"Besides, it's not like I don't have a husband of my own."
"My husband, Arthur Stephens, is leagues above Jackson Gilbert in every way. Why on earth would I bother seducing a man who doesn't even compare?"
Millicent's expression soured, her lips pressing into a thin line.
"As long as that's the case."
"Mrs. Stephens, I have no desire to make an enemy of you. If possible, I'd like us to be friends."
"Next time, we should go shopping together."
Another round of hollow pleasantries.
She was always so good at playing the innocent little lamb.
What she didn't know was that after she'd destroyed my family and my life, I'd long since stopped falling for that act.
I watched her walk away, and a new idea began to take shape in my mind.
After that gala, Jackson started reaching out to me more and more.
At first, he used the Southgate project as an excuse, thanking me over dinner.
Then it was shopping trips. He even volunteered to be my driver.
Later, he "accidentally" spilled something on his shirt, using it as a reason to come upstairs.
The way he looked at me grew less and less innocent with each passing day.
Until one evening, after a business meeting, Jackson got drunk.
His face was flushed, his gaze unfocused, and he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"Sophia..."
In that moment, my lips curved upward. Got him.
Men were all the same. Every last one of them.
Cheating was never a one-time thing. It was zero times or infinite.
Back when he was with me, he'd let Millicent, my so-called best friend, lure him away.
Now, of course, he'd betray Millicent just as easily for a "Sophia Simmons."
"I'm falling for you."
I met his hazy, pleading eyes and didn't refuse.
So, with only token resistance, Jackson pulled me toward a hotel room.
The moment the door clicked shut, desire overtook him.
His fingers reached for my buttons, but I caught his hand and held it still.
"I want to divorce Arthur. Can you do something for me?"
"Get me what I need."
"And I'm yours. I'll even throw in Stephens Group's confidential files as a show of good faith."
A woman alone might not have been enough to make Jackson lose his mind.
But power could.
I watched the hesitation flicker through his eyes, then harden into resolve.
"Done. Leave it to me."
The day I got exactly what I wanted, Jackson sent me a message, brimming with self-satisfaction.
Sophia, I got what you asked for. How are you planning to reward me?