CHAPTER 26

"Jace, are you okay?" I asked him standing up from the counter

"Jace" I called his name approaching him when he didn't answer

I looked at the caller id on his phone and it was the same person as the day he snapped at me

"Jace" I said touching him lightly

He looked at me and his eyes were, to put it in a simple words, his eyes were negative. I immediately hugged him, tight

There was no way he was going back into the past. Not on my watch and while I'm alive

JACE'S P.O.V.

Everything was going perfect, I was really happy

I finally told Mel everything, I confessed the feeling I had been keeping inside me. We even just had a perfect meal while watching a beautiful movie so, how could everything just go bouncing back to the opposite. Why did he call? How could he call? Why now?

"Jace, are you okay" I heard Mel asking but, I couldn't

"Jace" she called again

"Jace" she called again this time touching me

When she did, I looked at her

I was scared, I didn't want everything to go back to the way it was. I didn't want to live in the past anymore. I wanted to be happy. With her. As is sensing what I was going through, she hugged me tight. At first, I didn't move, I could move then I hugged her back burying my face at the side of neck

"I'm here, Jace, I'm here" she chanted

"Am not going anywhere" she added

I hugged her tighter, I really hope I wasn't choking her

"It's okay" she said

Without my permission, a tear slipped but, I didn't mind

"It's okay, Jace. I'm here and I'm never going. I'm never leaving you"

Gathering all my energy, I stepped back

"Let's get you home" I told her but, she didn't bulge

"I'm not going" she said firmly

"Mel"

"I'm not leaving you"

"I'm fine"

"Are you kidding me? You are a mess right now. I'm staying, Jace"

"It's already to eight. It's getting late, Mel" I told her although no part of me wanted her to go

"Jace" she cupped my cheeks, "I'm here to stay"

"I'm really fine, Mel, I just need to rest" I was about to stand but, she didn't let me

Instead, she kiss me and hugged me tight

"Jace, listen to me. No matter what, no matter what you're going through, I'm always going to be here with you. Even if you tell me you're okay a thousand time, I'll still be here. So, don't tell me to leave, Jace. You wanted a new start together and we're going to have that new start. Don't tell me to leave, Jace. Please"

I hugged her

"I don't want you to leave, Mel. I don't want you to leave but, you don't need to be in my world. It doesn't deserve to have you in it"

"Why?" she stepped back and asked

"Because you're way too special" I told her

She looked at me and no one said anything for a while

She came closer to me, brought my head closer to her and kissed me. With hesitation at first, I kissed her back but I melted

"There's no one as special to me in this world as you, Jace" she said

"No one" she repeated and smiled

I smiled back at her and hugged her

"I love you, Mel. So much" I told her

"I know"

I retreated her and squinted my eyes which made her laugh

"You really are conceited, aren't you" I asked her

She just shrugged, smiling

"And you complain about me"

"You're different and more annoying"

"At least you know you are annoying" I told her which was a mistake. She acknowledged that as she kicked my shin

"Ow!"

"Oh come on, be a man" she told me

I was about to say something that would make her speechless but I was interrupted. We looked at my phone's back for a while but as I was about to look at the id, she took the phone from my phone from my hand, cut the call and shut sown the phone

"The caller must be dense. I mean, if someone doesn't answer your calls, you are meant to get the message by now" she said and I couldn't help to laugh at her statement

"Let's go to the living room" I said and took her hand

"That was my dad" I told her when we sat down

"Your dad" she asked not getting what I was saying

After a while, her eyes opened in realization

"The dense man?" she said then covered her mouth

"Sorry" she said

"Don't be, he deserves to be called worse things"

"What happened?" she asked cautiously

I took her hand and started to play with her fingers, to distract me a little

"Before John and I were born, our dads were rivals so when the women started getting friendly, they were strongly against it"

"Rivals?"

"You know, the normal business rivalry rubbish"

"Oh"

"When John and I were born, they weren't really around so, we became close through our mothers. When the fathers noticed how close we were, they tried to separate us but, they couldn't, one reason was because of their busy schedule. They were rivals but one would think they were twins with they way they think"

"The two of them were against your friendship and thought one family was planning it to bring the other family down" Mel guessed

"Correct. From the pictures, it was obvious that even though I cropped them at our birth, they weren't even there for the other outings so. When John died.." I paused and took a deep breath while Mel assured me. I smiled at her

"The reason why Jade couldn't find anything was because they blocked everything. Even when his son died, the only thing he worried about was people finding out and him no longer being able to win against my father. Because of that John parents divorced while for my father .." I laughed bitterly

"I don't even know why I expected something from him. He behaved as if nothing happened; as if his only child's brother hasn't just died and his child didn't almost die. Do you know what he said to me the day after John was buried? The two of them didn't come for the burial but, do you know what that man said, 'Thank goodness all distractions are now over. Get ready and be focused to take over from me now'. That's what he said. He got the company after John's dad got divorced and that was all that was in his head. No simple how are you or anything. Instead he tell me to get my head straight and that I should get over that 'feeble' thing. That unlucky dream. He also got divorced but that was after he got the company so, they couldn't do anything to him, he was the owner" I was now angry

"Even till now?" Mel asked

"Yes. He never asks me how I am or how I'm doing, just to take over. I don't even want him to ask, he should just leave me alone. That's all I want"

That was almost everything. Everything about me

"That garbage" Mel said and I turned to look at her

She scoffed and continued

"That disgusting garbage. That weasel. How dare him? He should better make sure I don't ever cross his path. If I do, he's so going to regret the day he was born and the day he set his foot in that monkey business company of his"

She stood up

"Gosh, I'm so angry" she said fanning her face then looked at me

"Do you know where he lives? Let's go there and teach him a lesson he will never forgot"

I was now smiling as she continued

"I'm so going to make him suffer. I'm going to pull out all his intestines and give it to stray dogs as free meal. I'm going to pluck out his eye balls and make them into table tennis balls. I'm going to rip out his balls and make them bisect them. I'm going to shrew ..."

I pulled her on my laps and looked at her holding her waist while smiling

"You really never seemed to surprise me, do you?" I said as I kissed her passionately with only two words in my head

*Melanie O'Roarke*