NovelEnglishJasper scrambled to push Rachel away. "Rachel, you're drunk. I'm not Haynes, I'm Jasper."
But Rachel clung to him, pressing desperate kisses against his cheek. "Haynes, how can you be so heartless? Are
you really going to leave me? | didn't mean for this to happen, I just love you too much... Please, don't ignore
me, I'm begging you."
Sweat broke out on Jasper's forehead as he tried to disentangle himself. "Rachel, please, I'm really not Haynes.
Look atjust look! It's Jasper."
He liked Rachel-he couldn't deny that. But there were lines you simply didn't cross, and being with a friend's wife
was one of them, no matter how much he wanted to comfort her. Even though Haynes himself had asked Jasper
to look after Rachel, he had never intended to get this close. What if Haynes changed his mind one day? Then
their friendship would be over for good.
Jasper's repeated rejections only made Rachel cry harder.
She slid to the floor, her sobs wracking her body. Jasper tried to comfort her, murmuring soft words, but nothing
seemed to help. Seeing the woman he cared about in such pain twisted something inside him.
He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table. "Rachel, | wish there was
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something | could do for you. All | can offer is to drink with you."
He downed bottle after bottle, oblivious to the flicker of cold calculation in Rachel's eyes.
Haynes, if you can't be loyal to me, don't blme for what happens next.
The next morning.
Jasper woke up with a splitting headache, rubbing his temples as he struggled to open his eyes. The room was
unfamiliar. Where was he?
Slowly, memories from the night before crushing back-he'd been drinking with Rachel. Had he gotten that
drunk?
He turned his head and froze. Lying beside him was Rachel, fast asleep.
This wasn't the first the'd drunk too much and ended up needing Rachel's help getting home, but he'd never
woken up in bed with her before.
Maybe they'd both just had too much to drink and accidentally ended up here. Maybe nothing had happened.
He clung to that hope-until he lifted the blanket and realized he was completely naked.
Even the most naive person couldn't convince themselves nothing had happened after that kind of night.
Panic twisted his insides. He was about to slip out of bed and make a break for it when Rachel stirred awake.
The second she saw him, she screamed.
"Jasper! Why are you here? Last night... last night wasn't Haynes?"
She sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest, her bare shoulders marked with the undeniable evidence of their
night together.
Any hope Jasper had left crumbled to dust.
“l..... l.....” He couldn't meet her gaze. “I was drunk, Rachel. I'm so sorry..."
Tears rolled down Rachel's cheeks. "What am | supposed to do now? If Haynes
finds out, he'll never wantagain."
Jasper ran a hand through his
mounting. “Look, if
of us says anything, Hayn
doesn't have to know, right?
Rachel's voice was barely a whisper. "But I'm not good enough for him anymore."
Seeing her on the verge of tears,
Jasper's guilt gnawed at him. He softened his tone. "Maybe... maybe you should be withinstead. Haynes
askedto look after you, after all..."
Rachel wiped her eyes. "He hatesnow. If we end up together, Haynes will never speak to you again."
Jasper's expression tightened with anxiety. "So what do we do?"
He cared for Rachel, but the real
reason he'd never dared make a
move was because Haynes had
always been there to bail him out of
trouble He couldn't stand the thought of losing that friendship over this.
Rachel lowered her gaze, her long lashes hiding the darkness in her eyes.
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