Chapter 67: Chapter 67

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Game over.  White flag.  The show's done.

He already knew the things she did to hide her biggest secret from him and everyone else.  Secrets, to be precise.  But the optimist idealist in her just wouldn't give up.

Perhaps she could still convince him it wasn't the whole truth.  If she tried hard enough, her backup lie might just work.  Then he would finally leave her alone, and he would no longer want to take her babies away.

Emerie and Reign would stay with her and her parents, living with her until they grew up.  No visitation spats.  No lawyers.  No custody battle.  No fuss.

“They're not yours. And I'm married.”  Jessi showed off the ring on her left hand before turning her back to him,  holding in the tears he need not see.  “Please just go home.”

Before he could say anything in response,  she grabbed the door handle and rushed out of the SUV.  She practically ran towards their gates, but Jenson caught up to her sooner than she could reach the front porch.  Her optimism immediately deflated when he grabbed her arm.

He didn't let go.  For a moment, they just stood in the middle of the lawn.  His grip on her arm remained firm, but it wasn't like he was intentionally hurting her.  Maybe he just wanted to keep talking.  Keep her close till he got the answers he wanted.

It was already past midnight.  The exhaustion was already catching up to her that she couldn’t even find the strength to maintain eye contact with him.  Confused, Jessi stood in silence as his gaze centered on her face.

His impenetrable stare made her want to cover up and apologize to him.  For lying to his face.  For all the lies.  For all she did.

But she had to think of the kids first.  They mattered the most, and she wasn't going to let anything or anyone take them away from her.  “I'm already married. You shouldn't be here.”

A scoff and a fleeting smirk was his initial response.  Jenson held her arms and leaned in till his nose touched her cheek.  "Do you hate me that much?"

"No."

"Then why're you lying to me?" he muttered through clenched teeth.  "Magnus told you to lie?"  Jenson glanced down at her hand with a frown of disdain.  “Ring looks cute, by the way. Nice try.”

"Could you just—" She pulled back when he tried to pin her forearms and hands on his chest.  She groaned when he didn't let go. "Jenson—"

"He told you to leave Cali and hide from me? Hide my kids from me?" he murmured, his voice drifting off to a whisper.

Shit.  Dangerous game they were playing.  Their neighbors might catch them any moment now. Her parents might run out the front door at any second.  Her mom would definitely scream in panic once she saw her daughter being manhandled by a stranger right on their property.  Then her dad would call the cops on him.

“Joss, it's late...”  Jessi sighed and kept her voice down, trying her best to keep up a calm demeanor.  “They're already asleep.  We can talk tomorrow.”

He just stared into her eyes for an unbearably quiet few seconds.  Then he clasped her wrists. “How will I know you won't take the kids somewhere else?”

“I won't.”  Jessi held her breath and stayed put.  She waited calmly until the deep scowl on his face eventually faded. "We'll be here all day tomorrow."

He loosened his grip on her wrists when she looked into his eyes again.  He seemed deeply bothered by the idea of her running away with the twins, as if it terrified him.

“It's late. We'll talk in the morning. Okay?”

“I'm not goin' anywhere, until you tell me everything and let me see my kids.”

“Joss...” She tried pulling her hands away but he still wouldn’t let go.  A wheeze of frustration escaped her attempt to maintain a straight face when he didn't move an inch.  “It's late. You need to leave.”

He glanced away and made a face.  “I met your uncle last week. Pete gave me your new number and told me you moved here, and then Kel…told me about the kids.”  His deep voice sounded shaky now, a hint that he was getting more emotional.  “It was a lot to take in, but I-I just couldn’t...not talk to you, not see you and...   Shit.  You just disappeared and hid everything from me.”

Although the guilt just kept piling up inside of her, she didn't respond.  She just watched him, listening to his every word, recognizing the desperation in his voice.

"I couldn’t stop thinking about you,  everything, and the babies.  Twins."  Jenson let go of her and took a step closer to the front porch. A half-hearted smile bared his teeth for a moment.  It didn't really look like a happy smile.  More like a reaction of delayed shock.  "You... We have two babies now."  His voice faltered while he kept his head down.  He was fidgeting and his breaths were loud, his dark brows furrowing.

She didn't know what else to say.  The heavy feeling just squeezed the air out of her chest.  It was too much.

He was too much.  Did he want another apology?

“Can we—”

“You were really planning on keeping all of this from me?”

She looked away and covered her mouth with her palm, her insides just twisting in anguish.  Simply hearing his voice and seeing the sheer disappointment in his face caused her enough pain.

But he wasn't done venting yet.  Far from it.  “Just hide and keep them from me till I died? Huh? You're never gonna tell 'em who their real dad is?” He shrugged weakly. “When they grow up and start asking questions, just what were you gonna do? Lie to them every day?” His eyes narrowed. “Lie and tell them I'm dead?”

“No!”

The guy scoffed loudly and shook his head, as if to tell her he wasn't buying any of her lies.

It just pissed her off.  She didn't want to say more hurtful things, but she had to explain herself.  Make him understand her reasons.  Her choices.  “I have a stable job. Alright? I can provide for their needs. And my parents help me out. We're comfortable here. We have more than enough to support them both.”

His fists clenched. “That's not the point, Jessiah.”

“I'm not as wealthy as you, but, I swear:  I'll do everything to provide for them. I'll give them the best. I'll do it all my life if I have to.”

“And you thought I'll just let you do whatever you want? That I'll just walk away from this? From them?”

She pulled back when he got too close to her again.  They stood near the porch, but at least he wasn't yelling anymore, or making her fess up about what Magnus did and made her do.  “They're perfectly fine with me. Okay?  They love it here.  They're safe here.  And I'm happy being a single parent—  I-I won't ask or bother you for anything. Please...” She bit back tears now.  “They need a normal life, Jenson. This life.”

“I wanna see them now.”  Jenson breathed out a lengthy sigh and glared at the front door with his hands on his hips.  He stepped closer to her when she didn't budge.  “They're my kids, too. You can't hide them from me.”

She turned to avoid his intimidating stare, pinching the bridge of her nose to stop the tears. “I'm just choosing what's best for them.”

“Fine.”

Fine?  “What?”

“I'm done arguing.”  With a grunt, he backed away from the front porch.  “I'll be back here first thing. We're gonna take them to a specialist. Have their blood tested.”

“What? What specialist?”

A blood test. So he wasn't fully convinced that he was the children's father. He wanted real proof first.  Why was he still here then?  Why act like he couldn't get through the night without seeing the kids?

“You mean a paternity test?”

“No.” He stared at her one last time before heading for the gates and walking out on her.  “A different test. I already know they're mine.”

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