08/01/2025
NOT THE MAN I FELL FOR
Episode 2: The Veil Lifts
The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, painting the bedroom in a golden hue. Kate stirred awake, her mind replaying Jasper’s cryptic phone call from the night before.
She turned her head to see Jasper lying beside her, his features relaxed in sleep. For a moment, he looked like the man she once adored—gentle, kind, and open. But the memory of his cold, calculated voice on the phone was a stark reminder that something wasn’t right.
Quietly, Kate slipped out of bed and padded to the kitchen. The apartment was eerily quiet, the air thick with unspoken tension. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, her phone buzzed on the counter. It was a message from her best friend, Mia.
Mia: Are you okay? Call me when you can.
Kate sighed. Mia had been urging her to confront her doubts about Jasper for weeks now. Picking up her phone, Kate dialed her number.
“Mia,” Kate whispered as soon as the call connected.
“Hey, what’s going on? You sound stressed,” Mia said, concern evident in her tone.
“I overheard Jasper on the phone last night,” Kate began, her voice trembling. “He was... different. Cold. He said something about ‘handling it’ and told someone not to worry about me.”
“Kate, that’s not normal,” Mia said firmly. “You need to figure out what he’s hiding.”
“I know,” Kate admitted. “But how? He’s always so careful. He barely leaves anything lying around.”
There was a pause before Mia replied, “Check his office. If he’s hiding something, it’s probably there.”
Kate hesitated. She had never gone through Jasper’s things before. It felt like a betrayal, but so did his secrecy.
“Okay,” Kate said finally. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
After hanging up, Kate steeled herself and headed to Jasper’s home office. The door creaked as she pushed it open, and her heart pounded in her chest.
The room was immaculate, just like Jasper—everything in its place, nothing out of order. She scanned the shelves and the desk, her eyes landing on a sleek laptop. It was locked, of course, but Kate remembered Jasper once mentioning his favorite numbers.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Worth a shot, she thought as she typed in his birthdate. The screen blinked to life, and Kate let out a shaky breath.
Files filled the desktop, each labeled innocuously: "Financials," "Projects," "Personal." But one folder stood out. It was named “Obsidian.”
Her stomach churned as she clicked on it. Inside were encrypted files, a scanned ID with Jasper’s face but a different name, and documents marked “Confidential.” One file, titled “Phase Two,” was a spreadsheet with names, dates, and sums of money that didn’t make sense.
“What the hell is this?” she whispered.
Suddenly, the sound of the bedroom door opening jolted her. She quickly closed the laptop and stepped away from the desk, her heart racing.
Jasper appeared in the doorway, his sharp eyes narrowing as they landed on her. “Kate? What are you doing in here?”
“I—uh—I was looking for my notebook,” she stammered, forcing a smile. “Thought I left it in here.”
Jasper studied her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, “You should’ve asked me. I’d hate for you to get lost in all my boring work stuff.”
Kate nodded, her palms sweating. As she left the office, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew she was lying.
Back in the living room, she gripped her coffee cup tightly. The man she loved wasn’t just hiding secrets—he was living a double life. And now, she was caught in the middle of it.
To be continued...
