by Jerilee Kaye
“You call my son a bastard again and you won’t live long enough to make it to that wedding you speak so proudly of! You won’t even make it to your own engagement party!”
Instead of being threatened, Vanessa merely smiled at her. “As I was saying, Jin Starck will never choose you over me. At least never legally or officially. If he does, he stands to lose every bit of their competitive advantage in this market. They may incur so many losses. Starck Corp. prides themselves of being completely family-owned. And Jin Starck is a genius. Maybe even better than his predecessors. Would you want him to fail, because of you? Are you worth it?”
Julianne closed her eyes. She wanted to curse and shout at Vanessa. But how could she? Vanessa just asked her the very same question she’s been asking herself.
Was she worth it?
Jin would lose everything over her. Was she really worth all that trouble?
“I have no ambitions over my future marriage with Jin Starck. He doesn’t love me. I know that much and I have accepted it a long time ago,” Vanessa continued. “That man is incapable of falling in love. Don’t fool yourself and hope that if you’re good enough, he’ll fall head over heels for you eventually. He won’t. In the end, he’s still a servant of his family legacy. I understand this very well. I am sure he will have a mistress or two in the future. I will allow that. I intend to take on lovers myself too. It will be an open marriage.”
Julianne narrowed her eyes at her. “What the hell are you trying to tell me?”
“I’m telling you that you have to accept the fact that I am going to be Missis Jin Starck, while you… you will never be worthy to wear that name! And I’m telling you now, what our arrangement is going to be in the future. You will become my husband’s mistress! That’s the farthest you will reach. He will provide you with a nice home, even take care of your child! But legally, you will have nothing! Only I and our future children will have the right to wear his name and have access to his fortune. That’s what our future arrangement is going to be. And if you cannot accept that, you better leave him now. Because he will only be yours in bed. But never in name and never in paper!”
“Why would you marry him if you know he was going to cheat on you? If you ask me, you’re the one selling yourself short here. Not me.” Julianne’s voice was controlled, and she tried her best to look stoic. But deep inside, her blood was boiling and she was fighting the urge to drag Vanessa out the door by her pretty hair.
“I don’t care,” Vanessa muttered. “I want him. We will spend the rest of our lives together because a divorce would be too costly. He can take mistresses like you in the future, but in the end, he will always come home to me. And that is enough.”
Julianne shook her head. “That would never be enough for me.”
Vanessa nodded. “I know,” she said. “I checked your profile. You’re smart and well-raised. Obviously, you are beautiful. I’m quite certain you would be able to find more suitable candidates for your hand. Plenty of guys would die for a chance to marry you. If you do not want to be Jin Starck’s mistress, I suggest you leave him now. I have a feeling you deserve better than that.”
“How sure are you that he will choose you? That he wants the same life as what you’re talking about?”
“Because he doesn’t have a choice,” Vanessa said, smiling at her smugly. “My father had already spoken to the other members of Round Ten. If Jin Starck doesn’t honor our agreement for marriage, Starck Corp. will be voted out of the circle.”
“What kind of business circle votes out a member on the basis of personal issues?”
“The highly competitive kind,” Vanessa replied immediately. “This circle was created so they don’t go rogue and kill each other on the market. Each of those ten members are dying to vote each other out. The fewer they are, the more competitive advantage they will have, the greater market share they will enjoy. All my father needed was sixty percent votes and Starck Corp. is out. And let’s say, he’s already gotten forty. It will only take the McKenzie’s vote to kick Starck Corp. out. And being head to head in market share for decades, this is a golden chance for McKenzie to kick Starck out of the game.”
Julianne fell silent. Vanessa looked at her thoughtfully, then she asked, “Do you really want Jin Starck to gamble his family’s legacy and future for you? Are you sure you’re worth it?”
Julianne stared at Vanessa coldly, trying to keep her stoic face on. Vanessa walked towards the door.
“Well, I’ll be on my way,” she said. “You have a big decision to make. And I have an engagement party to plan.” She turned to Julianne one last time and added, “I hope you make the right decision and we never see each other again. I think you’re too pretty, too smart to become any man’s mistress. Even of the great Jin Starck.”
With that, Vanessa turned on her heel and walked out the door. Julianne followed her and locked the door behind her. Then she fell on the floor, buried her face on her hands.
It took her all her strength not to cry in front of Vanessa Bernard. But now that she’s all alone in the home that she had built with Jin, she let all the tears fall.
28.
Monday morning, the Adams private jet took Julianne and two of Adams Industries legal counsels to Detroit. They checked in at The Majestic, a five-star hotel owned by Starck Corp.
They spent the whole afternoon meeting with the Japanese clients from Miyako Tech and working on the terms and conditions of their future partnerships. Julianne and the legal team had spent the whole weekend checking their contract offerings, all possible loopholes and all other alternatives.
She had been relentlessly working since that evening that Vanessa Bernard paid her a visit. It was her best way to cope with the twisted pain she felt in her heart.
Jin had been texting her but she didn’t even read most of his messages. He called plenty of times, but she simply ignored all his calls. She didn’t want to talk to him. Not yet. Her mind was confused and her heart was too broken. She couldn’t decide what to do with him when she was this emotional. She needed to decide what was right, not just for herself, but also for Jared.
She was sure of one thing—she would never become his mistress.
The night after Vanessa left, she searched the internet for news regarding the charity gala they attended in Paris. True enough she saw some pictures posted. She found some of them with Vanessa Bernard, dressed in a gold sequined gown, with a very long, plunging neckline, standing next to Jin. Vanessa looked happy, with all smiles, but she couldn’t make out the look on Jin’s face.
Well, at least one of the things Vanessa said checked out. She said they saw each other that night. And she did say that Jin left her apartment late, around five. That was the time he called Julianne to say goodnight.
And during their last conversation, Jin already prepped her about a talk they would be having. He said he needed to discuss their future together—their arrangement. And according to Vanessa Bernard, that arrangement meant that Vanessa would be the legal wife, and she, Julianne Sanders, would be the mistress.
Well, Jin must be out of his mind if he thought I would allow myself to be someone’s mistress!
In the middle of Miyako’s presentation, she received a message from Jin again. This time she read it.
“What’s going on, ma belle? Is everything okay? I can’t get ahold of you. Please call me as soon as you get this.”
She didn’t reply. She refocused herself on the presentation.
After her meeting with Miyako, she checked her phone and she received about six more messages and ten missed calls from Jin. She ignored it and went to have dinner with her Japanese counterparts, turning her phone off, because it rang almost every minute, it sounded like a hotline, disrupting her meeting.
After dinner, she was able to accomplish at least two things. One, a finalized agreement between Miyako Tech and Adams Industries. And two, she was able to make Jin stop bothering her—at least for the night.
Finally, he g
ot the message!
She must admit, her heart was bleeding. She wanted to gather enough courage for next week. She must prepare herself with what she needed to say to him. It would be hard and she would be heartbroken for the second time, but she needed to do this. She had to break up with Jin Starck!
He cannot have me and still marry Vanessa Bernard. If Vanessa was okay with sharing, well, I am not! If he thinks he could have it both ways, well, he’s got another think coming.
She stared at the mirror before she went to bed. Her eyes were swollen because she’s been working too hard during the day and then crying herself to sleep at nights.
What a fool you’ve been to think that Jin Starck would choose you over his promise to his parents… over his family legacy! He would lose everything he’s worked so hard for in the last seven years. You… are not worth it!
She must admit, for the past weeks, she was on cloud nine, and she’d been dreaming. But now, she’s wide awake and the bitter reality slapped her in the face.
She was in the airport by noon the next day to catch the flight back to Chicago. She planned to go straight to her house first to check up on it and see if she and Jared could finally move back in.
I want to go back to my house and start my life all over again.
When she landed in Chicago, she was shocked to see Jin Starck standing at the arrival area, looking like he was waiting for somebody.
He was wearing a pair of black chinos and a dark gray high collar sweater with a side zipper. His hair was disheveled and his beautiful aquamarine eyes looked tired and weary. He had a cut on his eyebrow and a bruise beside his lips, like he just came from a brawl.
He approached her and her heart pounded loudly inside her ribcage with each step he took towards her.
“Oh my God, what happened to you? You look…” she trailed off. He was bruised but damn, he still looked great. And the bruise and cuts made him look tougher, even more dangerous.
“This is nothing. Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Okay, then what are you doing here?” she asked. “You weren’t due to be back until the end of the week.”
She was indeed preparing herself emotionally for the time she would see him again. She was definitely not ready to face him so soon.
“I was waiting for you,” he replied.
“Why?”
He raised a brow. “You were ignoring my calls, not answering my messages.”
“I was—I was busy.”
“I was busy too, and I was in different time zones every forty-eight hours, but I make time to answer your calls and if I miss any, I call back,” he said in an annoyed tone. “Have you ever been in a relationship before? Did you not think I would be worried sick if I did not hear from you within a twenty-four-hour period?”
“Now, you know I’m okay,” she said. She had to remind herself that she was going to break up with him. “You can go back to Paris now. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
He drew his brows together and he stared at her as if she was out of her mind. “Excuse me? Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?”
Girlfriend?!
She was about to retort back when her phone suddenly rang. It was Adrienne.
“Hi Yen. I just landed.”
“Good,” Adrienne said. There was something in her voice that somehow rang the alarm bells inside Julianne’s head.
“What’s wrong, Yen?”
“Your parents are here. And Gian’s on the way,” Adrienne replied. “I’m not sure if I should be telling you this. But I have a very bad feeling this concerns you or Jared.”
“I’m going there now!”
Jin instantly read the worried expression on her face. “What happened? Is Jared okay?” He sounded alarmed too.
“He’s fine,” Julianne replied. “But I need to go to the mansion now. We need to talk. Later. But right now, I need to go.”
“What’s the problem?”
She shook her head. “It’s not your concern.”
“Arabella…” his voice was firm and serious. “Your problem is my problem.”
She shook her head. “My parents are not your problem, Jin. It’s my problem alone! And right now, I need to go to the mansion, so I can stop whatever evil plan my father has in mind. I know him. I know he’s out to spread havoc again!”
Her eyes were teary and she was sure he could read panic written all over her face. He reached out to cup her cheeks between his palms.
“Okay, okay,” he said in a more comforting tone. “I’ll drive you there.”
He bent down to take her bags from her. Then he took her hand in his and led her out of the airport and into the parking lot where his green Ferrari was parked.
They drove in complete silence to the Adams Mansion. Julianne’s thoughts were completely occupied with possibilities of what her father could be up to now. She was chewing her thumbnail to distract herself.
I already moved out. Surely, sleepovers are allowed! What more does he want?
If his father wouldn’t believe that she moved out, she would show him a copy of her lease to her new house.
What is he up to now?
Knowing her father, it could be anything. He never failed to surprise or shock her after all these years. She heard that some of their businesses weren’t doing well. He was trying to sell off their Paris glass factory because it was losing a lot of money, but no one wanted to pay the exorbitant price he was asking for.
But what have I got to do with it? Even if he did successfully marry me off to Patrick McAllister, I doubt I would be able to help in that!
Jin parked in front of the mansion. Julianne went down the car, without waiting for Jin to open the door for her. Her hands were sweaty and the knot in her stomach kept getting tighter and tighter.
As she ascended the steps, she felt Jin pull her hand. She turned back to him.
“Hey, it’s gonna be fine,” he assured her.
She took a deep breath and nodded hesitantly.
“I’ll check up on Jared,” Jin said. “If you need me… just call, okay?”
Again, she nodded. Jin reached up and gave her cheek a reassuring caress.
Then she turned back and hurried to the tea room. The door was partially open and she could hear voices inside. She decided to listen in first before she entered.
“Why you are taking out your problems on Ian and Jared is beyond me, Uncle,” she heard Justin say in a grave tone. She recognized that tone. That’s how Justin usually sounds when he’s holding on to the last strings of self-control.
“Julianne does not have any right to the family name anymore,” she heard her father say. “She lost it when she had that bastard of hers. And I cannot allo,w that boy to carry my name too!”
Oh my God!
“So what would you have us do?” she heard Uncle Jac ask.
“The right thing. Respect my decision and stop helping that traitor ex-daughter of mine.”
“Edward, you are being very unreasonable!” Christine said. Julianne could hear the tears in her voice. “Emily, why are you even allowing this?”
“He’s right, Christine. What Ian did caused irreparable damage to our reputation. My husband lost deals here and there. The McAllisters are a difficult family to cross. We’re still suffering the consequences of Ian’s indiscretion. We are losing our businesses.”
“You’re losing your business because of your mismanagement and wrong decisions. Not because your daughter got pregnant and broke off her arranged engagement with a spoiled brat from a powerful family,” Jac said wryly.
“How dare you!” she heard her father raise his voice angrily. “I do not say anything about your family! How dare you insult my decisions and my actions?”
“Stop this! Dad, you were out of line,” she heard Gian say.
“Shut up, boy! Haven’t I taught you to keep your mouth shut when the adults are talking?”
Damn! He still treats Gian like he was ten years o
ld!
At that point, she couldn’t take it anymore. She barged into the room and faced her parents.
“What do you want this time, Dad?” she asked, raising her chin. “I’ve done what you wanted. I moved out of this house so you would not need to bother Justin and his family for helping me out. Me and Jared were just here temporarily because of some works happening in my neighborhood. Surely, this was not counted. I couldn’t understand what else you were asking for.”
Her father gave her a contemptuous look, which broke her heart even more, but she endured it. She refused to make him see that he was breaking her already broken spirit.
“I raised you, you ingrate! Gave you the best of life. And you were born for one purpose in this family! To look pretty and desirable to a man of good stature, who could be beneficial to our business. And you couldn’t even do that!”
“Dad, please stop!” Gian pleaded.
“Her only purpose?” Justin echoed angrily. “As in you had kids because they serve a purpose other than be your children?”
“I do not like children. But I needed an heir. I wanted a boy. Ian was supposed to be a bonus. Now, she’s nothing more than a liability,” her father said dryly. “That’s why I am here.” Her father looked at her directly. “I want you to remove my surname on your bastard son’s birth certificate!”
Julianne stared at her father with wide eyes. She could barely believe what she was hearing.
“Say what?” Jac asked. He sounded like he felt that was the most ridiculous thing he had heard in his life.
“I gave you my surname,” her father said. “You no longer have the right to carry it since I disinherited you. And you most certainly have no right to give it to your bastard. You have no right to give him my name!”
Julianne’s eyes filled with tears. Her parents refused to acknowledge or even meet their grandson. And now, they do not even want him to carry their surname. She looked at her mother, but she simply shrugged apologetically. She knew that she was on her father’s side on this. She always had been.