Hilda's phone screen lit up, dimmed, lit up again. She stayed on Jasper's chat window, unable to scroll away.

There was so much she wanted to ask him.

Then, for no particular reason, her gaze drifted up, and she spotted Vivienne across the room.

Something compelled her to follow.

Vivienne wound through corridor after corridor until she emerged onto a terrace, where a man stood waiting with his back turned.

Hilda's breath caught.

"Jasper."

He swirled his wine glass and turned with a smile, meeting Vivienne's lips in a kiss.

Vivienne was all fire, coiling around him like a serpent, her body pressed so close that the heat between them was unmistakable.

The rustle of fabric, a woman's breathy whimpers, heavy breathing—all of it threaded into Hilda's ears.

"Between me and Hilda, who makes you feel better?"

"You. Obviously," Jasper murmured, his voice thick with want. "She's uptight and boring. She couldn't compare to you if she tried."

He kissed Vivienne's cheek, his tone dripping with intimacy. "You like that? Wife?"

The only answer was a pleased moan.

Hilda stood in the shadows, watching it all. Her face betrayed nothing.

Her eyes burned and throbbed. She drew one long breath, then dialed his number.

On the terrace, the two of them were tangled together, mouths locked, when the shrill ring cut through the air.

Neither looked pleased. When Jasper saw the caller ID, a flicker of panic crossed his face.

He glanced at Vivienne, then answered.

Hilda's voice came through low and even, stripped of any readable emotion. "Jasper, I forgive you. When are you coming home? I miss you."

Jasper froze. Instinctively, his eyes darted to Vivienne.

Vivienne pressed herself tighter against him on purpose. He let out a stifled groan and tightened his arm around her waist.

"Hilda, I'm busy right now. Let me call you back later and we'll talk properly, okay?"

"Are you with Vivienne?"

"Hilda." His voice dropped, firm and warning. "Stop overthinking. I'll be home tomorrow."

He hung up before she could respond, then scrambled to soothe Vivienne, who was already losing patience.

Hilda watched the scene from the dark and laughed—a short, hollow sound aimed at herself. She turned and walked away.

When she really thought about it, she didn't even have the standing to call this catching him in the act. Vivienne was Jasper's lawful wife.

Seven years she'd given him. And she was nothing.

Her head felt heavy, her steps aimless. Without realizing it, she'd climbed to the rooftop. Cold wind cut across her face as she tipped her head back and stared into the pitch-black sky for a long, long time.

It wasn't until the gala ended and the noise of departing guests drifted up that she snapped out of it. She turned around and found Vivienne standing behind her. She had no idea how long the woman had been there.

"Hello, Hilda." Vivienne strolled toward her, unhurried. "You know who I am, right? I'm Jasper's wife."

"This is the first time we've met face to face. I'm hoping it's also the last."

"What do you want?" Hilda's voice was ice.

Vivienne folded her arms and let out a light laugh. "Is it really that hard to figure out? I want you gone from Jasper's life. Completely. Stop clinging to him."

"You've got it backwards," Hilda said. "You'd be better off warning Jasper. He's the one who's married. Tell him to stop clinging to me."

Vivienne's eyes went wide, her voice turning shrill. "That's a lie!"

"I noticed you a while ago, actually. You were at the terrace too, weren't you? You saw exactly what Jasper and I were doing. Did you not understand?"

"That phone call you made was just you trying to win him back, wasn't it?"

Her gaze dropped to the necklace at Hilda's throat. It looked expensive. She assumed Jasper had given it to her. Her hand shot out, clawing toward Hilda's neck.

Hilda flinched, clutching the pendant. "What are you doing?!"

This necklace was a wedding gift Grandma had saved her entire life to buy. One for Hilda, one for Jasper. It was the only thing Grandma had left behind.

"Let me give you some advice, Hilda. What isn't yours will never be yours."

Vivienne lunged for the necklace without another word. In the struggle, Hilda was shoved toward the edge of the stairwell.

She teetered on the lip in her heels, barely holding on.

At the last possible second, Vivienne spotted a figure approaching. She swapped positions with Hilda in a flash, throwing herself backward.

The necklace was clenched in her fist. The chain bit into Hilda's throat, slicing a thin line of blood across her skin.

The necklace snapped apart and scattered across the floor in pieces.

A heavy thud. Hilda tumbled down the stairs. Vivienne, meanwhile, fell neatly into the arms of Jasper, who had appeared just in time. Not a scratch on her.

"Are you all right? What are you doing up here?"

Jasper's voice was all concern. He looked Vivienne over head to toe, and only when he confirmed she was unharmed did he exhale.

Then he turned on the figure crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, his tone sharp with contempt. "What's wrong with you? Can't you watch where you're going? Are you blind?"

Hilda lay where she'd landed, vision blackening, unable to move. Her hair was tangled across her face, hiding her features.

Jasper, irritated at being ignored, strode down the steps and planted his foot on her palm, grinding down. She curled inward instantly, trembling with pain.

"Are you deaf or mute? Can't speak?"

Vivienne hurried over and tugged at his arm.

"That's enough, Jasper. It was partly my fault. Don't make a fuss over her, please?"

She looked down at Hilda's shaking body, and a wave of satisfaction surged through her.

"I just thought the necklace on this young lady's neck was pretty and leaned in for a closer look. I must have startled her, and we bumped into each other. I'm so sorry."

"Jasper, let's just pay her for the necklace."

The shattered chain lay on the floor not far from their feet.

Jasper glanced at it and frowned. Something about it looked familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"It's worthless junk. She got in your way—she's the one who owes you an apology. The gala's wrapping up. Let's go."

Vivienne nodded with a demure little smile, and the two of them walked off together, chatting and laughing as they went.

Hilda lay on the cold floor, eyes hollow, still as a corpse.

It took her a long time to come back to herself. Slowly, she crawled forward and closed her fingers around the necklace.

The broken shards bit into her palm, blood welling between her fingers, but she didn't seem to feel it. She only squeezed tighter.

Hilda's mind had never been so clear.

Grief drove into her heart like a thousand needles, puncturing it full of holes, and pain seeped out in place of blood.

Her left hand, the one Jasper had stepped on, throbbed and swelled. The slightest twitch of her fingers sent agony shooting up her arm.

She stayed there for a long time before she managed to get to her feet. Then she limped toward the exit.

Taxi after taxi slowed down, took one look at her, and pulled away. No one would take her. So Hilda walked, one unsteady step at a time, still in her heels.

"Hilda, it really is you!"

A car screeched to a halt beside her. Jasper scrambled out, panic written across his face.

The necklace had been circling his mind for a while. The instant he placed it, cold sweat broke over his skin. He'd abandoned Vivienne on the spot and bolted.

Now his face was contorted with anguish as he cradled Hilda's swollen hand with excruciating care.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you."

"Does it still hurt? You're hurt this badly. Let me take you to the hospital, okay?"

His tears fell onto the battered skin of her palm.

"Why were you at tonight's gala? You should have told me. If you had, I never would've—"

"Never would've what?"

Hilda wrenched her hand free. "Don't touch me. You make me sick."

Jasper's breathing turned ragged. His expression crumbled, inch by inch.

"Families like mine, this is how it works. You know I don't have a choice. But no matter what happens, you're the only one I've ever loved!"

"Marriage is just a title. Everything with anyone else is fake. You're the only thing that's real."

As he spoke, he pulled a necklace from his pocket, identical to hers. "See? I carry it with me everywhere."

"Grandma wanted us to be happy together. Hilda, please don't be angry anymore."

Hilda held out her hand to him.

Joy surged through Jasper. He thought she'd softened. But the next second, the smile froze on his face.

"Jasper, give me back the necklace my grandmother gave you."

"It was something she left for me and the person I love. Seeing it in your hands now just makes me sick."

Jasper fought against it, clinging to her as he sank to his knees on the pavement, stripped of every shred of pride.

"Hilda, you're just saying that because you're angry, right? Hilda, you promised me. You promised you'd never break up with me."

"Please, I'm begging you, don't leave me."

But Hilda didn't flinch. A flash of revulsion crossed her face, and it cut through Jasper like a blade.

He'd been born with a silver spoon. He'd never wanted for anything his entire life. Women lined up at the crook of his finger. What Hilda had, countless others would kill for. Why couldn't she just let this go?

He shot to his feet, his voice dropping, edged with fury.

"Hilda, why can't you try to understand me?"

"You keep saying you want a wedding. Of course I want to give you one, but I can't! I have parents too. I have responsibilities!"

"I've already promised you that you're the only woman I'll ever love. Why won't you just believe me?"

Hilda didn't hear a word. Her voice was flat, mechanical. "Give it back."

Jasper's jaw clenched so tight the muscle twitched. He let out a cold laugh, then hurled the necklace into the busy road.

"No!"

Hilda screamed and lunged toward the traffic. Jasper yanked her back hard.

"Hilda, I'll say it again. I love you. I can give you everything except the title. If you won't think about yourself, at least think about your grandmother."

"I'll be waiting for your answer. Just say yes, and the wedding goes ahead next week as planned."

Then he got in his car and drove off without looking back.

Hilda was stubborn. She never backed down. He'd have to find another way to make her bend.

Jasper dialed his secretary.

"Cut off the medical funding. Transfer her grandmother to a standard ward. Don't do anything else unless I say so."

The secretary listened, confused. He'd been called away by a phone call from Vivienne the day the ambulance arrived and had no idea what had actually happened to Hilda's grandmother.

After a moment's thought, he picked up the phone and called the hospital.

The necklace had landed in the planter in the middle of the road. Hilda kept her eyes locked on it, heart in her throat, waiting until the traffic thinned before darting across to dig through the bushes.

She crawled through the landscaping for what felt like an eternity, mud caking every inch of her, until at last the recovered necklace was clutched tight in her palm. She looked up, and a pair of headlights barreled straight toward her.

She squinted against the blinding glare.

The next second, pain shattered through her like every bone in her body had been pulverized at once. The impact hurled her into the air. The last thing she registered was the shriek of a car horn.

When she opened her eyes again, a month had passed.

She'd been rushed to the ICU three times. Dozens of fractures across her body. Internal bleeding. Recovery would take a long while.

A middle-aged man sat vigil at her bedside.

"My child. My sweet girl. You've suffered so much. I'm your father, Hilda. I'm your real father."

The moment the paternity results had come back, he'd been overjoyed. The moment he learned what had happened to her, he'd dropped everything overseas and flown back.

"I got here too late. This is my fault."

He held her hand and wept, his shoulders shaking. Hilda noticed the white hairs on the crown of his head.

They hadn't been there the last time she saw him.

Her heart clenched. She couldn't open her mouth to speak. A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Calvin insisted on bringing her home that very day, hiring a private medical team to tend to her recovery.

Another month slipped by.

When two or three days passed without Hilda reaching out, Jasper was already getting restless.

By all logic, her grandmother's condition couldn't hold out this long. The fact that Hilda could endure the silence until now meant he must have truly broken her heart.

He was still turning this over in his mind when his secretary's call came through.

The tension visibly drained from Jasper's body. A faint smile even tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Well? Did Hilda contact you?"

Whatever was said on the other end made Jasper shoot straight up from his chair. "What kind of joke is that?"

"It's true, Mr. Fairmont." The secretary's voice hitched before continuing. "I've already confirmed with the hospital. Hilda's grandmother passed away after resuscitation failed."

"I also reached out to the funeral home. The deceased has already been cremated and buried. The day it happened was the same day as your engagement banquet with Miss Blake."

"That's insane!"

Jasper panicked. He floored the accelerator and tore across town to the funeral home where Hilda worked, only to learn she had resigned long ago.

The manager's gaze was far from friendly as he looked Jasper up and down.

"A while back she put in her notice, said she was getting married. Then she came back and said the wedding was off, asked to transfer somewhere else. Next thing we heard, she'd been in a car accident on the bridge. Sounds like she'll be recovering for quite some time."

A car accident on the bridge.

The same bridge where he'd fought with Hilda and left her behind.

No. No, that's not possible.

Jasper's mind went blank. His legs buckled beneath him as he staggered toward the exit.

This had to be a stunt. Hilda must have put someone up to this to get a reaction out of him.

Her grandmother's death had to be a lie. Hilda was just trying to make him panic, so she'd hidden the old woman away.

Jasper kept telling himself that, but his heart wouldn't listen. It hammered faster and faster.

He pulled every string he had, turned every hospital in the city inside out. But Hilda had vanished. As if she'd never existed.

One dead end after another. He locked himself in his study, staring at Hilda's photograph day and night, tears streaming down his face. In the end, his bodyguards seized him by the arms and dragged him out, and Patricia Fairmont slapped him across the face. Again. And again.

"Jasper Fairmont, that cheap little tramp has rotted your brain! You've completely lost your mind!"

"Look at yourself these past six months! Is this what the heir to Fairmont Group looks like? Do you have any idea how much you've humiliated this family?"

Jasper's cheeks were swollen. He hung his head in silence, limp as a corpse, letting them do whatever they wanted with him.

Vivienne stood behind Patricia, tears rolling down her face in fat, heavy drops. She caught a glimpse of the photo Jasper still clutched in his hand, the one of him and Hilda together, and a flash of hatred cut through her eyes.

"If that woman is all you can think about, then get out of this house! I'll adopt Vivienne as my goddaughter and be done with it!"

Vivienne spoke up, her voice urgent. "Mrs. Fairmont, you can't do that. I made up my mind when I was a little girl. Jasper is the only man I'll ever marry."

She knelt beside him, weeping prettily, and at a glance the two of them made quite the picture of star-crossed lovers.

Patricia sighed.

"Jasper. Pull yourself together. You and Vivienne are attending a welcome gala at the Summers estate today. The man's in his fifties, and against all odds he actually found his daughter. Show some respect."

"Same surname, different fate. Remember who you are. And remember what Hilda did for a living. Dead or alive, she was never in your league."

A long silence. Jasper's lips parted. His throat was raw and burning, and it took an age before any sound scraped out. "Understood, Mother."

The Summers family empire already sat at the very top of the old-money hierarchy. The chairman's first wife had passed young, leaving behind a daughter who'd gone missing as a small child. Now that she'd been found, naturally she would be cherished like a treasure.

When Jasper arrived, the reactions around the room were varied. After all, everyone had spent the past six months hearing the gossip about how the Fairmont heir had nearly destroyed himself over some woman.

Amid the clinking glasses and flowing champagne, Chairman Summers stepped forward. He clasped his hands in gratitude for the well-wishes, then took the microphone and began telling the room about his daughter.

From the moment Jasper walked into the banquet hall, his heart had been beating wrong. Erratic. Restless. He rubbed his thumb along the rim of his glass, wanting nothing more than to leave.

Vivienne noticed the shift in him immediately.

"Do you have any idea what kind of event this is, Jasper? You're going to abandon me here in front of all these people?"

Jasper didn't hear a word. Because he had spotted a figure across the room.

That silhouette was too familiar. The one that haunted his every waking thought, every sleepless night. He could never mistake it.

His heart slammed so hard it nearly lodged in his throat.

Hilda felt the weight of a gaze and turned her head.

Their eyes met.