Chapter-16

Jade’s POV.

So, my plan wasn’t working the way it was supposed to.

I thought coming home would be smooth. I mean, I knew Derrick was married. He tried so hard to keep that under wraps, but I knew. I also knew who he married, and that surprised me, I won’t lie.

But it didn’t matter in the end, because I knew Derrick. I’ve known that man since he was a boy. So, I was confident that upon my return, Derrick would see the errors of his ways and then divorce Kara without a second thought.

Then he would be mine again.

And Kara?

Kara would be the loser once again because no matter what she did, she would never ever be able to win against me.

Every time Kara found a reason to smile, I wanted to be the one to take it away from her.

At first, it was so easy. Everything was going according to plan. I knew from the get-go that whatever Derrick and Kara had was not built on a foundation of love. Maybe on Kara’s part, there was love. But Derrick? Derrick despised her. Maybe there had been love in the beginning, but that had died down.

I was certain that he hated her and couldn’t wait until he got rid of her.

It was pathetically easy to manipulate him. I didn’t even have to do much, just a nudge here and there, a simpering look and an unshed tear, and boom! He was always on my side, always seeing me in the light while placing Kara in the dark. Manipulation was my forte and Derrick was just like every other man.

But then Kara was hospitalized, and Derrick started to send his PA to check on Kara, all in secret. As if he still cared. I couldn’t afford to have his attention on her like that, so I devised a plan.

Again, it was so easy to stage a fall in my runaway event. I lost money because of the whole drama, but I could afford it. I wasn’t Kara after all, relying on Derrick for everything. Before the runaway, I called the paparazzi and hired them to be there at the event so they could tape the whole thing and send it to all the TV stations around the country. The shot of Derrick carrying me to his car was solid gold for them, and the paps were more than happy to do their job.

The photos and the footage cemented our ‘relationship’ further. Now, everyone in the country knew who I was and what I meant for Derrick. I was officially Derrick’s love interest, or even his girlfriend.

More than that, it made Derrick invite me into the home he shared with Kara. That was my ultimate victory.

But then, Derrick kept pulling back. The most we did was kiss, but with Kara around, he wouldn’t even let that get too far. He’d always have an excuse to pull back when the time came to take things further. No matter how subtly seductive I was trying to be, Derrick didn’t cross the line. 

It made no sense. He was already cheating on her with me by kissing me and loving me. A married man who loved his wife wouldn’t do that. Hell, a married man who respected his wife wouldn’t do so either.

But Derrick did. He was adamant that whatever he and Kara had was dead, and that he couldn’t stand her. He said he didn’t love her. So, why was he suddenly shy to have his way with me?

And now I found him looking at necklaces for Kara. Because she needed to reflect on his status.

This was the same Kara who kicked him out of his own home just days ago, who he said he hated.

This wasn’t part of the plan. It felt like the plan was derailing before my very eyes.

Derrick told me about the trashy necklace that Kara was wearing, and I immediately knew what it was. I knew how much that necklace meant to Kara, and just like that, a plan formed in my mind.

While Kara showered, I snuck into her room. The necklace was there, laying on her nightstand, so it was easy to take it and wait until Kara came out.

When Kara came out of her bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe, she immediately noticed me on the couch, casually toying with the pendant of her necklace, fingering the subtle cracks on the opal stone.

Instantly, Kara’s surprise turned to livid. Her face reddened, and I could see the smoke coming out of her ears.

“What the hell are you doing in here?!” she demanded, her voice a growl. “Who gave you the permission to break into my room and touch my things?”

“It’s not breaking unless the door is locked,” I pointed out with a smirk. “Besides, Derrick told me that I can go anywhere in this house, and considering how the villa belongs to him…”

I started to swing the necklace on my finger like a pendulum, and as I predicted, that irked Kara to no end. She lunged at me like a cat, and it was only too easy to let the necklace go and pretend that I’d only 'accidentally' dropped it.

“Oh, dear, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said drolly as Kara snatched the necklace from the ground and took a good look at it.

She gasped, her expression immediately shifting to heartbreak.

The pendant’s edge was chipped!

“You monster!” she spat through gritted teeth. “How could you!”

I laughed at her.

“I didn’t do anything Kara, it’s your own fault for having such an old, decrypt thing as a family heirloom,” I sneered at her, my heart erupting with joy at her anguish. Well, well, well, look who’s not smiling brightly anymore.

I moved closer to her, getting in her face and looming over her.

“You’re just like that necklace,” I said. “Chipping away and cracked. Cheap and broken.”

Slap!

My head snapped at the force of the blow, and I stumbled back. I honestly didn’t know Kara had it in her. My cheek smarted so much, warm under my palm as I brought my hand to my face, dazed.

Kara stood stock-still in front of me, eyes wide. It was as if she couldn’t believe she just hit me.

The door to Kara’s room burst open, and in ran Derrick, livid. He immediately clocked in what Kara had done and rushed to me, enveloping me in his arms, shielding me from his mean, mean wife, his lips already curled in a snarl.

“What’s wrong with you, you vicious woman!”