She Returned With The CEO's Hidden Heir

Maria obeyed at once. As they climbed the stairs, the whispers resumed behind them.

"That girl is trouble. Rude, shameless... She doesn't belong here."

"She has a vicious temper, you know. And don't forget! She swore she was going to marry Edward Swan, the fourth son of the Swan family, just to get back at Jasmine."

"Said she'd make Eden call her 'Aunt Jeanne'... What a fool."

Jenifer silenced her friends with a look of feigned indulgence. "Come now. She just need some time to grow more mature..."

Just then, a bright voice echoed from the hall. "Mom, Eden and I are back!"

Eden.

Jeanne's heart gave a painful lurch. Her steps faltered, just for a fraction of a second, before she caught herself. George, too young to understand the tension, squeezed her hand.

A moment later, the couple appeared in the living room. Eden, looking as elegant as ever, had his arm wrapped around Jasmine's waist. They were the picture of a fairy-tale couple. Yet a fairy tale with a rotten core.

From the bottom of the stairs, Eden's eyes met Jeanne's. He froze, a flicker of something troubled in his expression. Jasmine followed his gaze, and when she saw Jeanne, her smile stiffened.

"Oh, is that my sister? You're back," she called out, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

Jenifer, ever the instigator, murmured to Jasmine, "You can go say hello in a bit."

Jasmine nodded, but her eyes burned with jealousy. A cruel little smile played on her lips. Jeanne had no idea why she'd been summoned back after all these years. But she would figure out soon enough.

...

After settling George in his room, Jeanne went to see the family patriarch, Jonathan Lawrence. A stroke had left him confined to a wheelchair. He looked frailer than she remembered, but his eyes were still as sharp as hawk's.

"So, you're back," he said, his voice a low rumble.

"Yes," she replied curtly.

"To the study. We need to talk."

She followed him to the study. There was no emotion in his voice, only a heavy coldness—the tone of a king addressing a pawn.

"It's time for you to get married," he announced.

"So you didn't call me back to witness your final days. You called me back to get married?"

"Exactly. You'll meet Thedus Locke tomorrow. He's thirty. Solid. A suitable marriage."

Jeanne let out a joyless laugh. "Thedus Locke? The murderer who just got out of prison?"

"He is willing to accept your child. You should be grateful."

She narrowed her eyes. "And how much did the Locke family pay you to buy me?"

Jonathan's jaw tightened, but he remained silent.

"I just wanted to know my worth," she said with a venomous smile.

"You're lucky to be offered any future at all," he bit out, his brow furrowed.

"Of course, Grandfather," she replied, dipping her head in a gesture of mock respect. Her smile was pure ice.

Jeanne left Jonathan's study and headed back to her room.

An icy silence had fallen over the mansion, the very walls seeming to hold their breath, waiting for the next act of the drama to unfold. She had barely stepped into the hallway when her breath caught. A figure loomed in the hallway before her, a ghost from a nightmare she thought she had long since buried.

It was Eden. The man she had once loved with a consuming, all-devouring passion. He stood there, proud and self-assured, as if nothing between them had ever been broken.

They had known each other since adolescence, bound by memories and promises whispered in the shadows of high school lockers. Their relationship had survived since then, at least on the surface. The constant fighting was just a symptom of their fiery passion—or so their friends said. Monica, a friend to them both, used to joke that only a man with Eden's patience could handle Jeanne's temper.

But Eden's devotion wasn't as pure as she'd been led to believe. Then the news broke, spreading through town like a disease: he had slept with Jasmine, her own half-sister. It wasn't just a betrayal; it was a knife to the heart.

The scandal spread like wildfire. But somehow, Jeanne was the one who took the blame. Jasmine, shielded by her mother, Jenifer—a master manipulator who could twist any truth to her advantage—emerged unscathed.

Impulsive and untamable, Jeanne had refused to be slandered without a fight. She'd caused a scene, a spectacular one, that dragged the family's name through the mud. That was her downfall. She lost everything: her love, her status, her dignity. But she hadn't gone down quietly. In a final, defiant outburst, she had declared her intention to seduce Edward Swan—the feared fourth son of the Swan family—and force Eden and Jasmine to one day call her "Aunt Jeanne."

It was all part of a bloody, painful past, a memory that still left a bitter taste in her mouth. But the years abroad had changed her. She had learned to bank her anger, to tame the inferno that once raged inside her.

"Jeannie," Eden murmured, his voice caressing the air.

She met his gaze with a calm, almost vacant smile.

"It's been years since we've seen each other. How are you?" he asked, as if they were old friends catching up over coffee.

Jeanne answered coldly, "That's none of your business."

"We loved each other once. I genuinely want you to be happy."

She arched a brow. "I assume you know why I've been summoned back to South Hampton."

Eden nodded. "I know Thedus is not a good man."

She remained silent.

"If things hadn't fallen apart between us, you wouldn't be in this position."

"Don't trouble yourself, Mr. Swan. I'm quite delighted to have cut ties with you."

"Still as stubborn as ever," he gave a cold laugh, yet the sound bitter. "That temper of yours is what drove me to Jasmine."

He dared. He actually dared to flip the blame onto her.

Jeanne shot him a murderous look. "Honestly, I'd rather marry Thedus than a man who can't keep it in his pants."

Eden didn't flinch. "You want to play tough? Want to get out of this marriage? Swallow your pride. Beg me, and I'll make it not happen."

She burst out laughing—a dry, cruel laugh—then turned on her heel, leaving him frozen and humiliated.

His eyes followed her, a confused expression on his face. She seemed untouchable.

He thought that she was playing tough, putting on an act and she still loved him.

His voice turned to ice as he called after her. "If you had just let me make love with you, I never would have slept with Jasmine!"

Jeanne stopped short.

"Where's your dignity now?" Eden pressed on, his voice dripping with scorn. "You come back with some bastard son and think you're better than everyone?"

She pivoted, slowly turning back to face him. And behind him, Jasmine had just appeared, her face ashen.

A sharp, dangerous smile touched Jeanne's lips. "So, let me get this straight. You fucked my sister because I wouldn't let you fuck me? Is that it?"

Eden tensed. Jasmine frowned.

Before he could reply, Jasmine spoke up in her honeyed voice, "Eden, what are you talking about?"

Playing the part of the demure, confused girlfriend, she clung to his arm and simpered.

"It's nothing, darling," Eden replied, his voice softening as he caressed her hand. "Just catching up."

Jeanne watched their putting on an act, a wave of nausea rolling through her. But her smile remained unchanged.

After a moment of this cloying display, Jasmine turned to Jeanne. "Jeanne, welcome back. I've missed you so much. If I hadn't... well, what I did back then... But we should put that all behind us, shouldn't we?"

Tears welled in her eyes.

Jeanne just looked at her, her own smile never wavering.

That cold, unwavering smile sent a chill down Jasmine's spine. She felt a surge of anger.

To her, Jeanne was just looking down on her!

An unnerving silence settled over the hallway.