Page 86 of The Edge Of Us

"Don't. Just stop. Get out. I don't care if you miss me. I don't care if you think this was a grand gesture. You destroyed tonight."

"Corinne-"

"If you ever pull something like this again, I will call my lawyers. And I will pursue full custody. You can't keep doing this. You can't keep making reckless decisions and expect forgiveness."

"Whoa, okay," Jasper said, stepping between us. "Allen, you crossed a line. You want to play CEO with your shares? Fine. Name your price. I'll buy them. Luxe deserves better. Corinne deserves better."

"You don't get to decide that."

"He's my brother," Brittany said, quietly stepping back in to lead the kids to another floor. "But he's right. Corinne built this. You were just the check."

I turned to Corinne again. She wasn't crying. She wasn't even angry now. She looked tired.

"I didn't mean what I said. I was just... jealous. I see you glowing, doing better, and I miss being part of that."

"You miss control," she corrected. "You miss the version of me who needed your approval. This version? She doesn't."

She moved to the door. Opened it.

"Go back to your hotel, Allen. The kids will stay with Brittany. We'll talk about custody-with lawyers."

Jasper stood behind her, arms folded, silent but unyielding.

And I walked out. The door shut behind me.

And I knew-I'd really lost her this time.

Chapter 48

JASPER'S POV

The door had barely clicked shut before Corinne exploded.

"What the hell was he thinking?!"

She was pacing across the room, heels clicking against the polished floor like gunshots. Her hands trembled as she pulled pins from her hair, unraveling her glossy bun until curls fell like a storm around her face.

I leaned against the counter, watching her unravel.

"He brought them here. He brought *our* children here in the middle of my launch. Without warning. Without asking! Who does that?!"

"Allen," I said simply. "Allen does that."

Her eyes met mine-wild, frantic, glassy with tears she refused to shed.

"And did you see them? Did you *see* Astrid's face? She thought it was a dream. Kyle looked like he was scared I'd vanish if heblinked. And I had to send them away. I had to push them out of the room like they were some afterthought-because *he* decided this was the moment to play father of the year."

I moved slowly toward her, cautious, like approaching a wounded animal.

"You didn't push them away. You protected them from seeing that fight. You did the right thing."

"I don't *feel* like I did the right thing. I feel like I'm drowning. Like I'm always two steps behind and one wrong breath from breaking apart completely."

"Then breathe now," I murmured. "Breathe with me."

She stopped pacing. Her chest rose, fell. She tried.

I reached for her hand. She let me.

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