Chapter-9

Derrick’s POV.

In the solitude and safety of my car, I leaned back and massaged my temples, trying to stave off the incoming headache. I barely made it past the paparazzi who ambushed me when I left the runway event with Jade in tow, and of course, the news of my stunt spread to my family even before it did to the local news.

On my phone, my grandmother was screaming in my ear, demanding that I apologize to Kara of all people about my ‘disgraceful conduct’.

“A marriage is a marriage regardless of the circumstances surrounding it, and I will not have a grandson of mine cheating on his wife with some model, especially one that tainted our family name like Jade Black did!”

“Grandma, it’s not like that,” I tried to argue. “Jade’s my friend, I was only helping her.”

“That is not what friendship looks like, Derrick. Even an old woman like me with vision problems can see it, much less this entire nation! Have you seen what the news is saying? You’re breaking that poor girl’s heart! I never thought you were raised to be this callous!”

“Oh, give me a break, grandma,” I scoffed. “I don’t have to apologize to Kara. She won’t care for it anyway.”

I mean, she was the one demanding a divorce from me, spreading rumors that I was an abusive cheater and painting me to be the bad guy every single time. She took pleasure in pissing me off and watching me lose control so she could play the victim. So why should I apologize to her?

“You’re even more of a fool than I thought if you actually believe that.” Grandma muttered, disappointment lacing her words.

“Why do you defend her like that, anyway? Every single time something happens, you always come after me. It’s never Kara’s fault. Sometimes I wonder if I’m your actual family, because you sure seem to care for her more than you do for me.”

My grandmother was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“You naïve, naïve boy,” I could imagine her shaking her head. “You have no idea, do you? Kara’s sacrificed everything for you, Derrick. Everything!”

“Kara’s a housewife because it’s her duty,’ I snapped, getting mad. “There’s nothing to applaud about it. Plenty of women do it without causing as many problems as Kara does. Why is she so special?”

For a moment, there was only silence on the other end of the line.

“You stupid boy,” Grandmother muttered. “I don’t care for your excuses. Fix this and apologize to Kara.”

“No,” I snapped, and hung up. I will not be apologizing to her, no way. Grandmother could be mad about it all she wanted. This was between me and Jade. Kara needed to keep her nose where it belonged, which was out of my affairs. Always trying to be the victim, that vile woman. Jade was the one who fell on the runway. It could’ve been a traumatic injury if I hadn’t been there, because the runway was narrow and pretty tall. Such a fall could’ve ended her career.

But grandmother didn’t care. All she wanted was for me to apologize to Kara.

I was so mad I’d have stuffed my phone in my pocket without thinking twice if not for the message alert I saw. When I opened it, I realized it was Jade.

‘Hey, Derrick! [heart emoji], I’m sorry to disturb you after everything, but the paps have found out where I’ve been staying, and they’ve swarmed the place. What should I do? I can’t stay here like this.’

Ugh, the vultures. They were the last thing Jade needed. I needed to get her out of there for her safety.

‘Don’t worry,’ I typed back to her. ‘I’m coming to pick you up. You can stay at my place; they’ll never find you there.’

‘Oh, that’ll be amazing, Derrick, thank you,' Jade texted back immediately. ‘I don’t want to be a bother, though. I’m really sorry about this too. I swear, I asked my agency to take care of it, and they promised to suppress the news, so I don’t know why this is happening.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ I replied. ‘Get ready. I’m coming to get you in a minute.’

***

I knew that taking Jade to the house I had to share with Kara was not the smartest move on my part. But it was the safest place I could think of, where no one could bother her. When Kara and I first moved into the villa, I took every known security measure to keep us out of the media’s eye because we needed to keep our marriage a secret. So, the house had a state of art security system, a large garden and backyard coupled with tall walls that kept people from peeping, no neighbors within at least a mile of the villa and the villa was placed well outside city limits.  

So, Jade was going to be safe. Kara might whine about it, but who cared for her? All she did was whine and complain, anyway. When she came back, I’d just ask her to get lost for a while or stay away from Jade’s sight. Maybe I’ll put her in a hotel. Jade’s comfort took priority. 

But I didn’t have to say anything, because Jade didn’t ask any questions. She just said, “wow, this place is so secluded,” and that was it.

“So, you can pick any room you want. Every room except the master bedroom looks the same, of course, but they are decorated in a specific way by the…housekeeper.”

“Okay, how about this room then?” Jade asked, pointing at a room two doors below mine, and I nodded.

“Sure, you can,” I didn’t think much of it and threw the door open to let Jade in.

That’s when I realized the mistake I made.

I wasn’t home much, so I didn’t know which room Kara moved into after she refused to share the master bedroom with him. Because every door looked the same from the outside, I couldn’t really differentiate one room from the other.

But once we were inside, it was clear whose room this was. The art on the walls was a dead giveaway, as were the cream-colored bedding and the warm-toned walls, and there was a familiar journal on the desk. The bed was still unmade from the last time she lay there, and there was some blood on the floor from when she injured her foot by stepping on glass.

“Oh, I adore this room, it’s so quaint!” Jade squealed, turning around and taking in the furnishings. “It’s just my vibe. But it looks lived in, thought. Are you hosting a guest here?”

“Y-yeah, but it’s no one important,” I assured her. Kara could have another room.

“Will they be okay with me taking this room? I don’t want to put someone out.”

“No, no of course not,” I smiled at her. “When my guest comes back, I’ll get them clear out their belongings and you can have this room. Jade, you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want.”