by Jerilee Kaye
“Jin, can you… let me wrap my head around it first?”
He sighed. “Okay. I will give you a little bit of time. We’ll keep this a secret for a while—a very short while. And then we’ll tell our families…” he paused for a short while, then he said, “You need to tell Jared.”
“I don’t want to hurt him when this does not end well,” she whispered.
He cupped her face between his palms and in a gentle voice he said, “Then let’s make sure it doesn’t end at all, ma belle.”
She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment.
Can I do this?
Can I really trust him?
Is this what’s best for Jared?
She looked up at him. “Can I think about it first?” She saw disappointment cross his face. She reached up to touch his cheek. “I’m not saying no. I’m saying, let me think about the best way and time to tell everybody about this… especially Jared.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “But don’t take too much time, okay? I don’t know how long I can keep myself from kissing you or hugging you in front of our family. You’re lucky I don’t do social media stuff. Otherwise, there would be pictures of you all over my social pages.”
She laughed. “Why don’t you have social media accounts?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I’m just not into it. Unless it was related to business, then I’m all for it. But not for social gatherings.”
“If you were on social media, I would have found you easier.”
“Did you even try?” he asked.
She pulled away from him and walked towards his painting to study it again. Then she took a deep breath and replied, “I tried to locate you before. Searched the internet for your name.”
He was silent for a moment, as if he was absorbing what she just said. Then he asked, “When?”
She shrugged. “A month after I left Paris,” she replied. She remembered that time. She wanted to find him, so she could tell him about her pregnancy. He could do whatever he wanted with the information. She just wanted him to know. “But you were… traceless. I didn’t know I should have been looking for Jin Starck. You have a few articles about you at least. I couldn’t find Jas Mathieu during that time. I tried again, about a year after. But still I got nothing.”
She felt him stand behind her. He caressed her arms gently.
“I searched for you all over the world—for years. Until I gave up. And that changed me. Sometimes, even I don’t know myself anymore.” He leaned his head against hers. “If you found me then, I would have come for you. No matter where you were in the world, I would run after you.”
“Maybe time wasn’t right for us then.”
“But it’s right for us now, ma belle,” he whispered. “I refuse to believe that I would find you now only to lose you again. Fate wouldn’t be that cruel… even to me.”
She turned around to face him. “What about Vanessa Bernard?”
His eyes widened. “What does she have to do with this?”
“You were supposed to propose to her, remember?”
“You were there. I didn’t propose, did I?”
“No.”
“Then she has nothing to do with this… with us.”
“You needed her for your business.”
“Yes, that was true. But I never needed her in my bed,” he said adamantly. “You’re the only one I want in it. So I’m asking you to trust me. It will only be just you. So… leave yourself to me. Trust me.”
She knew in her heart that she loved him with every fiber of her soul. She wanted to be with him. And Jared deserved to know his father. If she says yes, she finally had a chance of giving Jared a complete family—just like what he deserved.
Tears rolled down her cheeks no matter how hard she tried to stop them. He wiped them away with his fingers and then he kissed her forehead.
She took a deep breath and then she said, “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
She looked up at him. “Okay. I will trust you.”
He smiled at her widely and she saw his eyes well up with tears too. He leaned forward and kissed her lips.
“So it’s official, then?” he asked.
“What?”
“You’re mine, Arabella,” he whispered.
Her heart pounded loudly inside her ribcage, she was worried that he could hear it. She had a violent blush on her face when she looked into his eyes and said, “For as long as this lasts.”
He looked at her for a moment and then he nodded. “And you will tell River Jefferson to back off, because you’re already taken.”
She giggled. “I think he already knew that.”
He nodded. “Good.”
He kissed her on the lips and then he bent down and picked her up off her feet. She shrieked. “Jin, put me down!”
He carried her to her bedroom and laid her on the bed. He took off his shirt and then he was on top of her, ravaging her lips with kisses. She gave in to him, hugging him to her and kissing him with the same intensity as he was kissing her.
In a minute, their bodies were joined together and hearts were beating as one.
26.
Jin and Julianne set out to return to the Adams Mansion, Monday morning. Jin wanted to make sure she made it to the mansion safely before he went to the airport. He had to be in Paris and then Greece and Maldives for the soft opening of two of their hotels.
He stopped by a supermarket, a few blocks away from the mansion.
“I hate it that I would leave you so soon,” he told her. He pulled her to him and kissed her lips.
“But you need to go,” she said. “This is your life. This is important.”
He kissed her again. Then he leaned his forehead against hers and said, “You are important too. So, do whatever it is you need to do so we won’t have to hide this and we can make a plan about our schedules.”
She nodded. “Okay. We’ll talk when you get back.”
“Three weeks is going to be too long,” he said. “Promise you’re not going to disappear this time?”
She giggled. “How can I disappear on you again? You’d know exactly where to find me. It’s not like I have the resources to hide.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Your father can give you an entirely new identity if he wanted to.”
She sighed and pulled away from him. “Yeah. He sure was trying.”
She sadly remembered the time when her father told Justin that he didn’t want her to use her family name anymore. She knew he meant that.
“What?” Jin asked, raising a questioning brow at her.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Forget about that. I really need to go. The longer we take, the more we risk somebody seeing us.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “I’ll get you a cab. Then I’ll follow you all the way back.”
“You didn’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t take anything by chance, ma belle,” he insisted. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He got out of the car and hailed a cab for her. He told the driver where to take her.
He kissed her lips before she got out of his car.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said.
“I know.”
He kissed her again, refusing to let go.
“Jin! I need to go,” she giggled.
“I will be miserable without you,” he whispered.
She smiled at him mischievously. “Promise?”
He nodded. “I miss you already.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “We’ll video call and you can call me anytime you want.”
He grabbed her to him and hugged her. “I saved both my numbers on your phone. Call me on my private number first. If I don’t answer, try the business line.”
“Okay.”
“Always be safe. And take good care of Jared.”
“Always.”
He kissed her forehead. “Go, before I change my mind and drag you back home.”
/> She got into the cab. She had a permanent smile pasted on her face, and she knew her cheeks were the darkest shade of red.
She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. For years, she thought she would never be this happy again. But fate let her find him again and they finally have a chance to rectify their mistakes in the past. They have a chance of making things right, so they could be happy together… so Jared could have a complete family too.
When she arrived at the mansion, she went straight to Jared’s room. He was so happy to see her.
“Did you finish my room, Mommy?” he asked.
“I sure did. You will love it.”
“When can we go see it?”
“Friday. Then we’ll have a party on Saturday and we can invite everybody to come.”
“So Jeffrey can sleep in my room?”
“Well… I don’t know if they’re sleeping over. Maybe someday.”
After taking Jared to the dining room so he could have his breakfast, she went to the gazebo to meet Adrienne and Justin. Her heart pounded in her chest when she saw Jin there.
Shit! This is awkward!
“There she is!” Adrienne went to hug her. “What’s up, trooper?”
“Great.”
“How did the decorating go?”
“Perfect!” she replied nervously. It was hard to concentrate when she could feel Jin’s eyes on her.
“Everything went well? You didn’t ask for help,” Justin said. “I could have sent for some contractors to help you out.”
“Umm… I’m fine. Everything went well. I did… get some help… on the painting in particular,” she stammered. “And the garden.”
“So, it’s all done?” Adrienne asked.
Julianne nodded. “You can see it on the weekend. We can have lunch there.”
“That would be lovely!” Adrienne beamed. “I’m sure the kids will be happy to see Jared. They’re already sad to know that you guys are moving out.”
“Well… you know you didn’t have to do that,” Justin said. “Your father’s threa…”
“Justin!” she interrupted him. She’s not up for discussing her estranged relationship with her father in front of Jin. When he gets back, she’ll tell him everything. She needs time to prepare for that. “I will take a half day today, if you don’t mind. I have nothing pending anyway. I hope that’s fine.”
Justin blinked back at her in confusion. Adrienne gave her husband a meaningful look. Finally Justin said, “Sure, take the day off if you want.”
“Good,” she said. “I could use a bit of rest.”
“You look tired,” Jin suddenly said. “Slept late last night?”
She stared at him. His face looked stoic, but his eyes were dancing.
“Umm… yeah,” she croaked. “I was busy.”
“I’m sure you were,” he said, giving her a wink and she widened her eyes at him.
Thankfully, Justin and Adrienne weren’t looking.
“Umm… what are you doing here?” she asked him, raising a brow.
“Came to say goodbye to Adrienne,” he replied casually. “And the kids. I won’t see them in weeks.”
Adrienne turned to his brother. “Aren’t you gonna miss your flight?”
Jin looked at his watch. “I wish I didn’t have to go,” he stood up from his seat. “I’m going, guys. I’ll be back after three weeks.”
“Really? Back to the States again?” Adrienne asked. “Is that okay with Papa? You’re staying here more than you’re staying in Paris these days.”
“Well… let’s just say… it’s impossible for me to stay away,” Jin said.
Julianne bit her lip and looked away from Adrienne and Justin so they wouldn’t notice her blush.
“Why?”
Jin merely smiled at his sister. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “See you later, sissy.” He turned to Justin. “Take care of my sister, bro.”
Justin merely nodded, looking at Jin suspiciously.
“Arabella,” Jin said, addressing Julianne.
“Jin,” Julianne said in an even tone.
Jin went off.
“What is up with him?” Adrienne asked.
Justin smirked and then opened the newspaper in front of him.
“What?” Adrienne insisted.
“Nothing,” Justin replied.
“I know you!” Adrienne said in an accusing tone. “I can tell when you have something in your mind.”
“I have a lot of things in my mind,” Justin said defensively.
“Okay. I want to know your thoughts concerning my brother,” Adrienne insisted.
“Jin is a grown man. He’s the least of my worries,” Justin said.
“Justin Jeffrey Adams!” Adrienne raised her voice.
Justin laughed and put the newspaper he was reading back on the table. He pulled his wife by the waist so she could sit on his lap.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “I think there’s a woman in the city that’s keeping your brother here. You know him. He travels sixty percent of the time. Except for Paris, he never stayed in one city for a week. But recently, Pierre had to locate him, call you about his whereabouts and had to beg for his son to come home and be more attentive to his duties. It’s a woman.”
“How could you be so sure?”
“I was like that with you,” Justin replied. “I stayed in Chicago most of the time, I couldn’t stay away from home longer than a week. But when we started seeing each other, they couldn’t get me to go home.”
“Do you think it’s Vanessa?” Adrienne asked. “But Vanessa lives in Paris too.”
Justin shrugged. “I couldn’t care less who your sister-in-law is going to be, as long as she doesn’t make your life a living hell.”
“Me too. Vanessa is sort of bitchy,” Adrienne mumbled. “But it’s not like Jin has a choice. He’s already given his word to her family that he will marry her.”
“And so? He can always take that back, right?”
“I don’t know. They have this saying… ‘Starck word is gold.’ When they make a promise, when they enter into business arrangements, they never back out. The Starcks could always be trusted.”
“Well, I did all I could to break off my arranged marriage. He should be able to do the same.”
“It’s different with us, honey,” Adrienne said wearily. “You didn’t give your word to marry me then. You have every right to refuse to honor that arrangement. In this case, Papa didn’t want Jin to marry Vanessa. He didn’t want him to marry for business advantage. He told him that they were fine. But it was Jin who made that decision—in spite of Papa’s advice. He entered into that agreement with Vanessa’s father. I wonder how he’ll get out of that without ruining Starck Corp’s business relationships and standing at the Round Ten.”
“Well, your brother is a smart man,” Justin said, pushing a lock of stray hair away from Adrienne’s face. “I’m sure he’ll be able to figure a way out of this himself.”
“How would you solve it if it happened us?”
Justin stared at his wife thoughtfully. Then he said, “If it meant I get to spend the rest of my life with you—the woman of my dreams—then… to hell with everybody else.”
“Knowing Jin… family is worth more to him than anything.”
Julianne felt a twist of pain inside, and suddenly, she was worried about what she learned from Adrienne. Jin had given his word to marry Vanessa Bernard. True, he didn’t propose at that party. But that still didn’t mean he would not marry her someday.
He gave his word that he would. And in the business world where he was fast becoming a legend, the ‘Starck word’ is a symbol of reliability.
Her phone beeped, interrupting her thoughts.
Jin: “Just said goodbye to Jared. He showed me that he’s already solving two sides of the cube now. He’s very smart. And he’s a good kid. Good job, Mom.”
She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling too widely in front of Justin and Adrienne.
She replied, “Thanks.”
Jin: “See you both in a couple of weeks, love. I’ll go straight home from the airport.
Home?
Now, she couldn’t help the big smile on her face.
“What are you smiling at?” Adrienne asked. Julianne looked up at her in surprise.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” But she knew they wouldn’t buy it. “It’s just… just a joke I read.”
“Seriously. What joke?” Justin asked, raising a challenging brow at her.
Shit!
She had to make up a joke really quickly.
She cleared her throat. “N-not all men are annoying. Some are dead.” She faked an angelic smile on her face.
“Ha-ha. That’s really funny,” Justin said, faking a laugh. Then in a more serious tone he said, “You know, technically speaking, it’s office hours. But don’t think of me as your boss. Think of me as your cousin—who could fire you.”
She gave him a stoic face. Then in a very bored expression, she said, “Oh my God. I am very, very scared.”
Adrienne laughed. “Cut it out you two!” She went to her husband and gave him a hug. “Let’s leave Ian be. I’m sure when she’s ready to share, she will tell us.” She gave Julianne a meaningful stare.
“If there is anything to share,” Julianne said. She stood up from her seat and turned to leave. “I’ll go rest for a bit, guys. I still need to pack Jared’s clothes.”
She went up to her bedroom, thankful that she was now out of Justin’s and Adrienne’s prying eyes.
Julianne spent the following days packing hers and Jared’s stuff.
Jin sent her a message almost every hour. He would tell her about his day, and ask her about hers.
He would insist she sends him a photo of herself often. She would take goofy faces of herself and send it to him.
And every night before she goes to bed, he would call her and they would talk for at least an hour.
Thursday afternoon, as she went down Adams Industries’ main building to get her lunch, a man in his late twenties, wearing an expensive coat, approached her.
“Miss Sanders?” he asked.
“Who’s asking?”
He held his hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Gatwick,” he said. “I work for Mister Starck.” He handed her a business card bearing his name under the Starck Corp. logo.