Left on His Wedding Night, the War God Returned

Chapter 2: The Call

Kevin was still staring at the closed door when his phone rang.

Jasper Doom.

He almost didn't answer. Almost threw the phone against the wall instead, but something cold and curious made him press accept and lift it to his ear.

"Kevin?" Jasper's voice came through broken, choking on what sounded like genuine sobs. "Kevin, I'm so sorry. God, I'm so sorry."

Kevin said nothing. He stood there in the honeymoon suite, still naked, still surrounded by the ghost of Selena's perfume, and listened.

"I didn't want this to happen. I swear I didn't. The nurse, she went through my emergency contacts without permission and called Selena before I could stop her. I tried calling Selena myself right after, tried to tell her not to come, that it wasn't serious, but she didn't pick up. She must have been driving already and now..." His voice cracked. "Now I've ruined your wedding night and I feel like the worst person alive."

The words tumbled out perfectly, each one soaked in guilt and helpless regret.

"Please say something," Jasper begged. "Please. I know you must hate me right now. I hate myself. If I could undo this, if I could make her turn around and go back to you, I would, but I don't know how. I don't know what to do."

Kevin remained silent.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen tonight of all nights. Your honeymoon, your special night with her, and I destroyed it. I should have told the hospital not to contact anyone. I should have just dealt with it alone."

A door opened in the background. Footsteps echoed against tile floors, quick and purposeful. Then Selena's voice, warm and breathless and full of concern that made Kevin's chest tighten.

"Jasper, oh my God, are you okay?"

Kevin's grip on the phone went white knuckled.

"Selena," Jasper said, and his voice shifted instantly and went softer and more fragile. "You shouldn't have come. It's your wedding night. I tried to call you and tried to tell you not to come."

“ Don't be ridiculous. Lie down, you're still pale. Here, drink this. The doctor said you need fluids." Her voice was gentle, coaxing, the way you'd speak to someone precious and breakable.

"I feel awful. Not about my stomach, about ruining your honeymoon. About taking you away from Kevin tonight of all nights."

"You didn't ruin anything. Stop worrying about that. Just focus on getting better, okay? That's all that matters right now."

Kevin heard the rustle of sheets, the clink of glass against a plastic tray. Jasper made a small pained sound, and Selena immediately responded with a worried intake of breath.

"Careful, careful. Don't move too fast. Let me help you with that."

"You're too good to me," Jasper whispered, and there was something in his tone that made Kevin's jaw clench. "After everything I've put you through these past months, interrupting your time with Kevin, causing tension between you two, and now this."

"You haven't put me through anything. You've been working yourself to death on my company's projects. This is my fault for pushing you too hard on that merger deal."

"Selena, no. You've given me everything. A career, a purpose, and friendship. I owe you my life, truly I do."

"Don't talk like that. You don't owe me anything."

"It's true. Without you, I'd be nothing, just another sick kid who couldn't make it in the real world. But you saw something in me, believed in me when no one else did."

"Because you're brilliant and dedicated and loyal, and you've earned every opportunity I've given you. Now stop talking and rest before you make yourself worse."

A pause stretched out, filled with the hospital's ambient sounds. A nurse's voice calling down the hallway. The beep of a monitor. Then Jasper spoke again, quieter and more careful.

"Is Kevin very angry with me?"

Selena sighed, and Kevin could picture her exactly as she stood there, probably smoothing back Jasper's hair the way she used to do for him when he was sick. "He'll be fine. He always is."

"Are you sure? I heard his voice before, when you were leaving the hotel. He sounded really upset."

"He's always upset when you're involved, Jasper. It's nothing new."

"I know. I'm sorry. I never want to cause problems between you two."

"It's not your fault. Kevin just doesn't understand that I can care about more than one person at a time. He gets jealous easily, especially where you're concerned."

The words landed like a blade between his ribs. Kevin closed his eyes and felt something fundamental shift inside him.

"I wish I could talk to him," Jasper said softly, his voice going even weaker. "Make him understand that you came because you're a good person, not because of me specifically. Any decent human being would've done the same thing in your position. It's just who you are, Selena. You'd help anyone who needed you."

A pause. Then Jasper's voice dropped lower, more intimate. "But I guess not everyone can appreciate that kind of heart. Some people want to be the only one who matters. I understand that too, in a way. If you were mine, I'd probably struggle to share you with anyone else either."

Kevin's hand tightened around the phone until he heard the case creak.

"You're not mine, of course," Jasper added quickly, with a soft, self-deprecating laugh. "You're his wife now. I just meant... I can see why he'd feel threatened. You're so caring, so devoted when someone needs you. Tonight proves that. You didn't even hesitate to come, even though it was your wedding night. That says everything about who you are."

"Well, if he's furious, he would've been furious twenty times already in the past six months. This isn't new. He'll get over it like he always does, and tomorrow we'll talk and everything will be fine again."

Cold clarity spread through Kevin's veins like winter water.

"You're too understanding with him," Jasper murmured. "Too patient. He's lucky to have you, Selena. So incredibly lucky."

"I'm the one who's lucky. You've helped Sterling Industries grow faster than I ever dreamed possible. That merger deal alone is going to change everything for us."

"I just want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted since the day we met."

"I know. I know you do, and I'm grateful for you every single day."

Kevin heard the smile in her voice, that gentle affectionate warmth she used to reserve only for him. Now it poured freely over Jasper Doom, this weak pathetic man who somehow always needed rescuing at exactly the right moment.

Except he wasn't weak. Kevin had heard it just now, in that half second after Selena reassured him. A sound so faint that anyone with normal hearing would've missed it entirely, but Kevin's senses were sharper than any ordinary man's, honed by years of combat and survival in places where missing a sound meant death.

Jasper had laughed. Not out loud. Just a breath, a soft exhalation of pure satisfaction, like a wolf that had just tasted blood.

"Here, let me adjust your pillow," Selena said, her voice full of tender focus. "Is that better now?"

"Much better. Thank you for everything, Selena. Really."

"Do you need anything else? More water? Another blanket? I can ask the nurse to bring one."

"No, just having you here is enough. I feel safer already, like nothing bad can happen as long as you're nearby."

Kevin ended the call.