The Lies That Binds - Chapter #2 - Free To Read

The shattered pastries lay forgotten on the kitchen floor. Jasper stood frozen, his gaze locked on Autumn as if she might vanish at any moment.

Piper's mind raced, memories flooding back of a summer seven years ago — a summer of stolen glances, whispered promises, and one fateful night that changed everything. She gripped the edge of the counter, her knuckles turning white as she fought to keep her composure.

"I... I should go," Autumn said, taking a step back. Her eyes, a startling shade of violet, darted between Jasper and Piper. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry, I —"

"No!" Jasper's voice cracked as he moved toward her. "Autumn, wait. Please."

The raw desperation in his tone sent a dagger through Piper's heart. In all their years of marriage, she'd never heard him speak with such urgency, such need. It was as if the man standing in front of her wasn’t the calm, composed Jasper she had known, but someone unraveling at the seams.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The weight of his voice, heavy with emotions he’d never let her see before, slammed into her. It was everything she had once wanted from him — passion, vulnerability, realness. But now, it only made the betrayal sharper, the distance between them more unbearable.

She wanted to reach out, to touch him, to say something — anything — to stop the pain swelling in his eyes. But the words stayed trapped in her throat, because deep down, she knew it was too late.

Autumn hesitated, one hand still on the doorknob. "It's been so long, Jas. I don't even know why I came. I just... I needed to see you."

Piper cleared her throat, the sound startling all three of them. "I think," she said, surprised by the steadiness in her voice, "that you two have a lot to talk about."

She turned to leave, her heart pounding, but before she could take a step, Jasper's hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist. The touch was firm, familiar, and yet somehow foreign now.

"Piper, don’t—"

She froze, meeting his gaze. His storm-gray eyes were clouded with conflict, flickering between her and Autumn. For a fleeting second, she let herself remember the boy she’d fallen in love with — the one who’d sneak her into drive-in movies with a cocky grin, who taught her how to skip stones at Miller's Pond, who held her tightly as she sobbed at her mother's funeral. The boy who once felt like her whole world.

But that boy was gone, replaced by this man, a stranger who stood in front of her with divided loyalties and a heart that had never fully been hers.

"It's okay," Piper said softly, gently extracting her wrist from his grip. "I'll be upstairs."

As she climbed the stairs, her legs felt leaden. The voices from the kitchen drifted up, muffled but intense. Piper paused at the top, her conscience warring with her curiosity.

"— can't believe you're here," Jasper was saying. "After all this time..."

"I know," Autumn replied. "But when I heard about your father's passing, I couldn't... I needed to make sure you were okay."

Piper's breath hitched in her throat. Jasper's father had died just three months ago, and ever since, her husband had been a ghost of himself — distant, hollow. She’d tried everything to reach him, to be the support he needed, but no matter how hard she pushed, he pushed harder, locking her out.

She made her way to the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. The divorce papers, hidden in the nightstand, seemed to mock her as she pulled them out, her fingers trembling. The cold, impersonal words that would sever the life they'd built together stared back at her, final and unforgiving.

A sob clawed its way up her throat, but she forced it down. She’d cried enough over a man who had never truly belonged to her. Moving to the window, she gazed out at the garden she'd nurtured with so much care over the years. Every flower, every shrub had been planted in the hope that maybe — just maybe — roots could grow where there had only been instability.

From downstairs, she heard laughter — Jasper’s laugh. It was warm, real, and genuine, a sound that had been absent from their home for far too long. Piper closed her eyes as the memory of a pivotal day came rushing back, sharp and unrelenting. She stood in the town square, watching as Jasper and Autumn argued. Autumn’s engagement ring had caught the sunlight as she waved her hands, desperate, frustrated. That was the moment Piper had seen her opportunity.

Piper had seized her chance then, offering Jasper comfort, a shoulder to cry on. And when things had gone too far, when one thing led to another... she'd let him believe the child was his.

Now, as the sun began to set, Piper Blackwood made another choice. She picked up her phone, her thumb hovering over a number she had vowed never to dial.

It was time to face the consequences of her actions. Time to set things right.

As she pressed 'dial,' Piper whispered a quiet prayer. "Forgive me, Jasper. I hope one day you'll understand."

The phone rang once, twice, three times before a gruff voice answered.

"Yeah?"

Piper took a deep breath. "Hello, Mr. Hawthorne. It's Piper. There's something I need to tell you about your granddaughter."