Chapter 17 

Jenna frantically tried to slip back into her mask of innocent vulnerability. 

But it was too late. 

Alaric strode forward and grabbed her by the throat. 

Her friends scattered with terrified screams, leaving only Alaric and Jenna. 

“Jenna,” Alaric hissed through clenched teeth, “you’ve been playing me for quite the fool all these 

years.” 

Alaric remembered the first time he’d seen Jenna. 

Her father had just died, and the little girl had asked with tear–filled eyes where her daddy had gone. 

Guilt and compassion had driven him to promise he’d take care of her for life. 

At first, it had been purely out of responsibility and pity. 

But as she grew up, she seemed so different from the women in his social circle- 

The women he knew carried designer handbags, lived lavish lifestyles, and exuded entitlement. 

But Jenna always seemed hesitant, uncertain, convinced she deserved nothing. 

That apparent vulnerability had tugged at his heart. 

That protective instinct had led him to mistake his feelings for love. 

But now, seeing the real Jenna, he realized something- 

He felt anger at being deceived, but not the heartbreak and disappointment of betrayed love. 

Why? 

If he truly loved Jenna, wouldn’t his heart be shattered? 

Chapter 17 

Instead… 

Instead, it was thoughts of Stella that brought that suffocating pain- 

Her pale face when Jenna broke her mother’s artwork. 

Her determination as she drove scissors into her own leg rather than submit to him. 

That calm, unsurprised expression as he abandoned her in the fire… 

Alaric could barely breathe. 

All his rage redirected toward the woman before him. 

His grip tightened, his fury so intense he could have killed her. 

Jenna felt his murderous intent and genuine terror filled her eyes. 

She struggled to force words through her constricted throat- 

“Uncle Al… please… for my father’s… sake…” 

Alaric’s pupils contracted. 

A moment later, he finally released her. 

Jenna collapsed to the floor, rubbing her throat and coughing violently. 

“Jenna,” Alaric spoke coldly, all former tenderness gone, replaced by the icy tone of a complete stranger. “Whatever debt I owed your father has been paid in full over these years.” 

“From this day forward, we have nothing to do with each other.” 

He turned and walked away. 

Despite Jenna’s hysterical tears and screams behind him, he never looked back. 

Alaric hurried home to find the living room filled with boxes. 

He frowned. “What’s all this?” 

Camilla’s expression was distant. 

“Stella sent us some things earlier. I only just sorted through them today. Oh, and while I was putting 

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things away. I found a bunch of items you’d thrown in the basement. You might want to look through everything.” 

Alaric stared at the collection before him, completely dumbfounded. 

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