Chapter 23.1
Jason sat in a darkened room of the Loft, leaning on a leather sofa while clutching a bottle of rum. He was on the first floor of the Loft, the surveillance room which was equipped with the supercomputer, that was masquerading as a living room. He was drinking from the bottle while next to him was a raised platform from the floor that was doubling as a small side table; on the table were two empty bottles, indicating that he had been like this for a while.
As he took another swing from the bottle, Jason incessantly watched the sprawling metropolis of Sanctuary that was around him. Currently, the walls, floors, and windows were activated with holograms that transmitted the scenery outside in 4D format. If one were to enter the room, they'd think that Jason was sitting and drinking on a chair in midair amongst the clouds.
Why didn't I choose differently? Why did I have to be such a ... fucked up asshole? Jason asked himself. His mind drifted to the day that it all changed for Alina and him...
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"Do you have to go right now?" Alina asked in a whiny voice while grabbing the hem of Jason's shirt, preventing him from leaving.
"I'm just leaving for a short while, I'll be back before you even know it," Jason soothed Alina who puffed her cheeks in protest.
"No! It's my birthday you can't leave!" Alina dug her heels into the ground and pulled Jason towards her as he tried to escape her grasp.
"I have to kid. And no, I can't tell you why, it's a surprise," Jason told Alina who stopped when she heard the last word.
"A surprise?"
"Uh-huh."
"Hmph. Fine, I'll let you go," Alina, thinking the surprise was for her, decided to allow Jason to leave and the latter sighed in relief before hastily escaping.
It was the eve of Alina's birthday and, while Diana and the servants prepared for Alina's twelve birthday, Jason had been called away by Katelyn who asked to meet him outside the Sage mansion. Arriving at the park where he first met Alina and Katelyn, Jason found the latter standing alone gazing up at the sky, her pretty silhouette painted by the warm, yellow lights of the street lamps. Jason smiled wickedly and sneaked up from behind her. He embraced her tightly while kissing her neck. Katelyn, who was initially surprised, gave him a rather forlorn smile before she reached behind and wrapped an arm around his neck, slowly caressing his head and hair.
"A little risque doing it here, Katie," Jason murmured in her ear. He breathed in her sweet, flowery aroma that was tinged with perfume while brushing his face against her neck "But I'm game if you are."
"That's - that's not why I called you," Katelyn said. She pulled away and turned to face Jason, her soft eyes were hesitant and confused. "I just want to ask, do you love me?"
Jason's eyes turned frigid. The answer was yes but he didn't want to admit it. If he did, then he'd have to accept reality, that he loved her, and that was something he wanted to avoid. In his mind, the figure of a singing redhead, as lithe as a fairy and as fair as an angel, appeared once more, throwing his heart into turmoil.
"Why are you asking this now?" Jason's midnight brown eyes looked darker in the shadows, and Katelyn couldn't help but find herself lost within them.
"I- that night," Katelyn muttered.
Jason knew what she was talking about. Some time ago, when they were in the middle of making love, Katelyn moaningly confessed her love for him after an intense climax. Jason, upon hearing her, immediately pulled away and ordered her to leave, his emotionless eyes bereft of the love she had for him. Since that day, despite continuing their love affair, neither of them brought up their feelings for each other.
"If - if you love me, then, please. Please, just say it. Say it once," Katelyn closed her eyes and asked.
"Katelyn," Jason said quietly while looking away guiltily. He started all of this while thinking of, and yearning for, Elizabeth but then things changed and now ... "Why bring this up now? Let's just focus on the celebration. Alina will miss us both if we're gone for too long."
Katelyn grabbed Jason's hand and stopped him from leaving. The latter looked back at her inquisitively with bemusement; her behaviour was abnormal, it was almost like she was panicking and preventing him from leaving.
"I know we can't be together. Not as long as you're a Sage. But it doesn't have to be that way," Katelyn said with tears leaking from her eyes. "Come with me. Let's run away … disappear. Leave all this behind and go somewhere else. Just us, you and me. Together."
"Katie-" Jason felt tempted. He hated the life of the upper class.
His relationship with Alina was complicated by his not so subtle relationship with her mother, Diana which, thankfully, Alina was unaware of. The distaste for how people treated him, smiling and fawning over his every word and move while conspiring against him behind his back, the looks of lust socialites, of all age, sent him when he had to entertain people in private parties, all while they tried to ruin Katelyn for being so close to him ... it was all so … sickening. And tiring.
"I know you've never opened up, not entirely, but I promise to accept you all. Everything, your anger, your wounds, your scars, every bit of you. And I'll give you everything. My heart, my body, my soul. Just ... stay with me. Stay … here. With me … away. Away from danger."
"What do you mean?" Jason, bemused, paused when he felt several people approaching him at a fast speed. His narrowed eyes locked in Katelyn while his aura shifted, the coldness emanating from him chilled her to her core. "Katelyn, what have you done?"