Julianne slowly turned around to face Jin. He was standing too close. She could feel his warm breath against her face.
“I named this place The Arabella when I was building it,” he continued. “And that’s also why I have to tear it down.”
She bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt his hands on both sides of her cheeks. His face descended towards hers as he took her lips in one chaste kiss.
“Jin…” she started saying.
“Arabella…” he whispered against her lips. His voice was low, but thick with emotions. “Just this once. Please… choose me.”
He sounded sincere… and desperate. And it broke Julianne’s heart even more. She remembered the time that she would have given everything to stay with this man. If she had the freedom then… if she hadn’t been scared of what her father or McAllister would do to him… she w
Julianne opened her eyes slowly. She could hear the drops of the rain against the glass roof. There was still no light inside the glass house. It was illuminated only by the light coming from the hotel and the lamp posts outside.In spite of the weather, she was warm and comfortable. Her head was nested against the crook of Jin’s firm shoulder. His arm was draped over her waist. Their naked bodies were drawn together so they would fit in the sofa.When she looked up at him, she found that he was watching her lazily.“What time is it?” she asked.“Four in the morning,” he replied.She propped up on her elbow so she could look around. Outside, it was calm. No movement except for the trees swaying with the wind.“Do you have a signal already? Can’t we call for help?”He didn’t reply. She stared back at him. He was gazing at her with a serious expression on his face.“Not
That morning, the signals had been restored when they woke up. After dressing up, Jin called the security to rescue them from the glass house. He escorted her back to her room. They were both quiet, each one lost in their own thoughts.Before she went to her room, she thanked him and he just nodded at her. The look on his face was serious, somewhat dark and humorless, and she had no idea what was going on in his mind. He looked different from the man she slept with last night. He looked cold and reserved now when he had been so unguarded last night.As soon as she got inside her room, she checked her phone for messages or missed calls. There was none. She decided to call Adrienne.“Is Jared okay?”“Yeah. How about you? Everything okay? Is the weather better there?”“Yeah. I’m coming home,” she replied.“Okay, no worries. Everything is under control here. We’re doing fine. Jared is doing f
Julianne’s heart raced and she could feel her pulse hammering in her veins.What’s going on? What’s my father doing here?“Is my brother here?” she asked Viktor.Viktor shook his head. “I haven’t a clue, Miss Sanders.”“Thank you,”She went up the steps and walked towards the tea room, where Viktor said her father was.Since she’d arrived in this house, her father had never set foot in here again. He never attended any of their family affairs since she came back to the States.Why is he here now?Does this mean, he had a change of heart?Is he finally open to meeting his grandson?Is he ready to forgive me and we can start anew?The door to the tea room had been left ajar. She went closer, hoping to catch a bit of their conversation. She wouldn’t really eavesdrop. She just wanted to know the
Julianne had fallen asleep in Jin’s arms. When she opened her eyes, she realized that it was already five in the morning. It was dark in her room. Her head was still resting comfortably against Jin’s broad shoulder. He was sleeping quietly beside her.She propped up on her elbow. As soon as she moved, she felt Jin’s arms tighten around her and he woke up instantly.She blinked back at him.“Sorry,” he whispered as he loosened his grip on her. “Are you okay?”She nodded. “Jin, you need to go,” she said. “Soon, the whole household will be up. They can’t see you coming out from my room.”He nodded in agreement. “Are you going to be okay?”“I will be fine,” she said. “I’m used to this.”“Used to what?”She raised a brow at him. “You said you weren’t gonna ask questions.”He took a de
The worst part of Julianne’s plan to move out of the Adams Mansion was actually telling Justin and Adrienne about it. As expected, they offered great resistance and a series of protests.“Unnecessary!” Justin said.“Ian, think this through,” Adrienne said. “We have a happy setup here that works. Why do you want to change it?”“It’s time I do this on my own,” Julianne reasoned. “I will always be thankful to you guys. Without you, we would’ve been nothing. And it’s time, I stand on my own feet.”“You are standing on your own feet now,” Justin argued. “But who said you need to remove your safety net? You can be as independent here as you want. But don’t remove us from the equation. Give us a chance to be there for you.”“You will always be. I will only be a few minutes away.”“Thirty-five minutes, to be exact!&rdqu
It had been years since Julianne had last stepped on the ice. Today, she felt good about putting her hockey shoes back on. She grew up playing hockey with her brother and her cousins. But since the fateful day her father stripped her of her right to be a part of his family, she had no room for fun and games.River was patient with Jared when he taught him how to balance on the ice. Jared was a very fast learner. Only one hour had passed and he was already able to balance himself. He still fell down once in a while, but he was a very brave kid.After one and a half hours on the ice, they took a break for ice cream on the stand beside the rink.“So, what else is new with you?”“I found a…” she looked at Jared and chose her words very carefully. Jared was happily devouring his ice cream and he didn’t look like he was interested in their conversation. “Brownstone on Hyde.”“What are you going to ne
Jin Starck was in the foulest of moods when he sat in one of the chairs in the gazebo in the Adams Mansion. He wasn’t expecting the turn of events that day.First, he wasn’t expecting to see Julianne that afternoon, looking more beautiful than the last time he saw her. She looked fresh, without a hint of makeup on her face. He didn’t expect to see her with the adorable kid who looked nothing like her, like she didn’t give birth to him at all.But more importantly, he wasn’t expecting to see that handsome gentleman picking up both of them for an afternoon date.River Jefferson, he said his name was.Fifteen minutes after Julianne left, his phone beeped. A stream of emails flooded his mailbox, all with information about River Jefferson.He’s the CEO of RJ Holdings. Son of shipping tycoon Robert Jefferson. He was a product of his father’s affair with stage actress Tiffany Ronson. He wasn’t recognized by
“Finally! The devil has returned,” Jin heard Alexandre Martin say. Alexandre is t second cousin of his father and he had been serving as his father’s right hand for many years.Jin gave him a hard look. Alexandre looked up towards the second floor for a moment and then he said to him, “Come to the library with me first. I must brief you before you face your father.”“That’s hardly necessary,” Jin said.“Oh no. This time it is. Trust me.” Alexandre turned around and walked towards the library, leaving him without a choice.Jin followed Alexandre to the library. Once inside, the latter poured a glass of whisky for both of them.“First, your father is going to ask you why you had to stay in the States for longer than you should have. He’s going to ask you how White Rock was and how the event for the Morgan-Murphies went,” Alexandre began briefing him.Jin opened his m