I stole eyes with Loren, who also didn't know how to answer. Luckily, the doorbell rang, and it caught Lulu's attention.
“Pappa!” She ran to the door, and Loren followed her.
“My goodness, Lulu,” Loren said while opening the door.
“Pappa!” Lulu ran into Clinton's arms, who picked her up and kissed her forehead.
I watched as everyone ran out of the restaurant. I didn't scream or say a word. Some who ran past me asked me to run for my life, but I refused. I took a few steps to where Clinton was lying. I kneeled and took his hands into mine.“Cli—Cli-nto-n.”“Love—plea—please go,” he said, and I shook my head.“No—no, I can't leave you here, I can't leave you by yourself here, you're bleeding, you need a doctor,
“Threa—threatening messages?”"Yes, Jess, but don't worry, I'm trying to figure it out,” she said and held my hands.“You were supposed to tell me, Loren, do you still have them?”"Yes, but the caller is unknown. Jess, you don't need to worry about anything, I'll sort it out,” she said, and I pulled away to wipe away my tears.“Jess,” I heard Jade's voice. I turned to confirm, and it was him.“Are you okay?” he asked, and I stood up and fell into his arms. He patted my back, and I didn't stay for long in his arms as I pulled away in a few seconds.“I'm fine but Clinton is not,” I said, walking back to Loren. “Please give me your phone.”“Jess?”"Please, Loren, I need it,” I said, wiping away my tears. She hesitated but still handed me her phone. I knew the password, so I didn't need to ask for it. “If anything happens, please call me,” I said before I walked away, ignoring them as they asked where I was going.When I reached outside, I realized I had forgotten to ask for one of their
I freed her neck, and she put a distance between us.“Tell me!” I demanded, and she laughed while examining her neck.“You thought I would tell you anything, I thought you were smarter than that, Jessica,” she mocked, and I hit the cell out of frustration. “I can’t believe you almost killed me in their eyes, and you,” she yelled at the guards. “You are going to pay for this, I promise you that, assholes,” she massaged her neck.
I carefully walked toward the living room, where Loren and Chris sat. They still didn't notice my presence, so I intentionally cleared my throat, which worked as they looked at me.“Jess, what are you doing here?” Loren stood up and came to my side. She tried to touch my hands, but I moved.“I should be asking you that, what are you doing here, Loren?" I took steps toward Chris, who looked at me without saying a word.“Come on, spill it.” I intentionally touched Chris's wound, and he cried in pain.“Ouch!”
“I don't need to ask you about your decision; you know what's best for your family. Three days are enough for you to decide,” he said. I was not able to move a muscle. I knew he was capable of killing my whole family if he wanted to, Clinton was fighting for his life, and even if he was okay, I was not going to let him get involved in this; it was my parents' sin, and I needed to pay for it. “How much do you want?” I knew money could not buy such an important man, but I had to try.“Ouch! Now I'm hurt; how can you say such a thing? My love is not for sale.” His voice was soft. He took steps towards me, and I didn't move this time; my back was already against the wall.“Please!” I closed my eyes as his hands reached for my face. He caressed my cheeks.“Don't worry, you will love my touch very soon. Now leave before I change my mind and decide to kidnap you instead.” When I felt him move backward, I opened my eyes and ran towards the door, but once I reached the door, I stopped and turn
~NEXT MORNING~I got up when Clinton opened his eyes. He was weak, but okay. I gave him his medicine and fed him breakfast. After that was done, Jade arrived, and they forced me to go and rest. I also wanted to see the kids, so I agreed. Jardin was still here, so he was the one who drove me back home. When I arrived, I headed straight to the bedroom, and surprisingly, everything was still the same. Just like when I left it, I headed straight for the shower, and after I was done, I walked down the stairs.The kids were asleep when I got here, so I planned to wake them up and help them have breakfast before I rested for an hour and headed back to the hospital. I started with Kiara's room, as she was a bit mature and I wanted to tell her before the others. “Kiara,” I said, she was awake.“Mom,” she said, got out of bed, and came toward me. We hugged for a few minutes before we pulled away. “Where’s dad?” “Your dad is...” I walked her to the bed, and we sat down. “He's not well, he got
Before I could respond, he hung up, "fuck!” I cursed and stood up.“Is everything alright, Mrs. Clinton?” Matilda asked.“Yes, everything is fine,” I lied.“Don't let it bother you, Mrs. Clinton, kids are like that, they will come around.”"Yes, I know,” I said. She was about to say something when the doorbell rang, and it caught her attention.“I'll go get that,” she said, and I stopped her.“No, I will go get it, just clear the table.” I didn't wait for her response. I was not expecting anyone, what if it was Accardo? When I reached the door, I peeped through the peephole and was relieved to see it was not Accardo.“Layla!” I opened the door and took the baby from her arms.“Hi Jessica,” she greeted. I patted Sophie's head. Yes, Layla and Jade adopted her. When they went to change her guardians with Clinton, they ended up talking him into turning Sophie into Jade's daughter. He wanted to compensate Layla for what he made her go through, so he granted her wishes. Sophie was now Jade
"Listen, I know it is going to be hard for you to believe me, but Clinton is in danger, you need to take him out of that hospital now!” “What do you mean?” I asked, as I couldn't easily trust her. “That Clinton is in danger, you need to take him out before it's too late, Jessica. If you love him, then you will.” “Why are you doing this? You said you didn't care about Clinton, what changed now?” “My daughter, Kiara, called me earlier, she made me realize what a terrible mother I've been. I don't want to lose her, she's the only family I have, and if this will make her forgive me, then I will do it.” Her voice was cracky. “Kiara called you?” I failed to believe it. “She did, and now I'm only hoping to be a better person. Please apologise to Clinton for me, and I'm sorry for what I made you and your kids go through. I hope you one day forgive me.” "Sophia, I don't know what to say.” “Then don't say anything, please take Clinton out of...” She didn't finish her sentence as the call
I gently squeezed her hands and asked, “What did she say?”“Nothing, she only apologized and told me she's going to seek help,” she said. Even though she tried to hide her pain, I could still tell she was hurting for her—Sophia was her mother after all."Okay, that's good. What did you tell her?”“Nothing, I ended the call in her ear.”“Kiki…”"No, Mom, Sophia is an evil person, she doesn't deserve anyone's forgiveness.”“True, what Sophia did was bad.”“Not bad, separating a mother and child is unforgivable, talk of the pain Layla went through, no, I can't forgive her.”“I understand, I'm not saying what she did was right, no, Sophia caused not only Layla but all of us pain. What I'm saying is that everyone deserves a second chance, especially if they are willing to accept and work on their mistake,” I explained, and she nodded. “You might not be ready by now, but I'm sure one day you will.”“But…”“She will always be the woman who gave birth to you, you will forgive her someday,” I
~JESSICA~I looked around and saw that the whole family was there even Jade who was holding his baby.“Jessica, come here,” Mrs. Smith said, taking me in her arms. I was confused. The last time we were together, she was not pleased with me, she blamed me for Clinton’s conditoin—when Accardo shot him, she even threatened to force him to divorce me if it weren't for the kids. “I hope all is well?” she asked as we pulled away. I only nodded, as I was sure my breath was still full of alcohol. I didn't want to give her a reason to judge me.“Clinton, my boy,” Mr. Smith said, taking Clinton in his arms. When I pulled away from Mrs. Smith's arms, I walked to Mr. Smith, who also took me into his arms. I didn't stay for long in Mr. Smith's arms. "Oh, my baby, look at you,” Mrs. Smith said, walking to Jade. The baby was crying, so she took him from his arms.I turned to Grace, who was chatting with Layla, her daughter-in-law. “Good evening, Grace,” I said, and they both stood to their feet, Gr
~JESSICA~He didn't say anything, he instead sped up and I said, “Clinton, I'm just joking.”“No, you're not, now I understand why you acted like you couldn't see me when those girls talked to me,” he said, and I looked out the window.Since Clinton drove at a fast speed, it only took a few minutes to reach the house. I got out first, and Clinton followed behind.“What did I even do that you played such a trick on me?”“Nothing, you didn't do anything
~JESSICA~“Clinton, how are you? H-how is Kiara?“She's fine, why did you call?” Clinton harshly asked.“I'm glad, and Jessica, how is she?”“She's fine too. Do you have anything to actually say because I'm busy?”“Yes, I want to apologize for everything. I know what I did is unforgivable, especially stealing Sophie from Layla and using her against you. I shouldn't have done that.”"Yes, you shouldn't have.”“I caused another woman pain, I didn't want to accept that what we had or what I thought we had was over, and Jessica,” her voice cracked. I grabbed the phone from Clinton.“Hi Sophia, it's okay, we…” I paused and looked at Clinton, who didn't look happy. “We forgive you and Kiara, she might not forgive you now, but she will, she just needs time.”“Thank you, Jessica, you are such a good person.”“You are good too, you saved Clinton,” I told her, and after bidding goodbye, she ended the call, and we walked toward the entrance.“Why are you such a good person after what Sophia did
~JESSICA~~LONDON~~A WEEK LATER~“Come on, Clinton, she told me he is a friend,” I argued and took a sip of my glass of water as I watched my husband chop vegetables.“I don't care, she can't be friends with boys.” “Kiara is smart, I don't think anyone can play her.” I placed the glass on the counter and leaned on the counter.“Play her, okay, that's it, she's coming back, they will be going to school from the house,” he said, sounding serious.“And you think that will stop her? She will still be going to school.”“At least I will monitor her every move.” He was worried about Kiara's new friend, they came over yesterday for dinner, and because he was a boy, he thought it was dangerous, as he didn't want anyone to play her heart. I trusted Kiara, she was smart, and I knew no one could play her.“I won't let you do that.”“Love, you don't understand boys, they like to experiment and do funny things, I don't want that to happen to my daughters.”“Says a man with three sons.” I rolled m
~JESSICA~I struggled to open my eyes because of the little dim light that was foreign to my eyes. My room's curtain was black because I hated sun rays, so this was definitely not my room.“Stand by the window; she hates light!” I heard Clinton's voice, and I shot my eyes open. “Thank God you're awake, I was getting worried.” He ran to my side and took my hands into his. I looked at him, confused, before my eyes roamed to take in my surroundings.It was a small room, everything was white, and by the ceiling, I easily figured we were on a yacht. I sat up and looked at him, confused.
~JESSICA~The priest started the ceremony, and my eyes somehow found their way to the door. I knew no one could save me as I locked up the only person who could, but I still hoped he found a way.I didn't want to marry Accardo, Clinton was my husband, he will always be the man I love, and marrying another man was wrong. I knew this was for the best, so I blinked away the tears and looked back at the priest, who asked us to hold hands.“You are mine, no one will come and save you now, even if they try. My guards surround the church. They won't hesitate to shoot anyone who was not invited.” He grabbe
~JESSICA~“I'm sorry,” I ran my hand through my hair, not knowing how to defend myself."Sorry, cannot fix this, I'm so disappointed in you.” I didn't respond because what was there to say? I betrayed him, but only because I thought he cheated on me. “We have five kids, five kids, and you just went ahead and slept with another man?”“I thought you cheated on me.”“That is not an excuse, I have never cheated on you, and I never slept with anyone since I met you, but you—you keep betraying my love.” He sounded both angry and disappointed. That
“When do you want the delivery, ma’am?”“Now, I want it now, if you please.”“Alright, just say out your address, and it will be delivered to you within a few minutes,” she said, and I gave her the house address before I ended the call, just like magic Clinton appeared.“Who were you talking to?” he suspiciously asked, and I shook my head.“No one, hehe, did you get it?” “Yes, do you need anything else?” He asked, and I looked down. He had, like, ten packets of pads in his hands.“Why did you bring all this?” I laughed.“I didn't know which one you preferred, and you have like ten different brands, I didn't want you to send me away again,” he said, walking toward me."Okay, it's fine, j–just take them to the guest bathroom, I will be there,” I nervously said. I wanted him to be far away so I could go and receive the delivery.“Are you sure?”“Yes, I'm very sure, please.” I made a pitiful look, and he looked at me suspiciously before he spoke.“Can I get a kiss for being such a wonder