Chapter 7
1006 Words
Jasper froze for a moment, as if only just remembering the rosary existed.
He had never imagined a simple string of beads could carry such a weight of devotion behind it.
Cindy withdrew her gaze, saying nothing.
Jasper's hand, halfway through some explanatory gesture, dropped to his side. He turned and murmured a few instructions to his assistant.
Moments later, the assistant returned with a plate of sliced mango.
"Have some fruit. You've barely eaten these past two days."
Cindy smiled faintly. "Jasper, I'm allergic to mangoes."
Jasper's hand stopped mid-air, baffled. "That's impossible. We always have mangoes at home. You've never once mentioned—"
Cindy looked at him, no accusation in her eyes, only a quiet, bone-deep weariness.
"I did tell you. The first year we were married, you hosted guests at home, and mango pudding was served for dessert. After everyone left, I had a severe allergic reaction. My face was swollen for three days. I had to go to the hospital for an anaphylactic shot.
"The only reason we always have mangoes at home is because you love them."
Jasper's entire body went rigid.
Cindy let out a soft sigh and turned to walk out of the building.
Snapping out of his stupor, Jasper strode after her, his voice uncharacteristically rushed.
"Cindy, are you upset? Did the things Frank said that day make you misunderstand my relationship with Jenna? She is truly nothing more than a coworker to me."
Cindy didn't answer. She stepped around him, hailed a taxi, and got in without a backward glance.
In the rearview mirror, his tall, rigid figure stood rooted to the spot.
She looked away and closed her eyes, just for a moment's rest.
The taxi swerved violently.
Her head smashed against the window, and her vision went black.
"Driver?"
The man didn't answer. He hit the gas instead.
The car weaved like a maniac through traffic, lurching left and right.
Cindy was thrown around the backseat. Her freshly healed wounds split open again, cold sweat instantly soaking through her shirt.
"Stop the car! I said stop!"
Her voice shook with panic. She reached for the door handle—locked.
The vehicle bucked hard. Her phone slipped from her hand and tumbled into the gap between the seats.
She bent down to grab it, only to be slammed against the front seat, starbursts exploding across her vision.
After what felt like an eternity, the car finally screeched to a stop outside an abandoned factory.
Cindy was dragged out. A hand twisted into her hair, hurling her to the rough ground.
Gravel bit into her knees. She struggled to push herself up. A brutal kick slammed into her lower back.
"Long time no see, Ms. Shaw."
Cindy forced her head up.
Standing over her was Winnie Hewitt—Jenna's best friend.
Winnie clamped a hand around Cindy's throat, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. "After what happened with Frank, Jasper's been so much colder toward Jenna. He's criticized her three or four times in meetings.
"But I will never believe he feels nothing for her. Do you know, last winter Jenna had acute appendicitis, and Jasper carried her on his back for three kilometers to the hospital.
"Three months ago, Jenna was traumatized on a mission and couldn't sleep the entire night. Jasper sat with her in the duty room until dawn, then went straight to work the next morning without a wink of rest."
Cindy's breathing grew more and more labored.
Winnie stared down at her coldly. "Jasper is a good man. He just has terrible judgment, can't tell who's worth holding onto. That's fine. I'll help him see clearly."
She pulled out a timed bomb from behind her back.
The red digital numbers were already ticking down.
Cindy tried to speak, to tell her they were already divorced.
But the words never made it past her lips. Winnie swung a wooden baton and struck her clean across the head.
*****
When she came to, Jenna's shrill cries filled her ears.
"Jasper! Save me! Jasper!"
Cindy opened her eyes. Across from her, Jenna was sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. Bombs were strapped to both their chests.
Jasper stood in the doorway, his face unusually grim.
Winnie wore a mask, the remote control clutched in her hand.
"Jasper, choose. One of you walks out alive. The other gets blown to pieces!"
Jenna's cries grew even more frantic. "Jasper..."
Cindy's voice was so hoarse it was barely a whisper, but everything before her eyes was drowning her in despair.
"When the Gray Foxes kidn*pped me, you didn't choose me. When they needed blood at the hospital, you abandoned me too. Even when Frank held my life in his hands to force you, you never once wavered for me...
"Five years of marriage. Could you... just this once, stand on my side?"
The agony in her eyes cut straight through Jasper's chest, sending sharp, relentless stabs through his heart.
Those few seconds of silence stretched longer than a lifetime.
He closed his eyes briefly. "Release Jenna first."
Tears rolled down Cindy's cheeks. She nodded faintly, closing her eyes and shutting him out completely.
The bomb was removed from Jenna's body. She threw herself tearfully into Jasper's arms.
Jasper shoved her away, hard, and broke into a sprint toward Cindy.
One minute left on the timer.
"Cindy, don't be scared. I'll save you."
He dropped to his knees, frantically working to defuse the bomb with his bare hands, the indicator light flashing wildly.
She whispered, her voice hollow and spent. "Jasper, if I'd known it would end like this, I would never have married you."
Jasper's body trembled faintly, but his hands stayed steady.
"Don't say stupid things. You're not going to die. If anyone dies, we die together."
Three seconds left. Cindy closed her eyes in absolute despair.
He pulled her tight against his chest, shielding her entirely with his own body.
Boom!
The explosion ripped through the air.
The blast wave flattened the entire factory.
- Writer
