The air between them turned heavy. No matter how much Millicent hated to admit it, there was one truth she couldn't escape.

Jackson had never forgotten Lucille Harding.

Not even after all this time.

The realization burned through Millicent like acid. Jealousy coiled in her chest, white-hot and suffocating.

She stared in my direction, a flicker of venom crossing her eyes, so brief it was nearly invisible.

She wanted to grind Lucille Harding's bones to dust.

But Lucille Harding was already dead.

Now, Millicent was the only Mrs. Gilbert. The only wife at Jackson's side.

...

I was in the middle of a lively conversation with a group of businessmen, trading pleasantries and clinking glasses.

But the entire time, I felt a gaze clinging to me like a shadow.

I pretended not to notice Jackson's searching gaze.

He held out until he couldn't anymore, then picked up his glass and walked over.

"Mrs. Stephens."

Jackson spoke with easy confidence. "I just overheard your conversation with Mr. Zhang. The Southgate project in Seaview City — you gave that to me."

I gave a faint nod.

"I did."

"Why would you help me?"

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.

"There were plenty of people competing for that project, and I wasn't exactly the frontrunner."

I smiled lightly, resting my chin on my hand.

"Because you remind me of someone I used to know, Mr. Gilbert."

Jackson froze. A flash of shock passed through his eyes.

He had to admit — ever since Millicent had let slip that remark about Sophia Simmons bearing some resemblance to Lucille Harding, his mind hadn't been able to settle.

Lucille...

Could it really be you?

If it's not you, why would you help me out of nowhere?

And then, watching me prop my chin on my hand and gaze at him like that —

A storm tore through him.

The face was wrong. It wasn't Lucille Harding's face.

But those little gestures, that look in my eyes — for one disorienting moment, he could have sworn she was standing right in front of him again.

I smiled and spoke first, steering the conversation somewhere entirely different.

"You and Mrs. Gilbert don't have children yet?"

"No."

Jackson's eyes locked onto mine, deep and unwavering.

"I once promised my ex-girlfriend that if I ever had children in this life, it would only be with her."

My lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Oh? How devoted of you, Mr. Gilbert. But tell me —"

"How did she become an ex-girlfriend?"

Jackson went quiet.