by J. J. Dorn
“I would love to go with you,” I beamed.
He kissed me lightly on the forehead and snuggled up against me on the couch. I couldn’t have been happier.
“Alright, Thanksgiving tradition time!” Lukas said excitedly fiddling with the remote until he came to the movie he was searching for, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
“Love this movie,” Jamieson responded to Lukas’ selection.
“How could you not love Uncle Eddie?” I offered with a huge grin.
Jamieson smiled back at me with warmth in his eyes. The others focused on the movie as it started but not us, we were lost in each other.
As I settled into the couch more, I looked up to catch my sister staring at us. I knew she was analyzing us; the concern in her face gave it away.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“What do you want, Jamieson? Did you come to gloat?” I spat as I pushed past him flinging my front door to my apartment open.
“Gloat? Why would I gloat?” he asked catching the door and following me inside.
I tossed my purse on the couch and spun around to confront him.
“Oh I don’t know…maybe because you ruined my life!” I yelled.
Jamieson looked at the ground in shame, which pissed me off more.
“He left me but that isn’t a surprise, is it?” I demanded.
He continued to not say anything.
The tears finally returned. I was a total mess but I didn't care, Jamieson needed to see what he had done to me.
“He called me a slut after he admitted to cheating on me for basically our entire relationship.” I croaked out. I didn’t even think about it, I just vomited it up.
Jamieson’s head snapped up. “He did what?” He demanded angrily. He stood up and I immediately grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Let it go, Jamieson. I know what a piece of shit he really is now. You attempting to settle some score won’t do any good.” I said through my sobs.
Jamieson growled something low I couldn’t hear and fisted his hands at his sides. “He had no right to do that.”
“Yes he did! He should never have cheated on me, but I can’t blame him for calling me a slut. I slept with you while I was engaged to him. That pretty much makes me a slut.” I shrieked at him.
Jamieson in two large steps closed the space between us and cupped my face. His large hands were enough to soothe any sting Cain had left behind. “You are not a slut, Jenna. Nothing you have done has ever made you a slut. I don’t want to hear you say that again, do you understand me?”
His stormy blue eyes looked fierce as they searched mine. I took a small breath and lightly nodded my head in agreement.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting, Jenna, but you need to realize it’s probably for the best that things ended,” he whispered softly, still holding onto me.
“I know that now,” I said regaining my control and suddenly feeling way too close to him.
His eyes were still searching mine. It was too much having him touch me. I took a large step backwards breaking our contact. “I need to be alone, Jamieson.”
“Jenna…”
“No Jamieson, please just go. I know we have stuff that needs to be worked out but I can’t think about it right now.” I pleaded with him.
“Please, just let me be here for you.” He took a step toward me.
I could tell he was being sincere but I also didn’t trust myself. I was vulnerable and apparently when it comes to Jamieson Wellington, I have zero self-control. He needed to leave, it was for the best.
“I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate that.” I said stone cold and with as much hatred as I could muster.
He stopped his advance and raked his hands through his hair. “She is not my girlfriend.”
“Okay. Well I don’t think your fuck-buddy would like that much.” At some point pure hatred is the last thing you can cling to in hopes of self-preservation and Lord knew I was clinging to a mountain of hate towards Jamieson Wellington.
“She’s not—”
I cut him off immediately. “She’s not what? Not your fuck-buddy? Well if she’s not your girlfriend and she’s not your wife? Then who the hell is she?”
He didn’t answer he just glared at me.
“Exactly. Goodnight, Jamieson.” I said walking to the door and holding it open, indicating it was past time for him to leave.
He conceded and started out the door but when he got outside he stopped and turned to face me. “This is not over, Jenna. It’s far from over.”
I scoffed at him and hurled the door shut in his face. I may be an absolute mess right now but I definitely didn’t need to complicate matters by getting myself sucked into the toxic world of Jamieson Wellington again. No, that chapter was hopefully going to be sealed shut just as soon as I could secure a quickie divorce.
“Okay do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Audrey asked while sipping her drink in the corner booth of our favorite happy-hour bar, Teds.
I had been holed up in my house for nearly three weeks. I had only emerged to go to the grocery store and to the gym in the middle of the night. Thanks to Cain and his family’s deep ties to the legal community in Huntsville, I was unceremoniously fired from my job the next day after my boss cited the morality clause of my contract. In less than a month my entire life had imploded. My friends have been my only saving grace. I had of course told them about my painful confession to Cain and his equally painful response. Olivia had immediately responded that she had never really liked him and vowed that karma would catch up with him one day. Audrey handled things differently as I imagined she would. Audrey took Cain’s betrayal hard. She sat on my bed with me and cried. It made sense; Cain had been her friend along with mine in law school. His true colors were a hard thing to process but curiously not hard to believe. Both my friends had been checking on me every day, making sure I hadn’t quietly faded into insanity. They had been trying for weeks now to get me out of the house but each time I had refused until this evening when they gave me no choice.
“The bad I guess…I mean how much worse can it really get?” I asked sucking back my second whiskey sour of the night.
“Okay, so here is the deal….Elgin said the soonest the divorce can be finalized is ninety days.” I watched as my two best friends braced for my reaction to this news. Little did they know, I already knew this shitty piece of news. I had done my own research and found the ninety day time requirement. Thanks to the great State of Alabama I had to be married for at least ninety days before I could even attempt to dissolve my sham of a marriage. I appreciated Audrey contacting Elgin though. She had asked me who I wanted to use from our pool of classmates and Elgin was an easy choice. He had a large divorce practice in Huntsville and I knew he would be discreet, as he still owed me a favor from law school. I had saved his butt once in contracts class and he had never forgotten it.
“Great, that means I will get to celebrate my birthday by filing for divorce. So what’s the good news?” I knew I was freaking them out with my unfazed attitude.
“Uh yeah…Elgin also thinks you can get a large settlement from Jamieson. He thinks his people will want to keep this as quiet as possible.”
That did surprise me. I hadn’t considered asking for a settlement; in fact the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want one thing from Jamieson, especially his money.
“I don’t want it,” I blurted out sternly.
“Jenna, don’t you think you should at least think about this? I mean Jamieson can afford it, you know he can. This money could give you an opportunity for a fresh start. You could travel for a bit before you have to figure out your next move.” Olivia countered.
“No. I don’t want any of his money. I don’t want anything from him, not anymore,” I told them resolutely.
“Okay.” Audrey said acknowledging my determination.
“Have you told you parents yet?” Olivia asked me.
“No I plan on telling them
tomorrow. I’m supposed to go over there for Sunday dinner.” I had been avoiding my entire family since I returned home. I didn’t want to tell them what happened with Cain and I also really didn’t want to have to tell them I was in fact married, to Jamieson. I knew there was no way around it though, I had to tell them.
“Do you want us to go with you?” Livy offered.
“No, I’ll be alright. I’ve already told my Mom that Cain and I are having problems so it’s not a complete shock to her when I tell her we called off the wedding. The shocking part will be when I tell her I’m already married to a fucking Wellington. So cheers to that!” I said holding up the last of my drink and chugging it back.
My friends looked more than a bit concerned. I don’t blame them. I was pretty much self-destructing before their very eyes.
“Where to next, gals?” I asked trying to change the subject and sound upbeat.
“Gossips?” Audrey asked.
“Let’s do it.” Olivia announced placing enough cash down on the table for all of our drinks and then some.
Gossips was packed like usual. The house music thudded through the speakers amplifying my buzzed state. I had downed two tequila shots when I got in the bar. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
“Let’s shake it, ladies,” Olivia led us all to the dance floor.
Iggy Azalea’s Beg For It was playing as Livy led the way to the front of the bar toward the stage. It was a ritual for us to dance on the stage at Gossips. Once we waded our way through the large crowd of people packing the stage, we settled into a spot on the right of the DJ. I watched as my friends easily began swaying to the beat of the music and I followed along. I was hoping that some drunken dancing would finally take my mind off the fact my life had been turned upside down and I had no idea which way was up anymore.
About a half an hour into dancing a group of good looking guys infiltrated our little dance party. I was now fully feeling my alcohol consumption enough to make a bold choice and begin provocatively dancing with one of the guys who was very tall dark and incredibly handsome. He was a good dancer and I enjoyed the way he was making my body feel. I guess that’s why I didn’t panic when he guided me back against the wall caging me in. I knew I was drunk, I knew I was past the point of making smart choices, but I also knew I didn’t care. I just wanted to feel something other than the pain from my reality.
Tall, dark and handsome was running his hands down my sides and was just about to slip his hand under my tight black top when he was suddenly pushed aside. At first I thought it was just from the packed crowd of people on the stage but then my eyes focused on the flurry of activity a few feet away from me. It was Jamieson. He had shoved the guy away from me and was currently shoving him towards the back corner of the bar.
“Well fancy seeing you here, Mrs. Wellington,” Derrick smirked, standing in front of me so I could no longer see what was happening in the corner. I did however; see Julian rush by looking furious. I knew Julian would stop anything from going too far, unlike Derrick.
“What do you want, Derrick?” I demanded.
“Me? I don’t want anything. I just came along to watch the shit show,” he explained through his giant grin.
I pushed past him to find Audrey and Olivia looking just as stunned as I was at what had happened.
“Ladies…can I offer you some drinks?” Derrick offered attempting to get us to leave the melee behind.
“Sure,” I agreed in frustration letting Derrick lead the way toward the long L-shaped bar.
“Pick your poisons,” he gestured toward the shelves behind the waiting bartender.
“Tequila. Two shots please.” I said to the bartender ignoring Derrick and his jackassness.
“Alright! Make that four,” Derrick exclaimed beside me.
“Whoa Jenna, don’t you think you should slow it down a bit.” Olivia piped up knowing I was headed past buzzedville and straight to drunk town.
“Yeah Jenna you have had a lot to drink already,” Audrey echoed Livy’s concerns.
I scowled at both of them and slammed both shots back, one after the other.
“Damn! She’s not joking around tonight ladies,” Derrick laughed and took his two shots.
“No she is definitely not.” I heard Olivia mutter as I stormed off toward the bathrooms.
I just about made it to the door of the ladies room when I felt someone slam me backwards and into the wall. It took me a second or two to register who it was but the second his hands held tight onto my wrists I knew it was him. My mind may have hated him but my body still craved his touch.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing, Jenna?” he growled in my ear in a deep low tone.
“Umm…having fun, duh.” I snapped back trying to pull myself away from him to no avail. “And how about it’s none of your fucking business.”
He didn’t respond right away instead he just glared coldly at me for what seemed like forever. “That’s where you’re wrong Jenna; it is very much my business what my wife is doing.”
I think it was the way he said wife that sent me over the edge. “Oh please, you don’t give a shit about me. You made that abundantly clear five years ago. So why don’t you just piss off!” I pushed him this time with as much force as I could muster. Jamieson didn’t move in inch but I did. The impact of hitting his broad chest was enough to make me sway off my six inch heels. I felt like everything was happening in slow motion. I could feel myself falling and trying to right myself but unsuccessfully. I then felt Jamieson’s large hands swoop out and steady me, pulling me safely against his chest.
I wanted to swat his hands away and storm off defiantly but it was glaringly obvious that my alcohol was finally catching up with me.
“Hey James, you got her?” Barry, our favorite bouncer asked him.
Barry must have seen me almost fall. I knew he wouldn’t actually kick me out but I also knew that was his way of politely saying it was time for me to head home.
“Yeah Barry, I got her,” he said still holding me plastered against his side.
“Audrey and Olivia are over by the bar.” I craned my neck behind him in search of my friends.
“I know.” He said simply and began dragging me with him through the sea of people toward the exit.
“Jamieson…” I tried to protest. I wanted to find my friends.
“Don’t argue, Jenna.” he growled pulling me through the exit and into the dark parking lot. He was still angry and I could give a shit less, I was angry too. I had been angry for five years.
Unlocking his Ford truck, he opened the passenger door for me and held out his hand to help me climb up inside. I just scoffed at his offer and yanked myself up. He slammed the door shut behind me. He quickly hopped into the driver’s seat, starting the loud diesel engine.
I didn’t speak a word as we made our way out of downtown Huntsville. It wasn’t until he turned onto the highway that panic struck me.
“Where are we going?” I demanded.
He didn’t say anything at first, he just took a in a deep breath and looked over at me for a half a second. “Home Jenna, I’m taking you home.”
I knew he wasn’t talking about my apartment; no Jamieson Wellington was taking me to his grand mansion of horrors, the one place on earth I dreaded most.
CHAPTER EIGHT
December 24, 2009…
“Good morning, baby.” Jamieson whispered in my ear gently waking me from my blissful sleep. We had traveled most of the night to get to Aspen. We were supposed to have left earlier in the week to meet up with Jamieson’s family, but an emergency business meeting came up and we had to wait until the day before Christmas Eve to travel. I was quickly coming to understand just how busy Jamieson really was. He was running his family’s large whiskey company basically on his own. Soon after we met, he had told me how his father had passed away suddenly from a heart attack two years earlier. At the time, Jamieson stepped up into his role at the family business. I had become
used to the constant phone calls and endless meetings he had to attend. But no matter how busy Jamieson was, he still made me feel like a priority. I was falling hard, but as happy as things were, I still worried about him. He was stretched too thin. He tried to hide it from me but I saw it. More nights than I could count I would wake up alone in bed. I wouldn’t have to go far to find him, he was always in his enormous office just down the hall. Sometimes he would be awake staring at his multiple computer screens and other times he would be sleeping soundly on the leather couch. In the beginning I would make my presence known to him, which would inevitably end in another passion filled exchange that had fatigued me in the first place. Now, I didn’t disturb him when I found him in his office. I had decided it was best to give him that time to be undistracted.
I was hoping this time in Aspen would help give him the rest I knew he desperately needed. We had gotten to his family’s large log home sometime in the wee hours of the morning. It was pitch dark out but the lights from the house reflected off the deep snow enough to lightly illuminate the impressive home. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering Jamieson’s own home was massive, but he had indicated the house in Aspen was more like a cabin. Well I certainly had not ever heard of a cabin having ten bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms and a freaking indoor pool. I hadn’t had time last night to truly appreciate the expansive home because it was so late and Jamieson had quickly whisked me upstairs to his room. I was exhausted from our red eye flight but once I was alone with Jamieson my body came alive. It seems he had also had a surge of energy as well.
When I entered the large bedroom I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it. His room was the size of a small home. Just like throughout the beautiful log cabin there sky-high ceilings, exposed beams and rugged stone work. In the middle of the oversized room was a massive wood framed bed that matched the rest of the wood in the home. It had been made up with a cozy red plaid duvet cover and what seemed like a million white fluffy pillows. The gorgeous bed faced a stunning stone fire place that Jamieson immediately turned on. The dim light of the roaring fire illuminated the expansive windows that ran the length of the room. It was too dark to see what the view outside, but I was sure it would be equally as amazing as the rest of the home.
