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 soft, almost gentle. Not broken… Not panicking…but soft. "Hey, I just wanted to call and check in on you. Make sure you're doing okay over there. All alone."

Kevin said nothing.

“The nurse called Sarah without my permission. I tried calling her myself to tell her not to come, she didn’t pick up. You know how she is when she’s worried about me.. She just drops everything.”

The words sounded like an apology. But something underneath them was wrong, like a gift box with the ribbon tied too perfectly.

“I”m sure she’ll be back soon.Eventually.” A pause that lasted one beat too long.

“I really am sorry, Kevin. On your wedding night of all nights. That must feel…” Jasper let the sentence trail off, leaving the silence to fill in every humiliating words he chose not to say. “Well. You’re a patient man. Sarah’s always telling me that. How you never make a fuss.”

The pity in his voice was the giveaway. Not too much, not too obvious, just enough to let Kevin know that Jasper understood exactly what was happening tonight and exactly how powerless Kevin was to stop it.

“Anyway. Get some rest. I”m sure she’ll come back when she’s done here."

A door opened in the background. Footsteps echoed against tile floors, quick and purposeful. Then Sarah'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.

"Sarah," 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 Sarah 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."

"Sarah, 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?"

Sarah 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, Sarah. 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, Sarah. 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 Sarah 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," Sarah said, her voice full of tender focus. "Is that better now?"

"Much better. Thank you for everything, Sarah. 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.