All the Wrong Places

by Jerilee Kaye

  “Jared is your grandson!” Jin barked at Edward.

  It took a moment for Edward to respond. “No. That ba-” Jin gave him another hard push against the wall, preventing him from calling Jared a bastard one more time. Edward took a deep breath and continued, “I disinherited Julianne when she told us that she was pregnant. That boy is not my grandson. And he has no right to carry my name, or my wife’s surname.”

  Gian went behind Jin and pulled him away. “Come on, bro. Let go of my old man.”

  Reluctantly, Jin released Edward. “You disinherited her just because she got pregnant?” Obviously, he never had a clue about this before. And Julianne wished she told him about her real status in her family beforehand.

  “Because she shamed this family!” Edward replied, fixing his collar. “She was arranged to be married to Patrick McAllister! I already promised them she would make good of that agreement. She knew her responsibilities to this family and yet she still chose to break it! She brought shame to our honorable name. And her… son cannot carry that name. He is not my grandson!”

  Jin gave Edward a look of disgust. “You are despicable, aren’t you, Edward Sanders? No wonder your businesses were losing out.”

  Edward looked surprised that Jin knew that. In a defensive tone, he said, “Julianne brought bad luck to our businesses. I was brokering the merger of the year. I lost that deal. I lost millions! I lost my biggest winery clients for my glass factory because they were all McAllister’s friends. Now, I do not want any association with her and her son!” Her father turned to the others in the room. “You all stay out of this. For the sake of the peace and status quo in this clan! You do not want to start a feud. Do not meddle with my decision regarding Julianne and her son!”

  “He has a name!” Jin growled.

  “What?” Edward turned to him.

  “His name is Jared!” Jin gave Edward a murderous stare.

  “Would you mind your own business? I don’t even know why you’re in this room!” Edward said.

  “I am not a member of your family so I can say or do whatever I want!” Jin fumed. “And Jared is my business!”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Edward Sanders asked.

  “You don’t have to pressure anyone to drop your surname in Jared’s legal documents. Julianne would be doing that very soon!” Jin said firmly. “Sanders was not a worthy enough name for him! From now on, Jared will be using the name he rightfully deserves!”

  Julianne could feel her knees weakening by the second. Jin turned to her and gave her a meaningful stare. Then he took a deep breath and said, “He will use the name… Jared Adrien… Starck.”

  Thud!

  She was sure she just heard her heart drop to the floor.

  The room fell silent as everybody took time to absorb what Jin just said. Everybody was looking at him, studying his face, deciphering his revelation.

  “Starck?” Edward echoed. He looked at Jin in wild confusion.

  “Yes! That boy that you were calling a bastard… is my son!”

  Julianne closed her eyes as tears fell from her eyes. She heard gasps from the others in the room. Everyone seemed to have stopped breathing.

  It was Gian who recovered first. “You fucking asshole! It was you, huh!” Gian went at Jin, pushing him against the wall. “I did think Jared was a spitting image of you, and I found that really creepy! I just didn’t think you’d have met my sister before!”

  Jin held his hands up in the air in surrender. He looked at Gian and said, “Go. Knock yourself out. I know you’ve been waiting seven years to beat the hell out of whoever stole your sister’s future. Now, I’m here! Have a go at it!”

  Julianne could only stand and watch in horror as Gian’s fist landed on Jin’s jaw.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Thrice.

  Jin didn’t dock, shield or defend himself. He let Gian beat him up. When Gian was done, Jin held his jaw and shook his head, absorbing the pain. Then he stood up straight and asked Gian, “You done?”

  Instead of replying, Gian punched him one more time and then gave him a hard push on the wall. “Now, I’m done!” he growled.

  Jin staggered to his feet and then he straightened his face and turned to Justin.

  “Your turn, bro.”

  Justin went to him and Julianne braced herself for the worst.

  Oh my God!

  “Honey, no!” Adrienne pleaded. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “It’s okay, Yen,” Jin assured her sister. “They need to get it out of their systems. I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time now.”

  Justin put a firm hand on Jin’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze. Then he growled, “This is not the place and time for that, little brother. You’re lucky my wife is here!”

  Then Justin went to Adrienne and gave his wife a tight embrace, as if he needed to be close to her to calm his nerves.

  Jin sucked on his bleeding lower lip. Then he took a heavy breath and said, “What I had with Julianne seven years ago was short… but it was deep and beautiful beyond belief.” He turned to Edward. “I get it now. She left me and came back to her family… obviously to honor your agreement. Having Jared actually saved her. Because if she didn’t get pregnant, your decision to marry her off to Patrick McAllister—that scumbag, coward son of the bitch—would well be the worst thing that could have happened to her!”

  Edward turned to Julianne. His face was white. “You stupid girl! Why did you not tell me about your son’s father?”

  “Would that have made a difference?” Julianne asked her father coldly, raising her chin to him. “You would have come after him. You and Patrick McAllister would have searched for him and made his life a living hell if you knew who he was!”

  Edward shook his head. “Well, not if you told me it was Jin Starck!”

  Julianne narrowed her eyes at her father. “You’re unbelievable, Dad. I always was just a bargaining chip for you, wasn’t I?”

  Edward bit his lip and didn’t answer. But Julianne knew that what she said was true. After all, Jin Starck was a much bigger fish than Patrick McAllister.

  Tearfully, she looked at her mother in the eyes. But the latter turned away from her in shame, as she wiped the tears on her cheeks.

  Everybody else was silent. No one even seemed to be breathing.

  Finally, Jin spoke. “She shouldn’t have come back to you! She should have stayed with me. And I would have given her her own empire. And my son wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of the decision of the callous man his grandfather was!” Jin gave Edward and contemptuous glare. “Because of her love for you and your family, she ended up being at your mercy, and at the charity of whoever is left in your family that still cared for her.”

  No one interrupted Jin’s speech. No one dared.

  “You do not use your own children for your own financial gain,” Jin continued. “Your daughter is smart, talented, tough… beautiful beyond belief. She’s worth more than anything you’ve ever owned, ever worked for. You’re a fool for throwing her away and blaming her for all your bad decisions.”

  Tears kept rolling down Julianne’s cheeks. She was glad that somebody was finally putting her father in his rightful place. Justin and his family had always defended her, but out of respect and to prevent a feud with the Sanders side of the family, they were trying to resolve the issue diplomatically. But Jin didn’t give a shit about her father’s feelings, or his wrath at all.

  “You son of a…” Edward started.

  “You call my mother-in-law that word, and I swear Uncle Edward! It could well be the last thing you will say!” Justin bellowed across the room.

  Edward glared at Justin. “Of course! You two gang up on me!”

  “They are not ganging up on you, Edward. They’re telling you what you need hear,” Jac said, a bit more calmly. But his words were still meant to sting. “You are being an unreasonable, vindictive prick!”

  “How mu
ch?” Jin suddenly asked.

  All eyes turned on him.

  “What?” Edward blinked back.

  “How much will it take for you to leave your daughter alone? Never to bother her, speak to her and most especially blame her for any of your fucking bad luck?”

  “What—what the fuck do you mean?” Edward asked. Although he wanted to sound mad, Julianne could tell from his voice that he was interested. He was, after all, talking to the Jin Starck. If there was anyone who could buy him out of his losses, it was either Justin or Jin!

  Jin gave him an evil smile. Julianne could tell he got her father right where he wanted him.

  “I heard your Paris glass factory is on sale, but no one wants to pay your asking price. It is unreasonable, just like you are.”

  “So? It’s my father’s legacy. I’m not going anything under twenty mil for that! And what does that have anything to do with my daughter and why are you…”

  Jin cut him off before he could say anything more. “I’ll give you twenty-five for it, along with the condition that you stay the fuck away from Julianne and my son! You’re not going to see them, bother them… not even speak about them or say their names from your filthy mouth! And you do not have to worry about Patrick McAllister either. He’s off your back. You will not be bothered by him and his family anymore.”

  Edward Sanders stopped talking. He looked stunned, like he’s been hit with a shotgun and he couldn’t believe he survived it. Everyone else in the room was just as shocked as him.

  Julianne blinked back to reality and when she looked up, Jin was already in front of her. He had a small cut on his lower lip, courtesy of the punches given to him by Gian.

  He cupped her cheek gently.

  “Are you okay, ma belle?” he asked in the gentlest tone she’s ever heard. She nodded slowly.

  Jin wiped her tears with his thumbs. Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Come. Let’s go home.”

  She wanted to stay and explain everything—at least to Justin and Adrienne. But when she turned back, she found seven pairs of eyes staring back at them in shock and confusion. She decided it wasn’t the right time. Jin gave her an exit window. She should take it.

  She nodded at Jin. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her down the steps.

  29.

  Jared was sleeping when Jin and Julianne left the Adams Mansion. Julianne sent a text message to Adrienne, apologizing for everything and then asked her to take care of Jared for another day.

  They drove the first ten minutes in complete silence. She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask him. But she didn’t know how or where to begin.

  She felt him reach out for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Are you sure you’re alright, love?” he asked.

  “No. I’m not sure,” she replied. Then she sighed and asked, “You knew?”

  He glanced at her and gave her a gentle smile.

  “About Jared? Of course, I knew,” he replied. “I had been waiting a long time for you to tell me yourself. But today, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “That same night I met you again in Paris, at my mother’s party,” he replied. “The minute Adrienne introduced us and I saw your face again, my first thought was, ‘Thank God, I finally found her!’ and my second thought was… ‘Oh God, I have a son!’”

  “But… how?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Have you taken a good look at our son, ma belle? Even my mother had goosebumps the first moment she saw him. He looks exactly like me. Mom said I looked like that when I was his age. Even the position of our dimples are identical. He has my eyes and I always thought my eye color was quite rare.”

  “You never asked about him. I thought… you didn’t know, didn’t care.”

  “Why do I need to ask you a question I already know the answer to?” he asked her back. “You were a virgin that night we went to bed together. I didn’t use protection. I never asked if you were on the pill. I didn’t care. I was so in love with you, I didn’t care if you got pregnant. I was gonna ask you to marry me anyway.”

  “And what if I slept with somebody else after you? You knew of my engagement to Patrick McAllister.”

  “Jared is too beautiful to be sired by that scumbag McAllister,” he smirked. “I knew Jared’s birthday. Adrienne once mentioned he was premature. I did the math. And I’m very good with math and probabilities.” He squeezed her hand. “Jared is mine, Arabella. I know it. Not just because he looks exactly like me, acts like me. Not because he paints like a prodigy—a talent he inherited from me. I know it in my heart. I feel it. I feel that bond that only a father and a son could share.”

  Julianne wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks with her fingers.

  “I was waiting for you to tell me,” he said.

  “I was scared.”

  “Scared of what?”

  “I was scared that you might reject him. Or if you accept him, I was scared that you will take him away from me.”

  “God, Arabella! Whatever gave you that impression?”

  “You’re Jin Starck. Before I even met you as you, I was almost scared of the stories I heard about you. I thought you wouldn’t have a heart.”

  “I have a heart,” he grunted. “You took it away with you when you left. And even if I didn’t, I would never take my son away from his mother. Haven’t you heard? I was a Mama’s boy when I was growing up. And I was raised by a queen. Why would I deprive my son the same privilege?”

  A load seemed to have lifted inside her. She felt relieved to know that he wasn’t planning on separating her son from her. She’s not going to lose Jared.

  “Jin…”

  “Yes, ma belle?”

  “You don’t have to buy my father’s factory,” she said. “It’s losing out. The market is shifting and it’s difficult to get new clients from the wine and alcohol industry. Sustainable packaging alternatives are being developed and are replacing the glass bottles because they are lighter, cheaper and more resistant to breakages. As somebody who works on Corporate Strategy, I strongly advise you not to go through with this. It’s a bad decision to acquire Sanders Glass Factory. Even worse to pay twenty-five million for it.”

  He looked at her for a moment like she lost her mind and then to her surprise, he laughed.

  “Did I say something funny?” she asked raising a brow at him.

  He reached out for her hand and intertwined their fingers as he pulled it towards his lips and gave it a kiss.

  “You are a fascinating creature, Arabella. My days will be filled with arguments, adventure and a lot of laughter. I’m going to stay younger every day with you and Jared in my life.”

  “I don’t see that connection with you making a very unwise acquisition of Sanders Glass Factory.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m not going to pay your father for the Sanders Glass Factory. I’m paying him to leave you and Jared alone.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “For me, it is,” he said soberly. “He cannot keep coming back to your life to remind you of breaking your engagement with McAllister. He cannot think about you and keep blaming you for the bad decisions he made in his life. I’m sorry, but you have to know. Your family business is going down, ma belle. If Gian doesn’t pull the right strings, Sanders Limited will soon find itself at the throes of bankruptcy. And I do not want your father to keep blaming that on you!”

  “How sure are you that he’s going bankrupt?”

  “I told you. I’m good with numbers. I have been studying your family’s profile for a couple of weeks now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you wouldn’t tell me anything, ma belle,” he replied. “Every time I opened up about your family, you steered away from the subject. And something about you being tight on cash, living in Adams Mansion and working for Justin instead of your family didn’t add up to me. Apart from that, I’ve been v
isiting that house frequently for the last couple of months. I never once saw your father with Jared. And during one of my phone conversations with our son, I found out that he hasn’t even met them. Something wasn’t right.”

  “So, you had my father checked out?”

  He nodded. “And today, I confirmed my suspicions.”

  “Still… you didn’t have to pay all that money to him.”

  “I want to,” he insisted. “I was the reason why all this happened to you.”

  Julianne closed her eyes and looked out the window. In a way, it was true. He was a big part of why she lost her family, her social status and her inheritance. She fell in love with him… she chose him in spite of knowing she was no longer free to choose. And now that she has Jared, she would gladly make that same choice over and over again.

  The only thing she would be sorry for, was that because she left Jin years ago, she wouldn’t be able to give Jared a complete family. She was reminded of her conversation with Vanessa. The latter told her that her engagement with Jin would be enforced. If Jin doesn’t go through with it, the consequences would be dire, and the price he would pay would be very high.

  Jin parked in front of her house and the house next door.

  “Jin, this is not my parking space,” she said.

  He ignored her, getting out of the car and opening the car door for her. He took her hand in his and led her up the stairs to her house. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.

  “Where did you get a key?”

  “You handed me all the keys to the house the last time I was here, remember. I took a spare to open the door for you. I forgot to return it.”

  She remembered that day she gave him a bunch of keys that Janis gave her.

  Before he opened the door for her, he looked at her wearily.

  “What?”

  “Just remember… I will always have the best intentions for you… and our son. Surely, you cannot blame me for wanting to ensure you live comfortably. You both deserve the best, nothing less.”

  She looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  He took a deep breath and opened the door for her. She stepped inside and took her coat off. She was wondering what Jin meant by what he said.