Chapter 65: Chapter 65

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"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What for?"

What for? Was the man serious? Jenson swore inwardly while gripping the phone, his breaths already ragged from the onslaught of lurid thoughts that consumed his attention. For hours, he had been waiting for the man to return his calls so they could talk. Discuss some longstanding glaring issues.

It seemed his uncle simply didn't give a shit about anyone else's feelings. Not atypical for a man of his stature. But for something this serious and life-changing, everything about it should be an exception.

Awkward silence filled the line before Magnus let out a long sigh on the other end, seeming tepid and inconvenienced by the subject altogether. "It's not my fault she didn't want a future with you. And still doesn't, apparently."

"Because you told her to leave! And you made her sign a contract? The heck?"

"No need to scream your guts out. I can hear you perfectly fine."

Jenson kept his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, his breaths turning noisy, his fingernails biting into his palms. He wasn't sure which angered him more: the betrayal from the one person he thought had his back no matter what, or the endless lies and manipulation he blindly put up with all these years.

Despite the less palatable side of the man's personality, he'd always thought Magnus was the only person he could really trust. A father figure he should look up to. Someone who had his best interests at heart no matter what. It wasn't always the case, apparently.

"I called Mykaela. She just told me about the NDA."

"Alright. Am I supposed to feel bad?" Magnus sighed on the other line, as if getting bored. "Did you call for an apology?"

Jenson scowled. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Would it make that much of a difference?"

Dick. "What else did you say to Jessiah?" He would bet Magnus fed her other kinds of bullshit just to keep her away, besides scaring her off with blackmail disguised as just another piece of routine paperwork.

"Does it matter?" Magnus scoffed.

"I'm glad your sister's nothing like you."

"Do I really have to remind you? Everyone knew you were engaged, that you and Charmaine would get married sooner or later."

Great... Now the lying, master manipulator was trying to make him feel as if everything was his fault. "You really thought I wouldn't find out?" Jenson hit the window a couple times till his knuckle ached. His suspicions and poor grip on his temper already made his head and neck heat up. All this bullshit had to stop now. "What else did you tell Jessiah?"

"What did you expect?" Magnus tsk-ed. "That if I just let her stay, people wouldn't find out? That they won't care if they heard about you screwing your younger assistant?"

"I don't give a shit about them! What else did you say to her?"

"Oh come on... Are you still hung up on that girl? You barely know her, or her family."

"I told you: I trust her." Jenson hastily wiped his palm over his sweltering face and took a deep breath, in an effort to calm the whirlwind of violent thoughts that kept his mind running wild, constantly tempting him to say the worst. "She's nothing like those idiots and parasites."

"Well, looks like she doesn't trust you that much."

"Don't ever talk to her again."

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He had just hung up on his uncle when the iron gates in front of her parents' house started opening. Jenson ducked immediately.

Shit. He would get caught in the act. He had been snooping around for hours now, just behaving like a certifiable creep. Spending the night in jail was not on his agenda.

At midway, the thick iron gates started closing again, then almost immediately went back to opening up, then back to closing. It didn't make much noise. Remote-controlled.

Who kept pressing the button? Who was still awake at this hour? Jessiah? Was it her parents?

He glanced around the lot. The front porch. Then the lawn.

Before his curiosity got the better of him, the gates opened again. Slowly. Quietly. Sooner than he could make another guess, someone in a knee-length nightdress walked past the wide open gates, barefoot and with her head stiffly tilted downward, as if she was staring at the other side of the street.

It didn't look like she was focusing on the SUV he brought. Jessi stood still on the pavement for about two minutes, just swaying ever so slightly every five seconds or so. No talking. No big or sudden movements. Nothing. Like something just froze her completely, pinning her bare feet onto the cement.

Fuck. It was happening again. "Great. Fantastic." Jenson tugged at his hair till his head hurt worse. He sighed loudly, feeling totally at fault. What he did and said to her obviously triggered another episode. He didn't mean to, but, too late now.

Either his text messages alone stressed her out this much, or Mykaela already told Jessi that he was actually here in Raleigh. Or both.

His nerves made his heart pump more blood into his head, his face and nape growing warmer, his insides just twisting in knots. Good for security that they made the gates remote-controlled. Child-proof.

But clearly not sleepwalker-proof.

"Dammit, Jess." He pushed the door open and rushed out of the vehicle.

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Busted.

Found and caught.

Her happy days were over.

Groggy and stunned speechless, Jessi almost let out a scream at the mere sight of his face. How the heck did he get here? And why was she outside in the middle of the night?

She held her breath as she stared back at him, the dimness and the dead silence around them just creeping her out. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he was right here, right in front of her, with his arms wrapped around her and keeping her still while they stood outside her parents' house.

Her hands clasped his sleeves while her breaths grew shallow. She recalled she had fallen asleep in her bed but her entire body felt drained of energy. Her knees felt like buckling, and her gut ached. Nerves and anxiety again.

What time was it? How did she end up outside their gates? Barefoot, close to freezing, and only wearing her bedtime clothes?

Shit. She was sleepwalking again, and he just startled her awake in the middle of the street. How long had he been out here?

A part of her wanted to scream and run back into the house. But not out of fear. She wasn't really scared of him. Just floored at the sight of him, now standing right in front of her.

Every fiber of her being still couldn't believe that he was here now, just staring at her, holding her to his chest. The shock made her legs weak and kept her heartbeat ratcheting up by the second. Now she couldn't decide whether to shove him away or thank him for stopping her before she could do something even more dangerous.

Like cross the street while alone and unconscious and walk straight into the busy highway.

"You were gonna cross the street," Jenson murmured while his stiff left arm loosened around her back. Now his other hand touched her cheek, almost stroking her face. His warm breath smelled of cherry-flavored gum and his shadowed eyes just stared at her, worsening the loud thumps in her chest and her nervousness.

"How did you..."

"How you been?"

Oh jeez...

He just kept staring. His grip felt like he wouldn't let go of her until they talked it out.

"Fine," she muttered after looking away. Her neck and back stiffened up when he leaned in to gently kiss her cheek. Her hands had to hold onto his firm arms for support. Mentally, she was nowhere near 'fine', especially with him just showing up out of nowhere.

"I beg to differ," he mumbled with a frown that slightly wrinkled his dark brows and pouting lips. He looked exactly the same. Except his beard didn't look as thick as she remembered. "Sorry."

Why was he apologizing now? She winced when he embraced her again. The side of her face pressed onto his upper chest while her legs stayed limp.

He felt so warm, and he smelled of his musky cologne. "Didn't mean to scare you. I just had to do something," he said with a repressed sigh, almost murmuring his words. "You just kept walking, and, I knew you weren't awake." He kissed her forehead.

Her entire face warmed up again. Tears were starting to fill her eyes. Her throat even felt painful now. She didn't know if she should cry for help, or hug and kiss him back. She just didn't think he would be here, right outside their house, right in front of her, hugging her and kissing her. She just didn't think he would find her this soon.

That he would be here this soon. How long had he been waiting out here?

As the daze from restless sleep cleared up, she pulled away a few times until he loosened his hug. She took a step backwards. For a moment, trying to keep up a stoic expression consumed her concentration. “Why’re you here?”

The guy in front of her didn’t respond. Instead he stood still and watched her with a squint, as if merely waiting for her expression to change.

Why wasn't he saying anything? “You shouldn't be here. Go home.”

The guy sighed and glanced sideward, then put his palm on his forehead as if to massage it. “I wanna see them.”

“Who?”

“I know they're in there. I wanna see them.”

Oh no. "I dunno who you're talking about." Jessi shook her head, her nervousness turning into sheer panic now even though she had prepared for this day. Multiple times. More times than she could remember. She'd already made up a couple of excuses and enough lies in her head to convince him. Now she just had to stick to her story. “How'd you find me?”

He sighed loudly and pulled a face. “Cut it out. I already saw them.”

“I don't know who you're— Sorry. I need to go b—”

“Stop lying.” His somber eyes and hushed voice made him seem calmer, but the eagerness in his tone convinced her otherwise. Jenson caught her wrist before she could take another step backwards and turn her back to him.

She just couldn’t do this right now. Surprising how she hadn’t fainted yet. Her chest remained painfully tight and her feet were almost freezing on the pavement. “Why're you here?”

“Stop acting like you don't know.” He gripped her forearm now, tight enough to leave a bruise and keeping her in place. “I’m goin' inside with you.”

“No. I—” Twisting her arm to break free from his grip took every bit of her strength. She frowned when he let go but only to hold her hand tight.

“Can we talk?”

Holding back a groan of frustration, she took a deep breath and kept her head down, just trying her best to avoid his intimidatingly attentive stare. His stern tone and the almost desperate look in his eyes were enough to worsen her nervous sweating. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

“Stop it. Why are you doing this?”

When he finally let go of her, she silently thanked the heavens and turned around before he could try to stop her again. “Just go home.”

The guy scoffed and kept glaring at her. “So this is how it's gonna be?” Jenson grabbed her arm again when she took a few steps closer towards the tall gates. “Jess...”

She grunted and covered her face. “What d'you want?”

“Answers! For one.”

“Please just leave,” she choked out, keeping her back to him. Her cheeks were already burning up and the tears dampened her face, but he didn't need to see that.

More importantly, he didn't need to be here. He shouldn't see the kids. He shouldn't be here.

“Go home. We have nothing to talk about.”

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