?<strong>Chapter 1028:</strong>


    Jake shot Lacey a re, a hint of defiance coloring his face as he decided to let Lacey stand there and watch for as long as she wished.


    Lost in her thoughts, Lacey was startled by the sound of water sshing nearby. She looked up to see Jake rising from the pool, Kallie cradled securely in his arms.


    Kallie nestled closer to Jake, her face flushed with both embarrassment and warmth.


    Kallie didn’t recognize Lacey, assuming thetter was just another servant from the vi.


    Kallie nced at Lacey, puzzled as to why this unfamiliar woman was still standing there.


    Embarrassment flickered through Kallie’s mind as she reyed her impulsive moments from a while ago. She had once believed herposure was unbroken. Yet, Jake’s earlier kiss had left her shaken and flustered, herposure nowhere to be found. The situation had spiraled beyond her control. There were witnesses to their earlier kiss, including even her children. The thought turned Kallie’s ears a deeper hue of crimson, and she instinctively burrowed further into Jake’s chest, silently pleading for Lacey to leave.


    Jake nced down, noticing how Kallie’s cheeks, and even her ears, were burning red. She was rarely this shy. The sight amused him, softening the irritation caused by Lacey’s presence.


    Jake strode forward with Kallie in his arms, deliberately brushing past Lacey without so much as a nce or a word. Lacey stood rooted in ce, her heart sinking as she watched Jake leave with Kallie in his arms. Her face betrayed her pain, her cool demeanor lost.


    Lacey had noted Jake wasn’t dressed for the hot springs. He still wore his usual suit, a clear sign that he hadn’t nned to visit the hot spring pool. He must have spotted Kallie there, and for reasons Lacey couldn’t fathom, he had jumped into the pool and ended up in it with Kallie.


    Lacey’s thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of the scene. Only one usible exnation came to her mind. Kallie must have set her sights on Jake, using her charm to draw him closer. Lacey snorted. That must be the case. On the surface, Kallie appeared distant, almost indifferent, as though her feelings for Jake were restrained. But when no one was watching, her true nature emerged.


    Lacey clenched her fists, anger building as the realization dawned—Kallie had fooled her before. She wasn’t about to let that happen again. Her determination hardened. If she wanted Jake for herself, she would have to act, to outmaneuver Kallie before it was toote.


    Earlier, as Jake carried Kallie past her, the silence between them felt deliberate, like a subtle challenge. Kallie nestled quietly in Jake’s arms, and to Lacey, it felt like a p in the face.


    Every moment Lacey spent thinking about it only fueled her rage. She stayed rooted to the spot for nearly thirty minutes before graduallyposing herself. Her breathing slowed, but the fire in her chest didn’t fade.


    Lacey’s eyes, once filled with pain, now carried a sharp, icy resolve. A bitterugh escaped her lips as she whispered to herself, “Kallie, the nerve of you pulling off such a…”


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