Chapter 17: Going With The Flow

Violet’s husband smiled brightly as he saw the two people enter his office. He placed his reading glasses and the book he’d been reading down carefully and stood, crossing the room with arms wide. He enveloped his wife in a warm hug, kissing the top of her head with genuine affection.

“My one and only love. How I’m blessed by your presence.”

Violet snorted in response, but an almost imperceptible warm smile crept onto her face, so subtle that anyone else might have missed it.

But Jessica did not miss it.

She shuddered involuntarily.

‘This isn’t the Devil’s Grin. I can’t believe someone can actually manage this walking time bomb.’

She shuddered again before regaining her composure as Violet’s husband turned to face her. His bright smile widened.

“Well, if it isn’t our jade beauty, sent from the heavens.” He extended his hand, which Jessica accepted after a brief hesitation. They shook. “I hope to be blessed by your grace.”

Jessica offered a small, measured smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr…” She trailed off intentionally, letting him fill the gap.

“Jack.”

“Ah, Jack. Mr. Jack, it’s very nice to finally see you. I’m flattered by your words.” She paused, then added smoothly, “I’m Jessica, by the way.”

“Just Jack will be enough.”

Their eyes met, Jessica’s molten gold meeting Jack’s light gold, and in that brief moment of contact, the same thought passed through both their minds simultaneously.

‘She’s experienced.’

‘He’s experienced.’

Their gazes, which was mentally squinted, locked a heartbeat longer than necessary, business aura crackling invisibly between them. Then their handshake released.

Jack inclined his head toward the seats. “Please, have a seat. Miss Jessica.”

“Just Jessica, please.” She nodded and walked to one of the chairs, settling in with the practiced ease of someone who’d spent years in corporate negotiations.

Jack followed, taking his wife’s hand and tugging her gently from her stunned stillness. Violet’s face had gone slack with surprise, she clearly hadn’t expected Jessica to possess any kind of business acumen, let enough to match her husband’s energy.

She recovered quickly and walked to another seat, sitting with studied casualness.

Jack settled behind his desk, exhaling a deep sigh as he muttered almost to himself, “It seems I’ll need to change my plans.” He sat up straight, his expression shifting to something serious and assessing. His light golden eyes fixed on Jessica with undivided attention.

“Jessica… what exactly do you want to do?”

Jessica let her weight sink into the chair, her back resting against the cushioned support. She let the question hang in the air between them, her lips curving upward slightly at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

‘What I want?’

In her previous life, no one had ever asked her that. Her boss told her what he wanted, and she did it. If she didn’t? Goodbye, job. He had that right because he held the power, the position, the leverage.

And now, here she sat, facing a man who held all the same cards, power, position, leverage. He knew she wasn’t human. He was clearly someone important in this place. He could crush her without effort.

And he was asking what she wanted?

‘It’s an act,’ she decided firmly. ‘It has to be. I need to play this smart. No emotional attachments or vulnerabilities.’

She sat up straight, then leaned forward slightly, meeting his gaze calmly.

“I want to leave this nightmare realm.”

A spray of liquid punctuated her words.

Jessica’s eyes snapped toward Violet, who had somehow manifested a bottle of water and been drinking from it calmly until Jessica’s bomb dropped. Now she was coughing, sputtering, staring at Jessica with wide eyes.

“You WHAT?!” The words came between coughs.

Jessica’s eye twitched, but she maintained her composure.

“Yes. I want to leave here. Is that a problem?”

Violet studied her intently for a long moment, as if weighing options. Finally, she shook her head slowly.

“No… it’s not.” She glanced at Jack, their eyes meeting in a wordless exchange. They nodded in perfect synchronization and spoke as one:

“It seems she really is.”

Jessica’s frown deepened. Confusion warred with suspicion in her mind.

‘Oh, mother of Flames! Is this a TRAP? Did I consciously WALK into a trap?!’

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the husband-wife duo. In her imagination, they morphed into sinister figures smiling greedily, preparing to sell her off to some mystic creature fanatic. She could almost see them haggling over her price, maybe even offering a discount for quick purchase.

She shuddered violently and shook the image from her head.

When she looked up again, her expression had shifted to one of innocent confusion, a wry smile playing at her lips.

“Uhm… I’m a bit lost here. What do you mean by that, exactly?”

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Jack studied her for a long, measured moment. Then he leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk, his light golden eyes piercing.

“Jessica…” He paused, letting the weight of the moment build.

“You’re reincarnated. Aren’t you?”

This time, it was Jessica’s turn to spit out water—if only she’d had any. Instead, she could only stare dumbfounded, her carefully constructed composure crumbling at the edges.

Her face went blank for a moment as her mind raced through every interaction since entering this office.

‘Did they figure it out just from the way I talk? The way I carry myself?’ She couldn’t help but question herself, suspicion blooming like a dark flower. ‘These two are definitely not ordinary people. Not even close.’

She didn’t push further. Instead, she formed an intentionally forced smile and laughed lightly, the sound hollow in the quiet office.

“Haha… was I that easy to read?”

Jack’s smile was firm, assured.

“We have our means.” He paused, letting the words settle. “And no, not at all. You are very difficult to read. I can testify to that now.”

The negotiation was proceeding smoothly, too smoothly, perhaps. Jack continued before Jessica could formulate her next move.

“About your request… consider it done.”

Jessica’s eyebrows rose slightly, but she remained silent, waiting for the inevitable but.

“However,” Jack said, and there it was, “I’m sorry to tell you that I don’t think you can survive a day in the mortal realm.”

Her frown deepened. “Why?”

He replied instantly, like someone who had prepared for this exact question.

“You would be discovered immediately. You have no identity. No place of birth. No registration in the mortal realm. To their systems, you simply… don’t exist.”

Jessica grimaced, the weight of his words pressing down on her. In a world of powerful people, being invisible was dangerous. Being nonexistent was a death sentence.

“So…” She shifted in her seat, recalibrating. “What do you think I should do—no, that came out wrong.” She met his gaze directly, her molten gold eyes steady. “Since you’re mentioning it, I assume you have a way for me to bypass this. And…” She leaned forward slightly. “What do you want in return?”