocked on Jase's bedroom door.

Inside, Jase paused at the sound of my voice, then opened the door after a moment.

He looked at me with arrogance, his thin lips curling into a mocking smirk.

I met his gaze. "Jase..."

He toweled his hair with a half-smile.

"What brings you here, sister-in-law?" His last words were soft and teasing.

He seemed to have been drinking. Even after a shower, I caught a faint whiff of alcohol.

I glanced to the side and said softly, "Can I come in?"

Jase raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

His tone was playful, probing.

"Yes," I replied.

After Katie's words earlier that day, I couldn't back down.

The moment the bedroom door closed, I stepped closer to Jase, who stood with his back to me, waiting for me to speak.

"Jase, can you... help me? Katie wants me and Vince to leave the Mitchell family. You know Vince's condition isn't good. If we leave, Katie will have the hospital discharge us next. Vince will die. Please, Jase."

I reached for his sleeve.

Just like before.

All I had left to rely on was whatever lingering feelings Jase might still have for me.

Or perhaps there was no affection left at all.

Jase shook off my hand, and I stumbled from the force.

I feigned panic on my face.

Seeing me unsteady, he grabbed my arm, sneering. "Who are you to talk to me like this? Sister-in-law, or old flame?"

He pulled me close, so close our bodies pressed together, our heartbeats and breaths mingling.

I bit my lip, his anger somehow calming me.

Before he could say more, I reached up, gripping his shoulders, and stood on my toes to kiss him.

After the kiss, I pleaded, "If you help me and my son, I'll do anything! Please, Jase!"

Tears fell from my eyes as I spoke.

The tears came at just the right moment.

I was terrified of anything happening to Vince. For him, I'd do anything.

He understood.

Jase stared at me, his gaze deep and complex, with a flicker of hidden anger. "You're really going all out for my brother's kid..."

I stayed silent.

His eyes glazed over, and he added, "You're always ready to sacrifice anything for someone else, huh."

He lifted me by the waist and placed me on the bed.

"You sure you won't regret this?" His voice was icy.

I flinched but shook my head. "No regrets."

He leaned close to my ear. "Did you beg Kade like this too? What do you think he'd feel if he knew?"

His last words dripped with malice.

He always despised Kade. The brothers never got along.

My body froze.

Time blurred as I sank into a haze, overwhelmed, wanting to escape but always pulled back until I passed out.

Faintly, I heard him say, "Jolie, are you trying to drive me insane? Why should I help you? He's not my son."

The words felt both real and unreal, disorienting.

When I woke, my body ached, and I lay in my own bedroom. I grabbed my phone and saw Jase's message. "Tomorrow night, don't be late, my sister-in-law."

The words didn't shame me. Instead, I felt relief.

Now I could stay with the Mitchells and keep Vince's treatment going.

Jase and I were once in love. Back when the Waltons were a prominent name in Auria, we were a perfect match, equals in every way.

But soon after, betrayal by business partners and schemes from distant relatives bankrupted my father's company. Unable to bear the blow, he took his own life. My mother sank into grief and illness, and my sister faced dropping out of school abroad.

Everything crashed down, leaving me in despair.

When Katie learned of this, she forbade Jase, who was studying abroad, from returning.

She wanted him to have nothing to do with me.

I knew even if Jase had come back, he was just a student and couldn't have changed anything. I didn't blame him.

But my family needed help. That's when Kade appeared, offering support in exchange for marriage.

Kade loved me, I knew that. But I loved Jase, and he knew it too.

For my mother's health and my sister's education, I accepted Kade's proposal.

By the time Jase fought his way back, I was already married.

From then on, he could only see me as his sister-in-law.

I was grateful to Kade. His help kept the Waltons from falling apart.

My mother got her treatment, and my sister finished her studies.

I pulled myself from the memories.

This secret arrangement with Jase lasted half a month.

He kept his promise, securing the best specialists and medicine for Vince.

Until one day, I returned to the estate to grab some things. As I stepped out of my room, I saw Katie's assistant, May.

She looked at me with smug disdain. "Mrs. Mitchell is waiting for you in the living room."

Her eyes seemed to say, "You're pathetic."