9. Manipulation

JACKSON

~•~

As I led Paige away from Kimberly, I felt very bad, but that was the only right thing to do in that situation. Paige was the mother of my child and if things went according to plan, she would bear more of my children. I couldn’t watch her being hit by another woman, even if that woman was my ex-wife.

Kimberly, on the other hand, was acting very strange. She used to be the sweetest woman ever, which was why I agreed to our marriage, but since I told her we should get divorced, she was acting like a different person. She had turned… vile.

She was even willing to go through the trouble of lying that she was pregnant. That wasn’t the Kim I knew. We were married for three years and she never conceived. How come she was suddenly with a child after signing divorce papers? I didn’t know if she genuinely needed help from a professional at this point.

“Jack, are you even listening to me?” Paige’s voice reached my ears.

“Yeah, I’m listening.” I lied because Paige could be a handful. If she knew I was thinking about Kimberly, she would throw a fit. She hadn’t told me about my child all these years because she was mad at me. She was a very petty woman and I had to be careful not to set her off.

“What if that bitch comes around again? I don’t want her to do anything bad to our Asher.” She sighed as though she was truly concerned Kim would go after our son. No matter how much Kim had changed, she would never do anything bad to a child. She loved children and wanted one so badly for years. “We should get a restraining order,” Paige suggested.

I held back a sigh and looked out the window as the car zoomed past the streets. We were both in the backseat and our driver was taking us home. I had a full day of work today but Paige suggested I take a break and spend more time with Asher, as though I hadn’t been doing that already these past few weeks. Then again, I wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to hang out with him even if we now live in the same house.

“Jack!” She whined when I didn’t respond.

“We don’t have to go that far. It’s not that serious. She’s just hurt.” I knew how much Kimberly loved me and it would be hard on her to see me with another woman, so I couldn’t even blame her for what she was doing.

“Yeah, but she’s acting crazy! Can’t you see the bruise on my face? She almost ruined my face!”

I sucked on my bottom teeth, holding back my words. To be honest, Kimberly didn’t do anything wrong. She only retaliated because she was aggravated, but I couldn’t say that out loud to Paige. It would just make her angry and hate Kim even more. “We’ll go to the hospital so your face can be checked. As for Kimberly, you don’t have to worry about her. I’ll talk to her.”

“No!” She opposed it immediately. “I don’t want you to see her. What if she seduces you and pins her pregnancy on you?”

I doubted she was pregnant in the first place, but, “I won’t be seduced by her.”

“Yeah, but she’s your ex and you guys must have residual feelings for each other. What if you take pity on her and bring her into the house? It would scar Asher for life. Do you want to treat our son like that?”

Was this emotional blackmail? I wasn’t sure but I was certain it was a type of manipulation. I was done with Kimberly and I would stay true to my word. I was going to take care of Paige and Asher, just as I had told her when she first came to me to tell me about our son that she had hidden from me. I wouldn’t suddenly back out because I pitied Kimberly. I wasn’t that kind of man.

“Fine, I won’t meet her, but you also have to promise not to involve the police in this. It will just create another scandal.” I offered, knowing with Paige, it was best to just meet in the middle. Since we were dating all those years ago, I knew it was a foolish idea to argue with Paige. She always won and I never liked arguing anyway.

“Yeah, but if she harms Asher–“

“She won’t touch Asher,” I promised her.

“Why do you keep defending her?”

I sighed and stared at Paige. “I’m not defending her. She knows not to harm Asher because she’ll have me to deal with.” I said just to appease Paige. Yes, Kim would never intentionally cross me because she knew I had a lot more influence than her, but I also knew she would never harm a child. “I’m with you now. You’re all I’m focusing on. You and Asher. I’ve skipped several important meetings just to spend time with you guys.”

She stared at me for a few seconds and finally gave in. “That’s true. I trust you.”

“Good.”

She leaned in to kiss me and I kissed her back gently as we arrived at our house.

The driver drove inside the compound and as soon as he pulled over, Asher came running out of the house with Caro following behind him. Caro was loyal to Kimberly. She was even hired by her, but I didn’t have the heart to fire her, so I kept her. Besides, she was good at looking after kids and could watch Asher whenever Paige and I had an event to attend.

We got out of the car at the same time but Asher ran over to Paige. “Mommy!”

Paige opened up her arms, catching Asher as he threw himself at her. “Did you miss mommy?” She questioned, ruffling his hair while Asher threw his head back and laughed heartily.

I watched them with a smile on my face. I was well aware that Paige wasn’t the best person. She had a lot of flaws but she was a good mother. I’d give her that.

I didn’t know what the future held for us, but I was willing to find out, just as soon as I stopped thinking about Kimberly.