Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Jessica’s POV

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The gravel crunched beneath the tires of the black car as we pulled up to the main entrance of the Tyrone farmhouse. “Farmhouse” was a modest term for the sprawling, timber-framed estate that rose out of the Bavarian mist.

It looked like a fortress carved from oak and stone, surrounded by rolling hills and ancient forests.

I sat in the back seat, my hands folded tightly in my lap. I felt hollow, like a vessel that had been emptied of everything but fear.

David was in the front, his eyes scanning the perimeter with a professional distance, while Aaron sat beside

He hadn’t let go of my hand since we landed in Frankfurt. His grip was the only thing tethering me to the ground,

As the doors opened, the crisp German air rushed in. It smelled of pine and expensive woodsmoke.

The estate was already teeming with people-valets in white gloves, caterers carrying silver trays, and guests dressed in “country chic” attire that probably cost more than my first apartment.

We hadn’t even reached the porch when a sharp, piercing scream sliced through the polite chatter of the lawn.

“Aaron!”

Floral silk billowed and dark hair streamed behind her as she tore down the steps.

It was Aria. She didn’t care about the guests or the decorum; she threw herself at her brother with such force that he stumbled back a step.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

“You’re here,” she choked out, her voice thick with relief. “You’re actually here.”

She pulled away just enough to cup his face with both hands, her eyes searching his as if she were checking for injuries.

Aaron’s expression softened, the hard, predatory mask he’d been wearing since Los Angeles crumbling for a fraction of a second.

He patted her head, a small, tired smile touching his lips.

“I’m here, Aria,” he murmured.

Then, her attention shifted. Her hands dropped from Aaron’s face as she looked at me. Her jaw fell open, and for a moment, the world went completely silent.

17:23 Mon, Mar 2 d

Chapter 173

“Jessica?” she whispered.

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I didn’t have the words to greet her. I stood in the sun, but it felt like I wasn’t fully there.

Aria didn’t wait for an explanation; she lunged at me, pulling me into a tight hug.

She squeezed me so tight I could feel her heart racing against mine.

When she finally pulled back, she kept her hands on my shoulders.

“Is it really you? How? We thought… everyone said…” She turned to Aaron, her eyes flashing with a mix of anger and wonder.

“Aaron Tyrone, you have some serious explaining to do! You let us believe she was gone? For years?”

“It’s complicated, Aria,” Aaron mumbled, reaching out to pull me closer to his side. “And we’re not doing this on the driveway.”

“Complicated?” Aria huffed, wiping a tear from her cheek. “You couldn’t have sent a text? A carrier pigeon? Anything?”

“From where? The middle of a season? ‘Hey sis, I found Jessica, don’t tell Grandpa’?” Aaron rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure that would’ve gone over well.”

For the first time in twenty-four hours, the tightness in my chest eased just enough to let a tiny smile break onto my lips. It was such a normal, human interaction in the middle of a nightmare.

“Come on,” Aria said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the massive oak doors.

“Let’s get you inside before the vultures realize you’re back from the dead. Trust me, the cousins are already circling.”

The heavy oak doors groaned open, and a wall of heat and expensive perfume hit me square in the face.

The interior of the farmhouse was even more imposing than the outside. Taxidermy stared down from the walls, and massive stone fireplaces roared with heat.

The grand hall was a continent of velvet tuxedoes and silk gowns, illuminated by chandeliers that cast a harsh, unforgiving gold light over everything.

The chatter was a steady roar, a hundred different conversations about stocks and stallions, until we stepped over the threshold.

Then, the sound ceased.

It started near the mahogany bar. Tabitha-Aaron’s mother-was mid-laugh, her head tilted back, holding a crystal flute of champagne.

Her eyes drifted toward the door, landing first on Aaron, then shifting to me.

17:23 Mon, Mar 2 d

Chapter 173

Her laughter died in her throat, and her fingers simply opened.

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The flute hit the stone floor with a sharp, musical crack that echoed up to the rafters. Splinters of crystal and sparkling wine sprayed across the hem of her dress, but she didn’t even flinch.

She stood frozen, her face drained of every drop of color, staring at me like I was a ghost that had crawled out of the Bavarian soil.

“Is that…..Jessica Reid?”

Her reaction was the signal. One by one, the heads turned. It was a domino effect of dropped jaws and narrowed eyes.

The silence lasted for three heartbeats before it broke into a frantic, low-frequency buzzing.

“It can’t be,” Linda, one of Aaron’s aunts, responded, her voice carrying across the hushed room.

Through the center of the crowd, Wendy moved. She didn’t hurry; she didn’t have to. The guests parted for her like water.

She stopped five feet away, her spine as straight as a blade.

Her hand flew to the base of her throat, her fingers pressing into her skin until her knuckles turned white.

“Aaron,” she whispered. Her eyes darted to mine, wide and searching, filled with a terrifying mix of recognition and grief. “And Jessica. Oh… dear child.”

“Jessica.” She breathed, her voice cracking.

She hurried forward, ignoring the staring cousins, and threw her arms around me. She smelled like lily of the valley and old lace. “Oh, dear child. We thought you were lost to us. We thought the worst.”

I stood frozen for a second before my arms found her. “I’m here, Wendy. I’m okay.”

She pulled back, cupping my face with her hands, her eyes searching mine.

“Aaron, you didn’t say a word. You let us believe…”

“I had to keep her safe, Grandma,” Aaron said, his voice flat. He didn’t look at the crowd; his eyes were fixed on the far end of the room. “And I think we all know why.”

“Safe?” Aunt Linda stepped out from behind a pillar, her lips curled in a sharp sneer. She looked me up and down, her gaze landing on my dress.

“Safety is a very expensive luxury, isn’t it? You disappeared just so Aaron could wreck Fiona’s reputation. How convenient for you to reappear just as the dust has settled.”

“Aunt Linda, enough,” Aaron growled, his shadow shielding me from her glare.

17:23 Mon, Mar 2 d