CHAPTER FOUR

CHASE'S POV

I had to get out of there as soon as possible. I didn't know why, but I was getting bothered about the reaction that Jessica provoked in me. 

I needed a break from her to calm down for a while. She seemed to enjoy tempting me, almost like that was her intention. Could it be possible that she approached me on purpose? 

Many ladies had done that in the past, some even tried to force me into relationships with them, but I was always good at only playing along and eventually dumping them.

I no longer do that anymore, just like I abandoned music, I also stopped womanising, it just wasn't fun anymore. I had tried about three times to get into serious relationships with women since then, but they all seemed too materialistic and uninterested in having a family.

I couldn't imagine introducing the twins to them and so I quit the relationship. How about Jessie? Could she also be that way? Was she also uninterested in marriage and kids? If I told her about my twins, would she run to the nearest broadcasting station to publicize the news?

There was only one way to find out, I'd have to test her. She seemed as attracted to me as I was to her, so maybe it was time for me to make a move. With this decision in mind, I dialled Bianca, my secretary's number and asked how her daughter was doing now.

She said the girl had been rushed to the hospital and was now admitted. She said she would need leave for about two weeks to take care of her daughter.

I had been fortunate to meet her daughter, Blanca before. She was a lovely young girl and it was really sad that she got sick.

I cut the call after approving her leave and made my way back to the reception room.

When I got back, Jessie was no longer sitting alone, a tall man with blonde hair and green eyes was sorted across from her.

The man was dressed in a black designer suit, he seemed quite handsome and about Jessie's age. They appeared to be deep in a conversation and didn't notice me when I got to the table until I cleared my throat.

"Mr Reed, it's nice to see you in person. You've got such a lovely voice, I wonder why you stopped singing. How are you doing? I'm Jacques Bernard, a novelist and Jessie's ex-boyfriend," The man introduced.

The last thing he said intrigued me and I turned to look at Jessie with a smile and asked, "Oh really?"

"Yes, Jacques and I attended college together, we were best friends. We graduated and later started dating," Jessie said, her voice sounding huskier than usual.

"So what drove you and Jessica apart?" I asked directing the question at Jacques.

"We had different priorities, Jessie is the ambitious type, you know? She wanted more than I could afford and when she realised that, she let go of me. I hear you're now working in London at a...," Jacques was saying before Jessie interrupted.

"The reception is about to start why don't you take your seat, Jacques? I have already told Chase about my work," Jessie said and I found myself enjoying how she pronounced my name with her husky voice.

"Oh, so you're now on a first-name basis? Is he your next target," The man said in French which I didn't understand and Jessie replied sharply, "It's none of your business."

"What is going on?" I asked, confusedly.

"Jacques is taking his leave now," Jessie smiled stiffly.

"Yes, Mr Reed, excuse me," Jacques said before leaving.

Jessie rubbed her forehead as though she was having a migraine and I asked, "Are you alright, Jessica? You seem a bit troubled."

"Of course I am. Not everyone enjoys the presence of their ex, you know?" She forced out a laugh.

"If it's alright can you tell me what happened? Jacques said you were too ambitious. I don't think that was wrong of you. Those with no ambitions achieve nothing," I said.

A waiter came to our table and served our drinks, mango juice for Jessie and apple juice for me.

Jessie smiled before replying, "Well, we started dating after college. We were both twenty-two and then Jacques got a publishing offer from a company for his first action novel at the time. They paid him a lot of money and I was still looking for a job," she paused and took a sip of her mango juice.

"I'm listening," I said.

As if contemplating whether to tell me or not, she finally said, "You know what? Forget about Jacques, he's in my past now. He stays here in Paris and the both of us in London. We'll probably never run into him anytime soon."

"Alright," I replied, though I wanted to hear the entire story, since it looked like it was hard for her, I let it be.

We sat in silence until the reception started ten minutes later with the M.C, Jean Louis, introducing the bride and groom.

Cesare came up to the podium dressed expensively in a black and white tuxedo that clung to his muscular frame. He looked extremely proud and happy to see his bride walk up to him in a strapless white gown that had sequins all over it. She had diamond pieces of jewellery on and her chocolate-brown hair was packed in a French style.

I had to admit that Cesare made a great choice, I had heard a lot about Tasty Magazine which Cesare's wife, Lenore owned. The company was doing well and they were famous for how quick they published scandals and gossip, not that I read such, but Bianca was a regular buyer of the magazine and she had told me about it several times.

Susanne called Jessie to help her out with some things and so I was alone throughout the reception.

When it was time for Lenore to throw her bouquet, all the ladies lined up and I noticed that Jessie didn't join them, but fortunately, Susanne pushed her there saying, "You're going to be twenty-seven the day after tomorrow. Don't you want to get married? I'm already married, so I don't need to catch the bouquet, but you do."

Lenore threw the bouquet and Jessie caught it, almost as though Lenore wanted her to.

Jessie gave Lenore an annoyed look while Lenore simply winked. 

"Why did you throw it to me?" Jessie frowned.

"Congratulations in advance darling," Lenore replied. 

After hearing them, I had to ask Jessie when she got back to our table if she knew Lenore personally.

"Why would you ask that? How can someone like me know Lenore Dubois?"

"You both seemed quite friendly earlier," I said.

"Well, that's because she's probably an easy-going person. You wouldn't like it if your old classmate and friend got married to a haughty bitch, now would you?" Jessie asked.

"Of course not, but what I want to know now is how you got to know about Cesare being my former classmate and friend. I don't remember telling you that," I said and her eyes opened widely.