Chapter 8: Chapter 8: That Is Not Her Home

Jasmine Vance leaned in, a light chuckle escaping her lips as she looked at Jessica Keller’s pale, delicate face.

"A woman like Ms. Keller is a rare prize in my uncle’s circle!"

Jasmine Vance’s uncle was a notorious playboy in Karthus.

Jessica Keller trembled, shrinking behind Jude Sheridan in fear. She wept silently, her eyes turning an alarming shade of red.

Jude Sheridan immediately raised a protective arm, shielding her behind him. His gaze was glacial.

"Cecilia Croft! You’ve gone too far! When did you become such a bully?"

Cecilia Croft replied calmly, "But I’ve always been this way. Isn’t the only reason Vantage is where it is today because I used every bullying tactic in the book to drive away our competitors?"

Jude Sheridan’s expression turned cold.

Cecilia Croft continued, "President Sheridan, as the one who benefited from it all, what right do you have to criticize me? Are you trying to play the hero saving the damsel in distress, or are you just feeling protective of a pretty face?"

Jessica Keller reached out and gently tugged on Jude Sheridan’s sleeve. "President Sheridan, please don’t fight with Cecilia over me. I’d feel just awful."

Now that Jessica Keller had spoken, the men Jude Sheridan had brought with him hurried to smooth things over.

"President Croft, we men are just used to joking around with each other. You must have misunderstood President Sheridan. There’s really nothing going on between him and Ms. Keller."

Men were experts at covering for one another, and they quickly chimed in.

"That’s right, that’s right. If there really was something going on, President Sheridan would never have dared to bring Ms. Keller before you."

Watching the sleazy, sycophantic expressions on the men’s faces, Cecilia Croft suddenly lost all interest.

They say you can tell a man’s true character by the company he keeps. There was certainly no fault in that saying.

She suddenly lost all interest in arguing with Jude Sheridan.

The speech she had prepared in her mind, the desire to expose Jessica Keller’s true colors—it all vanished in an instant.

’Let them be shackled together while I flourish on my own. That’s perfectly fine.’

Cecilia Croft’s gaze went past Jude Sheridan and Jessica Keller to the assistant standing in the far corner.

"Bring me tonight’s auction items."

If she couldn’t hold on to seven years of love, then she wouldn’t be the least bit shy about taking the assets she was owed.

The assistant froze for a second, then looked toward Jude Sheridan.

He was Jude Sheridan’s assistant now; he needed Jude’s approval before doing anything.

Jude Sheridan gave a slight nod. Only then did the assistant turn, enter the private suite, and ask the staff to bring the auction items out to Cecilia Croft.

"President Croft, they’re all here."

Cecilia Croft nodded with a smile, then turned to Jude Sheridan and asked...

"These are all a voluntary gift from you, President Sheridan, correct?"

Jude Sheridan’s face was grim, clearly displeased with Cecilia Croft’s detached phrasing.

"What’s mine is yours. As long as you like them, is there anything you can’t have?"

Cecilia Croft replied coolly, "Our assets have already been clearly divided, President Sheridan, so it’s best to confirm these things. I’d hate for someone to throw a little tantrum, prompting you to fly into a rage for a beauty’s sake and demand I return all these items."

Jude Sheridan’s face darkened.

"Enough! Consider them a voluntary gift. Take them and go."

Cecilia Croft offered a nonchalant thank you and gestured for the staff to take all the auction items to her car.

Jessica Keller stood quietly beside Jude Sheridan, her eyes fixed on a particular jade bracelet. She clenched her jaw.

Jude Sheridan glanced down, then said in a low, firm voice... 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Leave the jade bracelet."

Cecilia Croft stopped in her tracks and turned, an elegant smile on her face.

"President Sheridan, you just said you were gifting these to me voluntarily. So, whether I like them or not, they belong to me now."

Jessica Keller bit her lip, discreetly tugged on Jude Sheridan’s sleeve, and shook her head.

Jude Sheridan’s expression remained cold.

Cecilia Croft watched Jessica Keller’s small, "forbearing" gestures, a derisive smile playing on her lips. Without wasting another word, she swept out with all the auction items in tow.

Outside the auction house, Cecilia Croft handed the items over to Jasmine Vance to deal with for her.

Jasmine Vance looked at the items piled into her car and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you that short on cash lately?"

’First, she wants to sell her Vantage shares, and now she’s selling off these auction items?’

Cecilia Croft shook her head and said softly, "My sister only gave me a month to sort out my affairs here. I only have fifteen days left."

In fifteen days, she wanted nothing left but a long, cold string of numbers in her bank account before making a clean and stylish return to Karthus.

Of all the items, Cecilia Croft kept only one: the jade bracelet Jude Sheridan had specifically demanded.

Late that night, just as she expected, Jude Sheridan showed up at her grandmother’s house. In his hands were several boxes of the shortbread cookies her grandmother loved.

Cecilia Croft watched with a completely impassive expression as Jude Sheridan held the cookies out to her.

Jude Sheridan walked past her into the house, cookies still in hand, his voice hushed.

"Has Grandma gone to bed already? How has her health been lately?"

Cecilia Croft stared silently at his feigned look of concern, her own gaze growing even colder.

Jude Sheridan sensed the shift in her mood and lowered his voice even more, as if worried about disturbing the old woman.

"Cecilia, I’ve already explained that there’s nothing between me and her. Our wedding is in half a month. I don’t want someone like that causing any unpleasantness between us. As soon as the project is over, I’ll have her leave, alright?"

Cecilia Croft said, "It seems Ms. Keller is quite capable indeed."

Jude Sheridan’s face hardened. "Cecilia, does everything you say have to be so barbed?"

Cecilia Croft retorted, "So I can’t even praise her now? A young woman, fresh out of college, is already so indispensable that a project can’t move forward without her. I have to admit, I’m impressed."

Jude Sheridan frowned, fighting down his rising anger. He spoke with what little patience he had left.

"She’s a key talent being developed by our partners."

Cecilia Croft just said, "Oh." Her gaze was distant. "Why are you here?"

Jude Sheridan moved closer, slipping an arm around her waist and whispering softly.

"You ran off to your grandmother’s without a word. Naturally, I was worried you were still angry, so I came looking for you."

Cecilia Croft didn’t miss the way Jude Sheridan’s eyes flickered toward the brocade box, but she couldn’t be bothered to call him out on it.

She reached down and removed the arm he had wrapped around her waist, her voice cool.

"Did you go back to the villa?"

Jude Sheridan hummed in affirmation and wrapped his arm around her again. When Cecilia Croft struggled, he tightened his grip, trapping her domineeringly in his embrace. "Cecilia, don’t move," he murmured in a low voice. "Let me just hold you."

The difference in strength between them was too great. Unable to break free, Cecilia Croft had no choice but to acquiesce.

Seeing her trapped, Jude Sheridan’s lips curved into a smirk. He held her for a moment longer before releasing her and taking her hand instead.

"Come on. Let’s go home."

Cecilia Croft didn’t move. She just stood there, watching him quietly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

’He’s already been back to the villa, but he didn’t even notice that everything inside has been cleared out. Jessica Keller has really managed to distract him completely.’

’Home? That place wasn’t her home anymore.’

’How could she ever build a home with a man whose heart had already strayed?’