Chapter 540 Jacob, Do You Still Love Her?
Jacob slowed his pace, his gaze locked onto Nicole with an intensity that threatened to consume him whole. He knew he was losing his composure, but in this moment of reunion, what did it matter?
She had been gone for four years—four endless years without a single text, call, or whispered word between them. They had existed as parallel lines in the universe, never once intersecting.
His jaw clenched as he forced out words like shards of ice, "So you're back."
"Yes." Nicole's voice carried a distant quality, as if she were speaking from across a vast chasm.
She studied the perfect couple before her, and despite the years that had passed, despite everything that had died between them, her heart still recognized what it had once loved. The pain struck swift and merciless, a blade twisting in her chest.
Amelia's fingers curled possessively around Jacob's arm as she offered Nicole a saccharine smile. "Nicole, welcome home. Your timing is perfect—Jacob and I are getting married. This Christmas."
She gazed up at Jacob with practiced adoration, but his eyes remained fixed on Nicole, searching her face with the hunger of a man starved for four years.
Nicole emerged from her stupor with practiced grace, her smile polished and distant. "Congratulations to you both."
Something dark flickered across Jacob's features. Without breaking eye contact with Nicole, he deliberately intertwined his fingers with Amelia's and led her toward the parking garage. As they passed, Nicole's hair brushed his shoulder, carrying the ghost of gardenias—a scent that was quickly smothered by Amelia's heavy perfume.
Later, beneath the city's glittering skyline, Jacob's car idled outside Amelia's apartment building. She turned to study his profile in the darkness.
"You still love her."
"You're imagining things." Jacob's voice was flat as he reached for his cigarettes, the flame briefly illuminating the sharp angles of his face.
The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken truths. Amelia had grown accustomed to his emotional distance, but tonight felt different. She had seen the way he looked at Nicole—with a raw hunger that spoke of obsession, longing, and barely restrained desire.
"Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" The words escaped before she could stop them, and immediately she regretted the vulnerability they revealed.
"Forget I said anything." She reached for the door handle, but his hand shot out, capturing her wrist and drawing her slowly toward him.
Her pulse thundered as he extinguished his cigarette and pulled her into his embrace. His palm cradled the back of her head as he studied her face in the dim light, and for a moment, she allowed herself to believe this was real.
When he finally released her, confusion clouded her features. "Jacob?"
"Another time. It's getting late." The excuse fell hollow between them.
Amelia's heart sank, but she managed a gracious smile. "Nicole just returned. You should spend time with family."
His expression remained unreadable as he rolled down the window, clearing the air of their brief intimacy. "Get out."
After Amelia disappeared into her building, Jacob remained in the suffocating darkness, his hands trembling as he lit another cigarette. The carefully constructed mask he wore began to crack, revealing the raw devastation beneath.
His world was crumbling, and Nicole—the architect of his destruction—had chosen this moment to return. Just when he had finally learned to hate her.