Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

"Lyse, I cannot leave you. Not even for a moment," Jasper said.
Alyssa looked up at him slowly. Her eyes were filled with tears. Jasper wiped her tears dry. He felt pained to see her cry.
"So... the first person you fell in love with was me?" Alyssa was determined to get an answer.
Jasper probed carefully. "Do you want to know my honest answer?"
"Of course I do."
"No, it wasn't you."
"Jasper! You're a jerk!"
Alyssa's blood boiled. She punched him repeatedly on his chest. "How did I never realize that you were someone like this?
You're such a jerk! Get out! Leave Mrs. Rosie with me. Take nothing else and leave!"
Jasper let her hit him as much as she wanted. Despite his shaky voice, he responded seriously, saying, "You are the one I love
the most, Lyse. You are the one that I want to marry. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
"It is exactly because of this that I want to bare my heart to you. I want to be completely honest with you. I no longer wish to hide
anything about myself from you."
Jasper took a deep breath and continued, "Back when I was on the battlefield in Luminara, I infiltrated a terrorist organization to
rescue some hostages.
"At the time, there was a woman in a white lab coat. She also had a face mask on. She left a deep impression on me."

Alyssa was taken aback, her heart pounding. She felt her blood pulsing through her entire body, even experiencing a tingling
sensation in her disabled pinky finger.
"And. And then?"
"Initially, I thought she was a weak, regular doctor from Doctors Without Borders who was captured. To my surprise, she was
skilled at using firearms. She was also quite agile.
"I was the one who saved her at first. However, I was badly injured later on. I only survived because she rescued me."
Jasper chuckled helplessly and regretfully. "I used to think that I was a Lone Ranger on the battlefield. Since then, I no longer
say such a thing.
"At the end of the day, I was just a regular man—an average Joe. I only managed to survive by a stroke of luck and because I
met that woman.
Alyssa had her eyes fixed on him. It was as if she was lost in his eyes.
"What happened next?" she prompted.
"I was very badly injured at the time. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to make it. So, I told the woman to leave without me.
However, she was very stubborn, just like you.
"She bundled me up in a straw mat. She then found a rope to put over her shoulder. Just like that, she dragged my half-
conscious self and walked a really long way."
Jasper's chest felt tight as he recounted the encounter.

Until today, he could not forget the brutality on the battlefield and how stubborn the woman looked. "My heart really ached for
her. Not just that... I don't even know what she looks like or her name.
"She did make my heart flutter a little. I won't lie to you, Lyse. That was the first time I ever felt like that. It could've been a
misattribution of arousal because of the dangerous situation that we were in. But I. I don't want to lie to you."
Suddenly, Jasper was interrupted by a passionate kiss. He felt the softness of Alyssa's lips against his. Their lips parted, and the
sweetness of her kiss made his mind go blank.
He swooned. He was deeply engrossed in the moment and unable to pull himself away.
They shared a lingering kiss. Finally, they pulled away from each other, panting heavily.
"Lyse, you."
Jasper was about to speak when Alyssa placed her index finger to his lips, silencing him.
Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Considering that that woman had saved your life, I will forgive you just this once. However, I
want your heart to beat just for me alone for the rest of your life."
Jasper let out a long sigh of relief. He looked her deeply in her eyes and replied frankly and lovingly, "Not just that. I'd even be
willing to give up my life for you."