All the Wrong Places

by Jerilee Kaye

  He released her hands and stepped away from her. He headed towards the door. Tears continued running down her cheeks. She looked down the floor because she couldn’t bear to look at him. She knew that he was raging mad because of what she said.

  “There was a time when I thought the world of you,” he said. “But now I know, I was wrong about you.”

  She bit her lip.

  “Because of your selfish decisions, your ambition and your stubbornness, you… made several lives miserable.”

  More tears ran down her cheeks. She wanted to shout at him, tell him he had no right to say that to her, but she knew that he was right. Because of her wrong decisions, she had made lives miserable—including her son’s. Jared could have so much better in life. But because of what she did, his father doesn’t even recognize him, and his future is questionable.

  “There are consequences to your actions, Arabella. I hope you know that.” Although his voice was a bit gentler now, his words still carried a grave threat with it.

  “I know. And I’m paying for it every day,” she managed to say.

  He raised a brow at her. “You’re a fool if you think you’re the only one suffering for this. And you’re an even greater fool if you think I’m not going to do something about it.”

  Her eyes widened. She didn’t know what he meant by what he said, but he looked bloody serious. And besides, he’s Jin Starck. It didn’t seem like he has a sense of humor.

  “What the hell do you mean by that?” she asked angrily. “I gave you a fake name. Fine! I’m sorry! May I remind you, you fake named me too! We’re even!”

  He shook his head slightly. “We are far from being even, Arabella. And I intend to fix that.”

  “What? You’re going to punish me? Why can’t you just let it go? And leave me alone!”

  He stared at her for a moment and then he turned towards the door. “Have your rest. Room service will send your lunch in thirty minutes,” he said in a calm, steady voice.

  “What? I’m not even hungry!” she protested.

  “And yet you need sustenance, don’t you? You didn’t even eat breakfast.”

  “Why do you care?” she muttered.

  “Who says I care?” he asked back in an irritated tone. He had an annoyed expression on his face and then he turned to open the door. “I don’t think I need to tell you again, not to open your door for anyone. Reception will call you first when room service is at your doorstep delivering your food.”

  Then he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving her wondering what the heck he was planning to do with her in the future.

  11.

  True to his word, the hotel reception called Julianne to tell her that it was clear to open the door. Room service was outside with a cart containing her food.

  “Mister Starck would like you to know that Mister McAllister had already left the property,” the room service staff informed her.

  She breathed in relief. It’s good to know she doesn’t need to be a prisoner in this room for the rest of her stay.

  Only when she saw the sumptuous food on the cart did she realize that she was famished.

  “This is a lot? Who arranged for this much?” she asked when she saw that they had given her a piece of almost everything on the menu. There was fish, chicken, beef, vegetables, and a lot of dessert. There were at least three choices for beverage, plus wine.

  “Mister Starck wanted to ensure you were given the best choices in the house.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  She watched the news while she ate. The news stated that the storm had gotten worse. The forecasts for the following day did not look too good either. Julianne was feeling frustrated because she wanted nothing but to go home. She missed Jared so much. And she could barely stand being in the same vicinity as Jin Starck.

  She was thankful that Jin saved her from Patrick’s battery. But she also hated the fact that he sounded so vindictive, like he was out to punish him for what she did to him.

  As if I would believe that he really was devastated about what I did to him.

  He was the heir of Starck Corp. He was running an empire. He would do whatever it takes to be number one in his game. He was even willing to marry for its sake.

  How could she believe that he was willing to give up everything just to make her stay and make a life with him?

  He’s Jin freaking Starck! And I’m no Vanessa Bernard!

  Julianne was an heiress then. But her family business had nothing to do with hotels. She wouldn’t offer him any advantage.

  And now… she was not an heiress anymore. She didn’t have a significant amount of money or any valuable property to her name. Maybe Patrick was right. Maybe she was worthless after all—at least to rich ambitious men who seek a wife for business advantages.

  I don’t care! I don’t need a man in my life. Jared is more than enough. And both Jin Starck and Patrick McAllister can go to hell and leave me alone!

  Julianne had a nap after her meal and when she woke up again, it was almost midnight. It had stopped raining but she suspected that the worst wasn’t over yet.

  She was starving but she didn’t want to call room service. She decided to go down to the restaurant to eat. Jin Starck wouldn’t dare seduce or harass her in front of his employees. She should be safe from him.

  She put on a pair of white pants, white woolen sweater and a coat. She tied her hair in a ponytail and then came out of her suite. She hoped the restaurant was still open to serve some food.

  Adrienne was right. The hotel was very classy. The rich cream interior with gold finishes screamed luxury ten times over. It wasn’t small but not too big either. That’s why it also felt cozy.

  Julianne had always been fascinated with furniture and the interior furnishings. In her past life, she always thought she’d be making her own furniture and decoration pieces. She was even obsessed with hand-blown glass perfume bottles, ornaments and vases. But unfortunately, she couldn’t afford that line of profession anymore. To manufacture her own furniture or decoration wouldn’t be very lucrative on a small scale and would require a lot of capital. And capital, she didn’t have. She would rather spend her time working on her current job, which gave her enough money to save up for Jared’s future.

  After having a bowl of fruits and a cup of tea, she decided to explore the hotel property some more. There were a few guests going around. Some were coming from the small bar. Some from the café. Some were chatting on the lobby listening to the pianist. All of them, trying to pass the time until the storm was over.

  Julianne ventured to the other parts of the hotel. The corridors were adorned with abstract paintings. She was mesmerized just looking at the swirl of colors. The strokes were remarkable. She felt drawn to them as she stared at each of the pieces hanging on the wall. The paintings felt familiar and she had no doubt who painted them.

  Jin Starck is a very talented artist.

  And deep inside, she wondered if her son would be as good as his father.

  Opposite the balcony door, she found a painting of a garden, illuminated by the moonlight. It had glowing flowers and a spectacular dome-shaped glasshouse in the center. It looked so real. It took her breath away. She went closer to the painting and saw the initials on the bottom right side of the painting. ‘Jas’, it said.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to remember him from her past.

  Jas Mathieu.

  Tu es ravissante…

  J’adore…

  Je chérirai ce moment pour toujours…

  Restez avec moi…

  Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  If only I could turn it all back! If only, I could have him again… Jas… my Jas… the only guy who made me feel alive!

  But she knew… there was absolutely no chance for her to come back to that time… to that man.

  He was a completely different person now. He was no longer the sweet, charming man she fell in love with. He was not the guy wi
th simple dreams and believes in the simple joys of life.

  He was the billionaire who didn’t believe in falling in love… whose dreams and happiness were tied to business outcomes and hotel rating statistics!

  Feeling emotional, she stepped away from the painting. She turned around and found the door that led to the outside balcony. Blinded by tears, she opened the door and stepped out. Although the rain had stopped and the full moon was out, streaks of lightning still appeared in the skies.

  She couldn’t believe that she got assaulted by Patrick McAllister today. She came close to being violated or battered. If Jin Starck wasn’t there to save her… this day would turn out very differently. And she knew no storm could stop Justin or Gian from coming here and beating the life out of Patrick.

  She remembered what Jin said to her.

  ‘You were wrong.’

  ‘You should have stayed with me.’

  She made him believe that she didn’t choose him because he didn’t have money. In a way, that was true. But not for the reasons he thought.

  She left him because she was protecting him. She didn’t want him to be caught up in her family’s rage. Being engaged against her will was her battle, not his. And back then, when she thought he was a poor artist, she loved him. She would have done anything to stay. But she left because she loved him enough not to endanger him. Her father would have destroyed him, she was sure about that.

  Jin didn’t know that. He didn’t know a lot of things. He was under the impression that she and Patrick McAllister were lovers before they were engaged. He didn’t know that her engagement was against her will. He didn’t even know that she was a virgin that night he took her to bed.

  He didn’t know that Jared was his.

  Right now, he believed that she craved attention. That she was a spoiled narcissist who always got what she wanted. He thought that she toyed with his emotions.

  He was wrong.

  But it didn’t matter that he was wrong. It didn’t matter what he thought of her now. It wouldn’t make a difference. She didn’t care what he thought about her. He was a different person to her now. He was no longer the Jas Mathieu that she loved… still loved. He was the formidable Jin Starck and he was several worlds apart from her.

  She stared ahead of her and saw a familiar dome-shaped glass house from a distance. It looked a lot like the enchanting glass house in Jin’s painting.

  She noticed the concrete staircase going down from the hotel. The last step was connected to a covered and lighted pathway leading to the glasshouse.

  She looked at the skies once again. The moon was shining brightly. The sky was clear and she could even see some stars. She thought that it wasn’t going to rain anytime soon. So, she decided to walk towards the glasshouse to have a look.

  She hugged her coat to herself as she descended the steps. The closer she got to the glasshouse, the more intrigued she became. The dome-shaped structure was surrounded by small shrubs with night orb lights.

  From outside, she could see only green. She couldn’t see the center of the house at all. She turned the knob of the door, pleased that it wasn’t locked. And when she stepped inside, she was immediately enthralled.

  The inside of the dome was one huge indoor garden. There were roses in full bloom scattered around the huge space. They came in different sizes and colors.

  When she stepped inside, she found that the temperature was slightly warmer than outside. The glass ceiling was adorned with hand-blown glass pendant lights, which looked like large fireflies illuminating the entire place.

  The glasshouse was slightly bigger than it looked like from outside. Green shrubs and short trees surrounded the walls to obscure the view from outside, providing complete privacy.

  There were serenity fountains on every corner, giving off a nice peaceful sound and adding to the relaxing ambience.

  In the middle of the house sat a huge white circle sectional sofa. It was big enough to be a bed. And Julianne thought it was a brilliant idea to lie there and gaze at the sky through the glass roof.

  The sofa had two beautiful hand-blown glass floor lamps sitting on either side of it. Julianne looked around and realized that there were hand-blown glass decors on every nook and corner of this glass house. They were all unique pieces and they made the place even more enchanting.

  Julianne remembered how she loved hand-blown glass bottles when she was growing up. She had a whole collection of them in her room in her father’s house. She had been collecting them every chance she got.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to collect them now. They just serve as a reminder of the life she used to have.

  Tears ran down her cheeks. Though she had no regrets of the decisions that she made, she couldn’t help missing that part of herself.

  She turned around to explore the garden further when she saw a figure standing behind her.

  “Sweet Jesus!” she muttered. “You scared me!”

  Jin Starck swiftly but quietly walked towards her. She didn’t know how long he had been standing behind her, watching her.

  “There’s a storm outside. You shouldn’t be wandering outdoors alone,” he said.

  “How did you know? Were you stalking me through the cameras again?”

  He did not answer.

  “I take that as a yes,” she muttered under her breath.

  “How do you find the glass garden?” he asked.

  “It’s beautiful,” she replied. “This whole place is… brilliant!”

  “Thank you,” he said. “You’re lucky to have seen this… because this was going to be torn apart.”

  “What? Why?” she asked in a shocked tone. She felt heartbroken to know that this beautiful enchanting mini paradise was going to be destroyed. “It’s beautiful! You can’t seriously think about tearing this apart.”

  “Piece by piece,” he said with a sober expression on his face. “Demolition is scheduled in two weeks.”

  “Why? This is spectacular!”

  “You’re not the first person who said that,” he told her. “But I’ve made up my mind.”

  “I just don’t see the point. This is the most beautiful glass garden I have ever seen. I’m sure your hotel guests would agree.”

  “They do. But it didn’t matter. I built this place for a reason. And then I found out that the reason wasn’t what I thought it was. So, technically, this was pointless.” There was tang in his voice, and there seemed to be a hidden meaning in the look he gave her.

  She sighed. Jin Starck seemed to be harboring a lot of pain and anger. Even this poor garden wouldn’t escape his bitterness.

  “I’m sure this wasn’t the first beautiful thing you’ve destroyed,” she muttered under her breath.

  “What about you, Arabella? I’m sure I wasn’t the only guy you gave a fake name to.”

  “You’re not going to let that go, are you?” she asked, heaving a frustrated sigh. She kept her voice steady, but her eyes were burning with anger, which he actually saw when he looked down at her.

  “I will,” he answered. “Someday.” To her surprise, he actually smiled instead of looking mad. “I like you better when you show some emotion. Like you used to. Whatever happened to you?”

  She looked away from him, blushing. “It’s none of your business.” She tried to look stoic, shielding her real emotions from him.

  He sighed in frustration. “There! Again you go back to being the ice queen! You weren’t like that when we met. You were… sunshine and flowers. Like this garden. You were full of life.”

  “What about you? You were an angel when we met. Now… you’re… evil!”

  He raised a brow at her. It seemed that he was deeply offended with what she said. “Be careful of what you say. I just might take you up on that challenge. I could show you what evil really looked like, ma belle.”

  She raised her chin to him. “The people around you seem to paint you like you’re a devil in disguise. Like you are what your name sounds like—
the jinn.”

  He smirked. “And whose fault do you think was that?”

  “You blame me too much for your bruised ego, Mister Starck,” she smirked.

  Come on! Could he really be so heartbroken and devastated when I left? He’s Jin Starck! He claims to not have a heart!

  To her surprise, he fell quiet. He didn’t have a rebuttal to what she said. Maybe it was true then.

  He claims to have a broken heart, but it was all a deep dent in his reputation, his big head.

  For a moment they were both silent. She could hear the bustling sound of the serenity fountains. It helped to calm her nerves. Otherwise, she would be hearing the loud pounding of her heart inside her ribcage.

  I sure wouldn’t hear his heart. It wouldn’t beat if it didn’t exist.

  “I should go up now,” she said quietly.

  He gave her a nod.

  She walked past him and she could hear his footsteps behind her. She could cut the thick emotional tension in the air with a knife. His mere presence around her made her want to panic. No matter how hard she tried to control it, she couldn’t deny nor restrain the effect that Jin Starck had on her. He was the only man who could affect her like this.

  She headed towards the door. Jin had left it ajar when he entered. Outside, the wind started to move fast and the skies were quickly getting darker. The raging storm was fast coming.

  Suddenly a strong wind blew from outside, shutting the glass door with a bang. Then the power on the glass garden was cut off, covering them in darkness. Along with it, came the thunder and a strike of lightning. Julianne couldn’t help the shriek that escaped her throat.

  Julianne felt Jin pull her into his arms.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She took deep breaths. She could only make out the contours of his devilishly handsome face from the little light coming from outside.

  “Are you okay, ma belle?” he asked again.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  He took her hand in his and gently guided her towards the door. She could see that even the hotel power had been cut off.

  “Power’s out,” he said.