The Ruthless CEO's Revenge Wife

Chapter 277: Gamble

Tyler smiled, clearly pleased. "I bought this entire floor out tonight."

Jean’s eyes flickered upward in surprise before she could stop herself.

Tyler chuckled softly at her reaction. "I didn’t want strangers disturbing our evening."

Our evening. Bullshit!

Jean forced a small smile again while silently taking in every possible detail around her... the exits, the nearby staircase, security placement, the reception desk near the entrance, tourists sitting farther away, staff members speaking English occasionally.

Hope flickered painfully inside her chest for the first time since waking up in this nightmare.

This wasn’t an isolated island yet.

There were still people here. Civilization. Noise. Witnesses.

Meaning escape might still be possible.

A waiter approached nervously with wine menus, but before the man could speak, Tyler casually said something in the local language.

The waiter immediately apologized and hurried away looking pale.

Jean watched carefully.

Even here... Tyler controlled the room without effort and suddenly she realized something deeply unsettling... Tyler Dominic wasn’t merely rich in this country.

He was powerful here.

Tyler was the perfect gentleman throughout dinner.

He pulled her chair closer to the table himself. Ordered the wine without even looking at the menu. Chose dishes he claimed she would enjoy. Every time a waiter approached, Tyler thanked them calmly, speaking with polished charm that hid the dangerous edge Jean had already witnessed earlier.

To anyone watching, they probably looked like an elegant couple spending a romantic evening together.

And somehow, that made everything hurt even more.

Jean sat quietly across from him while candlelight flickered softly between them. The ocean below the restaurant shimmered beneath the night sky, waves crashing gently against the cliffs.

Tyler spoke occasionally about the city, the coastline, the island he was preparing for them. His voice remained warm the entire time. Patient. Attentive.

Like he truly believed this was love.

Jean nodded when necessary, answering softly while forcing herself to stay composed.

Then her gaze drifted beyond Tyler’s shoulder.

Toward another table.

A young couple sat there laughing quietly together. The woman stole fries from the man’s plate while he pretended to look offended before kissing her hand dramatically. They looked comfortable with one another. Easy. Natural.

Happy.

Jean felt something ache violently inside her chest.

Because suddenly, without warning, she imagined herself sitting there with Logan instead.

Not pretending. Not acting for cameras or contracts or revenge.

Just... them.

And the realization shattered something inside her.

All this time, she and Logan had never truly experienced anything normal together.

No real dates. No peaceful evenings. No simple moments where they could just exist as two people in love.

In the beginning, they had only pretended.

Pretended to love each other. Pretended to be husband and wife. Pretended their marriage meant nothing.

And somehow... while pretending, they had accidentally fallen completely in love for real.

Painfully. Desperately.

Jean remembered the way Logan held her when nightmares woke her up. The softness in his eyes whenever he looked at her lately. The way he searched for her even after she pushed him away repeatedly.

And just when they had finally begun understanding what they meant to each other...

The universe ripped them apart.

A sudden tightness burned behind Jean’s eyes. She quickly looked down at her wine glass before Tyler could notice the emotion threatening to spill across her face.

"Something wrong?" Tyler asked softly.

Jean forced a small smile immediately. "No." Her voice nearly broke anyway. "I was just thinking."

Tyler reached across the table, gently taking her hand into his.

"Whatever happened before," he murmured, "you don’t have to think about it anymore. I’ll give you a better life than Logan ever could."

Jean lowered her gaze so he wouldn’t see the heartbreak in her eyes.

Because the cruelest part of all this was that Logan never even got the chance to love her properly before she was stolen away from him.

Jean continued eating slowly, but her attention was no longer on the food.

It was on the woman.

Across the restaurant, near the dim edge of the dining hall, a woman sat with a man who looked like her partner. At first, it seemed normal... just another couple enjoying dinner in the same space. But Jean had noticed her eyes drifting repeatedly. Not casually. Not accidentally.

Intentional.

The woman looked at her again. And again.

Jean’s grip on her fork tightened slightly.

Then, suddenly, their eyes met.

The woman froze for a fraction of a second. Something flickered across her face... recognition, fear, or hesitation... Jean couldn’t tell which.

Immediately, she leaned toward her partner, whispered something quickly, and stood up.

Without another glance, she walked away from the table.

Toward the corridor leading deeper into the restaurant. Possibly the washroom.

Jean’s heartbeat picked up.

Why was she looking at me like that?

Her mind began turning rapidly.

Did she know her? Had they met before? Was she someone from her old life? Or worse... was she connected to Tyler?

It could be another test of Tyler’s to check where my loyalty stands but... what if it is a chance to get out of here?

Jean forced herself to keep her expression calm as she slowly set her fork down. Her pulse, however, was anything but steady.

This wasn’t random. It is a gamble.

Nothing around Tyler ever felt random.

Jean subtly glanced at Tyler across the table. He was speaking to the waiter, completely unaware or pretending to be unaware... of the interaction she had just noticed.

That alone made her even more uneasy.

If Tyler didn’t notice... then either it didn’t matter to him... or he already knew.

Jean’s gaze drifted toward the corridor where the woman had disappeared. Her mind raced through possibilities, each one more unsettling than the last.

This was it.

A thread that can connect her to her world.

Something could be outside Tyler’s control but leaving the table without raising suspicion... that was the real problem.

Because Tyler Dominic wouldn’t let her out of his sight for long.

What should I do?