Jack's POV
The taste of failure was bitter in my mouth as I watched the mystery bidder claim the mansion for two hundred million. I'd lost and worse, I'd failed to stop Anna from getting what she wanted. The thought of her smug satisfaction made my blood boil.
I stormed out of the auction house, Lucy trailing behind me in her ridiculous evening gown. The night air did nothing to cool my temper. When I spotted Anna's slim figure heading toward her car, I couldn't stop myself.
"Why?" I called out, my voice cutting through the air. "Why do you have to fight me on everything?"
Anna turned slowly, her expression cold and composed. "That mansion belonged to my mother's family. But of course, you wouldn't remember that, would you? I told you about it when we were married."
The memory hit like a slap. She had mentioned it during one of our rare dinners together. I'd been checking emails on my phone, half-listening as she talked about childhood summers there. Damn it.
"If it meant that much to you, you should've said something," I muttered, knowing how weak it sounded.
"Said something?" Her laugh was bitter. "Like I said something when you gave the Phoenix Project to Lucy? When you missed our anniversary? Or maybe when you didn't come home on our wedding night?"
Each accusation hit like a blow. I wanted to defend myself, to explain that things weren't that simple, but the words wouldn't come.
"I'm done saying things to you, Jack," she went on, voice steady but cold. "Done explaining. Done hoping you'll understand. Done having any expectations of you at all. We're divorced. Whatever game you were playing by bidding against me tonight I'm not interested."
She turned to leave, but I reached out and grabbed her arm. The memory of the mark on her neck flashed through my mind, and my grip tightened without thinking.
"So you run off to Olympus Club instead? Is that your answer?"
"Let. Go." Her voice was like ice. "What I do and who I do it with is no longer any of your concern."
I let her go, watching as she walked away, her heels clicking against the pavement. The sight of her leaving again twisted something inside me.
"Jack?" Lucy's voice brought me back. She studied my face with narrowed eyes. "Are you falling for her again?"
"Don't be ridiculous," I snapped, more harshly than intended. "She's... she's shameless. Barely divorced and already sleeping around. Did you see that mark on her neck?"
Lucy's perfectly painted lips curved into a knowing smile. "If you say so, darling. Though you seem awfully concerned about who she's sleeping with."
"I'm not concerned," I said stiffly, though it sounded hollow. "I just never thought she'd Anna was always so..." I trailed off.
"So proper? So perfect?" Lucy's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Maybe you never really knew her at all."
I watched Anna's car disappear into the traffic, something uncomfortable twisting in my chest. The image of her with another man kept playing in my mind along with the memory of her face when she talked about that mansion all those years ago.
How many other things had I missed?
How many times had I not really listened?
"Let's go," I said abruptly, turning away. "We're done here."
After dropping Lucy off, my phone buzzed. A message from my investigator made my blood run cold:
"Mr. Simpson, there's no record of Ms. Shaw spending nights with Sean Smith. They've never left Olympus Club together."
Something wasn't adding up.
The hickey on Anna's neck. Her smugness. If it wasn't Sean... then who?
I had to know.
I tracked down Sean's address at Rosa Villa. The gates opened easily too easily.
I found him in the garden, tending to flowers like some peaceful gardener instead of the man who'd dared touch my wife. Ex-wife, I reminded myself, the word tasting like poison.
"Mr. Simpson?" He stood, brushing dirt off his knees. "What brings you here?"
"Cut the act," I growled, stepping toward him. "Anna told everyone you slept together. Was it worth it? Did you enjoy yourself?"
His expression shifted. A slight, infuriating smile played at his lips. "Yes, we did. And yes, I did enjoy myself. Very much."
His voice was calm. Taunting.
"Ms. Shaw is quite... passionate."
The world went red.
My fist connected with his jaw before I realized I'd moved. He stumbled backward into a row of potted plants.
"You son of a—"
"What's wrong, Mr. Simpson?" He wiped blood from his lip, still smiling. "Jealous?"
I grabbed his collar and slammed him against the garden wall. "You think this is funny? You think—"
"JACK! What the hell are you doing?"
Anna's voice cut through the rage.
She came running, Rachel close behind. When she saw Sean's bloodied face, her expression shifted into something fierce.
"Get away from him," she ordered, voice low and furious. "NOW."
I let go, and Sean slumped against the wall.
"You're defending him? After he just admitted—"
Anna knelt beside Sean, helping him up, her touch gentle. It made my stomach turn.
"Rachel, get Sean inside. Call a doctor."
Once they were gone, she turned to me, her eyes blazing. "How dare you come to my property and assault my employee?"
"Your employee?" I laughed bitterly. "Is that what we're calling it now? He just admitted to sleeping with you!"
"And what if he did?" Her voice was ice. "It's none of your business who I sleep with anymore. You lost that right when you chose Lucy."
The words hit harder than expected.
"So you're just going to keep him here? Living in luxury while you—"
"While I what, Jack?" she stepped closer, voice low and dangerous. "While I do exactly what you did to me? Except I waited until after the divorce. I didn't betray any vows. I didn't humiliate my spouse in front of the entire city. That was all you."
"Get rid of him," I snapped, struggling to hold onto my anger as guilt clawed in. "If you have any respect for what we had—"
"What we had?" she cut me off with a bitter laugh. "What we had was a marriage where you couldn't stay faithful for one night our wedding night. What we had was you giving my project to your mistress. What we had is over, Jack. I don't take orders from you anymore."
She turned toward the house, then paused.
"Leave now, or I'll have security remove you. And Jack? If you ever touch Sean again... I'll bury you in lawsuits so deep, even Lucy won't find you."