by Jerilee Kaye
And then she was there… the girl he went to hell and back for. The woman who made him who he was now—heartless and ruthless.
He didn’t know why, but something inside him had awakened. He felt a glimmer of an emotion he could not name. And all of a sudden, he couldn’t push through with his plans—he could not bring himself to propose to Vanessa Bernard.
Jin heard Julianne let out another whimper on the other side of the door. He leaned his head against it and took a deep breath that seemed to cut through his non-existent heart.
Tears rolled down his cheeks. He had never cried for a woman before. But seven years ago, he did. And he couldn’t believe that he was crying for her again now.
He thought she was his. And she would stay forever. He was hers too. He shared himself with her, with no thought of complications or consequences. He didn’t care. He wanted to be tied to her for the rest of his life.
He wanted to tell her who he really was the next morning. He was going to explain why he hid his real identity. He was going to tell her that he loved her… with all his heart. Then he would ask her to move in to Paris for good. She wouldn’t have a need when she was with him. She would always be well-provided for. If she wanted to work to keep herself busy, she could have any job she fancied in his hotel chains. Or if she fancied something else, she could start her own company, he would finance it. She could have whatever she wanted, as long as she stayed with him… made love to him every night. And then when she grew comfortable about her new life… when he felt that she was ready, he would ask her the question he never thought he’d ask any woman. And he would ask it from the heart.
But when he woke up after the night they made love, she was gone. She left no trace of herself… just a note, saying she was sorry.
He searched the entire city for her. Her hotel said she checked out early. He checked every hotel in the city. He had every flight manifesto checked. He found nothing.
He searched for her for years. He had private investigators search the entire of Europe for her. He even had his contacts check for her in the States. They found many Arabella Adams, but not the Arabella Adams he was looking for.
He mourned for years, as if his childhood best friend had died. It was only later, when he had given up, that he realized that it was his heart he had been mourning for. His heart died that day she left. Because of her, he was unable to love… he was dead inside.
And now, she’s here. All along she’d been a part of his family and he did not even know it. He never saw her at any of their family gatherings and he’d attended many of Justin’s family parties all throughout these years. There was a rare mention of Gian’s twin sister, but he had no idea it was the same Arabella Adams he’d been searching for for more than half a decade.
And now, he understood why.
It made sense. During their brief tryst in Paris, she already promised another man that she would marry him. Of course! She was ashamed of what happened between them. She was ashamed of him. That’s why she ran and hid.
There are two types of women that Jin hated the most and tried his best avoiding. Those who were gold-diggers, only after a guy for his money, fame and status in life. The other type were the cheaters. A woman should be smart enough to get ahold of her emotions, avoid temptations. If she could not be trusted to share her bed with only one man at a time, she could not be trusted with anything else.
He realized that he’d been a desperate, romantic fool about to give up his whole world for her. All the while, she was a lying, scheming cheater only seeking one last adventure in the arms of another man!
Fuck! What a fool I’ve really been!
9.
Jin Starck stood on the balcony of the mezzanine floor of the elegant ballroom of White Rock Mansion, one of the estates owned by Starck Corp. in Illinois. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and a black leather mask over his eyes. His dark copper brown hair was combed back neatly, without a strand of out of place. Like everything he does… nothing must be out of place.
The Morgan-Murphies, a prominent political family in Chicago, held an exclusive masquerade party in honor of its matriarch’s sixtieth birthday and the privacy of their hotel property was most suitable for the event. It was outside the city, large enough to house its two hundred guests privately, but not too big to have to share it with other people.
Some of the guests who could not travel back to the city opted to stay in one of the hotel rooms.
The family hosting the event was too important, with their patriarch aiming for the presidency, Jin could not leave anything to chance. He had to make sure everything was handled properly with strict adherence to Starck quality. The guests in attendance all belonged to big corporations, the elite, and other prominent families in the country. He, himself, received a personal invitation.
The party was in full swing and everything was going well. He watched from the balcony like a hawk, ensuring that nothing would go out of proportion. He did not always micro manage but there are events like this, small in size but huge in impact, that required his full attention. And he wanted to make sure no one could say anything negative about his property. Especially White Rock, which was one of his personal favorites.
His phone rang and he recognized it as the number from their reception.
“Yes?”
“Sir, there’s a guest here, who’s asking for a room,” the receptionist said. “And we’ve already booked all our available rooms beforehand.”
“Tell them we’re having an exclusive event.”
“Yes, sir. She’s one of the guests. Unfortunately, her car broke down on the way here, that’s why she was late. She doesn’t have a car to take her back to the city. She needed a room for the night.”
Sometimes, situations like this happen, when they have a hundred percent occupancy. That’s why he had made arrangements with a nearby inn. He can send them guests he could no longer accommodate in his property.
“You know what to do,” he said in an irritated tone. “You didn’t have to call me. We’ve made arrangements with Brooklyn Inn for the guests we could no longer accommodate.”
“Um, yes, sir, I know. But I thought you might want to make an exception,” the reception said nervously.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because she’s a delegate from Adams Industries. And I know… Mister Adams is your brother-in-law. I wanted to ask if… anyway, I’ll call Brooklyn Inn right away, Sir.”
“Who is this guest?”
“Julianne Sanders, Sir.”
Jin’s breath got caught in his throat. His pulse suddenly hammered for a reason he could not identify. No woman had ever made him feel nervous before. Well… except one. But that was a long time ago. Jin refused to admit that she still has the same effect on him now.
He fell silent for a while.
“Sir?”
He took a deep breath. He didn’t know what he was saying until he actually heard himself say it.
“Give her the Founders’ suite.”
“Sir? But that’s reserved for… you.”
“Yeah, so I guess I’ll be sleeping in my office tonight!” he muttered humorlessly. “Tell the guys to get my stuff out of there. Clean the room. I want it to be impeccable.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
Jin heaved a sigh and tried to calm down his nerves. He motioned for the waiter to give him a whiskey. He needed alcohol. He wasn’t thinking straight! He hadn’t rested, monitoring this event and he just gave up his access to a nice California king-sized bed, his refuge after the long hours of non-stop work.
He couldn’t remember why all of a sudden he had given up his suite just so she could have a place to stay in for the night. He didn’t know why the thought of sending her away to Brooklyn Inn in the middle of the night seemed unacceptable for him.
His eyes suddenly went to the entrance of the ballroom, as if something suddenly magnetized them to take a peek there.
He saw her enter the room in a simple bla
ck, silk, strapless gown. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail behind her head. She was wearing a lace mask on half of her face. He immediately recognized her. Damn! He would recognize her everywhere even if she wore a full eye-mask.
Suddenly, it made sense why he gave up his luxurious accommodations for the night for her.
He couldn’t bear to have her travel a few miles to Brooklyn Inn in the hotel car. He couldn’t bear for her not to have the best accommodations money could buy. For him, she still seemed like the fragile crystal ball, that looked too beautiful not to protect and shelter.
She’s no longer your crystal ball! She’s not yours to protect! She’s not yours to shelter!
The moment she entered the ballroom, eyes followed her. Men looked up from their drinks, even away their own dates just to get a glimpse of the sultry siren that just entered the room.
Her skin was a flawless, creamy white against the black silk. She didn’t wear any sparkling jewelry. No earring, no necklace. No sparkling diamond or gold. That night of his supposed engagement party, she wore a dazzling diamond necklace. It was a very expensive piece that belonged to Adrienne. He knew because he helped Justin pick it out one day when the man just felt like giving his wife a present.
Doesn’t she have her own jewelry? Or wasn’t she contented with her own stuff, she had to borrow someone else’s?
She approached the Morgans and the Murphies. Immediately, Missis Morgan, the birthday celebrant, hugged her as if she’s known her for a long time. Of course. Julianne Sanders belonged to a prominent family herself. She must have been well-acquainted with many of the people present here tonight.
Jin watched her every move. He took note of who she was approaching, who she was talking to. He noticed that she was mostly speaking to the elderlies. She was subtly avoiding the male guests, even though many of them attempted to approach her.
Is she dating someone? She doesn’t seem interested in any of the men making a move on her.
Julianne Sanders didn’t look fancy or luxurious in the way she dressed tonight. She was simple but elegant. She was intriguing and captivating. Jin didn’t realize it, but he had spent the last thirty minutes just watching her like a hawk. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was enchanted by her—like he had been seven years ago.
She still looked the same beautiful woman he’d fallen in love with. But something about her seemed different. She looked more serious now, and she laughed less often than she used to when she was younger. There was a deep hunger in her, like she had a mission and she would do anything to accomplish it.
I wonder what else she would want in life. She was an heiress, she had everything she needed, she could have everything she wanted.
She was now talking to a tall, handsome gentleman. He was holding her for more than five minutes. Something inside Jin stirred. It was an emotion he could not pinpoint. All he knew was that he wanted to go down there and sweep the ballroom floor using the guy’s face.
Finally, she excused herself from the guy who seemed reluctant to let her go. Of course. She didn’t even cover her full face, it would be difficult not to notice how beautiful she was. The guy was trying to get lucky.
She went to the ladies’ room. Jin counted the minutes. She was there for exactly five. On her way to the middle of the floor, a man stood in front of her, stopping her short on her tracks. Jin saw the expression on her face. She looked shocked and then she looked furious.
The guy was talking to her and Julianne was just looking up at him with a haughty expression on her face, as if she could not wait for him to finish his monologue. Then finally she spoke to him with an eyebrow shot up. The guy talked back with a hand gesture. It seemed that they were arguing. Finally, Julianne turned away but he was quick to pull her by the elbow. Julianne raised an angry brow at him and snatched her elbow away. The guy was persistent.
Jin felt uncomfortable from where he was standing. It was already past midnight and maybe the guy already had too much to drink. Julianne looked like she wanted to get away but he was not letting her. Somehow, he felt she needed rescuing.
He didn’t think for second. He almost ran towards the ballroom, hoping he would not be too late to help her.
When he reached closer to them, he could hear that they were arguing.
“You could have anything you wanted in life, you never even had to work for a day!” Jin heard the guy saying.
“I’m okay, I don’t need you!” Julianne’s voice was low but firm. “Or your money!”
“You don’t know that! Look at you now! Struggling. Getting paid peanuts and at the mercy of your rich cousin!”
“Please! Do not throw insult on the goodness of my cousin and his wife! They are gracious and kind. Unlike you. And I can tell you, my fate now is a lot better than what it could have been if our wedding pushed through.”
Jin stopped on his tracks.
Wedding?
Suddenly, it occurred to him, that this man was Julianne’s ex-fiancé. The man she cheated on—with him!
“You don’t know that, sweetheart. I could have given you the moon and the stars. But instead, you chose to let yourself be corrupted by whoever you fucked in your illicit adventures in Europe!”
Jin stole a sideward glance towards them. She didn’t notice him as she had all her attention focused on the man who was so bent up in ruining her evening. He saw her take a deep breath, as if she was trying her best not to lose her calm. It was evident that the guy already had too much to drink. Jin stood behind him, with his back on them, pretending to just drink his whiskey.
“With all due respect, Mister McAllister, I didn’t need you to take me to the moon and the stars. My feet were doing just fine planted firmly on the ground. And for your information, anybody is a lot better than you are! Now, please excuse me!”
“Go on. I know you’re here to work, not to socialize. It’s way past your son’s bedtime and you should have been with him. But instead, you’re here, still trying to make ends meet. Poor kid. I guess he won’t have the same bright future like the rest of his cousins, huh. All because of your stupid mistakes!”
Jin couldn’t help turning around. It took all his will to stop himself from dragging the man outside by his throat.
How dare him talk about Jared like that? In fact, how dare him talk about Jared at all?!
Jin saw Julianne bite her lips. She looked down on the floor and refused to talk back at him.
Why does she let this asshole talk down on her like that?
He decided he’s had enough.
He placed a heavy arm on the guy’s shoulder, which startled the latter. The guy looked up at him. He was a few inches shorter than him. But Jin immediately recognized him.
She was engaged to Patrick McAllister? Well, I can’t say that wasn’t a good match.
Patrick McAllister was one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. He belonged to a powerful, political clan. His family had been in politics for decades and he was eyeing a seat in the senate himself. He was rich. He was powerful. He was a good-looking guy.
And yet she still chose to cheat on him with a small-time painter in Paris, struggling to sell his arts for a living? What was she thinking?
“Excuse me?” Patrick McAllister raised an irritated brow at him.
“I think you’ve already had too much to drink, Mister McAllister,” Jin said. “And it’s my turn to ask the lady to dance.”
Patrick McAllister simply laughed. “Sure! Knock yourself out. Anyway, I think Miss Sanders is on the lookout for another rich man to restore her status in the crème de la crème.”
Another man and woman went to their side, and Jin recognized them to be part of the McAllister family. They looked at Julianne once and they whispered something to each other, obviously talking about her.
Of course! The shame of breaking an engagement!
In his mind, Jin could not blame Patrick McAllister and his family to be so vindictive towards Julianne. She deserved it for cheating on him.
But a bigger part of him wanted to punch all of Patrick McAllister’s teeth down his throat for belittling her and talking down on her so publicly. The least he could have done was avoid her.
“I believe I asked her to dance. Excuse us,” Jin said firmly and without giving her a chance to argue, he took Julianne’s hand and pulled her towards the dancefloor.
She didn’t resist him this time. She swayed in his arms, while she looked down, refusing to look him in the eye.
Looking down at her, he felt like all the wounds in his heart had been opened raw. He felt what it was like seven years ago, when she left him without a trace of her real identity.
He was still so angry at her. A part of him wanted to punish her so she would feel the same pain that she had caused him. Maybe it was nothing different from the way Patrick McAllister felt now when he saw her again. The pain she left when she cheated on McAllister and broke the engagement resurfaced, like it only happened yesterday.
What is it with this woman? Does she plan to leave a trail of broken hearts wherever she went? Does that give her a kick?
Finally, she looked up at him. Her beautiful eyes were unmasked. They were crystal blue, the most beautiful he’s ever seen. And right now, they looked like they were shining with tears that Jin felt his non-existent heart almost breaking for her. He felt the urge to pull her into his arms, whisper into her ears and assure her that everything was going to be okay.
Be careful, Starck! She’s an enchantress! And she’s already broken your heart and your spirit once.
“Your ex-fiancé doesn’t look like he’s already moved on,” he said in a low voice.
She bit her lip but she didn’t say a word.
Is that guilt?
“You, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected by him,” he continued. “Obviously, he felt stronger emotions for you during the relationship.”
Again, she bit her lip but kept quiet.
Damn! When will I ever get this woman to tell me the truth?
“Why did he say that you’re looking to restore your status as a socialite? Does he think that your family has a lower status than his?”