Vivienne stood behind Patricia, tears rolling down her face in fat, heavy drops. She caught a glimpse of the photo Jasper still clutched in his hand, the one of him and Hilda together, and a flash of hatred cut through her eyes.
"If that woman is all you can think about, then get out of this house! I'll adopt Vivienne as my goddaughter and be done with it!"
Vivienne spoke up, her voice urgent. "Mrs. Fairmont, you can't do that. I made up my mind when I was a little girl. Jasper is the only man I'll ever marry."
She knelt beside him, weeping prettily, and at a glance the two of them made quite the picture of star-crossed lovers.
Patricia sighed.
"Jasper. Pull yourself together. You and Vivienne are attending a welcome gala at the Summers estate today. The man's in his fifties, and against all odds he actually found his daughter. Show some respect."
"Same surname, different fate. Remember who you are. And remember what Hilda did for a living. Dead or alive, she was never in your league."
A long silence. Jasper's lips parted. His throat was raw and burning, and it took an age before any sound scraped out. "Understood, Mother."
The Summers family empire already sat at the very top of the old-money hierarchy. The chairman's first wife had passed young, leaving behind a daughter who'd gone missing as a small child. Now that she'd been found, naturally she would be cherished like a treasure.
When Jasper arrived, the reactions around the room were varied. After all, everyone had spent the past six months hearing the gossip about how the Fairmont heir had nearly destroyed himself over some woman.
Amid the clinking glasses and flowing champagne, Chairman Summers stepped forward. He clasped his hands in gratitude for the well-wishes, then took the microphone and began telling the room about his daughter.
From the moment Jasper walked into the banquet hall, his heart had been beating wrong. Erratic. Restless. He rubbed his thumb along the rim of his glass, wanting nothing more than to leave.
Vivienne noticed the shift in him immediately.
"Do you have any idea what kind of event this is, Jasper? You're going to abandon me here in front of all these people?"
Jasper didn't hear a word. Because he had spotted a figure across the room.
That silhouette was too familiar. The one that haunted his every waking thought, every sleepless night. He could never mistake it.