Chapter 10

Cynthia's voice echoed down the hallway, filled with anguish. "Jack, it's the anniversary of our sweetheart's passing. Why haven't you..."

Her words trailed off abruptly as she caught sight of me.

"Emily?!"

Cynthia's eyes narrowed dangerously. Without warning, she lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of my hair. "Emily, why the hell are you back?! Go to hell!"

Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell.

My skirt flew up, revealing a trail of deep red love bites on my inner thighs for all to see.

Jack froze, his eyes widening in shock. In the next instant, he seized my ankle in an iron grip, his words hissing through clenched teeth.

"Emily, you went this far just to see if I still cared about you? You let someone mark you up like this on purpose?"

"You're so damn manipulative!"

He assumed I was deliberately trying to make him jealous by covering myself in intimate marks.

I found his assumption laughable. With a cold sneer, I wrenched my foot from his grasp.