Goodbye, Mr. Regret

When Jessica opened her eyes again, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

Startled, she shot upright in bed.

She'd gone to bed early last night, exhausted from the day. How did she end up somewhere else?

She pulled open the curtains. Outside the balcony, the ocean stretched as far as she could see.

Jessica hurried out of the bedroom.

In the open-plan living area of the villa, Timothy was sitting at the dining table.

"Awake?" he asked, calm as ever.

This strange villa made it instantly clear to Jessica: she was almost certainly no longer in Riverside City.

She strode toward Timothy, her gaze icy.

"Where are we?"

"Have some breakfast first," he replied, setting the silverware on the table with practiced elegance.

"Timothy!" Her voice trembled with anger as she glared at him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. He must have brought her here. There was no way she could have slept all the way from The Gilded Whisper Estates to here without waking up, and now it was morning.

She tried to remember last night. After getting home, she'd only had a glass of water.

So, he must have drugged her.

"What did you put in my water?"

Her health wasn't great to begin with. She couldn't risk strange substances.

Timothy answered without missing a beat, "Just something to help you sleep. Don't worry, it wasn't a sedative. It won't hurt you."

boiling over. "I want to

her, his gaze warm and steady, lingering on her beautiful face. "You must know, Jessy, that if I've brought you here, I don't intend to let you go back so soon. Don't be angry. You're

cold as ice. She felt like he'd lost his mind-his actions had

everything that's happened to our marriage, what's the point of

not going to discuss that now. I haven't had a real meal in days. Let's

phone, hoping to figure out her location, but there was

is a private island. There's no one else here. If you behave and stay put for a few days, I'll take you

"Otherwise what?"

and inscrutable. "Otherwise, I might just keep you

yanked. Breakfast crashed to the floor-soup and

angry. He leaned on his cane and stood. "Someone clean this

appeared, head bowed, and

prepare breakfast

change his

out

was built right on the edge of

sea, the scenery almost

breathtaking, but she couldn't

She

just as Timothy

on an island escape was

at all. She didn't even

she returned to the villa, Timothy was sitting on the

spilled over him, giving him an

gentleman, yet

pounding painfully in her chest. "Timothy, I

to him. She knew she wasn't blameless—she'd chosen him, after all. But now, at the end

of smoke. "I

care if she hated

simply couldn't stand the thought of life

letting her go and losing