No More Layovers for a Love That Won't Land novel Chapter 21

Elena arrived within hours. The moment she got Freya’s call, she’d booked the first flight out. After a month apart, she practically tackled her best friend in a hug.

“Freya!”

Freya’s guarded expression softened as she caught her friend.

“About time you showed up.”

They caught up on the couch, and as they prepared to leave, Elena couldn’t shake her guilt.

“God, I’m so sorry about this mess. I never should’ve told him where you were. What was I thinking?”

Freya gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“Don’t beat yourself up. If you hadn’t told him, Jasper would’ve hired someone to track me down anyway. Better to get it over with. Clean break and all that.”

Despite her reassurance, Elena felt awful. She never imagined her brother would go full stalker movie–spending

the night in a thunderstorm outside Freya’s apartment like some deranged Romeo. She glanced at Jasper, who was pretending not to stare at Freya while obviously memorizing every detail of her. Elena couldn’t help asking what

they were all wondering.

“Real talk though… if Mia had never come back, would you two have ended up together?”

Jasper’s attention snapped to them, clearly desperate to hear the answer. If Mia had never reappeared, would Freya

still be his?

Freya’s smile held no warmth. She’d asked herself this same question countless times. But after everything that went down, she finally understood: if not Mia, it would’ve been someone else eventually. Jasper’s sudden declaration of love was just panic at losing her–nothing more.

She brushed her hair back and answered with startling certainty.

“Not a chance.”

Nobody asked why. They didn’t need to.

Elena took a nearly catatonic Jasper back to New York. The Whitemore empire was bleeding cash–with Jasper mentally checked out, Elena reluctantly stepped in to stop the hemorrhaging.

She’d barely unpacked her suitcase before having to wade through her brother’s corporate disaster. Thank god for that business degree she’d actually put to use during her time in Paris.

Before diving into full damage control, Elena handed Jasper a manila folder.

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