DON'T GO đđđđ
A story that talks about her hidden darkness đłď¸đłď¸
Chapter 5
Jasper POV
The car ride felt unbearably long, each passing minute weighed down by a storm of uneasy thoughts. What if Grandpa insults me? What if he finds out I have a black woman as my secretary? Will he think less of me? My mind raced so fast that I hardly noticed the smooth rumble of the engine beneath me or the sunlight streaking through the window.
"Mr. Jasper?" James's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Yes," I replied, forcing my voice to sound calm.
"We've arrived," he said.
I nodded and stepped out of the car, the polished stones of the driveway cool under my feet. I signaled to the butler to take the gift I had brought, but my mind was elsewhere, already bracing for what awaited inside. As soon as I entered the house, the air felt thick and tense. My mother and Cecilia were in the parlor, speaking in hushed tones that carried an edge I couldn't ignore.
"Good morning, Mom," I said, hoping for some acknowledgment.
She didn't even glance at me.
"Seriously, Mom? You won't even answer me?" I asked, frustration creeping into my voice. She ignored me, directing the maids to prepare the table, then left to call my father and grandfather.
I turned to Cecilia, seeking an explanation. "What's happening?" I asked quietly. She looked past me, silent and distant, leaving me to stew in confusion and hurt.
The dining room was heavy with silence. Every tick of the clock seemed to echo, amplifying the tension. I tried to ignore it, but the pressure was suffocating. Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, I asked, "Why is everyone snubbing me?" My voice trembled with anger and frustration.
"Who's Cathy?" my grandfather's voice rang sharply, and my heart lurched.
"She's my secretary," I said firmly, trying to steady my racing pulse.
"So what Cecilia has been saying is true? How dare you employ a black woman as your secretary and still harbor feelings for her, forgetting you are engaged!" he shouted, his voice booming like thunder.
"I am not having any romantic feelings for her! She is just my secretary," I replied, my voice tight but resolute, struggling to hold back the storm of emotions boiling inside me.
"Cecilia, I hope you heard him. Can we now continue dining in peace?" my grandfather said, his tone carrying the weight of authority.
The rest of the meal passed in silence. I felt every glare, every unspoken judgment pressing down on me. Once it ended, I couldn't stay another second. I left the house without a word and made my way to my own mansion, the tension clinging to me like a second skin, my mind swirling with hurt, anger, and the bitter taste of family judgment.
Cecilia POV
The moment Jasper's car disappeared down the drive, a hot, furious knot unfurled in my chest. I slammed the parlor door shut behind me more loudly than I meant to, the sound a settling clap that did nothing to calm the wildfire in my veins. My hands trembledâpart anger, part adrenalineâas I snatched my phone from the side table and dialed the only number that ever made me feel a little less alone in this war.
"Hello, Frank," I said, my voice low and seething. Every word was a blade.
"Yes, Ma. I thought you'd forgotten me," he answered, the familiarity of his tone a small, dangerous comfort.
"Any good news?" I asked, near desperate, like a drowning woman scraping for a rope.
There was a pause, the kind that tastes like thin ice. "No, Ma. And I thought I told you last timeâMr. Jasper fired me from his company." His voice was flat, almost cold. The words hit me like stones.
"What?!" I snapped, the air leaving my lungs. For a moment I couldn't process the soundâmy name swallowed by his report. "You're joking. You're joking."
"He did, Ma," Frank said. There was no humour in him, no slackening. Only fact.
I felt something inside me snap. Anger clotting into something sharperâbitter, ready to cut. "I'll transfer some cash to you," I said, breathless, already picturing the numbers on my phone screen. Money would buy loyalty, information, movement. Money could stitch things back together if it had to.
"Thank you, mâ" before he could began saying another annoying words.
I had already ended the call, my thumb slamming the screen like a verdict. The quiet that followed was heavy, filled with the hum of the air conditioner and the faint tick of the grandfather clock down the hall. It sounded obscene in the middle of my fury, as if the whole house were mocking me with civility.
I paced without thinkingâtwo steps, then three, circling like a caged animal. My fingers found the edge of the marble mantel and dug in until my knuckles paled. Images swarmed my mind: Jasper smiling politely while his grandfather raged; his mother's cool indifference; Cathyâcalm, composed, the way she had offered nothing but professional poise while our world tried to swallow her.
"You see," I murmured to the empty room, a promise more than a question, "I must destroy your Cathy."
The words felt good in my mouthâheavy, inevitable. Not destroy in a crude way, not with fire or blood, but in the manner of ruins: reputation picked apart, opportunities stripped away, confidence ground down until there was nothing left but a hollow shell. I imagined whispers planted in corridors, favors pulled back, key introductions quietly untied. Small acts, poison-doses of social sabotage that left no visible wound but had the same effect.
5 months later
---
Cathy POV
It's been five long months now. Five months of Mr. Jasper's coldness â of him snubbing me, ignoring me as if I were nothing but a shadow in his office. At first, I thought it was just stress, maybe the weight of his responsibilities. But as the days turned into weeks, the silence grew heavier, sharper, like a knife cutting deeper into my pride. Why is he avoiding me? Why does he let Miss Cecilia treat me like trash while he looks the other way? Each unanswered question built a wall inside me, brick by brick, until finally, today, I decided I couldn't stay quiet any longer.
With my heart pounding against my ribs, I walked to his office. My palms were damp, my throat dry, but my steps were steady. "Knock, knock," I rapped gently on his office door.
"Come in," came his reply â that voice of his, cold but still sweet, the sound of it making my chest ache with memories of better days.
I opened the door and stepped inside. Every inch of the office felt charged, like the air before a storm. Without waiting for permission, I walked to the chair opposite his desk and sat down. I knew it was bold, maybe even reckless, but the pain inside me had outgrown my fear. His eyes widened, shock flickering across his usually composed face.
"Good afternoon, sir. I wanted to ask you a question," I said, forcing myself to look straight into his eyes. My voice was firm, but underneath it trembled a lifetime of swallowed pride.
"Go ahead," he said, his gaze locking onto mine.
I took a deep breath. "Sir, why are you avoiding me and always allowing Miss Cecilia to bully me? Did I ever go wrong? Have I ever wronged you before? Please, if you don't need me in your office, kindly fire me and I will gladly go. Because I cannot continue to work under this kind of behavior⌠or should I say, the attitude you are giving me." The words poured out of me like water bursting through a dam â bold, sincere, trembling at the edges with hurt.
For a heartbeat, he said nothing. Then, softly, he said, "CathyâŚ" and stood up, moving away from his chair. Slowly, deliberately, he walked closer to me until he was standing right in front of me.
"I don't want to avoid you," he said quietly, his voice rougher than before. "But I have to â to protect you."
My breath caught.
"I know you won't believe me, but I've been in love with you for so long," he continued, his eyes glistening. "I've always wanted to spend the rest of my life with you⌠but I can't. My family will never approve. So tell me, what do you expect me to do?" His voice cracked as tears slid down his cheeks, his pain raw and unhidden.
I sat frozen, the room spinning around me. His confession tore through me, filling me with an ache so deep it felt like a wound. I wanted to reach out, to touch his hand, to tell him it was okay â but the weight of reality pressed me back into my chair.
I am just a black nobody, I thought bitterly, the words ringing in my mind. Just a secretary. Nothing more. My heart ached with a pain I couldn't put into words. My lips stayed silent, even as my eyes burned with unshed tears.
The space between us filled with everything we couldn't say â his love, my hurt, our fear â a silence so heavy it could break.
Jasper POV
Hearing her words pierced me deeper than I could ever explain. It hurtâno, it burned, a raw ache that twisted in my chest, leaving me powerless. I wanted to reach out, to take it all back, to tell her she meant more to me than anythingâbut I couldn't. I was trapped by the chains of my family, by the walls I'd built to protect her.
"Cathy," I called softly, rising from my chair and moving closer to her. My heart thudded painfully, each beat echoing the fear of losing her forever.
"I don't want to avoid you," I said, forcing the words past the lump in my throat, "but I have toâto protect you. I know you might not believe me, but I have been in love with you for so long. I've always wanted to spend the rest of my life with you⌠but I can't. My family will never approve. So tell me⌠what do you expect me to do?"
I studied her carefully, reading the storm in her eyesâthe anger, the pain, the silent heartbreak. Every glance, every trembling breath she took cut me like a knife, but I had no solution, no words to fix what was broken.
"Excuse me, sir," she said, stepping back, her voice trembling yet firm. "I guess we have to keep our work professional⌠with no feelings attached."
And just like that, she walked away. The emptiness she left behind hit me like a tidal wave, sweeping away everything I'd held onto. My chest tightened as if it were being crushed, and I felt as though I had lost everything in a single heartbeat. The office suddenly felt too big, too empty, too cold.
"AHHHHH!" I shouted, pounding my fist against the table. My sobs tore through me, uncontrollable and raw. The sound echoed off the walls, carrying all the heartbreak, all the frustration, all the helplessness I'd bottled up for months.
I sank into my chair, head in my hands, shaking with grief. It was unbearableâlosing her even without her leaving, loving her yet being powerless to hold her. It hurt. Oh, how it hurtâŚ
Cathy POV
Hearing him confess his feelings left a hollow ache in my chest. I felt so sad, so helpless, like the world had suddenly shrunk around me. My heart was bleeding, yet there was nothing I could do to change anything. The pain was sharp, raw, and relentless. I felt guilty for feeling this way, guilty for loving him silently, and yet I couldn't act. I tried to calm myself, whispering quietly in my mind, No one can do anything about this situation⌠so let it be.
But even as I tried to comfort myself, the weight of the day and the weight of my heart made me feel exhausted. My hands trembled slightly, and my eyes stung from the tears I refused to shed openly. I could almost hear his pain echoing in my chest, intertwining with mine, and it made the silence around me feel heavier.
Before I knew it, the clock on the wall read 6:00 p.m. I quickly grabbed my bag, my legs moving almost on autopilot. I needed to get out of the office before anyone noticed my state, before anyone asked questions I didn't have answers for. I dashed out, avoiding the usual goodbyes, determined to get home and rest, to let the quiet of my room soothe the storm in my heart.
Even as I walked briskly, my mind replayed his words over and over, the echo of his confession clinging to me like a shadow. I couldn't stop thinking about him, couldn't stop feeling the pain of what could never be, and yet⌠I had to carry it, silently, alone.
To be continued... đĽšđĽš
Watch out for chapter 6
KĂRMZY đ đ â¤ď¸âđŠš
Please follow me on karmzy stories on Facebook đĽš