Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Jake stopped the moving car just outside a convenience store before returning with a plastic bag filled with cans of beer. It was a sea of silence between them as he sped in his brand-new luxury car towards a destination where only the two of them knew to have existed.

The old house in Myra’s memories stayed preserved beautifully, cleaned and devoid of cobwebs or dust. Myra allowed Hart to unbuckle her seat belt and lead her into the place.

The pain of her father’s alleged demise hurt her even more than Jake and the other girl. Mustering her courage, she decided to put the past behind her for once and moved around the house, running her fingers over the old furniture.

She needed a break from everything.

Once, she had been a silly little girl, and she and Jake had chanced upon the house, sneaking inside and realising it was a deserted place. Later, she told Jake that the house was haunted and Jake insisted to prove to her that her words were false. Some loud noises frightened her, but he hugged her, telling her he would protect her.

During her teenage years, she returned to the house frequently, but Jake was never around. He was always dating some random girl, that made her return to the house many times alone.

“Do you still remember this place, Myra?”

She nodded, not wanting to say a word. His arms moved to her shoulders to hold her, and she let him. Now she was not in the mood to push him away. Even if her love with him had failed, they were still childhood friends. Her father would have never wanted to see her this way with him. In fact, she knew Alfred opposed her dating other men and treated her strictly because in his mind, only Jake was suitable as his son-in-law.

She joined him on the couch a few moments later. He had just opened the first can when she took it from him and indulged heartily in a big gulp.

“Let’s drink and be merry.”

These were the first words that had left her mouth since entering the old house. Jake tensed as he thought about how he had bought the house for her. He had wanted a lot from her, only that he was insecure about her feelings for him. When she looked at another man, it made him feel possessive. He thought by making love with her as wildly as he could, it would allow him to control her and keep her by his side.

That night, he hadn’t expected Yuna to spring up at the party. Knowing that Myra would soon turn up, he turned Yuna’s surprise to his advantage and use her to make Myra jealous. To him, it was just an act. He didn’t love Yuna then, and neither would he love her now.

The same night Myra disappeared, Yuna revealed she was pregnant. He knew what she was up to. He was adamant that she must have tampered with the condoms he had used with her. If not for her being pregnant, he would have ignored her. His father would not accept this relationship with a celebrity, anyway. So he decided he would just figure a plan that would benefit her having the baby, then apply for joint custody, if not full custody.

After concluding the meeting with the dean, he turned off his phone. This was the only chance for him to approach Myra and clear the doubts between them. But just an hour ago, he received a distressing call from his father.

Alfred Yang had met with a dilemma in Sydney. Jake was not the type to keep secrets, and Myra deserved to know. Even if he was not trying to get her attention or redeem his actions two months ago, he would still tell her the truth.

“Ah.”

Myra felt good about the alcohol numbing her as it hit her bloodstream. While she loved to drink, too much was never good for her. Jake attempted to stop her from drinking further after she almost finished half of the bag of cans he had bought.

“Let me drink.”

“Myra, listen.” He held her cheeks as he spoke to her. She laughed uncontrollably.

“You’re just trying to stop me from drinking more because you want to drink it yourself.”

She was hurting deep inside that she wanted to escape from reality.

“Fine.” Jake seized the can she had been drinking and downed it instantly. He then followed with the remaining cans in the bag. “None of us will stop until we are fully wasted!”

“No, you’re the one wasted,” she laughed hysterically. Her body was burning like fire from the alcohol inside her. Pulling a face, she tugged off her dress, revealing what she was wearing underneath. Her intoxication made her so vulnerable that she couldn’t fathom what she was performing.

“Myra,” Jake called out her name. “You’re drunk.”

“I’m not,” she argued, punching him as hard as she could, but unable to stand straight, she slid into his arms. He tasted her lips without hesitation, sliding his tongue possessively in her mouth to meet with hers. It had felt so good that made him think she wanted more. He pulled away from her mouth, gazing into the galaxies in her eyes.

“Myra, Myra,” he whispered, pulling off his jacket. Seeing her this way was giving him a reaction, that he forgot everything else.

“Jake,” he heard her whisper, “Why did you leave me for the girl at the party? What did I do wrong?”

He hastily gathered her in his arms, placing her head on his chest. “No, Myra, that wasn’t what happened.”

She was tugging on the cloth of his singlet, which he slowly removed. Fine, he thought, sin as he always wanted. The redness of her face, followed by the roundness of her hips and her flawless half-naked figure, was even more intoxicating than the alcohol itself. He lifted her up slowly and set her on the couch. She gestured to him, which he took as a direct invitation to feast on her lips again.

His fingers crept over her, removing every bit of cloth he could find from her body. He was gradually losing control over himself, caving into desire. She pulled off his pants, welcoming him inside her as they both moaned in unison.

It was a night he would never forget. He had never seen her this wild, moaning and screaming for more, as he conquered her again and again. Back at Bali, although she let him have his way with her, she had never been so desirous of more. Just what had happened in the last two months that she had transformed so much? He wondered, meeting his lips with hers as he continued to pound inside her. Her shrieks of delight made him realise despite her drunkenness, she was enjoying it with him.

He had not replaced the fluorescent lights of the living room in a long time. Eventually, the lights faded out, and the room filled with darkness, but with the meagre amount of moonlight streaming into the room, he traced her amazing curves. And adding that to his sudden discovery of her heightened need, he wanted her even more.

Myra’s skin felt tender against his, softening his heart, and it made him eager to have her as soon as he could. If Yuna had never appeared that night, or fallen pregnant, it would have been different now. Probably, they would celebrate their third monthversary together. He cuddled her tighter as she slept, ignoring the mess in the living room. He would get someone to clean it up later.

After the incident in Bali, an urgent call brought him back to V City in a panic. First, it was his father’s persistence for him to answer to the arranged marriage between the two families that he had been running from. The other thing had been Alfred Yang’s alleged impending bankruptcy and his failing businesses. It was a huge stock investment gone wrong, but his father had yet to confirm it with Alfred, as he wasn’t back yet.

Yuna insisted on tagging along with him, and because she was pregnant, he allowed her to. Even his father was displeased, but considering her pregnancy, he went with it for now. After the baby was born, Yuna would never have a claim over him. He would persevere for now.

But hearing Myra suddenly speak in her sleep was more worrying than he had ever thought.

“Jake, you didn’t want me,” she mumbled, audible enough for him to hear. “You didn’t want me, so I went and found Hart. He pleases me every night and I like what he does to me. I think he is my destiny.”

Hearing what she just said, Jake’s heart sank like the Titanic.