<h4>Chapter 72: No Room to Breathe</h4>


    Anna’s POV


    Three pairs of eyes locked onto me withser focus, their gazes so intense that I nearly squirmed in my seat. The champagne in my ss suddenly seemed like the most fascinating thing in the room as I desperately tried to avoid their scrutinizing stares.


    "What?" I asked defensively, taking another generous sip of champagne.


    The question hung awkwardly in the air. I couldn’t bear another second of this interrogation. Grabbing Catherine’s wrist, I pulled her to her feet.


    "We need to check on Paisley," I said, the excuse sounding flimsy even to my own ears. "Birthday girl duties and all that."


    Catherine’s knowing smirk made me want to dump my champagne over her head, but I maintained myposure as we fled the scene. The moment we were out of earshot, she erupted into a fit of giggles.


    "My uncle is absolutely smitten," she wheezed betweenughs. "I’ve never seen him so... obvious about anything!"


    I shot her a withering re. "This isn’t funny. You know exactly who brought him back, don’t you?"


    Catherine’sughter intensified, her shoulders shaking uncontrobly. "Was it deliberate or genuine emotion?


    Either way, it’s absolutely brilliant!"


    My irritation red. "You’re stillughing? Who invited him back?"


    Watching Catherine nearly doubled over in amusement, my frustration only grew. She finally wiped away tears of mirth. "I just wanted to give Uncle Marcus another chance. If he hadn’te back, I never would have known he had this side to him. Oh god, ? Maybe you should just ept him?"


    I snapped, my temples throbbing painfully. "Don’t you know I’m already seeing someone?"


    Catherine dismissed this with a scoff.


    "Your mysterious hookup? Just end it!


    Is he really better than my uncle?"


    I snagged another cocktail from a passing server, taking a small sip while calcting my next words. "Let me be straight with you—I genuinely see your uncle as an *uncle*. Getting together with him would be... inappropriate, wouldn’t it? Besides, we’repletely ipatible in every way. This is thest time, okay? Stop interfering."


    Catherine finally surrendered with a reluctant nod, though I could tell this wouldn’t be the end of it. My mind kept circling back to Marcus. His aggressive pursuit suggested he wouldn’t give up easily.


    Paisley bounded over, lifting her dress slightly to move faster, and threw her arms around us like an enthusiastic puppy. Something about this increasingly clingy girl softened my heart.


    As we chatted about Paisley’s school life and her adorably innocent "dating" problems, an unwee interruption cut through our conversation.


    "Come with me. I need to ask you something." Jack’s cold voice sliced through ourughter.


    I didn’t even bother looking up, annoyance rising in my chest. "I don’t think we have anything to discuss


    anymore."


    Unexpectedly, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me to my feet. Seeing Paisley and Catherine rise in concern, I quickly waved them off. "Stay seated.


    I’ll just talk to him briefly." Thest thing I wanted was to create a scene in front of all these people.


    The moment we stepped into the garden, the frigid air assaulted my exposed skin like a thousand tiny needles. "Are you insane, Jack? Do you know how cold it is out here? Are you trying to freeze me to death?" I shouted, my entire body instantly covered in goosebumps.


    Seeing him hurriedly remove his suit jacket and wrap it around my shoulders slightly dampened my anger, though I remained wary. Jack gazed at me with those deep eyes that once meant everything to me, seemingly full of words unspoken, yet ultimately asking only: "Anna, do I really have no chance?"


    In that moment, profound weariness washed over me. This feeling reminded me of my teenage years, clearing my desk of endless love letters and unwanted gifts. Some affections were simply burdens to me. What I didn’t want, I absolutely wouldn’t ept.


    When I didn’t answer, Jack’s emotions intensified. "How can you stop loving someone just like that? Anna, do you even have a heart?"


    I looked at him wearily. "Do you know what you look like right now? A desperate, lovesick fool. Can you please stop clinging to me? It’s pathetic."


    Watching this once-dignified man reduced to this state left me confused and disappointed. Wasn’t he the one who divorced me so decisively? Wasn’t he the one who despised me right after our divorce? Why had he transformed into this persistent stalker?


    When Jack finally released my hand, I saw defeat and self-loathing in his eyes. Though still annoyed, I kept his jacket against the biting cold.


    "I’m going back inside. Get your jacket from one of the servers," I said. As I turned to leave, he called after me, his voice regaining someposure.


    "That news about you partnering with Samuel Griffin isn’t true, is it?"


    Of course. That’s what truly concerned him. "Who I partner with is my business. All you need to know is that it won’t be with Simpson Group."


    "I’m just warning you-Samuel is too calcting. You’re no match for him," he said, his words framed as concern but feeling like an insult.


    But I was too cold and too tired to continue this pointless conversation.


    All I wanted was to return to the warmth inside.


    Jack’s POV


    I watched Anna’s retreating figure as she disappeared back into the warm glow of the Sanders mansion, leaving me alone in the biting cold. Her parting words echoed in my mind:


    "Who I partner with is my business.


    All you need to know is that it won’t be with Simpson Group."


    Something inside me crumbled as I stood there, the freezing air numbing my exposed skin. I’d just lost my jacket and any remaining dignity I might have possessed. When had I be this pathetic? This desperate?


    The Anna I’d just encountered wasn’t the woman I’d married. This Anna was harder, colder, more calcting— with edges sharp enough to draw blood. Her eyes, once warm when they looked at me, now held nothing but weariness and disdain.


    *Had she always been this person and I just never noticed? Or did I create this version of her?*


    Each time I’d said those words, something in her eyes had dimmed a little more, but I’d been too blind to notice.


    The image of Anna standing beside Marcus Murphy at the party earlier shed before my eyes. She’d looked so different with him-softer somehow, more attentive. The way she’d listened when he spoke, the slight curve of her lips when he made some dryment. It was like watching a different woman entirely.


    Pax’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as he draped my spare jacket over my shoulders. He hesitated, then added, "They’re discussing the East Lake property. Ms. Shaw joined them."


    My interest piqued immediately. "Thend that’s been bought but never developed?" Internal rms started ringing. That property had been on my radar for years.


    "Yes, sir. Apparently, development is finally moving forward," Pax confirmed.


    I straightened my back, determination recing self-pity. "Who else is there?"


    "Mr. Marcus Murphy is present as well," Pax added carefully, watching for my reaction.


    *Marcus again.* A bitterugh nearly escaped my lips. Was I supposed to avoid every gathering he attended?


    Skulk around like some heartbroken teenager?


    Anna’s final words from our encounter stung freshly: "What you look like right now? A desperate, lovesick fool."


    She was right. I had be exactly that-clinging, desperate, pathetic.


    This wasn’t the Jack Simpson who had won her heart years ago. That man had been confident, steady, someone she could lean on during her darkest hours after her father’s death.


    "I understand," I said, adjusting my jacket and smoothing my hair. No more of this. No more acting like an abandoned spouse.


    I strode toward the men’s lounge area with purpose, my steps measured and deliberate. This time, I wasn’t going to create a scene or confront Anna. This time, I would remind her-and myself —of the man I used to be. The man who handled business with expertise and confidence. The man she had once loved.


    Anna’s POV


    The whispers rippled through Paisley’s birthday party like a stone thrown into still water, stirring up the surface calm of champagne flutes and polite conversation.


    "Did you hear? They’ve broken ground next to the Shaw historical building in Skke District."


    My ears perked up instantly. For years, that plot had been a mystery— purchased by an unknown buyer and left dormant. Now suddenly construction was starting? I sipped my champagne slowly, carefully maintaining a calm expression despite my racing thoughts.


    The conversation around me shifted seamlessly to the uing Skke District auction, voices dropping an octave as if sharing state secrets. I remained quiet, observing. In Skyview City’s elite circles, what remained unsaid was often more important than what was spoken aloud.


    When Jack Simpson entered, the room fell silent so abruptly it was almostical. He paused in the doorway, scanning faces with that self-satisfied smirk that made my skin crawl.


    "What are you all talking about?


    Everyone got quiet the moment I walked in," he said, clearly enjoying the effect his presence had.


    Someone finally broke the awkward silence. "Any word on when the Skke District papers will be finalized, Mr. Simpson? Any insider information you could share with us?"


    Jack’s lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Of course."


    Hourster, as the party wound down, Catherine and I stepped outside only to find ourselves facing an unexpected tableau. There, arranged like some bizarre receiving line, stood Marcus Murphy, Jack Simpson, and Logan Porter.


    "Wow, your love life is suddenly very crowded," Catherine whispered, amusement evident in her voice.


    My throat tightened as panic bloomed in my chest. Why are they all here?


    Could they be any more obvious?


    Logan spotted us first, breaking into a warm smile as he approached. "Anna, it’s gettingte. Let me drive you home."


    I grabbed the lifeline he’d unwittingly thrown. "Thank you, Logan. I appreciate it."


    Marcus didn’t move toward us, merely stating in that maddeningly calm voice of his, "Don’t forget dinner with William tomorrow."


    I nodded, simultaneously relieved and strangely disappointed as he turned and walked away.


    Jack’s eyes locked with mine for a long, ufortable moment before he left without a word, that prating gaze making me feel ufortable.


    Once they’d dispersed, Logan turned to me. "So, do you really want me to take you home?"


    "Actually, I’ve got some things to take care of," I said. "I’m not going back to Shaw Estate tonight."


    Back in my room at Sapphire Sky Hotel, I paced the floor, Catherine’s outrageous suggestion echoing in my mind. Those three men, plus my mother and grandmother’s relentless pressure about marriage and children -I was truly cornered.


    "T’ll do it," I whispered to the empty room. "This is the only way out."


    My hands trembled slightly as I made the preparations in Room 3303, but my resolve remained unshaken. Once I’m pregnant, these men will back off.


    And my family will have their precious heir-problem solved.


    The next day, I approached Murphy Estate with a strange mix of anticipation and dread. Before I even reached the main house, a harsh squawk greeted me.


    "Troublemaker’s here! Troublemaker’s here!"


    I narrowed my eyes at the parrot perched on a low branch. "Well hello, Einstein. Long time no see."


    "Troublemaker! Troublemaker!" the parrot insisted, pping its wings dramatically.


    "Einstein, Einstein," I mimicked back.


    "He still remembers you."


    I froze at Marcus’s voice, my yful smile evaporating instantly. How long has he been standing there?


    Marcus gestured toward a nearby pavilion where he’d set out tea. "Come sit."


    "Where’s William?" I asked, scanning the grounds suspiciously.


    "Still inside practicing calligraphy. He’ll be out soon." When I hesitated, he added, "Don’t disturb him, or you’ll get scolded. I just got chased out myself."


    I reluctantly took a seat across from him, tense and hyperaware of his every movement.


    "Am I really that frightening?" he asked, a note of irritation coloring his voice.


    I abandoned pretense. "Yes, you are.


    And frankly, any man who wants a rtionship with me is frightening right now. I really don’t have time to deal with this."


    To my surprise, Marcus let the subject drop. "I heard you’re nning to partner with Samuel Griffin?"


    I sat up straighter, instantly curious.


    "Uncle Marcus, care to guess if that rumor is true?"


    He poured more tea with practiced ease. "Currently it’s false, but the future is uncertain."


    "How uncertain? What do you think— will I partner with him?"


    "You want to, but you have reservations," he stated matter-of-factly.


    My eyes widened slightly. How does he know exactly what I’m thinking?


    "I’ve had someone look into Samuel Griffin thoroughly," Marcus continued.


    "The man may be calcting and constantly scheming, but he’s undeniably capable."


    Hope flickered inside me. "Are you saying I should partner with him?"


    "Of course."


    "Can I handle it?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.


    Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Why couldn’t you?" His gaze was surprisingly gentle. "You just finished getting your revenge. Why the suddenck of confidence?"


    I swallowed hard. "If I partner with Samuel, I’ll essentially be investing almost all of Shaw Corp’s resources. In all my time running Shaw Corp, I’ve never undertaken a project this massive. I’m not sure I’m ready."


    Marcus unfolded a map of Skyview City, circling an area with his finger.


    "This area-Nestling Crest Bay-will soon be Skyview City’s most prosperousmercial district, without question."


    I frowned. "Nestling Crest Bay? Uncle Marcus, why are you so certain? I haven’t heard of any new developments there."


    Instead of answering, he pointed to Skke District. "Once Nestling Crest Bay develops, this entire area, especially Skke District... if you can partner with Samuel Griffin, you absolutely won’t lose."


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