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


    Startled, she shot upright in bed.


    She''d gone to bed earlyst 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-n living area of the vi, Timothy was sitting at the dining table.


    "Awake?" he asked, calm as ever.


    This strange vi 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 red 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 rememberst night. After getting home, she''d only had a ss 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."


    "Where are we?" Her frustration was boiling over. "I want to go home!"


    He looked at her-really looked at 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 here now-make the best of it. We have a little over twenty days."


    Jessica''s eyes were cold as ice. She felt like he''d lost his mind-his actions had be unhinged.


    "Timothy, after everything that''s happened to our marriage, what''s the point of any of this?"


    "I''m not going to discuss that now. I haven''t had a real meal in days. Let''s eat first, alright?"


    Jessica pulled out her phone, hoping to figure out her location, but there was no signal at all.


    Timothy leisurelydled some soup, his tonezy and indifferent. "This is a private ind. There''s no one else here. If you behave and stay put for a few days, I''ll take you home. Otherwise..."


    "Otherwise what?"


    He lifted his gaze, eyes dark and inscrutable. "Otherwise, I might just keep you here longer."


    Jessica stormed forward, grabbed the tablecloth, and yanked. Breakfast crashed to the floor-soup and coffee sttering everywhere, even onto Timothy.


    Even then, Timothy didn''t get angry. He leaned on his cane and stood. "Someone clean this up."


    A housekeeper appeared, head bowed, and quickly tidied the mess.


    Timothy ordered the kitchen to prepare breakfast again, then disappeared into the


    bedroom to change his clothes.


    Jessica walked out of the vi.


    It was built right on the edge of the


    sea, the scenery almost


    breathtaking, but she couldn''t


    appreciate it. She circled the


    grounds, and just as Timothy bad,


    said, they were on an ind escape was impossible.


    Her phone was still dead, no signal at all. She didn''t even know where she was. Anger surged up inside her.


    When she returned to the vi, Timothy was sitting on the terrace overlooking the ocean, smoking a cigarette.


    Morning light spilled over him, giving him an air of refined sophistication.


    He looked every bit the perfect gentleman, yet everything he did was utterly deranged.


    Jessica stomped over to him, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. "Timothy, I hate you!"


    She''d never imagined she''d say those words to him. She knew she wasn''t meless—she''d chosen him, after all. But now, at the end of their marriage, he still insisted on forcing her hand.


    Timothy exhaled a slow stream of smoke. "I know you hate me."


    He didn''t care if she hated him more.


    He simply couldn''t stand the thought of life without her. Keeping her nearby was


    better than letting her go and losing every chance he had.


    Jessica''s face hardened, her features tight and tense.


    "Tell me, Timothy-what will it take for you to let me go?"


    She knew arguing with him was pointless. He never changed his mind, no matter how much she fought.


    "I don''t want anything else. I just want yourpany, Jessy. Trust me when the paperwork is done, I''ll let you go."


    He wasn''t in a good ce. Seeing


    her with someone else, watching her


    shift her focus away from him and


    their son, had shaken him. Still, he


    knew She wasn''t one to scream and


    Cry she knew he was at fault. Even


    if


    he was angry, he wanted nothing


    more than to be gentle with her.


    "So, your n is to keep me here until the waiting period is over?"


    "No. Just a week. Let''s spend this week together."


    If he hadn''t brought her out here, he''d never have a chance to be alone with her.


    Without time together, how could he ever win her back?


    "I don''t believe you. Every time I


    She looked back at him.


    "No, maybe you won''t even manage that. The ocean''s too vast.”


    Timothy pressed his lips into a thin, rigid line. "Is being here with me really so unbearable? You''d rather die than stay?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!