The Bodyguard

41.

One thing Jasper never did was underestimate his mom. He knew she was powerful and smart. He knew she could be President one day, and would probably stop at nothing to get that too. It showed. It showed in every little thing she did. The way she spoke. The way she carried herself. If he had ever witnessed some semblance of power, it would be her.

"And I would be perfect. I would undoubtedly win this, if it weren't for you, Jasper."

Jasper's eyes faltered for a moment. Karla thought she saw something other than darkness, but she had to be imagining it.

"And I believe you should be granted grace. I believe not everything is your fault. But this state — this country, does not agree with me. If I want to win this, if I want to hold the most powerful seat in the world one day, if I want The Oval, there are no room for errors. "

And Jasper listened. Because that's all he could do: listen. The person he was months ago would've had it in him to fight back. Say something, anything at all.

But the person he was today? He wasn't thinking about only himself anymore.

"I gave you a chance, Jasper. Many, actually. And what do you do with them? You make me look like a fool. You're not a regular person. We're not fucking hillbillies from the middle of fucking nowhere who can do whatever we want. You wish you were a different person? You wish you could rebel against me like a normal child without consequences? Well that's too fucking bad. I will not lose this election because of you. Do you understand me?"

Karla questioned why her son wasn't fighting back. What she didn't know is Jasper never had anything to lose, up until now.

And that person was standing right outside of the door. Jasper wondered if he could hear. If Karla's words were sharp enough and loud enough to do the same amount of damage as they did in here, out there. He felt embarrassed briefly, but that was short-lived. Indifference out shined it.

"So here's what's going to happen," she continued.

The muscles in Jasper's jaw were so tight, he thought he could've broken a tooth.

"There's going to be an article that's going to come out in The New York Times at the start of next week. It's going to be all about your new budding romance with one of New York's bachelors. Someone powerful. Someone respectable. Someone who will brighten your dull and tainted image. None of the spoiled pretentious brats you dated in college. And since I so sincerely believe in bodily autonomy, I'll allow you the courtesy to pick who it is."

Jasper's heart sunk.

"Mom-" he hardly every called her that, but it was a more of a plea. A desperate attempt to get her to see how much he didn't want to do this.

"I don't want to hear it."

She opened her laptop. Whatever she wanted must've already been pulled up, because she turned it around to face him within seconds.

Jasper didn't want to look at the screen, but he had to. Everything he didn't want to do, he had to.

He already knew what was before him before she showed it. A carefully curated list. Meticulous, like she alluded to.

Like she'd described, some of New York's most sought after. Those who ran in the same political or entrepreneurial crowd. Sons of billionaires. Sons of politicians, who had everything to gain from an alliance with Karla White.

It wasn't about him. It was never about Jasper. It would always be about power. And like matter, since power cannot be created or destroyed, you had to snatch it up from someone else whenever the chance arose.