Chapter 3Moonset, Stars Fade

Jacob didn't speak for a long moment, his brow knitted in confusion, as if he couldn't process what he'd just heard.

Vera looked at him, concerned. "Jacob? What is it?"

He seemed to snap back to reality, his voice turning cold as he spoke into the phone. "Scammers are getting creative these days. Don't you know who you're calling?"

"You have the wrong number. I don't know anyone named Eleanor Vance."

With that, he hung up.

Perhaps connecting the call to last night's news report, Vera’s face went pale. "Jacob, who was that? Why would they mention Eleanor?"

He locked his phone, his tone breezy. "Nobody. Just a spam call. Ignore it."

He probably didn't even notice the tightness in his own voice, or the slight tremor in the hand holding his phone.

Vera tried again. "But—"

He cut her off. "Enough. Let's not talk about such unpleasant things." He forced a smile. "Come on. I've booked dinner on a luxury cruise tonight. We won't go home. I'll take you out, clear your head."

Vera hid her unease and managed a weak nod.

After dinner in the ship's top-deck restaurant, Jacob led Vera out onto the deck. She leaned against the railing, tilting her head back to feel the cool night sea breeze.

"Jacob, I feel so happy," she murmured. "When I was a little girl in the orphanage, I was bullied all the time. I used to wish a prince would come and rescue me. I'd marry him, and we'd have a home of our own." She looked at him, her eyes shining. "I feel like my dream has come true. I have you, and our baby. I finally have a family."

Jacob stood behind her and wrapped his arms gently around her waist.

The sight burned my eyes. Through a blur of tears, I saw Jacob as he was when he first confessed his love for me.

Back then, he was the sole heir to the Brodie Corporation, and I was a parentless orphan paying my tuition with student loans. Yet, for six months, he pursued me relentlessly.

Faced with my repeated rejections, the eighteen-year-old boy had stood before me, his face flushed. "Ellie, I know you have walls up. But can you please, just once, trust me? I'll cherish you. I'll give you a home." His voice cracked with emotion. "You're not alone anymore. You have me."

The stars were so bright that night, just as bright as they were now. But the boy's eyes, full of a nervous, anxious hope, burned even brighter.

I don't know if it was the starlight in his eyes or the sincerity in his voice that finally broke through.

But on that day, I nodded.

Vera's voice pulled me back to the present. "Jacob, thank you for giving me a home."

The arms around her waist suddenly went rigid.

When he didn't respond, Vera turned in confusion to look at him.

Jacob was staring at her face, his expression unreadable. After a long silence, he spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"Vera… did Ellie really run off with another man?"