Chapter 425

Jace looked at me, clearly still not getting it.

“Tanya was just the final straw,” I said, giving him a tiny smile. I remembered something I’d heard before: ‘If you can laugh about it, you’re over it.’

“Rea, I don’t get it. Fine, blame me for what happened with Tanya, but before that? I was good to you,” he insisted, like he just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that I’d checked out long before.

“I’m not saying you weren’t good to me,” I shrugged. “But did you ever stop to think about how I treated you? Or were you too busy looking in the mirror?” I asked, keeping my voice light.

He stared at me for what felt like forever, then dropped his head. “I didn’t appreciate you. That’s how I lost you.”

“What’s the point in rehashing this now?” I said, steering things back to Tanya. “Let’s talk about her. You worried your parents won’t be cool if you’re serious about her?”

“Serious? With Tanya?” Jace snapped. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot?”

Okay, valid question, but I kept that to myself.

“She’s trying to blackmail me with that video. Let her. I’m not letting anyone threaten me,” he said, full of that classic Jace bravado. He never allowed himself to be blackmailed—whether in life or in business. Tanya had clearly miscalculated with this move.

“Sure, but if she actually releases it? Riverwave Corp will take a hit, and Matthew? He won’t handle that well,” I reminded him, tossing a look his way.

“That’s why I need your help,” he finally admitted.

Ah, there it was.

I studied him for a second. In the early morning light, he still looked sharp, his features all chiseled and handsome, but there was a heaviness in his expression that made him feel distant.

“What do you need?”

“Talk to my dad,” Jace said, shaking his head. “Wayne and I? We’re both brick walls with him. You’re the only one who can actually get through. If it wasn’t for, you know, your real background, I swear people would think you’re his long-lost daughter.”

I snorted, giving him a playful kick. “Stop talking nonsense.”

Jace smiled, watching me a little too closely. “I haven’t seen you laugh like that in a long time.”

My smile faded. “Are you seriously ready to take on Tanya?”

“If I don’t, she’ll keep coming after me. All she really wants is money. I doubt she’d actually release the video,” Jace said with a shrug. He always knew how to read people.

I sighed, thinking about how Tanya had used Desmond, who loved her, just for her own gain.

Downstairs, a crowd had gathered. Firefighters were setting up safety mats, but for a pregnant woman, even surviving a fall wouldn’t guarantee the baby’s safety. I spotted Jace, being led by a few firefighters into the building. My eyes flicked up to the roof of the twenty-something-story building. There she was—Tanya, in a long white dress, hair flying wildly in the wind.

It was like something out of a movie. She was beautiful, always had been. But that soul of hers? Rotten.

“Is that her husband?” someone in the crowd whispered. “He’s probably the reason she’s up there.”

“Right, he’s either cheating, or her in-laws are awful,” another chimed in.

“She’s dumb: If a guy doesn’t want you, pulling something like this won’t change it.”

The crowd was relentless, throwing around judgments like confetti. It hit me again—how cruel people can be with their words.