KIMBERLY~•~Jackson said he was fine, but he really wasn’t.The doctor had advised him to stay at home and rest for a while but he just couldn’t. He was impatiently waiting for the results of the paternity tests he had carried out five days ago. He couldn't stay idle. He had to go back to work to keep himself busy.I, on the other hand, was also very confused about how to feel. Reiya’s wedding was in less than two weeks. It was out of town and I was the bride’s maid, but my mom also dropped a bomb on me a few days ago.She wasn’t just sick. She was dying. My mother had stage four cancer and I was the first person she told. Her friends didn’t know. Her husband didn’t know. I, the person she had the worst relationship with, was the first to know. I didn’t know what she meant by that but it didn’t matter.The worst part? She wasn’t willing to get treatment for her sickness. She said she didn’t want to spend her last days in a hospital bed. According to her, she had always been a strong
JACKSON~•~Emily wasn’t lying. Paige was lying. Well, either that or she actually believed she was telling the truth.Asher wasn’t mine.It didn’t weaken our bond though. In fact, it made me want to get even closer to him. He was a very reserved kid so I wasn’t as close to him as I was with Amelia but I was trying harder.I felt even better now that the results were out. The waiting almost killed me and not knowing whether Asher was biologically mine or not fucked with my head. I was starting to overwork myself and Kimberly was beginning to get angry at me.Thankfully, it had all come to an end. I could go about my daily activities as usual with the knowledge that I was Asher’s father anyway. A test didn’t determine our relationship.I was tempted to pay Paige another visit but I dismissed that idea quickly. I didn’t want another plot twist in my life. I wasn’t going to look for his father. Asher was going to make that decision by himself after he grew older.In the next few days, I
KIMBERLY~•~I didn’t know why I panicked. I didn't do anything wrong but I got scared immediately when I saw that message.I didn’t know if I did anything bad in my past life which was why I couldn’t have a peaceful life in this one. It was always from one problem to the other. In the past six months, I’d been more stressed than I had ever been in my entire life.The logical thing would be to tell Jackson about it, but he had also been through so much and was finally settling down to have a good time. I didn’t want to ruin our week because of some stupid image that wasn’t real.I knew Jackson was curious but he kept his curiosity to himself.Jackson had never really spoken with Reiya’s fiance but the two of them hit it off on the train ride. Since I sat with Reiya, Jackson sat with her fiance and they started talking like they had known each other for ages.The journey didn’t last long and soon, we were settling into our hotel rooms. “What are you going to do tonight when I’m gone?”
KIMBERLY~•~The person didn’t respond to me and I took that as a good sign. I pushed it to the back of my mind and had fun with Reiya and her cousins.It was crazy but we were each other’s only friends. Every other person around us was either an acquaintance or a relative. Thankfully, her cousins were a vibe and she happened to be quite close to them.By the time we wanted to go home, I was lightheaded. I wasn’t drunk, just tipsy, but dancing all night had made me realize how much fun I missed when I was younger. I stopped attending parties after college because I wanted to be the perfect daughter and wife. Now I had even more restrictions, but I had fun tonight.Alcohol also had a way of making one forget their problems. No wonder people drowned themselves in it when they were going through a lot. We all stepped out of the limousine we had booked for the night and bade the driver bye as he drove away.We were giggling and stumbling to the building when I saw that Jackson was sitting
KIMBERLY~•~Jackson blinked again. “Are we supposed to ignore what I just saw?”I stared at him blankly.“Someone is trying to blackmail you with your unclad pictures!”“They’re not mine. It’s not a big deal. Continue.”“What do you mean?”I sighed, hating that something as silly as that was running the mood. “They are fake. They’re edited. I have never taken a picture nude. I barely even take regular pictures.”“Then?”“I don’t know, Jackson.” I was exasperated. “It looks real, doesn’t it? Which is why I didn’t want to tell you about it. You don’t need that stress right now.”“And you do? When are you going to completely open up to me? Learn to trust me? Share your troubles with me?” He listed out, sticking out his fingers one after the other. “Did you really plan to handle this yourself? Did you intend to give them the two million? Do you think they’ll ever stop demanding more money?”“I wasn’t going to give them two million. I’m not stupid.” Two million was a lot of money. I wasn’
KIMBERLY~•~After what we had done, Jackson turned on the shower and helped me to bathe, which was weird because I thought we were going to go further than that.I didn’t voice it though. I was too embarrassed to do so. I just let him wash my body and I helped him wash his. He got out of the shower first and got me a towel, helping me to dry my body. He did the same to himself before leading me out of the bathroom.I walked toward my suitcase to find a nightdress to wear, but Jackson drew me back, pulling me flush against his chest. Before I could speak, he kissed me.“Jack,” I spoke against his lips and he pulled back shortly. “I thought I could let you go to bed without being inside you.” He admitted. “I thought wrong.”A smile threatened to form on my lips but I held it back. So I wasn’t the only one craving him.I stared at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was four in the morning and most people were asleep by now but I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep yet.I was exhausted b
KIMBERLY~•~“Girl, I’m sure the whole floor could hear you. You were loud as fuck. I wanted to call and tell you to keep it down but Theo said not to disturb you.”I groaned, covering my face with my hands. “You should have texted me.”“You wouldn’t have checked it anyway.” She nudged me. “But Theo was right though. I can’t interrupt you when you are getting dicked down so good.”“Girl shut up,” I muttered in embarrassment. I was already mortified that people heard me last night. Sure I hadn’t cared in the heat of the moment but I was seriously regretting that. Reiya’s crude tongue was only adding to it.“Why are you embarrassed?” Reiya laughed. “Sex is part of life. I mean not everyone is loud like you but they engage in it at the end of the day.”I pushed her back and hastened my steps, hearing her laugh behind me. Reiya, Theo, Jack, and I were going out for lunch and we decided to walk to the restaurant. It was our last free day. On Wednesday, we’d be going with the event planner
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
JACKSON~•~“Will Skye’s sister attend your party?” My ears perked up when I heard Asher questioning Amelia.“I don’t know,” Amelia responded. “Stop distracting me.”I held back a laugh at her frustration. She was trying on several dresses to see the one she was going to wear at her birthday party and she called us in to model the dresses for us.“Why didn’t you ask her?”“I want Skye at my party and I don’t care about her sister. Why didn’t you invite her to your party when you had one?”A blush crept up Asher’s face. “We weren’t friends then.” Whoever Skye’s sister was, I could tell that Asher had a crush on her, which was why he was bugging Amelia about it, meanwhile the poor girl just wanted her seven-year-old birthday to be perfect.“What’s Skye’s sister's name?”The two kids turned to me when they heard my question and Asher cleared his throat as though he was just realizing I was in the room with them. I wasn’t even surprised he was already having crushes. He was eleven years
KIMBERLY~•~I waited for only a few seconds before Jackson came in, pushing a trolley that contained only one plate. I arched an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. “We’ll start with appetizers first.” He explained and I took his word for it. He transferred the plate from the trolley to the table and stood beside me, waiting for me to open it.“Aren’t you eating?” I questioned, wondering why he was acting weird.“I will. I just want to know if you like it first.”I shook my head. He was so eager for compliments. Decoding to give him what he wanted, I removed the cover of the plate and my eyes widened immediately.I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth to stop myself from screaming. When I looked back at Jackson, he was already on one knee. I looked back at the plate in front of me. It was more of a dessert than an appetizer. It was a piece of chocolate cake and the words “Will you marry me?” were written on the plate using icing.I had suspected it could be a proposal but I waved it off
KIMBERLY~•~For the first time in a million years, Jackson was taking me out on a date. It was an impromptu one at that and when I told him I didn’t have anything to wear, he told me we would visit the mall first. Apparently, he already had everything planned and all I had to do was show up.I kind of liked that. Caro was back so she could look after the kids and we were free to spend as much time as we could outside.“Mommy, where are you going?” Amelia whined when she came into my room and saw me putting on my make-up.“Nowhere, baby.” I knew if I told her I was going out with her father, she’d want to come too. She couldn’t just stay back and let me leave alone with her father. “But you have lipstick!”“I’m going to work.”She frowned, creases forming on her forehead. “But you already went to work in the morning. It’s not morning anymore.”I sighed. “It’s a special meeting, Amelia. Why don’t you go and play with your brother? I won’t take long.”“No.” She shook her head. “Asher i
JACKSON~•~We were getting ready to go to the store when I heard the doorbell rang. It was a Saturday and we weren’t expecting anyone.Most of the workers weren’t in the house so I went downstairs to get the door. Before I could get there, the doorbell rang again. With a sigh, I pulled open the door, surprised to see Mr and Mrs. Watson. What were Kimberly’s parents doing here? It wasn’t like they weren’t welcome to visit. It was just weird that they didn’t inform us before coming. “Good morning, sir, Ma’am.” I stepped aside to let them in. “Kimberly is taking a shower. She’ll be down soon.”They nodded. “Sorry for barging in on you guys.” Her father spoke while his wife stayed silent, staring at her feet like a child who had been scolded.“It’s fine. You’re family. Take a seat. I’ll get you something to drink.”“Water is fine.”I nodded and went into the kitchen to get two bottles of water and cups for them. After setting it in front of them, I went back upstairs to our bedroom just
KIMBERLY~•~It was crazy how easy it was to win the people’s favor again. The same people who bashed and condemned you were always ready to start singing praises for you as soon as things turned around.They were so fucking hypocritical and even if it was a good thing, it annoyed me how easily the masses started defending Jackson’s company after stressing him for four whole days.Jackson’s visit to the prison hadn’t been fruitless. He had gotten substantial evidence from Emily. She had recorded a conversation between herself and Chris (I still couldn’t believe he orchestrated this whole thing by the way. Jackson had warned me about him but I ignored it even if I never spoke with him after that) and the tips she gave Jackson made their investigation smoother.They didn’t release any statements until they had a lot of evidence to back up their words which I commended them for. Jackson was smart as hell because an hour after his press conference ended, people were already defending his
JACKSON~•~I sat on a chair in a dimly lit room, waiting for the girl I grew up with as my sister.Sometimes, I felt bad for her that she was living in such a place; that she was locked up here, but then I’d remember the evil things she did just because she didn’t like Kimberly for me.It would have been slightly different if her actions were justified but Kimberly didn’t even do anything to her. Kimberly barely even retaliated or she would be in much worse trouble.After waiting for a few minutes, the door to the room finally opened and an officer led Emily in. She was still handcuffed, but luckily for her, they freed her of the handcuffs before leaving.I appraised her form. “You have gotten thinner.” Emily had always been obsessed with maintaining a thin form, going on several diets as many times as she could to make sure she stayed fit.“The food is ass in here.” She scoffed and sat down in front of me with a table diving us.“You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t make stupid decisi
JACKSON~•~After talking to the ‘sick old man’ the previous day, I was able to get in touch with one of the people who also testified against me. After threatening to make sure they lost everything they had, they finally confessed and said someone met them a day before to tell them to testify.From the description, I was able to pinpoint them at once. Christian Walsh’s secretary. However, I didn’t have proof just yet. Christian and I were business rivals but I never knew he would stoop as low as defaming my company.It was way too low.I didn’t know why he did it but I didn’t care to find out, I was working on tracking his secretary’s whereabouts, hoping to find footage of him meeting the witness.“He visited the hospital three days ago,” Jeffrey commented, reading from his phone most likely a text. “Maybe if we can get footage from inside the hospital, we can see him entering the guy’s room.”“That’s a good idea.” I nodded. “Also find a way to get the man’s hospital file. I want to
KIMBERLY~•~Jackson hadn’t been gone for two hours when another video of him started trending again.It was from the same man and he had started recording claiming he was going to show the world Jackson’s true colors. After that, Jackson stood up and got out of the room, along with his secretary trailing behind him.It didn’t show anything odd but the fact that Jackson left as soon as the man started recording made him look shady. I hated the fact that a lot of strangers on the internet were giving their opinions based on a ten-second video while they knew nothing about him in real life.I was worried as hell. He was under fire on the Internet and I couldn’t reach him or his secretary. I tried to engage the kids but I found my mind straying to Jackson every few minutes.When my phone rang, I scrambled for it only to find out that it wasn’t Jackson calling but it was just my mother. I sighed. I had already spoken to her this morning. What more did she want from me?Knowing that woman,
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