Chapter 80
Candice couldn’t help but smile as she watched Nathan giggling in the garden, sunlight painting golden streaks across his messy hair. Finally, she thought. Finally, Samantha was gone.
She stood by the veranda in a silk robe, arms crossed with quiet triumph. This estate, this life, this man–it was all hers now. The chaos had passed. Samantha’s haunting presence had vanished like smoke, and the
a woman who once dared to stand in her way had been reduced to a memory… one Candice would make sure never returned.
Her fingers toyed with the edges of her robe as she stared out over the garden, a flicker of satisfaction dancing in her eyes.
She had tried to make Samantha leave from the very beginning.”
She remembered cornering her in the hallway after dinner once, smiling sweetly while whispering verom in her ear. “You don’t
belong here, Samantha. This isn’t your house. He married you because I wasn’t available. But now I am.”
She remembered “accidentally” pushing a family heirloom into Samantha’s arms during a party and then crying out in front of everyone when it shattered. “Why would you break it?” she had sobbed dramatically. “That belonged to Jackson’s grandmother!“}
She remembered catching Samantha alone in the kitchen and saying with a false grin, “You’ll never understand Jackson like I
- do. You’re just… temporary.”
She had laughed later that night when Jackson’s mother called Samantha a mistake. And when Nathan started calling Samantha “mean” or crying after being around her, Candice would swoop in, hold him tightly, and say loudly, “Don’t worry, baby, she won’t hurt you again. Mommy’s here now.”
Yes. Candice had made sure to destroy her, little by little.
Now, Samantha was gone. For good.”
And Candice? Candice had finally won.”
When Nathan was cleared by the doctor and discharged, Candice threw a small welcome–back celebration. Balloons, a cake with cartoon characters, and a string of cheerful music echoed through the halls. Jackson even smiled genuinely–for the first time in weeks–when Nathan jumped into his arms yelling, “Daddy!”
Candice stood beside them, pressing a kiss on Jackson’s cheek and announcing to the house staff, “This is our family now. We’re whole. And happy.“”
Jackson nodded and kissed the top of Nathan’s head, smiling as the boy wrapped both arms around his neck. From the outside, they looked like the perfect picture.”
But when the guests left and the candies burned out, the cracks began to show.
Alone in his study late that night, Jackson stared at the fireplace, drink untouched beside him. He opened his laptop, fingers trembling slightly as he clicked a hidden folder. A tracker map, multiple contact reports, and footage logs appeared–he had a team secretly searching for Samantha. Candice couldn’t know. No one could.
He hated how it consumed him. Damn it.
He closed the laptop with a snap and stood, pacing. This isn’t about love, he told himself. She ruined everything. The company. My image. Our peace.
But no matter how many times he repeated it, the truth tugged at him like a rope around his throat.
The door creaked open. Nathan toddled in, holding a ball. “Daddy, can we play?”
Jackson stared at him for a beat too long. His thoughts were spinning, heartbeat loud in his ears.
“Not now, Nathan,” he muttered./
“But–“%
“I said not now!” Jackson roared, eyes blazing.”
Nathan jumped and dropped the ball, lip trembling. The boy burst into tears.
Candice stormed in seconds later. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” she snapped, rushing to Nathan. “He just wanted to play!*%
“I said I wasn’t in the mood!” Jackson barked.
“He’s your son!” she shot back, holding the sobbing child. “You made him cry!“”
Jackson rubbed his temples, exhaling hard. “I didn’t mean-”
Candice’s gaze flicked to the corner of the desk–Samantha’s photo half–hidden under papers, his browser still open in the background, Samantha’s name in the search bar.
Her heart dropped.
“All of this is because of her, isn’t it?” Candice’s voice was sharp and cold. “You’re still thinking about her.”
“No.” Jackson straightened, voice hard. “I just want her to fix what she ruined. The videos she released, the mess she caused
then an oulling out Tha haard in an firm “M
11:01 AM
-investors are pulling out. The board is on fire.“”
T
Candice didn’t buy it. “Don’t lie to me. I see the way you look around this house like something’s missing. I see how you flinch when you walk past the room that used to be yours and hers.“”
Jackson didn’t respond.”
“Tell me the truth,” she said, voice trembling. “Do you love her?”
His silence stretched. Then-
“No. I don’t,” he snapped. “I just need her to take responsibility. That’s all. Nothing more.“[
Candice laughed bitterly. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You’re obsessed. You want her. Maybe you always have.“}
“I don’t care what you see,” he snapped, storming past her and slamming the door behind him.
wwwwww
Inside what used to be their bedroom–his and Samantha’s–Jackson dropped to his knees. The bedsheets had changed. The scent was gone. But the memories still clung to the walls.
www
Samantha brushing his hair back when he was sick. Leaving notes in his drawers. Singing softly in the shower. Always smiling even when she was exhausted.
He clenched his fists as his breath stuttered.\
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, staring at the corner where her vanity used to sit. “Samantha… please… come back. I didn’t mean it.“} The silence that followed didn’t give him an answer. Just a gnawing ache in his chest he didn’t know how to silence.
