Chapter 174: Now He Knows

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Now He Knows

The streetlights flashed across the windshield in a steady, rhythmic blur. Jackson kept both hands locked on the steering wheel. He had not spoken a word since they left his parents’ house.

Zoya sat in the passenger seat. She checked her phone once, then put it away. She did not push him. She knew the silence was not aimed at her.

Jackson pulled up to a red light. He stared at the empty intersection.

"You don’t have to talk about it tonight," Zoya offered quietly.

"I do." Jackson turned his head. His jaw was tight. "I really do."

The light turned green. He drove through the intersection and pulled the car over to the curb, parking under the glow of a streetlamp. He shifted into park and let out a harsh breath.

"Janice tried to kiss me," Jackson stated.

He waited for the explosion. He waited for Zoya to yell, to ask for details, to demand why he was alone in a bedroom with her.

Zoya did not gasp. She just looked at him.

"I know," Zoya said.

Jackson blinked. The confession died in his throat. "You knew?"

"Not that she would try tonight." Zoya folded her hands in her lap. "But yes. I knew she wanted you."

Jackson leaned back against his seat. He ran a hand over his face. "How long have you known?"

"Since the restaurant," Zoya answered. "The night your parents arrived."

Jackson shook his head, trying to process the timeline. "That was weeks ago. Why didn’t you say anything?"

"Because you saw a sister," Zoya explained. "You saw the girl you grew up with. If I had accused her of being in love with you on day one, what would you have done?"

Jackson opened his mouth to defend himself, but the words faltered.

"You would have defended her," Zoya answered for him. "You would have told me I was overthinking it. You would have said she was just being protective."

Jackson swallowed hard. It was the exact truth.

"I didn’t want to hand you an ultimatum," Zoya said softly. "I refuse to be the fiancée who forces a man to choose between me and his family. You needed to see it yourself."

Jackson had spent years reading people across negotiating tables. General managers. Agents. Owners who smiled while calculating exactly how much they could take. He could spot hesitation in a room before anyone else noticed it.

Somehow, he had missed everything happening in his own family.

He began mentally replaying the last few weeks. The puzzle pieces clicked together with brutal clarity.

The specific coffee order at his office. The childhood photographs. The subtle digs at Zoya’s career. The uninvited changes to the wedding seating chart. The way she constantly brushed his arm, fixed his collar, and stepped into his personal space.

It had never been just nostalgia. Maybe not every moment had been planned, but the pattern was impossible to ignore now.

"I thought she just missed home," Jackson muttered. "I thought she was just trying to reconnect."

"She was," Zoya said. "Just not the way you wanted her to."

Jackson turned to face Zoya. He saw the quiet resilience in her eyes. She had sat through family dinners, smiled politely, and endured Janice’s passive aggressive remarks without ever losing her temper. She had fought a silent war while he sat there oblivious.

"I am so sorry," Jackson said.

"You didn’t do anything wrong, Jackson."

"I brought her around you. I let her make you uncomfortable."

"I am a trial lawyer," Zoya reminded him with a faint smile. "People try to make me uncomfortable for a living. I can handle a hostile witness."

"You shouldn’t have to handle my family." Jackson reached across the console and took her hand. His grip was firm. "I am going to deal with this."

Zoya squeezed his fingers. "How?"

"I don’t know yet," Jackson admitted. He looked at the steering wheel. "But she doesn’t get to disrespect you. She doesn’t get to pretend this is normal anymore."

"I can handle Janice," Zoya repeated.

"I know you can." Jackson met her eyes. "But this isn’t about protecting you. It is about me setting a boundary. She crossed a line. I need to be the one who rebuilds the wall."

Zoya nodded slowly. She let out a long breath, releasing a tension she had been carrying for weeks. She trusted him.

"I will call my mother tomorrow," Jackson said. "We will figure this out."

"Just don’t start a war before breakfast," Zoya warned lightly.

Jackson offered a tired smile. "I make no promises."

The rest of the drive was quiet. But the suffocating pressure was gone. The secret was out in the open.

Miles away, the house was dark.

Janice sat at the small desk in her bedroom. The only light came from the glow of her laptop screen.

She stared at the digital folder labeled Wedding Plans. Andrea had shared the master document with her a week ago so Janice could help organize the catering numbers.

Janice clicked past the catering invoices. She clicked past the seating chart Zoya had ruthlessly reverted.

She opened the master guest list.

Jackson had rejected her. He had looked at her like she was a stranger. The memory burned in her chest, hot and humiliating.

She had played the nostalgia card. She had tried to remind him of their shared history. It failed because Jackson was too stubbornly loyal to the woman wearing his ring.

Janice rested her chin on her hand. She scrolled slowly through the names.

If Jackson would not leave Zoya out of guilt or history, Janice needed a new strategy. She needed to prove that Zoya did not fit into his life. She needed to expose the cracks in the polished, perfect lawyer facade.

Zoya was guarded. She rarely talked about her own past. She kept the conversation focused on Jackson, on the future, on her career.

Janice stopped scrolling. Her eyes settled on one name in the secondary guest list.

Someone Zoya had deliberately placed as far from the head table as possible.

Janice stared at the name.Then she smiled.

Maybe she had been approaching this the wrong way. She didn’t need Jackson to fall in love with her.

She only needed him to question the woman he had chosen. Janice copied the contact information into her phone.

The laptop screen went dark. For the first time that night, Janice knew exactly what she was going to do next.