Page 93 of Barging In
“I’m not sure.” Victoria frowned. “It seems unlikely now.”
Jasper took a seat. “Why?”
Victoria clicked the end of her pen in and out, pondering her answer — or whether to give one at all.
“Why?” Jasper asked again, his tone intrigued and insistent.
Victoria dropped her pen onto her desk. “All right?” She blew out a shaky breath and muttered, “We kissed.”
“Is there a problem with that?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
“I’m married,” she said flatly.
“It doesn’t stop Drew.”
Victoria narrowing her gaze at Jasper. Exactly how much did he know — or think he knew?
He tetched, then admitted, “I saw him kiss that young woman when he got in his car.”
The wordyoungmade her body twitch. “Why didn’t you say?”
He shrugged. “It was your birthday. I didn’t want to ruin it completely.”
“It wouldn’t have been you ruining it,” she muttered. “It would have been him, but he’d already done it.”
Jasper twisted his lips. “Why have you never spoken to me about it? You didn’t need to go through this by yourself. We’re a team, on and off the field.”
“I was…amembarrassed,” Victoria admitted quietly.
“Why? His behaviour isn’t a reflection of you.”
“Isn’t it?” She sighed. “I let him do it. I agreed to an open marriage, even if it ripped me apart at the time.”
Jasper took a deep breath and perched himself on the corner of her desk. “And why did you agree?”
“I thought if I said it was okay for him to see otherwomen, it would prevent our marriage and my life from falling apart. I was probably being foolish.”
“Wasn’t it already broken the moment he asked if you weren’t really on board with it?”
She flinched. What had Clem said over dinner about holding on to broken glass and choking on ashes? She did feel choked and lacerated. Victoria nodded, her gaze drifting over her black laptop screen.
Jasper gave her a sympathetic smile. “It doesn’t make you foolish. It makes you human. None of this was your fault. You compromised yourself to protect something that should have protected you. Staying isn’t failure. Surviving it and walking away… that’s strength.”
“I can’t divorce him,” she whispered.
“Why? He doesn’t deserve you.”
“That’s what Clem said.”
“And she’s right.”
“What if he sells the wharf? The house? They’re not mine. I’m afraid he might act out of spite,” she said, her voice low. “He likes to win, and people can turn nasty during a divorce. They hoard money and use it to hurt each other.”
The solicitor had confirmed as much to her and told her she would need to prepare herself if she decided to go down that road.
“Yes, Drew could convert this floor into apartments and sell them off, but he can’t take or destroyus— what we built. We could move the museum somewhere else. I know this building is your heritage, but it won’t be going anywhere. He can’t erase your achievement. You saved it, Vic. That won’t change. The next chapter might just have to begin somewhere new.” He paused, then added more gently, “This is the rest of your life. Don’t waste it on him. Don’t let stone matter more than living… than loving. This place will stand for centuries because of you. But how long do you have? And how do you want to spend it? Married to that swine or free to do what you want?”
“The museum has always been your domain,” Victoria said, “but the building… it’s what breathes life into me. It’s more than just stone. The wharf gives me everything I need. I always had this connection with architecture. As a kid, I became obsessed with historic buildings, but what we’ve built together here is something else. It connected me to myself, to my own history, at a time when I felt like I had no future. I’ve restored so many buildings, brought them back to life, but this one… this one broughtmeback to life when I was at my lowest point.”
