by Jerilee Kaye
When Adrienne’s tears subsided, Jin pulled away from her and wiped her face with his fingers.
“We’re going home, Adrienne,” he said. “Now. Not a day later. Mom has waited for you for almost half of her life. She’s suffered too much already.”
“Didn’t you say that she was Amanda Seville? The famous writer,” Adrienne asked.
Jin grinned. “Now you know where your talent came from.”
A surge of happiness filled Adrienne’s heart. She felt like…finally all the questions she’s been asking herself all her life were answered by Jin in one night.
She nodded. She would love to meet her mother… her real mother. The one who sang songs to her and cuddled her in her sleep when she was too young to even remember.
Jin put an arm around her shoulder. Then he turned back to find Yuan and Jill standing behind them, still in shock. They were as dumbfounded as Adrienne, herself
“I’m taking Adrienne to Paris tonight. You guys wanna come?” Jin asked them.
It took a moment for Adrienne’s friends to recover. Then Yuan asked, “Why? You’re going to pay for our flights?” It was a sarcastic question.
“Flights, food and accommodation for a week, or however long you want to keep my sister company,” Jin replied without blinking.
Yuan and Jill stared at each other in pure shock. Once they recovered, Yuan grinned and said, “Oh, Jin Starck, we’re totally sold!”
28. Xemethistos
Greek, meaning Sober
“The prodigal son returns.” Jordan Gibson was peering from the top of the staircase, looking down as his older cousin walked inside the house.
Justin looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. His cousin had a smirk on his face and it almost took all of his strength not to climb the twenty-step staircase and break his nose. He was usually not a violent person. But he just spent the entire flight from New York to Chicago pushing his alcohol tolerance to its limit. Patience did not rank high on his virtue list right now. “Fuck off, Jord!” he muttered instead.
Jordan received a gentle punch on the shoulder from his other cousin, Gian. They watched as Justin walked straight to his father’s study on the ground floor of the twelve-bedroom mansion.
Just before Justin opened the door, Gian called out to him.
“Hey J!”
Justin turned back to Gian. He smiled at him. “I like her!”
Then Ian peered from behind her twin brother’s shoulder. “Me, too! I became a fan when she slammed the door in your face. No wonder you’re crazy about her.” She smiled at him encouragingly.
Justin nodded at his cousins. He appreciated their support. He needed it. Especially now, since his heart bled from Adrienne’s decision to give him his freedom. Freedom to embrace his destiny. Freedom to give his parents’ crazy decision a chance.
No! What Adrienne did only made him love her more. He knew how broken she was and how painful it was for her to give him up to another woman. And yet, she still set him free because she didn’t want him to destroy his relationship with his parents.
And because of what she did, she just proved to Justin that she was the only woman worthy of becoming Mrs. Justin Adams.
God! Let me fix this! I could use a miracle!
He opened the door of his father’s study. His father looked up from the stack of papers he worked on, his eyes transfixed on his son.
“Where’s Mom?” Justin asked his father.
“In the hospital,” he said. “I’ll take you there after I sign these papers.”
Justin nodded and went to the wine counter and poured himself some whiskey. He was quiet. He felt that nothing he could say to his father would make him change his opinion of him, or his mind about making him marry the brat of their good friends. He drank the liquor, keeping his back to his father. He silently looked at the books in front of him, not really reading their titles. But he just needed something to look at to keep himself from having another verbal judo match with his father.
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Son…” his father started.
Justin inclined his head slightly towards his old man.
His father took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I kicked you out. But I’m glad you’re back.”
Justin looked at the books in front of him again. He didn’t say anything.
His father removed his hand from his shoulder. “Thank you. For coming back. Your mother took it very hard.”
Justin drank his whiskey straight up. Then he turned to his father. “Don’t thank me,” he finally said. “Thank Adrienne.” Pain shot to his heart when he mentioned her name. “She set me free. Because she didn’t want me to destroy my relationship with you. If she didn’t beg me to come here, I wouldn’t be in front of you…feeling absolutely miserable.”
And then he went to the door. “Are we going to the hospital or not?”
“Justin!” his father roared at him. “Do not disrespect me.”
Justin threw his hands in the air. “I’m not disrespecting you! But I hope you excuse my less-than-gallant demeanor today, Dad. I happen to be a little heartbroken! The love of my life asked me… no, begged me, to leave her so I can come back to you. I’m sure you remember what a heartbreak feels like! Or maybe you don’t. Coz you’ve woken up to the love of your life for the last twenty-eight years.”
“Son…” his father started. “When I was in your place, before I met your mother, I was exactly like this. I didn’t understand why my parents forced me to marry somebody I haven’t met yet. I understood the business arrangement. But at that point, I asked them, too…why it’s me who needed to sacrifice for the family. We had more than we needed. I couldn’t understand why we wanted more.” His father looked at him wearily. “But I couldn’t thank them enough for their choice. Your mother is an excellent woman.”
Justin raised a brow at his father. “So is Adrienne,” he said evenly.
“We want to make sure you marry well,” his father said. “That the woman you will marry is marrying you not for your money or your privilege.”
Justin narrowed his eyes and pretended to look thoughtful. “Gees! If I wasn’t Justin Adams, she wouldn’t be arranged to marry me. Isn’t that considered marrying me for my money or my privilege?”
His father took a deep breath, doubtless trying to control his temper. “This conversation is pointless. You’re drunk. You aren’t in your proper frame of mind.”
Justin grinned at his father sarcastically. “It won’t make a difference, Dad,” he said. “Because this is how I’m going to be for the rest of my life. Drunk and not in the proper frame of mind. So I suggest, get used to it.”
“One more disrespectful word out of your mouth and your wedding will happen sooner than you can turn sober!” his father said in a booming voice.
“Sir, yes, sir,” Justin murmured, turning towards the door and opening it. “I’ll see you in the car. I have a feeling…and this is just a hunch…that… that I’m way over the alcohol limit. Obviously, I can’t… can’t drive.”
He exited the room. He was a little tipsy, yes. But he had a high alcohol tolerance, he knew he couldn’t entirely blame alcohol for his less than respectful words to his father.
He found Ian standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at him wearily. She has a look of sadness on her face.
“I’m sorry, Justin,” she whispered. She ran to him and gave him a hug. “I’m so sorry.”
It took a moment for Justin to put an arm on Ian’s back.
“Don’t be sorry for me just yet, Ian,” Justin whispered. “Be sorry for the girl whose fate is being forced to mine.”
Ian pulled away from Justin and stared at him. “Justin… what do you mean?”
Justin stared down at Ian. His eyes glittered in spite of himself. “Just wait, Ian. I would die first before I marry some other woman other than Adrienne.”
“Justin…they would…disown you!” Ian whispered.
“They already did,”
Justin said. “And yet, I’m still here. More miserable than ever.”
Gian and Jordan appeared behind Ian’s back.
“We feel you, cuz,” Gian said. “If you need help, you know you can count on us, right?”
Justin smiled at his cousins. “I know. But right now, I think I might be on my own.”
His father emerged from his study and looked at his son and his cousins. “You guys going to visit your aunt?” he asked.
“We just came from there,” Ian began. “She’s doing fine. Just minor cuts and bruises. Doctor said she’ll be home in a day or two.” Somehow Justin knew that it was her way of telling him not to feel too guilty about his mother’s condition. It wasn’t anything serious.
Jac Adams looked at his son. “Let’s go.”
Justin didn’t speak the rest of the way to the hospital. He leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes. He thought about Adrienne. The way she looked the first time he saw her. She appeared so conservative and reserved, hiding away her beautiful personality beneath her knit sweaters, plaid pants and black-rimmed glasses. She looked like a woman who had no idea how attractive she could be and couldn’t care less about what others would think about her.
The first time he laid eyes on her, something in him stirred. The fact that she didn’t even look up at him when he passed by the corridors of Blush made her even more attractive to him.
He never had a problem with the ladies. He didn’t even have to memorize or master the use of pickup lines. He had always been confident of his looks, and the name he carried had its advantages in charming a woman to his bed. But he made it clear from the start that he was just having fun. Nothing spelled permanency. The fact that he knew he was already promised to another woman took the pressure off his back to make a woman fall in love with him. He didn’t care if the woman walked out on him after they spent the night together. If she didn’t, then he would.
Remembering how he used to be, Justin couldn’t help thinking that Adrienne was right. He was an asshole when she first met him. But he was no longer that guy. He no longer wanted to play the field.
He played on Wall Street because he did well there. That was him. Things just seemed to come easy to him. He played the stock market and made millions on his own, because it gave him something worthwhile to do before he embraced his destiny of being the heir of Adams Industries. Just like how he played the field with women. It gave him a reprieve before he surrendered himself to his bride-to-be. The woman he would pledge his faithfulness to for the rest of his life.
But when Adrienne came to his life, he realized that he was done. It was time to start taking things seriously. He started working for his father. He only kept the stocks he thought were worth keeping. He stopped playing on Wall Street…he stopped playing the field with women. He started becoming serious. He stopped being rebellious…and hoped his family would see how this woman changed him. How she was so good for him. But nothing changed. The moment they saw him coming around, they also thought he was ready to meet his destined wife.
They didn’t see that he changed because of Adrienne. Because finally, he started seeing his future with her. He started imagining himself taking the reins from his father, and then coming home every night to the woman he couldn’t live without. He started believing he could be happily married to a woman… something he never saw before, knowing how he would end up marrying his parents’ choice for him.
“We are here.” His father interrupted his thoughts.
When Justin opened his eyes, he felt pain in his head. The effects of alcohol had started to take a toll on him. He pressed his temples with his fingers.
“Headache?” his father asked.
“Good that we’re at a hospital then,” Justin murmured.
His mother had the most luxurious suite in the hospital. When she saw him, she cried almost instantly.
“Oh, Justin,” she said, stretching her arms out to him.
Justin went to her silently. He gave his mother a hug. When he pulled away from her, he saw that she only had a small cut on her forehead. Ian was right. She had minor injuries. But what Justin really worried about was her emotional pain.
“Sweetheart, I’m so glad you came back.”
Justin still didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already did.
Then his mother stared back at him. “Have you been drinking?” she asked.
He nodded slightly. Then he finally said, “I’m glad to see that you’re doing better now.”
She smiled at him apologetically. “When your father said you were going to move out of the house, I thought I’d never see you again.”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “You know that…won’t happen, Mom. I will always find time to see you.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she said. “You know…you know we were only looking out for you.”
Justin nodded again. He may disagree with his parents on many things, but he would always love them. Other than the fact that they were forcing him to marry somebody he didn’t love, he knew that they’ve always been the best parents.
They were interrupted by the nurse. Justin went to stand by the glass windows and looked at the view of the hospital. Again, he lost himself in his thoughts. His heart still ached every time he thought about Adrienne and her pain when she let him go. How she made love to him the prior night. How she answered his question when they pretended he was free to ask that question at all. The letter she wrote to him, which he knew she wrote with deep sorrow.
He knew he had to play his cards right. Making his parents change their minds was a tricky business. He’s played the games of life many times and didn’t care if he won or lost. But this time… he knew he couldn’t afford to lose. Money wasn’t at stake here. This time, it’s his life, his heart, his soul. And he’s already decided only one woman has the right to claim them.
“Justin…” his mother called him.
Justin turned to his mother and didn’t say anything.
“Are you okay, honey?” she asked.
You think?
He didn’t say that out loud. His father might tolerate his attitude towards him, but he would never forgive him if he even utter one disrespectful word to his mother.
He nodded slightly. He stared out the window again. Nothing in the view in front of him seemed interesting. But he just didn’t want to look at his mother and not say anything.
“Have you eaten?” she asked. “I will ask somebody to get you food.”
Justin shook his head. “I’m not hungry, Mom.
Her mother nodded and smiled at him ruefully.
After a long period of silence, Justin went to his mother and kissed her forehead. “I need to get back,” he said. “I could use a shower and my head feels like it’s gonna split.”
His mother hugged him. “I’m sorry, Justin,” he heard tears in his voice. “I hope you will be able to forgive us.”
Justin didn’t hug his mother back, nor did he say anything. When he pulled away from her, he kissed her cheek again and then he headed for the door. His father didn’t make an attempt to follow him.
Justin went out of the hospital and decided to walk to clear his head.
He looked at his phone. No calls. No messages. He stared at Adrienne’s picture on his wallpaper. He missed her and his heart broke every time he thought that he couldn’t be with her…at least not yet.
He dialed her number, unable to resist the urge to talk to her.
But it was off. He tried again. Still off. After two more attempts, he gave up. He took a deep breath. Maybe Adrienne was really pushing him to try his parents’ way first and if it didn’t work out, he could come back to her.
He didn’t know how long that would take. He didn’t have any intention to prolong it. He thought his best chance right now lay in his parents seeing how wrong this choice was. The next chance he has is if the girl he was arranged to… no, he would never use the word ‘engaged’…would see wha
t a monstrous, despicable guy he was. He hoped she would save herself the trouble and lifetime of misery and just let him go.
When he got home, he took a long, hot shower. He must have stayed under the water until his skin wrinkled. He sent a message to their butler to bring some food up for him. He no longer had any energy of facing any of his family members. At that time, he just wanted to be alone.
After dinner, he asked one of the maids to bring whisky and ice to his room. He drank in his room’s balcony, looking at the starlit sky. There was a lover’s moon in the sky and he again wished the woman he loved was in his arms, looking at it with him.
“Adrienne Miller…I love you so much. With all of my heart. I want no one else in my life, in my future. I want to spend an eternity with you. I want you to be the mother of all my children. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, Justin, I would.”
He repeated that memory over and over in his head. How he wished, too…that everything was in the ideal world. That he asked her that question for real. And that she said yes.
He didn’t know it, but tears started to well up in his eyes. He realized how scared he was. Scared that his parents wouldn’t accept him returning to her. Scared that if he did come back, he would be too late.
Adrienne was an exquisite woman. A lot of guys were interested in her at Blush. Even some rich heirs seemed to have found a liking for her. It wasn’t just him. And what killed Justin was the fact that he couldn’t even do anything to prevent her from finding happiness with another guy… when he, himself, isn’t free to give her the happiness that she deserved. And he’s scared that someday, when he is finally free… she has grown tired of waiting and has given up on him.
He wiped his tears with his fingers. Then he took his glass to his lips and drank his whiskey again.
He had no idea that he was no longer alone. His father was standing behind him, watching him.
Jac Adams sat on the chair beside Justin and poured himself a glass of his whiskey. The two men sat there quietly, looking into space.
