Chapter 11~•~KIMBERLY~•~It wasn’t the first time I was going with my boss on a business trip, but it was the first time I was nervous about it.I had a week to prepare myself, but nothing could prepare me for going back to New York. Well, nothing except fake confidence, that is. It was Amelia’s first time on a plane and she had been very scared but after the takeoff, she was more than excited to look out the window and started pouting when we had to exit the plane.I carried her on one arm while George dragged our suitcases behind me. I offered to carry mine but he didn’t let me and just told me to focus on the little devil in my arms.We walked for a bit before we finally spotted Reiya and as soon as Amelia saw her, she scrambled to get off me and ran towards her. “Aunt Ree!” She yelled out as they met halfway and Reiya carried her, spinning her around.“Did you miss me, baby?”Amelia nodded. I rolled my eyes. They had seen each other like three weeks ago. It wasn’t that serious.
JACKSON~•~“Kimberly?” I asked to be sure I was seeing right.I never thought I’d see her again. When I went looking for her, I was told she moved away from New York. Her parents didn’t know where she was and her best friend absolutely refused to reveal her location. I wanted to dig around but if she was taking extra measures to stay away from me, then it meant she didn’t want me in her life anymore so I didn’t bother.I had accepted the fact that our story had ended and we would never see each other anymore in this lifetime, but here she was, taking on my case.I had been speaking with Mr. Taylor all this while and he said one of his employees was going to join him on this trip. I never imagined it would be the woman who had been haunting my dreams for the past few years.Mr. Taylor looked between me and Kimberly. “You know each other?”That question broke Kimberly out of her trance and she quickly shook her head. “No, we’re meeting for the first time.” From her reaction, I could t
KIMBERLY ~•~As soon as the door to the restaurant closed behind me, I paused and exhaled.I wanted to pretend like I was okay. I wanted to act like his presence didn’t affect me. I wanted to lie to myself that I had completely moved on from him and I wasn’t affected by his presence but that was a big lie. I still hated him and I hated myself for having any form of emotion toward him.Apart from hating him, I also hated myself for feeling pity toward him. For him to find a lawyer in New York, it meant his usual lawyer had abandoned him. It made me wonder how bad his business was doing and how much trouble he was in and I despised it.When he held me, it felt too familiar. It felt like I had been scorched and having that reaction almost had me going violent. I never confronted him about what he did and I felt like doing it right at that moment. I wanted to slap him for thinking he still had the right to touch me, but I was a lawyer and I knew the charges that came with attacking someo
KIMBERLY~•~“George is not my man.” I corrected her.“Yeah, but he wants to be so it’s the same thing.”“It’s not!” I argued.“Does he know that?”I bit down on my bottom lip. I had made it very clear to George that I was not in the headspace for a relationship, but I never told him I didn’t want to date him. He was waiting around for me and I didn’t even know when I would be ready. Was I a bad person for that? “That’s not even the point. I’m telling you Jack is my client. I have to represent him in court. How can I do that when I hate him so much?”“Do you really hate him? Or do you hate what he did to you?”I furrowed my eyebrows. “Isn’t it the same thing?”“It’s not. Not at all. You might still like him even.” I glared at her and she raised her hands in surrender. “I’m just saying.”“I definitely don’t like him anymore. I just can’t stand him.” I confessed. I went through so many emotions at once when I saw him this morning. First, I was shocked, then I was surprised, then I becam
KIMBERLY~•~By now, George had definitely noticed that something was up. I managed to miss the next two meetings he had with Jackson by lying that something came up every damn time. Then again, he had to be the most patient and tolerant man I knew because he didn’t question my lies. He just went with them.Today was the first trial and I was sitting in between Jackson and George. I was feeling very awkward but it seemed like the two men around me weren't feeling as tense as me. However, I managed to shake it off whenever I had to speak; whenever I had to defend Jackson.The devil in me almost reared its ugly head, tempting me to just blame Jackson for everything as a form of revenge, but I was a lawyer first and we had a code of conduct that I couldn’t go against.I was more than happy when the court was adjourned. We hadn’t won yet, but I was certain the ball was in our court. I couldn’t be too confident though. The next trial might come with surprises, but for now, I was going to t
KIMBERLY~•~Jackson was out of his mind and needed professional help because he had to be crazy to think we would ever get back together.I scoffed, turning around. “You’re out of your mind.”“Please, Kimberly. I’m so sorry for everything that happened. I was stupid and didn’t treat you the way you deserved. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”I bit the inside of my cheek. Jackson was apologizing to me, but he was five years late and it angered me. “I regret everything I put you through. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but let me make it up to you, okay? Will you let me?”So he knew he didn’t deserve my forgiveness. What then did he think would happen after he apologized? That I’d accept it and allow him back in my life? He was either delusional or didn’t give me enough credit. I was certain it was the latter.He thought I was still a stupid woman who would go running back into his arms the moment he uttered that he wanted me back. I shook my head, not bothering to waste my time
KIMBERLY~•~Sooner or later came sooner than expected.Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t expect this, but I expected to have at least one more night of rest.It was nine o’clock at night and Amelia was already sleeping. I was watching TV when I got a call from Reiya. “You have a knack for trending, don’t you?” She asked as soon as I answered the call.“What do you mean?”“Your picture is everywhere, honey. They’re speculating again, wondering if this means you and Jackson will get back together.”I shook my head. “Now how the hell did they draw that conclusion?”“What did you think would happen when you decided to represent your ex-husband in court, especially since he didn’t clarify what made your marriage end?”“He didn’t?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. It wasn’t like he would tell the public that he left me because his ex-girlfriend came back with a child. That would create a scandal and affect the stocks of his company for not ‘taking his marriage seriously’.“He didn’t.” She af
KIMBERLY ~•~I groaned as my phone rang for the umpteenth time that morning. “Mommy, who keeps calling you?”I held back a sigh. “It’s nobody. Focus on finishing your food so you’ll be ready by the time Aunt Ree arrives.” At the mention of Reiya, she nodded and continued eating, forgetting about the question she asked.My mom had been calling me nonstop ever since I hung up on her last night. I didn’t know if it made me weak but I couldn’t block the number. I didn’t have it in my heart to do so. Yes, she was a bad mother and treated me like a commodity instead of a daughter but I had cut her off once. I didn’t know how to do it again.When George told me we were coming to New York, I didn’t think about the possibility of my mother trying to reach out so I didn’t know what to do.“I’m done!” Amelia announced.“Finish the apples.”She pouted, but a stern look from me had her eating her apples. Just as she was done, there was a knock on the door. I was more than relieved when I opened
JACKSON~•~I’d never been a patient man but there was a different degree of impatience running through my veins as Jeffrey drove us to the hospital the sick man was currently at. I’d managed to push it to the back of my mind during breakfast but as soon as the meal was over and Jeffrey knocked on my door, I dipped. I didn’t even have enough time to say bye to my family. Amelia was probably going to rant about how much I didn’t care about her but I could handle that later.Thankfully, the hospital wasn’t very far from my house.When we arrived, I didn’t wait for Jeffrey to properly park before I got out of the car and headed straight for the entrance. I just wanted to get my answers. I wanted to meet the bedridden, cancer-driven man that was trending online.The nurses at the reception noticed me immediately but I didn’t bother to stop even when I saw them secretly bringing out their phones to record me. Jeffrey had found out the ward he was staying in so I went there straight up.I d
JACKSON~•~I had work rivals. There were a lot of companies secretly competing with mine but I didn’t know anyone who would want to go the extra mile to sabotage me like this.Our products have been in use for years. It had been tested and verified and there had been no complaints about our skincare section so the fact that someone out there was claiming that it caused them cancer was saucy.Even worse, a news outlet quickly followed up with the information not bothering to verify its validity. They were playing with fire; the news outlet, the supposed dying man, and the other behind it.If they wanted to bring me down, they should at least use facts, they shouldn’t make up stuff that could be easily disproved.It was the first day of the new year and I was getting calls from everywhere. Almost every shareholder was trying to reach me at the same time. My father had told me to take care of it as soon as possible but how could I work effectively when everyone was blowing up my phone?
KIMBERLY~•~My mom didn’t want me to tell anyone, but Jackson wasn’t just anyone, was he? He was my husband and naturally, I was supposed to tell him about everything going on in my life.He pushed off the wall and approached me. “Cancer?” He asked again when I didn’t say anything, which made me wonder how long he had been listening in on me.“You were eavesdropping?” I accused.He shrugged, not feeling bad in the slightest. “If I didn’t, how would I know that your mom was sick and she’s taking it out on you?” Jackson questioned. “I thought we had agreed to trust each other?”“We did. I do trust you, Jackson.”He sat at the edge of the bed, close to me. “Then why can’t you still tell me anything? I’m your husband, baby. I’m supposed to share your worries.”I sighed. “It’s not like that at all. It’s just jot my secret to tell.”“But it’s your burden.”He was right. It was bothering me and I’d feel bad if he couldn’t open up to me about his burdens as well. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Ye
KIMBERLY~•~Things were beginning to look up for me.Asher had accepted me in his life. The scandal about my supposed nudes was dying down already. Well, a scandal about Chris dating two models at once was making its rounds on the internet so it took the limelight off of me.Chris had looked like a gentleman when we first met on the plane. I couldn’t believe that he was two-timing. Then again, it was the internet and everything could be taken out of context just for a story.Jackson had done his best to erase everything but some people had taken screenshots and even if I knew it was never going to be completely erased off the internet Jackson had vowed to legally deal with anyone who shared it. I was the lawyer in the couple but he was acting like one all the time.The only stress I had at the moment was my mother. I didn’t know if it made me a bad daughter but I was beginning to think she wasn’t sick and was just faking it because she kept using her sickness to manipulate me. If she
KIMBERLY~•~“Wake up wake up wake up, mommy! Santa came last night!”I shut my eyes even tighter and subconsciously moved away from the noise. “Mommyyyyyy!” Amelia started shaking me incessantly.I gritted my teeth as my eyes snapped open. Amelia wasn’t the only one present. Asher was also there and Jackson was grinning down at me.“Merry Christmas!” They chorused, agitating me even further.Jackson was a bastard. He didn’t let me sleep last night and we only got to sleep around two in the morning yet here he was, an accomplice to the little devil waking me up at seven in the morning. I held back a sigh and closed my eyes back.“Daddy says we need to have a good attitude during Christmas.” Amelia continued. “Or Santa will take back his presents.”Fuck Santa. Jackson and I spent days cracking our heads for the perfect presents for the kids yet all the credit was going to Santa.“Wake up, mommy! I want to open my stockings!”With a groan, I opened my eyes again and sat up. “I’m awake,
KIMBERLY~•~I was shocked to see that a new article had been uploaded and a lot of news outlets had run with the information. It was crazy. As soon as Jackson found out Emily was behind it, he reported her to the police. When did she have time to post a second article? Did she have an accomplice?When I traced the original article that contained my supposed nudes, I saw that it had been posted early this morning. Was it a timed post? She was even craftier than I thought. She didn’t care that she was getting arrested. She didn’t care that she would spend a longer time in jail after releasing those pictures. She didn’t care about anything but her revenge. It was crazy.As if I didn’t have a lot to worry about already, my parents were blowing up my phone with calls and texts. I knew opening their texts would annoy me but I did it anyway.[Mom: Kimberly, call me back right now!][Mom (2): what kind of pictures are those? Why did you take them? Don’t you have respect for yourself?][Mom (
KIMBERLY~•~Everything was happening too fast. The messages were traced back to Emily, which made me understand why the blackmailer was so desperate for money. She had been cut off from her family and since she wasn’t working, she had gone broke and needed money as soon as possible.Jackson was quite shocked to find out it was her but he was relieved it was her and not some other person who had evil intentions towards me. He said it was a good enough reason to lock her up since there was no proof of her orchestrating his accident.On our way back to the city, Jackson contacted the police and forwarded the evidence he had to them. I had asked him if he wasn’t going to inform his parents first before taking action but he dismissed it and said he had to act fast before she released another article.It was late at night, but Jackson insisted we return to New York immediately after the wedding was over. It was only an hour's journey but the kids were already asleep.“You’ve endured a lot
JACKSON~•~Someone was testing my fucking patience. I hadn’t been okay with Kimberly’s decision to forget about such a serious issue until after the wedding but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it since it was about her and it was her best friend’s wedding. It seemed like the blackmailer had other thoughts though.Without saying anything, I took the phone back from Kimberly and forwarded the message to my secretary as well as the number accompanied by a message of my own.[Me: take care of this as soon as possible]Thankfully, his reply came immediately.[Okay sir]“What did you do?” Kimberly questioned when she saw that I had pocketed my phone. “Don’t worry about it.” The topic easily got me worked up. The only reason the blackmailer was doing this for me but they were stupid enough to try and create a scandal with fake news. It could be proven wrong but once it was out there, some people were going to believe it no matter what. I didn’t want her reputation to be tainted with
KIMBERLY~•~Jackson and I agreed to take care of the blackmailer after Reiya’s wedding.However, I knew the person behind the screen wouldn’t take too well with getting ignored so I just told them to give me some time to get the money. After telling them I’d get back to them in a week, I put it at the back of my mind and focused on my best friend’s wedding.The days passed by in a blur and in no time, it was her big day. Amelia and Asher had arrived early in the morning. Caro said they were eager to come because they missed us. They were with their father though as I still had to be by Reiya’s side.“You look stunning babe,” I told Reiya when she started looking into the mirror too much. I could tell she was anxious but I couldn’t blame her. I was just as anxious on my wedding day and I wasn’t even getting married out of love.Then again, I think that made my anxiety even worse. I didn’t want to do something stupid and make him regret his choice to marry me.“You think?”“Come on Rei