All the wrong places episode 23

🌼ALL THE WRONG PLACES🌼
🌻TWENTY_ THREE 🌻

Jin and Julianne finished their shopping and reached the
counter to pay for her purchases.
“We have some items for delivery. We’d like them to
be delivered within the day,” Jin instructed the guy on the
counter.

“Sure, you can arrange that on the way out once I
give you the bill. There might be a premium for rush
delivery.”
Julianne was about to say it’s okay to have them
delivered the next day, but Jin was quick to say, “No
problem. We want them today.”
Yeah, I forgot. He’s rich. I’m not!
The cashier finished punching all the items and told
them the total. Jin took his wallet from his pocket, but
Julianne gave him a warning look, “Don’t even think about
it!” she hissed. “This is my stuff.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, fine.”
She handed the cashier her debit card and she tried it
on their machine. Julianne turned to Jin. “It’s fine if they
can’t deliver them today. Tomorrow is still okay.”
“It’s easier to move and decide how you want to put
things around once you have everything on hand,” he reasoned.

He reached out to push a lock of stray hair away from
her face. Julianne was surprised by the tenderness she saw
in his gesture, and in the way he looked at her now. It was
different from the way he looked at her the first time he
found her again. She thought he was becoming more and
more like the Jas Mathieu she met and fell in love with.
“I’m sorry,” the cashier said. “Our system is offline
again.”
“Do you want to try another card?” Julianne asked.
The cashier shook her head. “I don’t think it’s gonna
work. Our systems have been having problems since
yesterday. If you have cash, it’s better.”
“Can you hold it? I’ll go get cash from the ATM,” she
told the cashier.
Before the cashier could say something, Jin handed
her a wad of cash in one hundred dollar denominations. She
didn’t even see him pick that up from his wallet. He must
have taken it from his jacket’s in,side pocket.

The cashier looked surprised.
“Jin, I told you…” Julianne started but he silenced her
with a k-ss.
“We’re holding up the line, love,” he said. “You can
pay me later if you want.”
She sighed in defeat. She let the bagger pack her stuff
as she wondered, Who carries at least four thousand dollars
of cash in their pockets?
Jin arranged for the delivery of the items they ordered.
“Did you pay them a premium?” Julianne asked when
he was finished.

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Jin!”
He gro-ned. “What’s the big deal, ma belle? It’s a
small amount of money.”
“It’s small for you, maybe. But I don’t want anybody
spending money on me.”
“Arabella, can you just let it go?” he pleaded. “I want
to do this for you, okay? You can pay some other way.”
“Like how?”
He shrugged. “Cook for me. Bake for me. I have a
sweet tooth. Or give me a m-ssage tonight because my
muscles will be sore from all the lifting and the painting.
Money is nothing to me, ma belle. But those little things I
ask of you… they would be priceless.”
She realized that he had a point. He is doing her a
favor. She had planned to do this alone, but now, she was
glad for a helping hand. And her complaining about money
wasn’t really a nice way to thank a busy guy like him, who
had better things to do with his time. He looked like he
genuinely wanted to help and she was being childish with
her complaints.

“Okay,” she murmured. “What would you want me to
cook for you?”
He smiled widely at her, obviously pleased with her
change of mind.
“Surprise me,” he beamed. “I’ll eat anything, as long
as they do not have nuts on them.”
“Nuts?” she echoed.
He nodded. “Allergies. I got it from birth.”
Julianne nodded and turned away from Jin to shield
her reaction. Jared has nut allergies from birth too and she
had always wondered where her son got it. None of the
members of her family had allergies. Now she knew. A child
whose parent has an allergy has fifty percent chance of
catching the same.
“Okay. Let’s go to the grocery first,” she told him.
“No problem.”
She picked out food, canned goods and other grocery
items. The house came with a double door fridge. She planned to stock it.

Jin patiently walked beside her, pushing the trolley
and reaching things for her.
“Aren’t you bored?” she asked.
“Never,” he replied automatically.
“Have you done this before?”
“What? Grocery shopping? Yeah, five or six times.
When I was a kid. How about you? I’m sure you also grew up
having maids and butlers at your beck and call. How often
do you do this?”
“More than a hundred times,” she replied.

“A hundred times?” he echoed.
She nodded, picking out puddings for Jared. “In Italy,”
she explained. “When I was pregnant, I went with Mason’s
wife, Abi, whenever she shopped for groceries. And when I
delivered Jared, I shopped for supplies, diapers, milk and
other stuff at least twice a month.”
“Doesn’t Mason have helpers?”
“He does. But he hired them for his purpose. Not to
babysit me or do my grocery. I didn’t want to impose.”
“Why did you live with Mason? Doesn’t your family
have your own place in Italy?”
She shook her head. “No, they don’t. Only Mason and
Justin do.”
“Why did you choose to live in Italy?”
She stared at her for a moment and then she turned
back to the line of cookies in front of her.
“The change of scenery was good for me,” she
replied. “Besides, breaking an engagement with a high
profile guy like Patrick McAllister could be taxing for a
pregnant lady.”
“That’s very wise,” he agreed. “Particularly since
McAllister didn’t seem to take it well.”
She couldn’t say that she didn’t really have a choice.
Her father kicked her out of the house and during that time,
Mason was the only one who could provide her a safe refuge.

“How long were you in Italy?”
“Six years,” she replied.
“That’s why I never saw you in any of the family
photos and gatherings. Like Mason.”
She giggled humorlessly. “Exactly like Mason.”
He wouldn’t know what that meant. In her mind, she
was sadly reminded that she and Mason were the symbols
of how her family could be vindictive… and unforgiving.

“What about you? How come I never saw you in any of
the family photos?”
“I’m camera-shy,” he replied.
“You’re Jin Starck. You must be used to the limelight
by now,”
“Yeah. I get tired of it,” he said. “I have been so used
to these soirees, gatherings, and social circles. But I’m really
uncomfortable with this stuff. I would prefer privacy any
day.”
“Me too. Especially now, I have been out of the
limelight most of the time. It’s nice to live quietly. Without
constantly being judged.”
“You would have been miserable as Patrick
McAllister’s wife,” he murmured.
She nodded. “I think so too. Imagine always being in
the tabloids just for eating too much cake? Or smudging a
l¡pstick, or not wearing a l¡pstick at all?”
“Yeah, at least with me, you’d only be written about in
business pages.”
She blinked back at him.
What did he just say?
She raised a brow at him. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “If you’d have chosen me then… you
would only be mentioned in business columns. Other than
that, you would have had all the privacy you needed.”
She shook her head and turned away from him. She
sighed as she checked the cereal boxes in front of her.
“Whoever said I chose Patrick McAllister over you?” She
didn’t mean that as a question.
“Didn’t you?” he asked in a challenging tone.

She took a deep breath. Then she frowned and asked,
“Are we really going to argue over this now? I mean…
clearly, we didn’t have a future. You said, this is our stolen
moment. And I don’t really want to waste this moment
talking about Patrick McAllister. If you do… let me know.”
She saw realization cross his face. He stepped towards
her and put his hands on her arms, giving them a gentle rub
up and down. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry, ma belle.
It just came out.” He leaned forward and gave her a k-ss on
the forehead.
She turned around and took two boxes of cereal for
Jared. She was silent the wh0le five minutes, lost in her
thoughts.

If he only knew that I would choose him over anybody,
any day. The reason why I was disinherited, why Patrick
McAllister wanted revenge on me was because I chose him
—I chose not to stay with him to protect him from my
complicated life and the dangers that went with it.
While they were lining up at the counter, she felt his
hand gently m-ssage her nape. She looked up at him and
he smiled at her wistfully. He pulled her to him and k-ssed
her temple.

“I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean it like
that. I was just thinking out loud.”
“You always think out loud and not care how others
will feel about it?”
He sighed. “Sometimes,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You also don’t say
sorry that much, do you?”
He bit his lower lip. “I do… sometimes.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back towards the
cashier.
“Their card machines seemed to be working just fine
here,” she said to him. “Please don’t attempt to pay for my
groceries.”
“We will eat some of them tonight and the following
days. You will cook for me. It’s only fair that I pay for them,”
he argued.

“No. You’re helping me out. The least I could do is feed
you. Otherwise, we could just go now and stop all this.”
He put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, fine.”
After paying for their groceries, she stopped by an
ATM to get cash. Then she handed him a stack of bills.
“I told you not to pay for them. I would rather you
cook for me.”
“And I am cooking for you. But I cannot make you pay
for the decorations in my house.”
He gro-ned. “Pay me later. In the house.”
“Jin!”
“Later,” he insisted. “Come on, I’m starving. You can
cook dinner tonight. But for now, let’s go to a steakhouse.
We both need to pack up a lot of energy.”
After lunch, Jin stopped by the woodshop to buy some pieces of wood.

“What are those for?”
“I’m thinking one of your walls would be nice to have
a vertical garden on it. Tomorrow, we can go to a nursery for
plants and flowers.”
She had to admit, it was a great idea.
Half an hour later, Jin was parking in front of her
house.
Julianne org-nized the groceries in the fridge and the
cupboards while Jin brought the rest of the items they
bought in,side the house.
“Where’s the master’s?” he asked.
“Upstairs, the room on the right,” she replied.

He took his bag and hers upstairs. When he came
down he was wearing a plain white shirt.
She raised a brow at him. “How come you have
clothes with you? You didn’t know I was going to stay here
for the weekend, did you?”
“I always have a bag of spare clothes in the car. I stay
at White Rock when I’m in Chicago, but that’s a long drive
away from the Adams Mansion. So, I always have a couple
of days’ worth of clothing in the car. Just in case.”
“I should start thinking about that. Knowing your
sister, I think she’s gonna do everything to make me and
Jared stay over every time we come for a visit.”
“Yep. You can definitely expect that. Maybe she’ll even
ask you to keep some clothes in the mansion.”
She laughed. “Well, she won’t ask that. She’ll impose
on it.”
Jin fell silent for a moment. When Julianne looked up,
she found that he was staring at her thoughtfully.

“What?”
He shook his head. “You really do love my sister, don’t
you?”
Julianne thought of her lowest moments and how
Adrienne was always there by her side. Even when her
cousins were pressuring her to tell them who knocked her
up, Adrienne was there telling them to leave her alone.
She nodded. “To the moon and back.”
“You know, I had loved Adrienne way before I met her.
Ever since I could remember, she had a room in our house.

Mom took care of that room, decorated and cleaned it over
the years, as if she was living with us. I started painting for
that room when I was fifteen,” Jin said. “We didn’t know
where she was, if she was still alive and if we would ever
find her at all. But I do remember spending time in her
room, ever since I was a boy, especially when I had
misunderstandings with my parents. I always thought, that
if she was with us, she would always be there to protect me,
take care of me.”
“I’m sure she would,” Julianne agreed. “She’s a
beautiful, old soul. I could totally understand why Justin is
out-of-his-skull in love with her. Even now. After almost a
decade of being together.”
“Well, he should,” Jin said. “Because I won’t hesitate
to kill him with my bare hands if he hurts my sister.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have to. Justin may have had
the reputation of a playboy before, but he’s loyal and… he
genuinely has a heart.”
Jin narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you saying… he has
a heart. Unlike some people you know… like me,specifically?”
She realized what she just said and immediately she
regretted the last words that came out of her mouth. She
shook her head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
“I can’t say I blame you or the others who say I don’t
have a heart,” he murmured. “Looking back at the last six
years of my life… I probably would say the same.”
She sighed sadly. She didn’t know if she was the
reason for that. If Jin really did love her in the past, then she
left him broken and vulnerable. And his way of fighting back,
of protecting himself from the pain was to become guarded
and untrusting… careful of feeling emotions, but careless of
others’ feelings.
“Where do you want to start?” she asked, changing
the subject.
“The wall. Let’s paint it before the delivery arrives,” he
replied. “Let me get the plastics and the tools to cover the
edges.”
For the next thirty minutes, they worked on moving
the furniture away from the wall they would paint. They
covered the flooring with plastic and Jin covered the corners
and edges with tape. Then they started painting using roller
brushes.

Julianne was surprised because Jin really looked like
he knew what he was doing. She could tell from his strokes
that he had done this before. In less than an hour, they were
able to cover the entire wall. Julianne was pleased with the
color they chose and how well it blended with the rest of the
walls and the parquet flooring.
She stared up at Jin. His hair was a little disheveled,
but apart from that, he still looked like he had just stepped
out from the covers of a magazine.
“You didn’t even break a sweat,” she teased.

He smiled at her. “This was nothing compared to what
I paint when we buy out a new property for rebuilding or
renovation.”
“Don’t you have contractors doing that for you?”
“Yeah. But I’m a hands-on guy. Usually when it comes
to initial painting of the walls or installation of wallpapers,
I’m always there. I’m involved in the interior designs. And
I’m particular with the colors.”
“And here I am thinking all you do is look good and
charm women,” she joked.
“Well, I can’t really help the looking good part, can I?”
She gave him a playful jab on the stomach.

“Conceited!”
He laughed. Then he pulled her towards him so she
could stand in front of him. He wound his arms around her
wa-ist and k-ssed her temple.
“You like the color?” he asked.
She nodded, suddenly feeling her knees weaken at
the touch of his skin against hers. But at the same time, a
feeling of familiarity and warmth was creeping through her.
She wished things didn’t have to be complicated. And
that this moment didn’t have to be stolen at all.
“It’s very nice,” she whispered.
He spun her around and cupped her butt cheeks,
lifting her off her feet, making her wrap her legs around his
h¡ps.

She wound her arms around his neck.
His eyes twinkled when he said, “I remember before I
left for Paris, we had some unfinished business.”
Her eyes w¡dened. “Jin! You can’t seriously be thinking
about that!”
“Oh, ma belle. I think about that every single waking
hour.”
He pulled her to him and gave her a deep k-ss on the
l-ips. She k-ssed him back and allowed herself to drown in
the sea of mixed emotions she was feeling. Then he hugged
her to him and leaned his head against hers. He breathed in
the scent of her.
“I want to give you something,” he said.
“What?”
He settled her down on her feet gently. Then he took
something out of his pocket. It was a khaki colored pouch
with an emblem on the bottom. He handed it to her. Julianne
read the logo. It spelled VCA and her heart pounded wildly
in,side her chest.

She opened it and found a stunning Van Cleef and
Arpels, ten motif gold and diamond necklace. She was
raised as an heiress. She knew her diamonds and jewelry
well. And she knew that this luxurious necklace retailed for
more than fifty grand.
“Jin… why?”
“Because I want to,” he replied. “It will look nice on
you. You can wear it when you attend soirees and parties
that Justin asks you to attend.”
He must have noticed that I do not wear jewelry at all.
The last jewelry she wore to a party was a borrowed
piece from Adrienne.
“This is expensive. I cannot accept this.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You cannot accept it
because it’s expensive? Or because it’s from me?”
She shook her head. “Both. Because it’s expensive
and because you have no reason to give me jewelry.”
“I’m crazy about you,” he whispered. “How’s that for a
reason?”
She stepped closer to him and combed his hair back
with her fingers. “We’re always going to be complicated, Jin.

And I do not accept material favors, especially ones that are
as expensive as this, from a guy I sleep with.” She sighed.
“And besides, this is worth more than fifty grand. Everybody
around me knows I only spend for Jared’s needs nowadays.
Van Cleef motifs are definitely not in the list of my priority
things to buy.”
“Won’t they just assume that your boyfriend gave it to
you as a gift?”
“Everybody knows I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t know how long I can keep this a secret,” he
said, shaking his head. “If it were up to me, I’d shout out to
the world that you’re mine, Arabella.”
She paused for a moment, composing herself. Then
she said, “I’m yours… only for these stolen moments. So,
can we just please enjoy this weekend? And then after… we
should walk away while we still can. Before we can do
serious damage to each other.”
“What made you think I can still walk away from this?”
he asked her evenly.
“You have to,” she countered. “You’re Jin Starck. You
have an obligation to fulfill to your family. You owe it to your
grandfathers.” She shook her head. “Don’t choose me, Jin. I
have nothing to offer you.”
He raised a brow at her. “Why do you always
undermine yourself? You’re Julianne Sanders. You’re not
exactly a nobody. And even if you are, I don’t give a damn.”
“We have this weekend. Let’s just make the most of it,
okay?”
He frowned for a moment. He gave her a sober look
but she merely smiled at him apologetically. She bit her
lower lip to fight back the tears. Her heart bloated and bled
for him at the same time.

He pushed a lock of stray hair away from her face.
Then he pulled her to him and enclosed her in a tight
embrace. “Fine,” he said. “But just so you know, this
necklace has a matching set. You can keep rejecting my
gifts but I’m not going to stop. I will just keep trying until
you accept them… until you accept me.”
It was tempting to accept his offer. But she knew it
would come with a great price. Jin Starck was a powerful
man. But with his power came responsibilities to take his
company to the top. He would do everything for that dream
—even if he had to marry for business advantage. And she
couldn’t be the woman who hung around in the dark and
waited for him to come whenever he was free to give her stolen moments. Because that’s what would happen when
he made his engagement to Vanessa Bernard official. She
may be disinherited or disgraced, but even she deserved
better than that.