Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince's face went slack with shock, the color draining from his cheeks.

No wonder Timothy had shown up uninvited-Jessica was his wife, the one he'd kept hidden for seven years!

Before Timothy could even speak, Vince shot to his feet and rounded on Kane. "She's Timothy's wife! How could you keep calling her 'mute' like that? I get that you're close with Sheila and want to stand up for her, but let's be honest-Timothy didn't leave Sheila at the altar; Sheila backed out first. You can't blame Timothy for that."

Two years ago, Vince had launched the shared power station project, but his goal had always been the interests of the Zimmerman Group, not picking a fight with Timothy.

Besides, now he needed Timothy's help.

They'd all been friends once, after all.

He turned to Jessica, his tone shifting as he tried to smooth things over. "Ms. Greene-no, I should say Mrs. Lawson-Kane just has a blunt way about him. Don't take his words to heart."

Sheila tugged at Kane's sleeve. "Calm down. Jessica's Timothy's wife. Even if you don't care about anything else, show Timothy some respect."

Through it all, Jessica watched them coldly, detached.

Everyone wanted something.

Once, she should've been just an onlooker, yet now she was drawn into their drama against her will.

herself get tangled

had to

a moment earlier, he'd set the project

who had yet to say a word, now reached out

unreadable. He lifted the folder slightly, his gaze fixed and intense on Vince. "I'll take the

over the room

he was, understood what

as good as

clearly wasn't someone Timothy could take

of frustration. Unable to hold back, he shot Jessica a challenging look. "Hey,

words were cut short by a

had picked up his wineglass and hurled it to the floor, where it

the room

burning with a contained, unreadable

and, before anyone could react, swept the still-stunned Jessica up into his

he radiated an imperious authority