5
<
My last memory of Jasper.
Was the day Liam avenged me.
Liam had taken his soul without any effort.
Jasper barely even struggled.
His face was calm as he closed his eyes, like
he was finally being set free.
Time had passed, and I saw Jasper again.
He was lying in a hospital bed.
Dead like he had been when Liam killed him.
When I opened the door, his eyes lit up.
He struggled to sit up.
“Beatrice, you’re here…”
Then he saw Liam behind me.
“I heard you were sick, my husband and I
came to visit.”
Jasper smiled sadly.
His eyes fell.
Г
I didn’t pay attention to his feelings.
I turned to Liam, “This is Jasper, my sister’s
shifter.”
“I’m not…”
“Yes, you are.”
I looked at Jasper.
“I thought your bond with my sister was still
in place. If you’re not her shifter, then are you mine?”
Jasper shut his mouth.
<
And his eyes were full of sadness.
That’s right.
Jasper was my sister’s shifter from the
beginning.
Shifters were seen as lower than humans, and
rich families would buy them as slaves.
Jasper was my sister’s gift when she turned
eighteen.
A snow–white arctic fox.
But after two years, my sister realized Jasper
had a genetic defect.
<
His right leg was injured.
And got worse with age.
Veronica was teased because of that.
When I turned eighteen.
My dad wanted to get me a shifter.
But my sister had said, “Give her mine.”
And Jasper came to live with me.
I moved out of the house with him, and I worked to heal his leg.
<
Now, Jasper was like a normal person.
Until Jasper followed my sister’s orders, and tricked me, and I realized.
No matter how Veronica treated him, Jasper was always her shifter.
I was just a random stranger who could be betrayed at any time.
Jasper looked at me, “You signed the contract?”
“Yeah.”
Jasper’s eyes were red, “Too late…”
<
“Beatrice, what if I said I regretted it? If I
asked you to run away with me, would you?
I’ll get a job, and I’ll work to support you, and
we can start over.”
“I’m still here, not dead.”
Liam cut him off, his voice cold.
He looked darkly at Jasper, “Hitting on my wife? If you’re looking for a death wish, just say so. You know, killing a fox is easy for me.”
I tapped Liam’s hand, telling him to cool it.
I looked at Jasper, “You said you’d work hard
<
to make money?”
Jasper nodded.
“That’s great.”
I smiled and pulled out an accounting
notebook.
“Actually, that’s what I’m here for.”
“We lived together for five years, so we’re roommates. Now that I’ve moved out, I think we should settle up.”
“I’m not worried about the rent or groceries, but the medical bills should be talked about.”
<
“Since I’m still living there, we’ll say we split
the rent. I need sixty thousand dollars. And
the medical bills add up to three hundred thousand dollars, I got all the receipts.”
This didn’t just shock Jasper.
Liam was shocked too.
I blinked, Jasper didn’t react.
“You said you were going to make money,
were you lying to me?”
“Ah, my husband warned me that foxes were
deceitful.”
“Fine.”
Jasper grabbed the stack of receipts. “I’ll pay
you back.”
He looked up at me.
Foxes were good–looking people.
And Jasper was the best of the foxes.
Now he looked at me with tears in his eyes, which made him look even more attractive.
He smiled sadly, “Beatrice, wait for me, I’ll get enough money and come for you.”
<
We left the room, and Liam still looked
pissed.
“If you need money, you can ask me, you don’t need to worry about him.”
“That’s a different thing, he owes me that money, why wouldn’t I take it?”
“I’m gonna use it on my husband.”
But Liam didn’t look happy.
He stopped.
And closed his eyes.
“Stop putting on an act.”
“Huh?”
“Werewolves aren’t smart, but they’re not dumb. You’re being nice because you want something. What are you hoping to get?”
I was shocked.
So, all this time, Liam thought I was trying to get my dad money?
That’s right.
My marriage to him was because of money.
L
I got pissed.
“Believe what you want!”
I didn’t wait for Liam.
And started walking away.
I didn’t care what he thought.
