Freya's POV
The movers finished loading the last of Jasper's belongings into the truck. Years of shared living reduced to cardboard boxes and furniture I never liked anyway.
I signed the removal receipt and closed my front door. The silence felt different now. Cleaner.
My phone buzzed. A text from Jasper: *Coming over with the contracts. Mom insists on being there as a witness.*
Of course Hazel wanted to witness my humiliation. She probably thought I'd cry and beg Jasper to reconsider.
She was about to be very disappointed.
I changed into my sharpest business suit. Black wool, perfectly tailored. If this was going to be a negotiation, I'd dress the part.
The doorbell rang exactly on time. Jasper never was one for being fashionably late.
I opened the door to find him standing beside his mother. Hazel White wore her usual expression of barely concealed disdain. Her pearl necklace caught the hallway light as she looked past me into my home.
"Freya." Jasper's voice was carefully neutral.
"Jasper. Mrs. White."
"It's such a shame," Hazel said, stepping inside without invitation. "I had such high hopes for you and Jasper."
I closed the door behind them. "Did you? Because I distinctly remember you suggesting he date that banker's daughter just last Christmas."
Hazel's smile faltered. "That was merely conversation."
"Was it?"
Jasper cleared his throat. "Freya, let's just get this over with."
I gestured toward the living room. "By all means. Make yourselves comfortable."
They sat on my white sofa like they were attending a funeral. Which, in a way, they were.
Jasper pulled out a leather portfolio. "The lawyers prepared everything. Evening•Banquet Couture will be transferred entirely to your name."
He slid the contract across my coffee table. I picked it up and scanned the pages. Legal language, but the meaning was clear. The company was mine.
All of it.
"This represents your share of a multi-billion-dollar enterprise," Hazel said. "I hope you understand the generosity of this gesture."
I looked up from the contract. "Generosity?"
"Jasper could have fought this. He could have claimed the company was built during your relationship, making it community property."
"He could have tried."
"Freya," Jasper said quietly. "I know this situation isn't ideal, but I want you to be taken care of."
Taken care of. Like I was a pet he was abandoning.
"How thoughtful." I set the contract down. "There's just one small issue."
Jasper tensed. "What issue?"
"My wedding dress. The one you took for Lila."
"What about it?"
"It was handmade. Months of work. The silk alone cost fifteen thousand dollars."
Hazel scoffed. "Surely you're not asking for reimbursement for a dress."
"Actually, I am. One million dollars."
The silence stretched between us like a chasm.
"One million?" Jasper's voice cracked slightly. "For a dress?"
"For my dress. The one I made for my wedding. The one that's now being worn by my half-sister."
"That's robbery," Hazel snapped.
I smiled. "That's business. You want me to sign this contract? One million for the dress."
Jasper ran his hands through his hair. "Freya, be reasonable."
"I am being reasonable. That dress represented months of my life. My creativity. My dreams. If Lila wants to wear it, she can pay for the privilege."
"She's dying," Hazel said.
"We've established that. It doesn't make my work worthless."
Jasper stared at the contract, then at me. "Fine. One million."
"Wonderful." I picked up my pen. "Wire transfer will be acceptable."
He nodded to his mother, who reluctantly pulled out her phone to arrange the payment.
"There is one more thing," Jasper said as I began signing.
My pen stopped moving. "What?"
"The wedding jewelry. The set you chose. Lila would like to wear it too."
I set my pen down very carefully. "The Cartier set?"
"She said it would complete the look."
Something cold and sharp twisted in my chest. The jewelry. The pieces I'd spent weeks selecting. Diamonds and pearls that cost more than most people's houses.
"She wants my jewelry too."
"Just for the wedding."
"Just for the wedding," I repeated. "Like she just wanted my dress?"
"Freya, please. She doesn't have long."
I stood up and walked to the window. Outside, life continued normally. People walked their dogs. Children played in the park. None of them knew that inside this room, someone was trying to strip away every piece of my identity.
"You know what's interesting about Lila?" I said without turning around.
"Freya," Jasper warned.
"When we were children, she used to take my toys. Not to play with them. Just so I couldn't have them."
"That's not relevant."
"Isn't it?" I turned back to face them. "She'd break them and throw them away. But she had to have them first."
Hazel shifted uncomfortably. "Children do silly things."
"Lila isn't a child anymore. She's a grown woman who chose to steal her sister's fiancé and wedding dress. Now she wants the jewelry too."
Jasper's face reddened. "It's not stealing. I'm giving these things to her willingly."
"Because she manipulated you into it."
"Because I love her."
The words hung in the air like poison gas.
"You love her," I said slowly. "After years with me, you suddenly love her."
"I've always cared about Lila. You know that."
"Cared about and loved are very different things."
"Freya, this doesn't have to be complicated. Lila will be gone soon, and then—"
"And then what?"
Jasper glanced at his mother, who nodded encouragingly.
"And then maybe we can find our way back to each other."
I stared at him. This man I'd loved for years. This man I'd saved repeatedly with my own blood. This man who thought I would wait for him like some consolation prize.
"Are you suggesting I should wait for you?"
"I'm suggesting that Lila's illness doesn't change how I feel about you."
"It just changes who you marry."
"Temporarily."
The word hit me like a physical blow.
"Temporarily," I repeated.
"Lila won't live more than a few months. After that—"
"After that, you expect me to welcome you back with open arms?"
"I hope you'll understand that I had to do the right thing."
I looked at Hazel, who was watching this exchange with obvious approval. She thought her son was being noble. Sacrificing himself for a dying girl while keeping his real love on the side.
"How much for the jewelry?" I asked.
Jasper blinked. "What?"
"You heard me. How much?"
"Freya, you can't be serious."
"One million for the dress. How much for the jewelry?"
"I'm not paying you for jewelry that's meant to be a wedding gift."
"Then Lila doesn't get to wear it."
Hazel leaned forward. "You're being petty."
"I'm being practical. If Lila wants to play dress-up in my life, she can pay for the privilege."
Jasper closed his eyes. "Another million."
"Perfect." I picked up my pen again. "Two million total. I'll have the jewelry delivered to the hospital."
"You'll have it delivered?"
I finished signing the contract and slid it back across the table.
"Actually, no. I've changed my mind about that."
Jasper and Hazel exchanged glances.
"I'll personally send the whole set of jewels to the hospital, and visit my dear sister along the way."