Every time he frowned, I'd turned the mirror on myself, wondering where I'd fallen short.
Until the kidnapping.
The kidnappers' leering grins. His impatient sighs over the phone. And finally—the flat, dead tone of a disconnected line.
While my body grew cold on that warehouse floor, he was tangled in Janet Fox's sheets.
"I didn't know any better back then." I pulled my hand free, my voice calm. "Now I do. If I stop fighting for you, you won't have to feel torn anymore. Everyone wins."
Something flickered in Rhys's eyes—panic, maybe. He reached for me again.
"Ursula, let's talk about this—"
A butler came rushing toward us, breathless.
"Young Master! There's been an incident. Miss Fox and Miss Henson both fell into the lake. They're shouting at each other!"
Rhys's face went cold. "Unbelievable. Have they no sense?"
For a split second, I thought he meant Janet—that her showing up here at all was the problem.
Then he spat out the rest.
"This is obviously Joan bullying her! Janet's timid and innocent. She'd never survive that woman's viciousness." His lip curled. "Absolute shrew."
Every word dripped with bias, as if he'd already witnessed Janet weeping and wronged.
It had been the same in our last life.
The moment Janet cried, the whole world became her villain.
Back when Rhys and I were still together, she'd summon him at will. I'd be burning with fever; he'd be watching fireworks with her. My birthday would come; he'd be sharing street food at her favorite stall.
A bitter ache spread through my chest—not for him, but for the foolish girl I used to be, waiting and hoping for scraps.
And Joan? She'd been just as blind.
Whoever wanted to be a Gilbert bride could have at it.
The incident had taken place in a surveillance blind spot—clearly chosen with care.
By the time I arrived, Janet was thrashing in the water, crying for help. Joan was struggling nearby.
"Janet!"
Rhys sprinted to the shore and dove in without a second's hesitation, swimming straight for Janet.
"Don't be scared—I've got you!"
He didn't spare a single glance for the woman he'd just gotten engaged to.
He wrapped his arms around Janet and hauled her to shore, patting her back with exaggerated gentleness.
Meanwhile, Joan was still bobbing in the freezing water, choking, dragging herself toward the edge inch by painful inch.