Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Mr. Morrison's excitement made Jane wonder if he wasn't the same person who was in Berlin with her not up to 72 hours ago. Both her parents were at the airport with a gigantic 'welcome home' sign. As if the attention she got from the airport was not enough they threw her a surprise party and invited as many people as they could including superstar Perry.

"Dad…" she whined. "This is just too much."

"This wasn't my idea." Her father said playing innocent. "It was all your mother's idea, I told her not to but she won't listen."

Mrs. Morrison frowned at her husband. "Shall we ask Perry who invited him to the party?"

"No!" Mr. Morrison yelled.

After Perry's presentation, he walked over to Jane, and they shared a brief friendly hug. They shared a very formal kind of friendship since college and it still stood unchanged.

"Jane this is my fiance Katie," he said referring to the most gorgeous human Jane had seen.

"Hi," the lady said shyly, with a sweet smile.

"Hi," Jane replied, trying to sound and look as 'happy for you' as possible.

She wanted to be extremely happy for the couple but she couldn't help but feel angry, sad, and jealous. She wanted to walk with Marcus by her side and blush every time he introduced her to people as his fiance too. She glanced at where Marcus sat with his mother and sister. He too was looking at her with the same longing. She shifted her gaze to her parents happily lost in each other's eyes laughing. She wondered if she and Marcus would ever be able to do that—in public.

"Janny!" Sophia's voice called from behind her. Her excitement was replaced by resentment when she saw Perry. "You." she sneered.

"You know him?" Jane asked. "I mean I know everybody knows him but do you know him on a personal level?"

"Yes, Janny. This 'Perry' guy refused to sign me his autograph because he had a 'girlfriend'."

"Fiance" Perry corrected in his musical voice.

"Same thing." Sophia snapped.

"Where did you ask him to sign?" Jane regretted the question the moment she asked it.

"Right here on my tits." she answered, pulling the neck of her dress down.

Perry put his arms around Katie's waist and left immediately.

People who saw Sophia's insensitive behaviour giggled while the older ones cursed.

"Why is everybody acting this way?" Sophia asked, getting upset. "Isn't tits part of a woman's body?"

"Yes it is Sophy, but there is a reason it is called a private part," Jane mumbled, dragging Sophia to her room so they could have some privacy.

"Why are you dragging me?" Sophia asked vexed.

"Just to be safe in case you do any other stupid things."

Sophia obediently followed Jane to her room.

"Oh Jane, look at you, you look like a barbie doll."

"Is that suppose to be a compliment?"

"Of course it is! You look so happy, Ain't no circles under your eyes anymore. What happened to you?"

A maid barged into the room I dropped off Jane's laundry so was horrified when she saw Jane inside. "Oh my God ma'am I am so sorry, I-I doing know–"

"It's okay!" Jane interrupted with a chuckle. "How are you doing…" She narrowed her eyes to read the name tag. "Elizabeth?... Hey wait, you are Elizabeth who was flirting with Marcus before I left for Berlin right?"

"I am so sorry ma'am It will no–"

Jane chortle. "Yeah, I know." She mumbled more to herself than to the trembling maid. "You are even more stunning than I remember, how are your parents?

"Th-T-They are fi-fine" she stuttered.

Jane's face turned sour. "Am I making you nervous? You can drop the laundry and leave if you feel uneasy."

"I am really sorry ma'am." Elizabeth apologised earnestly.

"I said it's okay!" Jane huffed with a smile.

After the maid left Jane turned to see Sophia's mouth hanging open. She rolled her eyes and went to sit on an earnestly made bed. "What? I was nice to a maid, big deal!"

"What happened to you, Jane?" Sophia questioned, still shocked, making her way to the bed. "Did you see the light? Did Jesus appear to you.?"

"Eww, Sophy can't someone be nice for no reason?"

Sophia seemed to be lost in thoughts, calculating.

"Whatever your plan, I don't want to hear it."

Sophia didn't answer her. "I got it!" she exclaimed after a minute of thinking.

"You got what?" Jane mumbled.

"Did you fall in love in Berlin?"

Now it was Jane's turn to have her mouth hung open. It always surprises her how Sophia can know what is wrong with her and what might have happened to her and she is usually always right or close to it."

"Why would you think so?" she asked, trying to make her voice as light as possible.

"Love makes people change a lot, you know, like when I decided to start community service because of some dude I liked."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Jane mumbled, chewing on her nails.

"You chew on your nails when you lie."

"No, I don't." Jane barked, pulling her hand from her mouth.

"No you don't, but the ways you pulled your hands have been suspicious. Who is the lucky guy?" Sophia's stare made her extremely uncomfortable. And her questions made her want to puck. Sophia was staring at her waiting for an answer. She began saying something but Sophia's phone dinged.

"Michael Jackson liked my video!" she said excitedly.

"Michael Jackson is long dead," Jane murmured, chewing on her nails again.

"Shut up Jane!"

Jane avoided any other alone time with Sophia, she went back to the party and conversed with as many people as she could. And mostly to stare at Marcus from the corner of her eyes.

"Hi," a voice said from behind her.

She turned to see a black-haired girl she recognized as Marcus's sister grinning from ear to ear.

Jane suddenly felt like she needed to please her like she needed her approval on something. It didn't take long for her to know what the feeling was.

"Hi," she replied, smiling earnestly. "You are Marcus' sister right?"

"You know who I am." the girl said in a soft voice clearly thrilled.

"Yes I do, and it is so nice to meet you, Marcus wouldn't stop talking about you," she said.

"Marcus talks about me?" the girl asked, fascinated again.

"Er,... More like complaining about you."

The girl cursed Marcus, making Jane chortle.

"I am Emily."

"Hi Emmy, I am–"

"Jane," Emily interrupted beaming. "Jane Morrison, My hero, and Murcus' girlfriend."

Jane choked on the wine in her hand. She can't take from the wine but she felt safe blaming her unplanned cough on the wine those around asked.

After gaining control she sighed and pulled Emily to her room.

"Emily, Marcus told you about… us?" she trailed off.

"Of course not.", Emily replied, getting distracted by Jane's room.

Jane felt dead. She had failed so terribly at trying to ignore Marcus during the party. 'Is my expression that reliable?' she thought to herself. 'How many more people could have noticed?'

"Wow," Emily's loud excited voice interrupted her thoughts. "Your room is a mansion." She shouted.

"Thanks," Jane muttered quickly. "But how did you know?"

Emily turned to her. "Hmm?" she asked. "oh Your relationship with Marcus." She replied to herself and shrugged. "I read his text messages."

Jane knew she would have to address both Emily and Marcus in the text message thing but she felt relief wash over her."

"What is it, what were you thinking?" Emily asked, her eyes dancing in excitement.

"I thought you could read it from my expression."

Emily laughed loudly. Anybody could see something is going on between you and Marcus. I do not think he has been able to get his eyes off you and when you left with your crazy friend the other time he became restless."

Jane felt thrilled and frightened.

Thrilled because she was not the only one who couldn't get her eyes off someone and frightened because their connection was becoming visible.

"You do not have to worry." Emily continued after reading Jane's expression. "This place is full of rich people, they won't notice, rich people don't notice anyone other than themselves."

"Oh," She took a deep breath. Emily was right.

"But my mother did notice," Emily said absentmindedly walking around Jane's room.

Jane's forming smile fell.

"She thought you and Marcus were looking at each other a little too much and she wasn't happy about it."

Jane could hear her heart threatening to break loose.

"But Marcus told her he got used to always checking on you due to the danger in Berlin and you had to always check to be sure he was there."

"Did she believe that?" Jane asked with a little glow of hope.

"No," Emily replied, ruthlessly crushing all Jane's hope.

"Emily…" Jane whined.

"What?"

"Why are you playing with my emotions?"

Emily smirked. "It is fun."