All the wrong places episode 15

🌼ALL THE WRONG PLACES🌼
🌻EPISODE FIFTEEN 🌻

Julianne’s heart raced and she could feel her pulse
hammering in her veins.
What’s going on? What’s my father doing here?
“Is my brother here?” she asked Viktor.
Viktor shook his head. “I haven’t a clue, Miss
Sanders.”

“Thank you,”
She went up the steps and walked towards the tea
room, where Viktor said her father was.
Since she’d arrived in this house, her father had never
set foot in here again. He never attended any of their family
affairs since she came back to the States.
Why is he here now?
Does this mean, he had a change of heart?
Is he finally open to meeting his grandson?
Is he ready to forgive me and we can start anew?
The door to the tea room had been left ajar. She went
closer, hoping to catch a bit of their conversation. She
wouldn’t really eavesdrop. She just wanted to know the
mood. And she wanted to hear his father’s voice again. It
had been seven long years.
“With all due respect, Uncle Edward,” she heard Justin
say in a firm voice. “My parents had nothing to do with this.
It was my decision.”
“You have always been meddling with the family’s
decision, Justin. You have somehow designated yourself as a
savior of some sort. Someday, your arrogance will get the
better of you,” her father said. He didn’t sound happy at all.
“Edward, my son is his own man. He’s almost never
wrong with his decisions. I trust him. He knows what he’s
doing.”
Are they talking about business? Maybe I shouldn’t be
listening to this.

She was about to walk away but she heard his father
say in a loud, booming voice, “You are interfering with my
family’s affair!”
“Uncle Edward,” Justin’s voice was firm but controlled.
“Are you forgetting? Ian was no longer your family when you
threw her out of the house in the midst of her pregnancy? At
the time she needed you the most?”
“She deserved it for the shame that she brought our
family!” her father said angrily.
“Well, not all of us share your opinion,” Justin said.

“Only you disowned her. She’s still my family. She has every
right to live in this house. And you don’t have a say about
it.”
“Edward, what do you want?” Jac Adams asked. His
voice also sounded stressed and Julianne knew that he’s
almost always calm. “This is not your house. It’s mine. My
father built it. And it’s Justin’s too. Justin has every right to
say who comes in and out of here. Only he and I can decide
who can live here or not. Are you demanding that we throw
out your daughter and her son too? When you know very
well she has nowhere to go?”
“Her being here is a slap in the face for me. You are
disrespecting my family’s decision to disown her! She has
no right in this family anymore. She waived all that when
she sired that bastard of hers!”
Julianne was crushed to hear her father say those
words about her. Not only did he disown her. He wants
everybody else who cared for her to disown her too.
“Jared!” Justin said, raising his own voice.
“What?” Mister Sanders asked.
“Your grandson has a name,” Justin said in a grave
tone. “Jared Adrien Sanders. That’s his name.”
“Oh, so Julianne thought it proper for the bastard to
carry my name as well?”
“You son of a bitch!” she heard Jac curse. “You’re mad
at your daughter, we know. But leave the poor boy out of
this! If you have no heart for them, just leave them to us!
We will take care of both of them. We want nothing from
you.”

“Julianne and Jared can use my maiden family name,”
Julianne recognized her Aunt Christine’s voice. She wasn’t
even aware that she was also in the room. “She can use
Smith. She shouldn’t have to carry your surname. You do not
deserve her!”
“Say whatever you want to say. This family has rules.
And you, Justin, had broken it the second time around!”
Edward said angrily. “How do you think Mason’s father feel
now? Instead of Mason begging for their forgiveness, you
gave him an option to defy them even further. His head had
gotten big! He has no need for his parents anymore thinking
he’d become a successful gambler.”
“Mason’s success comes from running a gambling
hotel, not from gambling itself. There’s a huge difference,”
Justin pointed out.
“A hotel he couldn’t have afforded without your
meddling!” Edward said angrily. “And now, you’re doing the
same to my daughter! She needs to feel remorse for her
actions! And she’s not going to do that, with you people
constantly helping her! She needs to repent for what she
had done to my name!”

“You didn’t want her to repent, Uncle. You wanted her
to suffer,” Justin argued. “And she did. She suffered for
years. And she has suffered more than enough. I’m giving
her a chance to live her life and make something out of
herself, for the sake of her son.”
“I lost businesses and alliances because of what she
did. If she didn’t come back pregnant, she could have been
McAllister’s wife now. And my deals wouldn’t have gone
sour. I’ve lost a couple of million dollars because of what she
did!”
“With all due respect, Uncle Edward, I think your
daughter and your grandson are worth more than that. You
just fail to recognize it.”
Each word that came out of her father’s mouth was a
hammer that smashed the pieces of her already crushed
heart even more. And she couldn’t help wondering if her
father loved her at all. Or did she not mean anything to him
but a pawn he could offer to a richer family for alliances?
There were further arguments in the room. She tried
to make out the words they were saying.
“I’m warning you, Justin!” her father was almost
shouting. “Stop meddling with this family’s affairs! Respect
your elders! Respect the way we discipline our children. Or
you will start a family feud with what you’re doing!”
The door suddenly opened and her father appeared
before her. He was taken aback when he saw her standing
at the door.
She raised her chin to him, looking at him, while trying
hærd to hold back her tears.
“Will you never learn to forgive me, father?” she
asked in a broken voice.

“If you know what’s good for this family, you will have
the sense to do what’s right,” he told her in a low, stern
voice. Then he walked away without another backward
glance.
Julianne was dumbfounded. How could her father feel
so much hatred for her? She felt gentle arms wrap around
her.
“Oh my poor child,” Christine whispered to her. “Do
not mind him. He’s always been stubborn.”

“Are you alright, Ian?” Justin asked, his voice was full
of worry for her. And Julianne’s heart broke even more
because Justin was more concerned about her than the
grave threats that her father gave him.
“Do not mind him, Ian,” Jac said. “He’s being
unreasonable. You know how he is.”
“My sister doesn’t have a say in their marriage,”
Christine sighed. “But it does not mean that she shares the
opinion of her husband. I will speak to her when I get a
chance.”
“Do not worry, Ian. Many of our relatives do not agree
with what Edward did to you,” Jac said.
“Even Mason’s parents are proud of what he has
become. They would forgive Mason in a heartbeat, if he asks
for their forgiveness,” Christine informed her.

“Thank… thank you. I love you all,” Julianne said in a
broken voice. “I know you care for me and I will forever be
grateful for that. But now, please… I need a moment to be
alone.”
Then she walked away to her room. She could barely
hold it together. Her chest felt heavy. But she couldn’t cry.
She wouldn’t.
Justin was right. She had suffered a lot already. She
didn’t want anything from her father. Just his forgiveness.
And his acceptance of Jared. But it seemed that was
impossible. Her father could be heartless if he wanted to.
She stayed in her room for the rest of the afternoon.
She didn’t want to face anybody. She was distraught, she
could barely breathe. Even Adrienne couldn’t talk to her.
She asked for space and they respected that. She needed
time to think.

By evening, she fed Jared in his room. Then she made
sure he was tucked into bed. She tried her best to be jolly in
front of her son. But deep in,side, her heart was bleeding for
him.
He didn’t deserve this rejection at such an early age!
As she watched Jared sleep, she realized that one of
his grandfathers didn’t know he existed. The other one
refused to acknowledge his existence.
She leaned forward to k-ss Jared on the forehead. He
was a beautiful kid. He deserved so much better. And that was why she was working doubly hærd. She wanted to give
him the best. He wouldn’t lack for anything in life.

When she returned to her room, it was already ten in
the evening. The house was quiet. Everybody either
retreated to their own chambers or in the game room
having a drink and doubtless discussing about her father’s
unlikely visit and the threats he left behind.
In truth, her family’s wealth was only about a third of
Justin’s. Her father didn’t stand a chance if he made good of
those threats. But Julianne wasn’t sure she wanted to be the
reason for the feud between their families. Her father may
not be as rich as Justin, but he’s still worth at least a couple
of hundred million dollars. That meant he could also afford
firepower and an army.

I’m not worth this fight! I can’t be the reason why this
family will fall apart!
She felt thankful for the love and the support she was
receiving from the people around her. She felt heartbroken
for the hatred her father still had for her. She felt scared of
the feud she could spark between their families. Justin
would be at the center of it and she couldn’t afford to ruin
him after all that he’d done for her.
What am I going to do?
She has nowhere to go. And Jared could not be caught
in the middle of these. He was too young, too innocent.

When she came back to her room, she was surprised
to find Jin sitting on her bed. He was wearing a white shirt
and a pair of black drawstring p-nts. When he stood, she
could make out the contours of his toned abs underneath
his shirt, which momentarily took her mind off her problems.
Then she shook herself back to reality. “What are you
doing here?” she demanded. “Please! I’ve had a difficult
day. I don’t have the strength to argue with you. Try me any
other day.”
Instead of bickering back, he stood up from her bed
and said, “I’m not here to argue with you, ma belle.”

“Then why are you here?”
“You didn’t want to talk to anybody. Not even
Adrienne.” His voice was serious, and she could tell he was
being careful with his words.
“And what makes you think I will talk to you?”
“I won’t ask you to talk to me, either,” he said. When
he looked at her, his expression was soft and gentle. She
may be imagining it, because she could see the look of
concern on his face. “I can tell that you could barely hold it,
ma belle.” He shook his head. “You don’t have to say
anything at all.” He held his arms open for her. “Come
here.”
It was like she was being magnetized. Her legs
seemed to have involuntarily moved slowly towards him.
When she was a few feet away from him, he snatched her
into his arms and gave her a warm, comforting hug. Julianne
closed her eyes and she let the tears roll down her cheeks.

She cried. Finally!
The last time she cried about her parents was when
she delivered Jared and she realized they really weren’t
going to change their minds about disowning her. She was
young and alone. She had no clue about motherhood. She
was having a baby alone. She needed at least her mother to
be there for her, to teach her how to carry and care for her
baby. But they didn’t come. Not for her. Not for her son.
And after all these years, she thought she had learned
to accept the fact that she was on her own, that she was no
longer a part of her family. She would always have Gian but
she’d lost both her parents. And if it was a choice between
her parents and her son… well, she was sure of one thing.
She would never abandon her son the way her parents had
abandoned her. You do not give up on your kid. No matter
what happened.
She remembered her father’s last words to her.

If she knew what was good for this family, she would
do what was right. And she knew exactly what her father was talking about.
Justin and Adrienne would never give her and Jared
up. Her father had no power to ask them to send her away.
And as long as she was in this family, her parents would
never forgive Justin for helping her. If her father could not
punish her, he would put pressure on Justin, on her Uncle Jac
and her Aunt Christine. She would become the wedge that
would drive this clan apart.

Jin was right when he told her that she had made a
mistake, and those mistakes have consequences. But now,
she realized that nobody else had to suffer for it. Especially
not Justin and Adrienne.
She knew exactly what she had to do. The question is,
would she have the courage to do it?
Her father was specific about not wanting her to live
here. He didn’t say anything about not wanting her to work
for Adams Industries. She could keep her job there because
the money was good and she needed it for Jared. But she
couldn’t keep living here anymore. She would not make it
difficult for Justin and her Aunt and Uncle.

She felt Jin car-ss her head against his shoulder. He
didn’t say a word. He just held her, provided her the comfort
that she needed while she cried her heart out.
For years, she had tried to be strong. And now, she
allowed herself to be weak. She broke down and Jin was the
person holding her together.
Slowly, he bent down, picked her up and carried her to
bed like she weighed nothing. He lay next to her and took
her into his arms.

“You don’t have to talk, ma belle,” he said. “You can
cry all you want. You deserve to let it out. I won’t ask
questions. But please let me hold you for a while.” She felt
him k-ss the top of her head. He car-ssed her arm gently.
“You can be weak here in my arms. Hold on to me. I will be
here as long as you need me.”
Julianne was touched with the words he said. Contrary
to what everybody was saying about him… Jin Starck had a
heart after all. And right now, he was so much like the Jas
Mathieu she met and fell in love with.
How ironic, because in a way, she was in this situation
because of him… because she chose him. She left him
because she was scared of what her father and Patrick
McAllister would do to him. She was protecting him. And
now, she was protecting him again by not telling him the
truth. She was shielding him from her family drama.

And he thought I left him all those years ago because I
chose another man. Because I cheated on another man with
him. He thought he was just my last adventure before I
married the man of my dreams.
He didn’t know that I am in this situation because I
chose to love him. Because even though I wasn’t free to
promise my future to him, I gave him the one thing I was
free to give then—my heart.