by Jerilee Kaye
“Well, I always thought that guy just had a good time with you.” Justin turned to Jin. “If I didn’t see how heartbroken you were then, and how obsessed you were with finding this woman, I wouldn’t believe you were sincere with your intentions now.”
“Come on, bro,” Jin said, holding his hands up. “I’m ready. You can punch the hell out of me. Just do it and get it over with.”
Justin approached him. Jin held his breath as he looked at Justin eye to eye.
“Honey…” Adrienne murmured behind them.
Justin stared at Jin soberly. “Do you love her?”
“I would die for her. I would kill for her. You know that.”
“You’ll make an honest woman out of her?”
Jin grinned. “Just take a look at her finger and you’ll know.”
He heard a gasp from Adrienne. “Oh my God! This is… beyond gorgeous! Is this custom made?”
“Yup,” Jin replied.
“But why didn’t you use your grandmother’s ring?”
“Julianne will get it eventually. I just wanted to propose to her with a ring that was made especially for her. Not some hand-me-down.”
“When did you propose?” Justin asked.
“Last night,” Jin replied.
“Mom is going to kill you! You know she loves to be in on these things,” Adrienne said.
Jin wrinkled his nose. “I’m not a fan of public proposals. I think that a proposal should be an intimate, solemn moment between a man and a woman.”
Justin nodded. “I’m not going to beat the hell out of you now. But I will… if you hurt her.”
Jin held his hand up in the air. “You’re very much welcome to cripple me if I do that.”
Justin held his hand out to him. “Agreed? From one gentleman to another?”
Jin shook Justin’s hand and nodded. “Agreed. From one brother to another.”
“Good. Now, go. It’s time for Jared to meet his father.”
Adrienne went up to her brother and gave him a hug. “Tell me all about it later. I’d love to see Jared’s reaction when you tell him. But you should make that moment private.”
Jin nodded. “Thank you, sis.”
Then he took Julianne’s hand and led her up the steps. They stopped in front of Jared’s room.
“Ready?” Julianne asked.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since that night I found you again,” Jin replied.
Jared shrieked when he saw both of them enter the room. His nanny gave them an update and then she left.
“What shall we do, Mommy? Uncle Jin?”
Jin stared over at Julianne, his eyes urging her to start. Julianne took a deep breath and then pulled her son so he could sit on her lap.
“Sweetheart, remember how I told you before that someday, I would introduce you to your father? Your real father?”
“Yeah. But maybe he doesn’t want me,” Jared murmured sadly.
“Of course, he wants you. He just… didn’t know about you before. He didn’t know that Mommy got pregnant with you. We… lost communication for a while. He had been looking for us, but he couldn’t find Mommy because… Mommy used a different name when we met.”
Jared drew his brows together in confusion. “Why did you use a different name?”
Julianne sighed. “Because Mommy was young then. And I was afraid that bad guys would get me when I was alone in Paris. I gave Daddy a different name. So, when Mommy left Paris, your Daddy was not able to follow us.”
“You forgot to tell him your real name before you left?”
Jin couldn’t help smiling at that.
“Yes. Something like that,” Julianne replied.
“Does he want me now?” Jared asked.
Julianne nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. He wants you very much.”
“Where is he?” Jared asked excitedly.
Julianne’s tears ran down her cheeks. She smiled but she couldn’t speak anymore.
Jin took a deep breath and said, “I’m right here, sweetheart.”
Jared turned to him. “Uncle Jin?”
Jin nodded. “Yes. Except that you’re not going to call me Uncle Jin anymore. You’re going to call me Daddy.”
Jared stared at him in awe. “You’re really my… Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I’m really your father. Your mother and I were separated before you were born. I didn’t know she had you until I saw her again.”
“I’m going to have a Mommy and Daddy now? Like Jeffie?”
Jin smiled. “Yes, sweetheart. Mommy and I are getting married soon. And we’ll be living together from now on.”
Jared cried and then he threw himself in Jin’s arms. “People… people say I look like you, Daddy.”
Jin hugged his son tightly. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment that he’d been recognized by his own son for the first time. “Yes, sweetheart. You do. You look a lot like me. And you know why you can paint very well? You got that from me too.”
“You cannot eat peanut butter too, Daddy?” Jared asked. Jin blinked back at Julianne, raising a brow at her.
She wiped the tears on her cheeks. “He’s more like you and a lot less like me, right?” She giggled.
Jin kissed Jared’s forehead. “Yes, sweetheart. Peanut butter will make my face swell. I will look like an ogre if I eat it.”
Jared laughed. “Like me! Mommy said that will happen to me if I eat nuts.”
Jin couldn’t help the tears in his eyes as he hugged Jared. He looked over at Julianne. She was sobbing non-stop as she watched them. He reached out and pulled her to him. He hugged both of them together.
“I love you both very much,” he said to them. “You have made me the happiest man on the planet.”
When Julianne looked up at him, he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. Then he kissed the top of Jared’s head again. “Come. Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Julianne entered the lavish ballroom of Jardin Estates, one of the hotels owned by Starck Corp. in Paris. Jin’s mother had another bestselling book and as part of tradition, she threw a party to celebrate it. It was also a chance for the Starck Family to get together with family, friends and business partners.
It had been one week since she and Jared had arrived in Paris. Although she had met Jin’s parents before, it was a different meeting this time around. Julianne could still remember how Arianna Starck rushed to greet them and how hard she cried when she hugged Jared.
“My baby. Do you know who I am?” she tearfully asked Jared.
“Yes. You’re Jeffie’s grandmother,” Jared replied.
“Yes. But do you know that I am your grandmother too,” Arianna said.
“Really?”
“Yes. Because I’m your father’s mommy. You can call me grand-mère.”
Jared smiled and hugged her. “Grand-mère.”
Pierre knelt in front of Jared. “And you can call me, Grand-père.”
Jared hugged his grandfather too. Julianne saw the tears in Pierre’s eyes. Jared was, after all, his first grandchild by blood.
Then Jin told Jared’s nanny to take him to the backyard.
Arianna hugged Julianne.
“Welcome to the family, Ian,” Pierre said.
“Thank you, so much,” Julianne said. “I am so happy to be here.”
“May I look at your ring, dear?” Arianna asked.
Julianne shyly raised her hand so her future mother-in-law could inspect her ring.
“Wow, this is gorgeous!” Arianna breathed. She looked at Jin. “Frederic had certainly outdone himself.”
“That is a gorgeous piece,” Pierre agreed. “But you know if your grandmother was alive, she would scold you for proposing with a different ring.”
“Well, I will give Julianne that ring later. She can wear it if she wants. But for now, that’s the ring I want her to wear as a symbol of my commitment to marry her.”
“We’re going to announce this! We need to plan an
engagement party!”
“Mom!” Jin exclaimed. “I didn’t propose to her in public, because I wanted it to be something private. Something only the two of us will share.”
“Well, I wasn’t talking about a proposal party. I was talking about an engagement party.”
“Mom!” Jin groaned.
“I have a book party coming up. We can announce it there.”
“Is that really necessary?” Julianne asked.
“Of course. You are exquisite. It’s only right that we announce to the world how lucky my son is, right?”
“Have you made a decision about your living arrangement?” Pierre asked.
Before they left for Paris, Julianne resigned from her job in Adams Industries. Justin didn’t want to let her go, but he didn’t have a choice. Jared’s future was at stake here.
Jin wanted to get married before the end of the year. Julianne only has a few months left to plan the wedding of the year with Arianna and Adrienne.
She agreed that she and Jared needed to move to Paris, where Jin would be running Starck Corp. Jared loved his new home in Chicago and he wasn’t entirely happy to leave it so soon. But Jin promised that he’ll have a bigger playground in Paris, with a trampoline in the backyard too. Julianne assured him that they still got to keep their house and they would visit Chicago as often as possible.
“Yes,” Julianne replied to her future father-in-law. “I guess Jared and I need to learn how to speak French soon.”
“Wonderful! I thought I would have to prepare a speech to convince you to stay here,” Arianna was obviously delighted. “You would be staying in Jin’s room, of course. I already renovated one of the guestrooms and turned it into Jared’s bedroom.”
“We have another Penthouse apartment with the view of the Eiffel Tower,” Jin said. “That’s closer to Starck Corp. headquarters. I live there. Soon, you will too. But half the time, we can stay here. Mom and Dad could get lonely.”
“And I hope you don’t mind, my dear. I want to spend a lot of time with my grandson,” Arianna pleaded.
“Of course. Family is important. I’m sure Jared would love to get to know his grandparents more.”
“Thank you,” Arianne whispered. She reached forward and gave Julianne a hug.
Julianne was overwhelmed. She felt welcomed and loved by Jin’s parents that it felt almost enough to make up for the way her own parents treated her and Jared.
Seven days later, Arianna was pulling off one of the biggest parties in Paris. Though she disguised this again as a book celebration party, both Jin and Julianne knew that she would use this moment to announce their engagement.
Julianne was wearing a vintage pink sleeveless cocktail dress that had an exquisite beading work on its bodice. The A-line skirt ended a few inches above her knees, showing her long legs. She wore a pair of crystal high-heeled sandals. She sported a waterfall braid on her hair and light makeup on her face.
Justin, Adrienne, and Justin’s parents all flew from Chicago to Paris. Mason and Abi, as well as Jordan were also in attendance. Gian said he would be late but he promised to come.
After dinner, Jin’s mother and father came up to the stage. Arianna thanked everybody who supported her for the success of her new bestselling book.
“I hope to share more bestselling book parties with you,” she said and everybody cheered. She waited for everybody to quiet down and she added, “But apart from my success, I would also like to call a toast for my son and his beautiful fiancée. Theirs is a love story that even I could not have thought to write.”
Everybody fell silent, eagerly listening to Arianna’s speech. Julianne felt several pairs of eyes on her, and she hid behind Jin’s back.
Jin chuckled, pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered against her ear.
“Ssshhh… your mother is speaking,” she hissed at him.
“Seven years ago, they met. They fell in love. Their love bore me and Pierre a grandson. But for some unavoidable reasons, they had to separate. They hadn’t seen or heard from each other since. And then destiny willed for them to meet again. And my son wasted no time in winning her over, making her fall in love again.
“Julianne, my dear. You are beautiful beyond compare. You are smart, talented and exquisite. Thank you for loving our son, and giving him a chance towards a happy married life, full of love and warmth. Thank you for raising our grandson well. Thank you for agreeing to become a part of this family. And to my son, I know that you will be a loving, responsible husband and father. Take care of your wife, your son and your future children. God bless you both. We love you.” Arianna had tears in her eyes.
Pierre took the microphone from her. “Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to my son and his future bride.”
There was applause and everybody they knew approached them to give them congratulatory handshakes, hugs and kisses.
Then music blasted from the speakers and Jin took Julianne’s hand and led her to the dancefloor.
Mason and Abi danced next to them. Abi was three months pregnant and her tummy was starting to show. Julianne was ecstatic when she heard the news and was extra thankful because they made it to the party in spite of Abi’s sensitive pregnancy.
“Thank you guys for flying all the way,” Julianne said to them.
“Starck, I’m telling you. If you hurt my baby cousin, I will kill you,” Mason teased, but Julianne knew he meant what he said.
“Abi, I’d love for you to be our wedding planner.”
“Well, if your fiancé could wait one year, I could make it. But right now, I can’t handle big projects or fly to Paris to make the arrangements.”
“Sorry, Ab.” Jin shook his head. “But I cannot move the wedding date. The sooner she becomes my wife, the more relaxed I will be. You know there are many wolves lurking around, waiting for me to make the wrong move so they could sweep in.”
“Well, I have done some thorough research. You can call a few wedding planners that I will recommend. But there is one that was highly recommended in New York. You should call them, see if they are willing to do overseas work.” Abi said.
“Do we really need to fly in a wedding planner?” Julianne asked. “There could be many here in Paris.”
“Well, I’m just suggesting. This one in New York come with very high recommendations. I’ve seen their works. Amazing concepts and great craft. Just check them out since you have the money to spend on the wedding of the year anyway.”
“Money is not a problem. If they’re as good as you say, I’d like to check them out,” Jin agreed.
“Who are they?”
“They’re called, ‘Ever After Weddings by Astrid Van Woodsen.’ Check out their website. You’ll be amazed.”
“Okay, I’ll check it out. But if they’re too expensive…”
Jin silenced her with a kiss. “Nothing is too expensive. I’m marrying you. I want this wedding to be out-of-this-world amazing. Anyway, don’t worry about it. I’m paying. And I have already told you, money is not a problem.”
“Okay, fine.”
They were interrupted by a figure standing beside them.
“May I cut in for this dance?” River Jefferson asked Jin.
“Speaking of wolves lurking around…” Jin murmured.
“Jin!” Julianne hissed and Mason and Abi couldn’t help laughing.
“Relax, Starck,” River grinned. “I won’t take her away from you… unless you make a seriously stupid mistake, that is.” He winked at him.
Jin stepped away from Julianne, allowing River to cut in. “Don’t worry. I’m smart enough not make the mistake you are hoping for. You get two minutes and I’m taking her back.”
Julianne laughed as she stepped into River’s arms.
“Well, you look very happy,” River said. “And very impressive ring, by the way. I almost got blind.”
“I know. It was amazing! He had it custom-made.”
“Nice,” River nodded. “So, everyt
hing’s well with you?”
Julianne nodded. “Everything went quite well. I am so happy.”
“Your parents?”
“Except that part. They’re not here.” Julianne shook her head. “I doubt they will be. I was beginning think that… my father never really loved me. He saw me as a bargaining chip. Nothing more.”
“I heard he got a very good deal for his glass factory.”
Julianne nodded. “Too good a deal. I wish Jin didn’t have to buy that just to shut my father up.”
“I’m sure he didn’t just buy it to shut your father up. Jin Starck is a brilliant businessman. When he makes decisions like that, it means he saw an opportunity.”
“I hope so. Twenty-five million is a lot of money.”
“Not to a man like your fiancé,” River assured her. “Be happy, okay?”
Julianne nodded. “You know I am.”
“Good. And you know I will always be here for you.”
“Of course, you’re my best friend, remember?”
“Always.”
Julianne looked up and saw Gian standing beside them, asking to cut in. River stepped away from her.
“I’ll see you later. I see a lone lady by the bar. Maybe she could use some company.”
With that, River gave her a salute and went off.
“Was he heartbroken?” Gian asked, taking her into his arms for a dance.
Julianne shook his head. “It would not have worked out between us. We tried to go out once. I really wanted to focus my affections on him. But… Jin Starck was one hard man to get over with.”
“Are you happy, sis?”
Julianne nodded. “Now, I am. Finally, I feel like I’m me again. My life has a direction again, and I learned that I didn’t need Dad’s love and affection nor his acceptance for me to be complete. I am slowly finding my footing without his shadow or the shadow of my fear of him.” She sighed. “How are they, by the way?”
Gian shrugged. “Dad is still busy counting the money that your fiancé paid him for the glass factory. Mom is, as always, busy having her nails done in the salon.” Gian sounded bored and disinterested.
“Aren’t we the lucky ones, huh?”
