A servant leads her up the stairs and down a hall to the master bedroom. Leilani pauses in the doorway, but she refuses to go in. The bedroom is undeniably beautiful. Floor to ceiling windows show off the sea and the rainbow flowers below. White curtains hang from the ceiling to the gray carpeted floor. A huge bed sits in the middle of the room—allowing the person in it views of the sea below. Rose petals have been scattered across the crisp white bedspread.
“This looks like a honeymoon suite,” Leilani says with disgust. “Isn’t there another room I could have?”
“If you don’t like the decorations, I’m happy to rearrange it for you,” the servant says.
“No, I want a private room,” Leilani says.
The servant’s eyes brighten with understanding, and she says, “Oh, well, Mr. Clifford will be sleeping in the study. For now, this room is yours and yours alone.”
Leilani raises her eyebrows. She’s surprised that Andrew is acting like such a gentleman, but she’s also suspicious. She nods at the servant, closes the doors, and unpacks her bag. She opens the closet and finds several brand new dresses, skirts, shirts, and pants—it seems Jessica didn’t throw everything out the window.
Leilani grabs a simple outfit and heads into the large bathroom. The maid has already filled the tub with essential oils and red rose petals. The steam smells like lavender, and she slowly sinks into the warm water. From the tub, she can look at the beach. She closes her eyes and lets her body relax.
Andrew truly knows how to enjoy life, she thinks. I wonder if it’s because he was so sick as a child. I know he spent years in and out of the hospital. I bet that’s why cherishes time and seeks pleasure more than the average person.
As she relaxes, her mind begins to wander. She sees a tall, familiar figure standing in a large green field. Waylen turns around and whispers something, but she can’t hear what he’s saying. She opens her eyes and stares at the sparkling light on the surface of the bathwater.
She flips onto her stomach and rests her chin on the cool edge of the porcelain tub. She takes a deep breath in through her nose and then exhales through her mouth. It’s only been a day, and I already miss him, she thinks. How will I make it through the next six months?
She sighs and tries to focus on her breathing, but she hears a strange noise coming from the bedroom. Slowly, she stands, trying to keep the water from sloshing too loudly. She wraps herself in a silk robe, grabs a bottle of champagne from a tray by the tub, and tiptoes toward the door.
“Who’s there?” Leilani asks, tightening her grip on the glass bottle.
She throws the door open and sees Jessica rummaging through her suitcase. Jessica doesn’t seem to hear her, so Leilani creeps into the bedroom to get a better view. Jessica digs through the bag, tossing the book and the picture aside and grabbing the recording pen.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” Leilani asks.
Jessica jumps and turns to face Leilani. She laughs when she sees the champagne bottle in Leilani’s hand and bends her head to study the recording pen. She clicks the pen and pushes some of the buttons at random. The pen makes a crackling sound, and then Waylen’s voice fills the room.
“You’re the only woman in my life,” he says. “I want you to love me more than ever.”
Jessica’s eyes widen, and she almost drops the pen. She presses the rewind button, and Waylen’s voice fills the room again. Leilani bites her tongue, fighting back the tears. Her chest aches, and it feels like all the oxygen has left the room. Jessica plays the recording over and over until Waylen’s low and charming voice is all Leilani can remember.
“I hardly believe that’s Waylen,” Jessica says coldly. “I mean, everyone knows he’s cold-blooded and brutal. He has a reputation for rejecting every woman he’s ever seen. What did you do to make him talk like that? Did you blackmail him or something?”
Leilani balls her hand into a fist and asks, “You know what they call people who look through stuff that isn’t theirs?”
“Oh please,” Jessica says. “It’s my responsibility to make sure you don’t hurt my brother. And it’s not like you would have permitted me to look through your stuff if I’d asked.”
Leilani drops the champagne bottle on the carpeted floor and walks toward Jessica. It’s bad enough to hear Waylen’s voice when I’ll never be able to see him again, she thinks. But it’s even worse for Jessica to listen to it. That recording was private and intimate—just for Nanny and me. It feels wrong for her to listen to it like I’m betraying Waylen.
Leilani grabs the pen from Jessica and turns the recording off. She drops it into her bathrobe’s pocket and takes a deep breath. Her heart is still fluttering painfully in her chest, and her eyes burn with unshed tears. Her handshakes as she points at the door.
“Will you leave on your own, or do I have to kick you out?” Leilani asks, trying to keep her voice calm.
Jessica narrows her eyes and looks Leilani up and down. Her face is pale, and her forehead is wrinkled with worry. She walks toward the open door but pauses before stepping into the hall.
“What do you want from my brother?” Jessica asks. “You know Andrew is a sick man. He acts strong and healthy, but he’s not well. I don’t know what you want from him, but he can’t give it to you. I’ll make sure you never get a cent of his money. And he’s too ill to have a normal s.e.x life with you.”
“Even if I had an evil purpose, you couldn’t stop me,” Leilani says with a laugh. “Your brother will give me what I want, and nothing you say will change my mind.”
Leilani sits at the vanity and picks up a hairdryer. She turns it on, drowning out Jessica’s response. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jessica stomp out of the room and into the hallway. Though Jessica is gone, her shoes have left prints on the carpet. Leilani sighs and continues drying her hair.
Jessica stomps down the hall, too angry to pay attention to anything around her. She slams into something hard and strong hands grab her by the shoulders. She looks up and sees James.
“Watch where you’re going,” she snaps.
James smirks and takes his hands off her shoulders. He steps to the side and allows her to pass, then follows her down the hall. He stays several paces behind her.
Jessica looks over her shoulder and asks, “Can you walk faster?”
James nodded and quickened his pace. They come to the end of the hall, and Jessica stops outside her bedroom door. Though the door is unlocked, she waits for James to open it for her. She enters the room, and he follows her in, shutting the door behind him.
With a sigh, she kicks off her heels and unbuckles the tight belt around her waist. She unbuttons the top of her dress and fans her chest. James walks around the room, picking up her discarded clothes and putting them neatly in her closet. She slouches down on the sofa and looks up at James, fluttering her long eyelashes.
“Did you learn anything?” she asks.
“Yes, the heart in your brother’s body originally belonged to Charles Meyers,” James says.
“Charles?” Jessica asks, propping herself up with her elbows. “Oh, my God! Isn’t he Jackson’s cousin or something? No wonder Jackson has been acting so weird and distant lately.”
Jessica knows that her b.r.e.a.s.ts are on display, and she looks up at James to see if he’s looking at them. Instead of looking at her, he’s staring at the air above her head. She sighs and lies back down.
“My sources tell me that Charles has an artificial heart,” James says. “He’s in a coma right now, and it’s unclear if he’ll wake up or not.”
“He’s still alive?” Jessica asks. “That’s not good. If he wakes up, he’ll want the heart back.”
“That’s true,” James says. “You should also worry about Jackson—he wants to get Charles’ heart back too.”
“Nonsense!” Jessica says, jumping to her feet. “My brother is finally recovering. Jackson can’t take the heart away!”
She paces the room, trying to clear her mind. Suddenly, she remembers her conversation with Andrew: she asked him what Leilani wanted, and he pointed at his chest. I thought he meant his love, but what if he literally meant his heart? She thinks.
She turns to James and asks, “Is that why Leilani is here—is she after the heart?”
James shrugs and says, “If you want, I can drive the woman away for you. Just tell me what to do.”
“Can’t you figure it out yourself?” Jessica asks.
“I’m just a simple bodyguard,” James says with a smirk. “I wouldn’t dare act on my own.”
Jessica walks to the closet, grabs a show, and hurls it at James. He easily catches it and drops it onto the carpet.
“Don’t play innocent with me,” she screams. “When I was drugged, you could have soaked me in cold water or left me alone. You could have done any number of things, but you r.a.p.ed me instead. You owe me, James. You owe me everything.”
James stares at her expressionlessly, and she feels her cheeks flushing with anger. She flies across the room and pounds her fists against his solid chest. He makes no move to stop her.
“Were you the one who drugged me in the first place?” she asks. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Miss Clifford, please stop,” James groans. “You’re accusing me of some awful things—do you want to know the truth?”
“That depends,” Jessica says, still hitting him. “Is it the truth, or are you trying to trick me?”
“I didn’t drug you,” James says, looking deep into her eyes. “When I found you, you flirted with me and started to undress. I immediately knew that something was wrong—you dress provocatively, but I know you don’t normally seduce men. I guessed that you’d been drugged and tried to make you take a cold bath, but you refused.
“You told me you needed me. My God, Jessica, no woman has ever talked to me that way before. No woman has ever touched me the way you touched me. I tried to refuse, but there’s only so much a man can resist. You started to undress me, and I just—I couldn’t say no.”
Jessica stares at him in shock and horror. She doesn’t want to believe a word he’s said, but his face is serious. She can’t remember anything from that day, but she knows she can be overbearing. He may be telling the truth, she thinks. But how could he have been so shameless and weak?
“It’s my fault,” James whispers. “I should have been stronger. But if you’re pregnant, I’ll accept full responsibility as the father.”
Jessica’s heart pounds in her chest, and she says, “Responsibility? Are you offering to take responsibility? You don’t even know what that word means! Get out! I can’t even look at you right now!”
She points at the door with a trembling hand. James nods slowly and walks out of the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him. Jessica paces the room, her blood boiling with rage.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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