Chapter-7

Derrick’s POV.

“Who does that no-good gold-digger think she is?!” I shouted, kicking my desk chair as hard as I could. A shiver of savage pleasure ran through me as it went and hit the glass. I was so angry that I needed to hit something, and given the person I really wanted to unleash my anger on wasn’t there, I had to turn to the next best thing.

Trashing my office.

I swept everything spread on top of my work desk, feeling more relief when the sound of glass shattering registered in my ear.  

“Mr. Whitney, could you please calm down? We’re in the office building sir, everyone’s looking at us!” my assistant called from my door, where she was cowering, afraid to come in.

“Shut up!” I snarled at her. “Do I look like I give a shit? Tell them to go back to work before I fire them all. I won’t hesitate, see if I do.”

“Mr. Whitney, please-”

“Get the hell lost!”

My assistant made herself scarce.

After trashing my office some more, wishing that everything I broke had Kara’s ungrateful face on it, I heard a knock on the door.

“I told you to-”

“I’m sorry, Derrick, is this a bad time?” Jade asked, standing at the door with a sweet smile. She looked at the mess I’ve made, and her smile grew confused. “Are you remodeling the place? Sorry, I barged in like that…”

“No, no, that’s okay,” I backtracked, trying to smile at him. “Did you come here by yourself? You could’ve called, Jade, so I can come pick you up.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t want to bother you like that.”

“Trust me, it wouldn’t have been a bother,” I assured. “So, why the sudden visit?”

Jade’s expression grew shadowed, and she automatically bit her lower lip, nervous. Then, she sighed and stepped closer to me. Her hand came up to touch my cheek, gentle and loving.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about last night a lot,” she said, and I vividly remembered the way we kissed in front of her hotel room. “And I just…I feel like I’m the bad guy here, trying to steal you from Kara.”

“What? What does Kara have to do with anything?” I asked her. “Jade, baby, listen to me. I don’t care for Kara at all. The only reason I said she was my wife back at the hospital was because you were worried about her, and I knew that they told family everything they wouldn’t tell a friend. I don’t care for Kara; I don’t love her. If anything, she’s a parasite. A thorn in my side.”

“You say that, but I saw the way she looked at you, Derrick, and that was love,” Jade insisted. “And she’s my friend, no matter how much she seemed to hate me now. I can’t take you away from her! Maybe I shouldn’t have come back to you.”

“No, Jade, you shouldn’t believe any of that. Kara’s the interloper here. You’ve got no reason to feel guilty about taking me away from her; I never belonged to her in the first place.”

“Still,” Jade looked truly sad. “You know, one of the biggest mistakes I made in my life was leaving you. I’ve been longing for you this whole time, Derrick. Throughout the years, there wasn’t a day where I didn’t think of you.”

“Oh, Jade…”

Jade chuckled.

“I just keep thinking, you know. If I stayed with you, do you think we’d be married by now? Because I do. I could’ve been your wife.”

I couldn’t hold myself back from hugging her then. Our relationship had been so good before she left, so fulfilling. I definitely though that I’d be married to Jade, and it wouldn’t have been such a mistake as it was with Kara. At least then, I’d have been able to hate my wife.

Jade had been so sweet to me, the perfect girlfriend. Beautiful, smart, loving, and caring. She was everything I wanted, then and now. I never wanted to let her go.

Looking back, I had to wonder why Kara just unsettled me so deeply when Jade was here. I didn’t care for her. I despised her. So, why was I so shaken by the idea of her divorcing me? Is it because I didn’t want her to give her that power?

That must be it. Her divorcing me means she’d be able to one-up me. I didn’t want her to have that power over me.

That must be it. No other reason. Kara was nothing but a mistake.

When we broke our embrace, Jade still looked down, her face dark with gloom, so I had to cheer her up.

I knew this, the mystery connection between me and Kara bothered her. Jade was not easy to cheer up when she was truly bothered like that, so it took doing something big to put a smile on her face.

“Don’t think about Kara, Jade, it’s not worth it. Besides, you’ve got a big runaway coming up, right? Well, I got some good news for you,” I smiled at her. “My assistant managed to clear my schedule, so I’ll actually be able to see you up there, in person.”

“Really?!” Jade squealed, instantly lighting up with a bright smile. “Oh, Derrick, are you for real? I thought you had work!”

“It can wait for you,” I replied, feeling better now that she was not sad anymore. “I’ve been wanting to see you in your element for the longest time, so when’s better than now?”

Jade loved the announcement, and we spent the next few minutes talking about the event until Jade had to leave for an appointment with her stylist. After she left, I called my assistant in.

“You called, Mr. Whitney?” My assistant, Theresa, rushed in, looking relieved to see me calm. She had Jade to thank for that.

“Yes. I need you to keep an eye on Kara until she leaves the hospital. Make it look like a personal visit; maybe get her the things she wants. But under no circumstance can she know this order came from me. She doesn’t need to know my involvement in this at all. Understand?”