If I hadn't overheard his conversation with Wallis three months into the marriage, I would have gone on living in the happiness I'd built inside my own head.
It was Jasper's birthday. I carried a cake I'd baked myself back to the Morton family estate, and there in the hallway, I saw them. Jasper and Wallis, wrapped in each other's arms.
My legs turned to lead. They were foster siblings. No matter how close they were, they had no business holding each other like that.
A sick feeling crept up from somewhere deep in my chest.
I didn't walk over. I didn't have the courage.
Jasper was murmuring to her, his voice low and tender. "If you need to cry, then cry."
And Wallis did. Soft, pitiful little sobs that made Jasper pull her closer, one hand rubbing slow circles on her back. But his face told a different story. His jaw was tight, his expression twisted with a fury that looked like it could tear him apart.
"What gives Chad Delgado the right to refuse you? How are you not good enough for him?"
He spat Chad's name like it burned his mouth.
"He said he doesn't love me." Wallis's voice cracked. "He said the one he loves is May Henson."
The moment the words left her lips, she broke down completely.
I stumbled back a step. And just like that, the fog cleared. I understood why Jasper Morton had proposed to me.
The three of them had known all along. I was the only one left in the dark. But what cut deepest wasn't the scheme itself. It was wondering what my husband really felt for Wallis.
I steadied myself and started walking toward them, cake still in my hands. Wallis spotted me first. Without missing a beat, she rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to Jasper's cheek.
Her eyes drifted to me, and her voice, still thick with tears, carried down the hallway. "Jasper, I was so arrogant back then. I thought as long as I loved him, he'd marry me. If I'd just listened to you, your father would have come around for us eventually."
My feet froze to the floor. So there was a history between them, too.
I didn't go any closer. Wallis's knees buckled and she nearly collapsed, and Jasper scooped her up in one swift motion and carried her away.
After that day, signs of Jasper and Wallis were everywhere. More and more, impossible to ignore.
They didn't even bother hiding it from me. Every time I raised the subject, Jasper gave the same explanation. "Wallis came to live with us when she was six. We've always been close. Her health has never been strong. I just look out for her a little more than most."
He'd explained himself, so I told myself I should believe him. I wanted to give us a chance.
But I soon realized Wallis was nothing like the innocent girl she pretended to be. A year into the marriage, the family held a gathering. As the newest member of the household, everyone was eager for me to give the Mortons an heir.
My mother-in-law was the most invested. She stared pointedly at my midsection. "May, you've been married a full year now. Why hasn't there been any news?"
Heat crept up my neck. I glanced at Jasper. He was across the room playing chess with his grandfather, oblivious. We'd been married a year, but the number of times we'd actually shared a bed I could count on one hand. How was I supposed to get pregnant?
Before I could think of an answer, Wallis spoke up. "Mrs. Morton, I heard from Jasper that May is frigid."
The words landed like a slap. My face burned. My mother-in-law's eyes snapped to me, hard and accusing. But it wasn't her reaction that gutted me.
It was the fact that Jasper had told Wallis something like that. My eyes stung so badly I had to excuse myself to the bathroom before the tears fell.
Jasper came to find me afterward. I've never been good at holding things in, so I told him exactly what Wallis had said. He didn't even consider it. "That's impossible. Wallis would never say something like that."
"One of you is lying, Jasper." My voice was steady, but barely. "Wallis is your foster sister. You're siblings in name. Surely there are some boundaries that need to exist."
