Chapter 10 — Begging at the Gate
Chapter 10 — Begging at the Gate
A heavy autumn rain rained down over the city as a battered, rusted taxicab pulled up to the security gates of the Robertson Estate.
Jasper stepped out into the pouring rain. He had no coat, his clothes were soaked through, and his face was drawn and pale. He looked ten years older than he had a month ago.
He walked up to the heavy iron gate and pressed the intercom button repeatedly.
"Hailey!" he screamed into the speaker, his voice cracking with desperation. "Hailey, please! Talk to me!"
A moment later, the smooth, disciplined voice of Daniel Cross came through the speaker. "Mr. Lawson, you are currently violating a active restraining order. Turn around and leave immediately, or security will detain you."
"I don't care about the restraining order!" Jasper wept, pressing his forehead against the cold iron bars. "Just let me see her! Five minutes! Please, Daniel, tell her I’m begging!"
Inside the estate mansion, Hailey stood by the French doors of her study, holding a hot cup of tea. Through the high-powered security monitors on her desk, she could clearly see Jasper standing in the rain, drenched, broken, and crying.
Finnley walked into the study, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to have Daniel handle him?"
Hailey looked at the monitor for a long moment. She felt no anger. She felt no satisfaction in his pain.
All she felt was a profound, quiet clarity.
"No, Dad," Hailey said softly. "I’ll talk to him one last time."
A few minutes later, the grand iron gates opened slowly.
Jasper’s eyes lit up with desperate hope as he saw a golf cart approach, covered by an umbrella canopy. Daniel Cross was driving, and sitting in the passenger seat was Hailey, wrapped in an elegant white wool coat.
She stepped out under the cover of the main gate house, standing dry and protected while Jasper stood in the pouring rain just steps away.
"Hailey!" Jasper cried, taking a step forward, but Daniel immediately stepped between them. "Hailey, thank God! Please... please listen to me!"
"You have two minutes, Jasper," Hailey said quietly, her expression calm and unreadable.
"I was wrong," Jasper sobbed, falling to his knees right there in the wet gravel. "I was an idiot! My mother, my sister... they manipulated me, they pushed me! But I love you, Hailey! I’ve always loved you! I miss you, I miss our baby... please, come home. Give me one more chance!"
Hailey looked down at the man who had once made her feel so small. Watching him kneel in the mud, crying and blaming others for his own choices, she realized how completely the illusion had shattered.
"Jasper," Hailey said, her voice dripping with quiet pity. "You don't love me. You never loved me."
"I do! I swear I do!"
"No," Hailey shook her head slowly. "You loved the prestige of having a quiet, obedient wife who asked for nothing. You loved the money my father’s name brought your company. But you never cared about me."
She stepped forward slightly, looking him directly in the eyes.
"When I was crying in that hospital room, begging you to help me bring our son home, you didn't care. When I was sitting on that public bus with an open surgical wound, holding our newborn baby, you were drinking champagne."
Jasper choked on his breath, unable to find a single lie to defend himself.
"I gave you four years of my life, Jasper," Hailey continued softly. "I gave you my loyalty, my respect, and my heart. And you threw it away because you thought I had no power."
"Hailey... please..."
"The divorce will be finalized next week," Hailey said, her tone firm and absolute. "You will surrender all legal rights to Toby, and you will face the consequences of your financial crimes. Do not ever come to this gate again."
May you like
She turned around and stepped back onto the vehicle.
"Hailey! Hailey, don't leave me!" Jasper screamed, reaching out his hands as the gates slowly slid shut, locking him out forever in the dark and cold rain.
