CHAPTER THREE
Jane stared at the familiar office building in front of her and sighed. Somehow, she had ended up here. Abby would have her head if she told her about this, but she needed to confront Marcus once and for all as he seemed to be avoiding her. She eyed the building and spun on her heels, her back to it. “No, I shouldn’t go in,”
“Are you coming in?” A woman in a well-ironed suit asked as she brushed past her and Jane just stood there gasping like a fish, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. “Well don’t just stand there, come on in,”
Wordlessly, Jane followed the woman unsure of what was going on. She looked down at the simple yet decent black gown she had slipped on and smiled grateful for her choice. They walked together to the elevator and the woman held the door for her.
“Thanks,” Jane said as she got in, moving to the back to lean against the wall.
“So what floor are you going to?” She asked, raising her eyes to press a number. She suddenly stopped and turned to face Jane, her eyes narrowed. “Wait, who are you here to see?”
Jane sighed and held up her left hand where her wedding ring was. “I am here to see my husband.”
The woman nodded absentmindedly and after pressing a number, she turned to her phone. Jane let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. If no one else stopped her, she’d be able to see Marcus, and they could talk.
“I forgot to ask you what floor he is on, sorry but I’m sure you can find your way from here.” She smiled and Jane smiled back.
“Thank you so much,” She yelled as the elevator closed with the woman inside.
The office was big and she knew she could miss her way but she was determined to find Marcus and speak to him. It couldn’t wait any longer, it simply had to be today.
“Can I help you with something?”
Jane nodded, staring at the man in front of her. “Yes. I am here to see my husband. Could you point me in the direction of his office?”
“I would if you could tell me his name.”
“His name is Mr. D****e, Marcus D****e.” She told him and didn’t miss the shocked expression on his face.
“You’re Marcus’ wife?’
“So could you point me in the direction of his office then?”
He snapped out of his thoughts and pointed. “It’s that way. I will show you.”
Jane followed him, hope filling her heart. She just needed five minutes with him.
Back in his office unaware of what was happening, Marcus smiled and signaled to the woman sitting in front of him. “Are you going to come here or do you want me on my knees begging?”
The woman sighed and glared at him, not looking as impressed with him. “I am done with your games Marcus, when is she signing the divorce papers?”
Jane who had just reached the door with the man accompanying her turned to thank him and frowned when she spotted him already walking away. With a sigh, she turned to the door to knock but heard voices and stopped. One sounded like Marcus’ voice but the other one, sounded oddly like her cousin’s voice but there was no way except Abigail had come to stick up for her.
She made a move to turn the knob but froze at Marcus’ next words.
“Babe,” Marcus’ voice rang out.
Why was he calling her cousin babe? Did they have some kind of…. Jane banished that thought instantly.
“When is she signing the divorce papers?” Abigail asked again.
“I want her out of our lives as soon as possible.” She huffed and pushed Marcus away when he tried to take her hand. “I’m tired of being your secret, it's been 3 years Marcus. Why didn’t you just tell her about us once and for all?”
Jane gasped and leaned against the door for support, her legs feeling like jelly.
Marcus let out a frustrated sigh “I can’t give you the answer to that. I gave her the papers but I can’t exactly force her to sign them now, can I?”
“That’s not an answer Marcus. Now I have her crying in my apartment because she still thinks you both still have a chance.” She paused for a moment.
Jane stumbled back and fell to the ground, tears clouding her vision.
“I won’t be there when you are ready Marcus,” she heard Abigail yell and snapped out of her reverie.
With jelly legs, she moved out of sight and hid behind a wall as the door opened and Abigail stormed off, her heels clicking on the marble tiles.
Next, Marcus ran out after her, calling her name.
Jane stared at them in disbelief, her heart breaking in tiny pieces.
Three years, she has spent with this man, giving him ideas and is the brain behind his company being established. He didn't give her any accolades and not that she needed it anyway. All she needed was his love.
She didn't know when she sat on the floor with tears pouring down her eyes, thinking of what to do. Her father had warned her three years ago not to marry Marcus that he didn't love her. But she was stubborn. She was blinded and foolishly in love and didn't see the sign even if it was obvious.
And she can't go to back to Abigail who's a snake.
And her father is also a no no no. They haven't spoken since She had stolen her father's money and eloped with Marcus three years ago. It was the money she stole that was used for their wedding and to start up the company.
She had heard news that her father had disowned her, but she didn't care. All she ever wanted was Marcus. And he had betrayed her.
"No! I won't let it go! I have to go something!!" She wiped her eyes and stood up as her mind wandered to that stranger she met at the bar.
She fumbled in her bag for something and her hands found the card the stranger from last night had given her. Without a second thought, she dialed his number.
“Caleb Lockwood speak…” she didn’t let him finish before she cut him off.
“I want to meet up.”
Caleb listened over the phone and hesitated, wondering why she's suddenly wanting to meet up. But his expressions hardened when he heard her sob over the phone.
“I will send my driver to pick you up, send your ad..”
She shook her head as if he could see her and sighed. “No, I will come to you,” she hung up without waiting for him to speak and rose to her feet, her legs wobbly.
As she made her way to the elevator trying to stay out of sight, she decided on one thing. Marcus was going to pay for betraying her. Abigail too. They were both going to pay.
Chapter 206“Have you heard from Jane yet, darling?" Trevor asked Lillian through his car window as he drove out of the garage. “Not yet. I called her twice but she didn't answer so I guessed they're just too busy with sorting the situation out. You know today's the deadline," Lillian responded with a hint of sadness.“Yeah, I do. Don't stress yourself too much about it alright? But try to contact her to at least assure her that everything will be fine. She may need your support more than she thinks." Lillian smiled at him softly. “How am I so lucky to have a man like you?" “I could ask myself the same," Trevor chuckled. “Don't forget to update me when you speak to her, and I hope you'll be dressed and ready for our movie date tonight. Wear something sexy,” he added with a wink.“Trust me, I don't need to be told twice,” she replied and they laughed. Trevor blew her a kiss which she pretended to catch and place in her heart before watching him drive off. Trevor drove towards the
Chapter 205By the morning of the third day, the atmosphere was charged with tension. It was the day that they were to report back to Xavier with 900 million dollars as agreed but all they had been able to pull together was $650m. Caleb felt he was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea because all the choices they had at that moment may put his son's life at risk.He was banking on the success of Bianca's idea and the hope that Xavier felt compelled to act on it quickly.Every passing minute gnawed at him while he waited for a call from Ross. He couldn't sit still for more than twenty minutes because it made him feel like he was wasting time doing nothing while his son's life was in danger.Jane, on the other hand, sat quietly though anxiously at a corner of his office, whispering prayers to whoever cared to listen and hoping desperately that their little gamble turned out for the best.Finally, Caleb's cellphone rang and he literally sprang up to answer it. Jane rushed ove
Chapter 204“What the… Bianca, what are you doing here?!” Caleb glowered.“I've been blowing up your phone since morning and you've been deliberately ignoring me so I decided to come myself. And, oh, you owe me a refund of my plane tickets. I flew business class.”"Bianca!” Caleb called again. "What are you doing here?”"Is she the…” Jane finally spoke, looking from Caleb to Bianca. “Have you two been talking?" “For over a year, yeah," Bianca responded. “You look gorgeous by the way. That blue looks absolutely great on you! Is that the Cartier juste in clou necklace?!” Bianca gasped, clearly oblivious of the rage simmering under Jane's skin.Rather than respond to Bianca, she gave Caleb a disgusted look and stormed inside the house.“Jane, hold on," Caleb called after her but she had already disappeared through the door. He turned to Bianca and gave her a warning glare.“What?" Bianca asked with open arms."You…” that was the only word Caleb could let out before he turned and went a
Chapter 203While Jane was still lost in her thoughts, Caleb was walking from one end to another, also wondering.“I don't trust her," he said all of a sudden and Jane's head snapped up to him.“What?" “I don't know if we should trust Abigail. Everything's been so suspicious and coincidental lately. I mean… she appears after these years, and so does Marcus and Xavier and of all people to model for, it's you. I don't know it's just…” Caleb shook his head."Well I'm pretty sure Abigail has nothing to do with them escaping. She hasn't even heard from him since then.”"But you can't be so sure, can you?”Jane opened her mouth to respond but the knock on the door cut her off. Caleb shook his head and resumed his position at the edge of his desk while Jane went to the open the door.“Hey," she said with a small smile.“Jane, it's so relieving to see you ag—" Abigail stopped halfway when her eyes met Caleb. His sharp gaze was enough to cut out the oxygen from her lungs for a few seconds.“
Chapter 202By the second day, both Jane and Caleb were a little more relaxed and more hopeful. The previous day, they had been able to raise a hundred and fifty million dollars, and after the news of what was going on got to Rose, she reached out to a few friends who raised an extra seventy million before midnight. Caleb was not quite comfortable that she had called on people to make donations but he was grateful that they could without being told what was going on in detail. “Alright, I'll see you at the office,” Jane told Caleb that morning and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before leaving the room. The Judge had easily approved the plea for Talia to stay with Rose for a brief period, thanks to Ross and Jane decided to go along with the driver to make sure Talia got there without any drama. Having one child taken away from her was traumatizing enough. She wasn't going to take any risk. He finished dressing up and went downstairs to see Lillian and Trevor having their breakfas
Chapter 201After a few seconds of staring at the completely blank screen, Rodriguez cleared his throat and broke the silence.“Well that was not very…”"Call him again,” Jane interrupted, not quite sure what the negotiator was about to say. Her voice was thin but held so much urgency and with the way Caleb quickly began to tap his screen to call Xavier back, she knew they both thought the same thing: if they didn't speak with Xavier before their deadline elapsed, things could go really sour.Thankfully, Xavier answered again and his sneering face filled the screen.“What the hell do you want now, Caleb?!" “Just calm down for a second and hear us out, Uncle!" Caleb fired back, his fist banging against the table as well. Rather than respond immediately, Xavier moved away from the camera for a second and then returned with his massive hand clamped over Toby's mouth.“Toby!" Jane and Caleb screamed out simultaneously, both springing to their feet. Jane's blood ran cold and tears prick