Left on His Wedding Night, the War God Returned

Chapter 8: The Empty Table

Sarah's heels echoed through the Sterling Corporation hallway like gunshots. Every employee she passed suddenly found something urgent on their screen. Nobody dared to ask why the CEO was at work during her honeymoon….Nobody even looked at her for more than a second.

She shut her office door and sank into her chair, the leather cold against her back. The city of Milano stretched beyond the glass windows, golden afternoon light falling across buildings she couldn't care less about ... 

Her phone sat on the desk, Kevin's contact pulled up, her thumb hovering over the call button.

She almost pressed it. Almost swallowed her pride and dialed. But then the resentment surged back, hot and bitter in her throat. 

He was the one who'd said those horrible things. He was the one who'd compared her relationship with Jasper to sleeping together.

 He was the one who'd threatened divorce on the second day of their marriage. If anyone should be calling to apologize, it was Kevin, not her.

She put the phone face down on the desk.

The office door swung open without a knock.

Jasper stood in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame, his hospital band still wrapped around his wrist. 

His face was pale, thinner than yesterday, and he was breathing like the walk from the elevator had cost him everything he had.

"Jasper?" Sarah shot to her feet. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I heard the staff talking." His voice was tired, strained. "They said you came in today, and I didn't believe them. It's your honeymoon, Sarah. You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you. You were in the hospital twelve hours ago with internal bleeding." Her concern bled into anger, the way it always did with him. "Are you out of your mind? Get back to the hospital right now."

Jasper smiled weakly and lowered himself into the chair across from her desk, moving like every muscle in his body ached. "I'm fine. I signed myself out this morning. The doctors said the bleeding stopped, and I can't just lie there doing nothing while the merger paperwork piles up."

"The merger can wait. Your health can't."

"See, that's why you're a better boss than anyone deserves." His smile softened, something warm and grateful settling into his expression. "You actually care about people, not just productivity."

Sarah felt the tension in her shoulders loosen slightly. At least someone appreciated her.

Jasper's eyes searched her face, and his smile faded into something more cautious. "Sarah, can I ask you something? And please don't get upset with me."

"What is it?"

"Did Kevin misunderstand us? Our relationship, I mean." He spoke carefully, like he was stepping across broken glass. "Because if I'm the reason you two are fighting, I'll never forgive myself."

Sarah exhaled through her teeth. "Kevin is being Kevin. Jealous, suspicious, blowing everything out of proportion."

"I'm sorry. I really am." Jasper looked down at his hands, his voice going quiet and sincere. "I just want you to know that if I had a girlfriend, I would trust her completely. Every decision she made, every friendship she had, I would support it without question. Because that's what love is supposed to be, isn't it? Trust. Not controlled."

The words settled over Sarah like a warm blanket. She found herself nodding before she realized it.

"You're more understanding than most men," she said, and there was something almost wistful in her tone, something she didn't fully hear herself say.

"I just think you deserve someone who appreciates everything you do instead of punishing you for it." Jasper's eyes lifted to meet hers, soft and earnest. "You spent last night taking care of me when you didn't have to. You came to work today when you should be on your honeymoon. You carry everyone on your shoulders and never complain, and the one person who should be thanking you for all of it is at home giving you the silent treatment instead."

Sarah's chest ached. She looked away, blinking hard.

"Maybe I should talk to Kevin myself," Jasper offered gently. "Explain that nothing is going on between us, that I would never disrespect his marriage."

"Don't bother." Sarah's voice turned bitter. "He's narrow minded right now. Blinded by jealousy. He wouldn't listen to a word you said. It would only make things worse."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Focus on recovering. That's all. I'll handle Kevin when he calms down. He always calms down eventually."

Jasper nodded slowly, obediently, like a man who would follow her anywhere. "Okay. If that's what you want, I'll follow your lead. I always do." He stood from the chair with visible effort, wincing as his hand pressed against his abdomen. "Thank you, Sarah. For everything. For last night, for today, for never giving up on me."

Sarah stared at him for a moment too long. Something flickered behind her eyes, brief and unreadable, before she blinked it away.

"Take care of yourself, Jasper. Please."

He gave her one last grateful look and walked out of the office with slow, careful steps, each one costing him visible pain.

The moment the door closed behind him, his expression changed. The vulnerability melted off his face like wax from a candle, and a slow, satisfied smile spread across his mouth. 

His posture straightened. His steps steadied. He walked past the rows of cubicles with the quiet confidence of a man whose plan was working perfectly.

Seven o'clock found Sarah dragging herself through the front door of their apartment in Navigli. 

Every muscle in her body hurt. Her eyes burned from staring at contracts she couldn't focus on. Her head throbbed with a headache that had started sometime around noon and never left.

The apartment was dark.

She flipped on the lights, and the emptiness hit her like a wall. Normally at this hour, Kevin would already be here. 

He'd meet her at the door, kneel down to help her out of her heels the way he'd done every single evening for three years. 

He'd take her coat, hang it up, kiss her forehead, and lead her to the dining table where something incredible would be waiting. Risotto with saffron and bone marrow.

 Fresh pasta with truffle shavings. That Tuscan bean soup she loved when the weather turned cold. He cooked like a man who'd studied under masters, though he always claimed he'd learned from YouTube.

But tonight there was no smell of food. No warmth from the kitchen. No Kevin kneeling at the door with that quiet, devoted smile.

 Just silence and cold air and the half packed moving boxes sitting exactly where they'd left them.

Something close to panic flickered through Sarah's chest. She moved quickly through the apartment, pushing open the bedroom door, checking the bathroom, pulling open the closet.

 His clothes were still there, his shoes lined up neatly on the rack, and his toothbrush still in the cup by the sink.

Relief flooded through her so fast it made her dizzy. He hadn't left. Not yet.

She sank onto the edge of the bed, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal, and tried not to think about why the sight of his missing belongings had terrified her so completely.

The front door opened.

Kevin walked in carrying a folder tucked under his arm. He didn't look at her. Didn't greet her. Just moved through the apartment like she wasn't there, heading straight for the bathroom.

"Where have you been all day?" Sarah asked, standing up.

Kevin turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face.

 He dried it slowly with a towel, hung the towel back on the rack, and walked past her into the living room without a single word.

Sarah's jaw tightened. The frustration from the entire day, the argument, Jasper's pain, Clara's careful questions, the empty apartment, all of it compressed into a single burning point behind her ribs.

"I asked you a question, Kevin."