“What are you doing here, and how did you find me?” I followed him, and Jade, being Jade, threw himself on the couch.“Is that how you welcome your friends?” He crossed his legs, took the TV remote, and switched between channels.“Jade, what are you doing here?” I asked in a serious tone.“I came to see you, aren't you happy to see me?” He asked, and I shook my head in disbelief. “And of course, since you left, I've been following your sister, and she was kind enough to lead me here,” he said as he stood up and walked to me. “I am hungry,” he added.“Does your uncle know I'm here?” “Uncle no, but I must say your leave left him heartbroken, but that is not why I am here, he shouldn't have married a woman that does not belong to him.”“Why are you here, Jade?” I asked, curious, and followed him to the kitchen, which he figured out on his own.“I am here for, oh, gosh, is this how you eat?” “What the hell are you doing here?” Jade got scared seeing Loren eat, while Loren got angry at h
“I think you have the wrong address,” Jade said, and I don't know what came over me as I decided to watch."No, I'm sure this is the right address, her name is Jessica,” Jun insisted.“There's no one named Jessica here, check the next door, man,” Jade said, trying to close the door, but Jun's hand was in the way."Man, I said...”
We were lost in each other's eyes for a second. I could see him leaning in for a kiss, and I closed my eyes. It's stupid, but I did. The thought of Clinton with Sophia didn't help either until a ball hit my legs. That's when I shot my eyes open, and surprisingly, Jade had his eyes open, staring at me.“Jade..”“I'm sorry, I didn't.”“It's not your fault.” I cut him and bent down to pick up the ball, which was still in b
~KOREA 2021~~JESSICA~“Hello? I'm home,” I said as I entered my apartment and kicked off my shoes, which landed on Jun, but being skilled, he luckily caught them. “At least the karate classes are put to work.”“You gotta stop doing that, what if the kids could be near?” He said and took steps towards me.“Good thing they were not near, where are they?” I asked as I walked past him, straight to the kitchen.“They are in their room, how did it go?” He asked, and I shot him a clueless look. “Your manager told me about it—the shoot with Jeeps.” He sounded uncomfortable.“Oh yeah, it was alright. I didn't like most of the pictures, but we managed to get two or three for the cover,” I said as I started making a sandwich.“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, why don't you freshen up? I'm sure by the time you finish, I will also be done.”“Can I have the sandwich first? I'm so hungry,” I begged. He was against unhealthy eating, which reminded me of Clinton.“No unhealthy food, a proper mea
“What? Chris, is what?” I grabbed the phone from Jun's hands.“He was shot, Jess, he's in a coma but stable. I will call you if anything comes up, I have to go now.”“Please be strong, Chris will be fine,” I said, and she ended the call.“Are you okay?” Jun asked, and I nodded.
“I—I don't understand?” I stuttered. I was confused because Jun was shooting a movie, and I knew missing it was impossible. He walked to the bed, the kids were playing with my feet.“Lulu, Caleb, can you go make sure you packed all your toys?”"Okay, Pappa, Caleb, let us go,” Lulu said and jumped off the bed and ran out. Caleb followed her.“We are going together, I can't let you take my kids away,” he
~STATES 2021~~JESSICA~“Jessica!” Jun slightly shook me, and I broke out of my stare. “I think that's your sister's driver,” he said, and he pointed at a man who had an A4 sheet with Jun and my name written in red."Yes, he is,” I said, and we approached. The driver recognized us as he greeted us and opened the door for us as soon as we reached his side.“Do you want to stop by somewhere?”"No, thank you,” Jun responded while I rubbed sweat off Caleb and Lulu's foreheads. The drive was silent, with Jun looking out the window, it was his first time in the States. About thirty minutes later, we arrived at Loren's house, it was a little outside town. Caleb and Lulu were still asleep, I guess, because they were woken up early and it was already late in the night. I got out of the car first and took Lulu in my arms. “Is my sister home?” I asked the driver."Yes, Ms. Jessica,” he responded, and I nodded as I waited for Jun, who was taking long. Our luggage was still at the airport, so w
JADE? I couldn't believe my eyes. Jade was with Layla. When he left years ago, he said he would get his woman. I didn't think it would last, and what's surprising is that I was happy for them.“Jessica?” Layla shook me out of my thoughts, and I nodded to Jades' greeting."Oh, pardon my manners, please come in." I awkwardly cleared my throat.“Thank you,” Layla said, she walked in with Jade assisting her. Her belly was not that big, and how he held her was exaggerating. “It's fine, love, I'm okay, ” she complained.“I know, I just want to be sure. You’re carrying my baby, I don't want you or my baby to be uncomfortable,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.“So, did you miss me?” I turned to little Chris, who was still hugging my legs. Jade and Layla were already seated. I held little Chris's hand and walked to the sofa."Yes, I did, but Grace and Clinton are the ones who missed you a lot,” he said. I felt my eyes tearing, but I the tears in. I couldn't afford to cry in front of Jade and
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