The Devil's Good Girl-Chapter 318: Watched

[Jackson’s POV]

Many years ago, in the empire of Arcaria, Jackson woke up feeling especially tired. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stretched his shoulder in a circular motion with his hand on it. Looking around, deep lines appeared between his brows.

"Why do I feel like I’ve already done this?"

Perhaps it was his animalistic intuition that got him thinking. However, he didn’t dwell on it as he went by his day.

Today was the first day of festivity for the founding of the empire. Therefore, Jackson prepared as he would accompany the crown prince to the hunting ground.

The festivities, the royalties, and even the nobles were just the same as he remembered them before he came back from the war. There was nothing new to him. Hence, he threw the sense of familiarity in his heart as something these nobles would normally do — it felt the same.

But then, this feeling intensified when a branch suddenly fell down to Quentin.

Deep in his heart, he knew something was off. Unknowingly, he had been keeping these lingering thoughts of "repeat" in his heart. No matter how he tried to get rid of it, he knew at that point it wasn’t just an illusion.

However, when his eyes fell on the huge tree branch, a question rose in his mind.

’Shouldn’t that be... a woman and not a tree branch?’

His thoughts trailed off when he heard Quentin grunt. He pushed all these ridiculous thoughts out of his mind, rushing to Quentin to help him.

At that time, Jackson didn’t want to think of it and simply wanted to focus on his task. But with heightened senses, he felt this pair of eyes on him.

Someone was watching.

Initially, he thought it was an enemy lurking in the shadows. But the gaze remained on him no matter where he had gone. Even when he journeyed back to the South, this lingering feeling of being watched remained. That was when he knew whoever was watching him wasn’t targeting Quentin or the royalties — it was him.

But as a veteran of war, Jackson remained calm and let the person watch.

Although sometimes he would sneak a peek around him, he couldn’t catch this watchful eye.

It was alarming, and concerning, and had put him on high alert even in his sleep.

This continued for days, weeks, and then... a month.

Jackson tried to ignore it until one month went by. He secretly ordered his most trusted men to search for anyone who could be suspicious. His men secretly turned the South upside down, checking every nook and cranny for whoever was putting a threat on the duke.

Sadly, all they found out were illegal crimes and commodities in the South, but never the person.

As this was all happening, Jackson, who was at the end of his wits found himself standing in the balcony of his chambers.

"This is concerning," he whispered, whistling quietly to invite the night breeze to blow. As the wind blew past him, he suddenly caught a figure on the faraway hill.

It was far — very far to the point the figure was just as tiny as a few centimeters. But he knew it was a person.

’What is that person... doing?’ His brows knitted together, squinting. Despite the darkness, the light from the moonlight shone brightly on top of the hill. ’He... no, she’s just sitting there.’

He assumed the person was a woman based on her small figure, and not by the length of her hair.

’Don’t tell me...’ his breath hitched when that tiny figure seemed to look in his direction.

He felt it again.

That same feeling he had been feeling for months now.

’I found her.’

Jackson stayed idle on the balcony, but when he turned, a malicious glint flickered across his eyes.

At dawn, Jackson secretly went to the hill where he saw the figure idling. It was silly for the duke, but he made sure to close the curtains and shut off any holes that the figure could in his abode.

During this time, all he could think of was whoever watching him from that distance was probably a witch. No normal human could just stay on top of the hill and watch him. He wanted to know the reason, he wanted to know the intention.

So many whys, but in the end, even that secret mission was futile.

When he reached the hill, the figure was no longer there.

What he had seen, however, was the dead grass on top of the hill. Unlike the lush green on the way, the top of the hill was... barren. It didn’t seem like someone started a fire in here, but everything was just withered. The grass already had the color of the earth.

"This is impossible," he whispered, but regardless of the continuous search around the area, all they caught were some bandits.

*

*

Jackson simply had to surrender to whoever was watching his every movement. It made him discreet about everything, but eventually, he understood whoever this person was meant no harm. Hence, he let it be.

Then the dreams started.

A dream of a life he never had seen in his life. Vehicles that moved faster than a horse. A transportation in the sky. Buildings that were neither mansions nor castles. People wearing clothes that would be considered nude in their time and then, this woman, who had been calling him so lovingly and endearingly.

Jackson dreamt of those every single night.

At first, they were just faint and blurry, but these dreams slowly turned clearer and clearer. And one day, he woke up with all these memories he never knew he had. At that point, it had been over two years since the person watching him started.

Seated on the edge of the bed, Jackson had his arms rested on his legs. Slowly, he gazed up at the window with a mix of everything.

His lips quivered as they parted. "Fil."

******

[PRESENT TIME]

Jackson spent the rest of his life as Jackson Fitzroy, a bachelor who never had any affair or any of the sort. He spent his life letting his beloved watch him from afar, hoping they could be together. However, if Fil was just watching him from afar, he knew it was impossible.

Hence, in his heart, he simply loved her from a distance.

Surprisingly, when he was reborn again as Jackson Sisson, he suddenly regained his memories when he got into a minor accident at the age of fifteen. Since then, Jackson had been looking for her. However, she was no longer watching him.

Not that he expected her to know he was reborn in this lifetime.

Even so, he was hopeful.

He was just fifteen, so he lived his life naturally, hoping that he would bump into her or she would find him. Perhaps, this time around, they could be together. After all, it had been a millennium since Jackson Fitzroy’s time.

Years later, Jackson was on the brink of losing hope.

He thought Fil stayed on the vampire’s island and lived in seclusion. He couldn’t go there since he was human. But worse comes to worst, he might just go there just to check. He had all these ideas until he met Michael.

Michael, one of the people Jackson saw, before his battle with Quentin and Fil’s reversal of time. Jackson’s hope rose when Michael mentioned his sister in passing.

From what Jackson knew, Alicia was missing before the reversal of time. But according to Michael, his sister was fine and was doing well on her own. That was when Jackson knew Fil was just out there, changing people’s lives and fates in her own subtle ways. It was how he got to investigate all the people around her.

Surprisingly, there was a woman named Latrice, the daughter of Felix and Rebecca Hale. And Vincent Hale didn’t get to live as Vincent Hale but under a different family name.

Most of them lived a different life and there was only one person Jackson could think that could’ve done that. That would be Fil. Even so, he felt like she was close, but at the same time, too far from him. No matter where he would look — he would even put himself in public in hopes she would see him on the news.

But nothing.

At the brink of another hope turned into disappointment, Jackson found himself in the bar where they first met in the past. He thought the night would turn into another disappointment... but it didn’t because, on his way home, she saw her.

There, standing in the hallway.

Even when her back was facing him, he could recognize every part of that figure.

It was Fil.

Sadly, Fil was being silly, and he chose to ride with it. After all, he wanted to tell her many things. He wanted to express his dismay, his resentment, his angst. But when he looked deeply into her eyes, he knew her dismay, resentment, and angst to herself was a hundred times more.

"Did you really love me?" Jackson stared at her while lying on his side. He didn’t know why or how they were now on the floor, but he didn’t care at the moment. "Fil?"

"Is that the only question you want to ask me?" lying on her side on the floor and facing him, she blinked ever so slowly. "You can get angry."

"Just answer it. Then I’ll get angry."

Fil pressed her lips. "More than the hatred I had towards myself, yes. Every second of my existence."