And just like that, she slipped away, leaving Nina alone with the one person she had never expected to see here.
Nina stood facing Jasper. With every passing second, the silence between them tightened, grew heavier. He watched her closely but said nothing, as if waiting for her to be the one to break it.
“I didn’t expect you to know William Reed,” she said with athin smirk.
One corner of his mouth lifted.
“I got dragged here,” he replied calmly, taking a sip of wine.“These days I’m a profitable partner.” Then, after a beat,“You look good tonight, Nina.”
Her heart betrayed her with a sharp jolt. She looked away, feeling a warm, unsettling rush low in her belly. She needed to leave, immediately.
“Thanks. It’s just the dress.”A pause.“You know… I think I’ll head out. It’s too stuffy in here.”
She turned and almost fled, putting distance between herself and Jasper. It took everything she had not to look back.
Past the glass doors, she stepped into the garden. Cool air cut through her instantly, raising goosebumps along her skin. Nina wrapped her arms around herself and stopped by a tall thuja bush, trying to breathe, to shake off the tension.
She’d congratulated the birthday girl. There was no reason to stay.
She turned and froze.
“Do you seriously think Nina is having an affair with Jasper Garth?”
The voice was Vivian's.
Something inside Nina collapsed. What the hell was that woman doing here? And why was she talking about her? Had Stella set this up?
Nina couldn’t see their faces—only silhouettes. Four women with champagne glasses stood at the edge of a lit path. But she would have recognized Vivian’s voice anywhere.
“Oh, don’t be so naïve,” Vivian went on with a smug laugh.“My husband told me everything. In confidence, of course.”
She paused theatrically, and a sick sense of dread pierced Nina’s chest.
“Frank kept quiet for a long time. Nina’s father forced him to marry her.”
“What?” one of the women asked eagerly.“Why would he do that?”
“To cover up a shameful scandal,” Vivian lowered her voice, but not enough.“Twenty-two years ago, Nina went to the police claiming that Jasper Garth raped her. Can you imagine? It was a blow to the whole family, especially given their status. So her father threatened Frank into marrying her to bury the disgrace.”
“Wait… is that true?” another woman whispered.
The world tilted.
Frank had told this vile woman everything—her most personal pain, twisted beyond recognition. No one had forced him to marry her; he had begged her father to let him into the family.
“Of course it is,” Vivian continued confidently while Nina fought the numbness creeping through her body.“And now he’s finally free. Her father’s dead. The farce is over. Frank and I can finally be happy without worrying that Lloyd would destroy us if he found out about me and our son.”
“Oh my God… that’s just—”
“Disgusting?” Vivian cut in.“Exactly. But I’m glad the truth is coming out. People should know the truth. She’s a manipulator. She staged everything so that now everyone thinks Frank is a heartless bastard.”
Nina’s head was ringing.
Everything blurred.
She stood there, fingers clawing the fabric of her dress, unable to feel the cold or her body. Only pain. Sharp, burning pain—as if her heart had been ripped out and everything inside her turned inside out.
Everything she had tried to forget, everything she had buried so carefully.
