All The Wrong Places episode 27
đŒALL THE WRONG PLACESđŒ
đ»EPISODE_TWENTY_SEVENđ»
Julianne brought Jared home the following Friday
evening. The first thing he asked for was his room. And
when Julianne showed it to her, he was ecstatic. She
videotaped the wh0le thing because Jin wanted to see
Jaredâs reaction.
âMommy, this is so beautiful!â he beamed happily.
âYou got me a Rubikâs cube room. The painting is so
beautiful! Did you do it Mommy?â
âUmm⊠no. Iâm not that good at painting. But
Mommyâs very good friend is a painter. He did this
especially for you. I told him you wanted a Rubikâs cube
inspired room.â
âMommy, your friend is a good painter. I wish I could
paint like that.â
âSomeday, you will, sweetheart,â she told him. âItâs in
your blood.â
She thought of the day when she could finally tell
Jared that the one who painted his room was his father. And
that someday, he would be as good as him.
âI want to see the rest of the house, Mommy! Do we
have a garden? Can I play outside?â
Suddenly, she heard a loud hammering sound from
the other side of the wall that she shared with her neighbor.
She remembered that Janis sold the house next door. Her
neighbors must be getting some works done.
âWhatâs that sound Mommy?â
âI donât know. Must be our neighbors renovating,â she
said. âCome, letâs go outside.â
She was ecstatic to bring Jared to the backyard.
Before Jin left, they created a vertical garden with different
colorful flowers. Her heart swelled just looking at the beautiful garden they made together. As Jared squealed and
jumped around the garden, she couldnât help the tears from
peeping in her eyes. Jared was the first beautiful creation
she and Jin made.
âCan we put a trampoline here?â
âWhat? No. Thereâs not much space.â
âPlease, Mom? It would be so cool! I will never leave
this house if I have a trampoline!â
âOh, okay, in that case, I think we can arrange
something.â
âReally?â
âIâm not saying yes yet. Weâll go to the store later and
see if they have something that fits.â
âThey will have!â he said positively. âIf they donât, we
can ask Uncle Jin to find one for us. He knows where to buy
cool stuff.â
Julianne smiled. âIâm sure he does.â
Suddenly, everything turned really bright. Halogen
lights were turned on from the other side of the fence. They
heard some people shouting followed by the loud sound of a
jackhammer.
âWhatâs that?â
âI think theyâre doing some work. Come, sweetie. I
donât think itâs safe out here.â
But the noise from the other side kept on going. It
seemed like they were working overnight as well. The next
day, Julianne couldnât take it anymore. She went over to her
neighbors to ask what was going on.
She rang the bell and she was surprised to see Janis.
She seemed surprised to see her too.
âHow are you?â she asked. âHave you moved in?â
âAh, yes. Just last night,â Julianne replied. âMay I ask,
whatâs with all the noise?â
âOh, yeah. I sent a notice to your office regarding this.
Didnât you get it?â
Julianne had no idea what she was talking about.
âNo.â
âOh sorry. We gave a notice that there will be major
renovation works going on here and in the garden for
another two weeks or so. Weâre really sorry. But weâre
rushing to finish this ASAP.â
âBut I can hear you hammering through the walls
even in the middle of the night.â
Janis merely smiled at her apologetically. âOh,
sweetie. Just two weeks. Then you can live in silence.â
âIâll be deaf already in two weeks if you donât stop
drilling at two in the morning.â
âIâll ask the owner what we can do to compensate you
for your trouble.â
Julianne sighed in frustration. âDonât worry about it.
Just make sure youâre done after two weeks so I can go on
with my life.â
Then she turned on her heel and went back to her
house. She was upset but she didnât have a choice. Jared
was complaining about the noise too, even in the middle of
the night, he couldnât get a proper sleep.
So, after the fourth day, Julianne grabbed his bags and
they went out of the house.
âWhere are we going, Mommy?â Jared asked.
âWell, we will come back after two weeks. But right
now, I cannot sacrifice your sleeping hours just because the
neighbors are running a twenty-four-seven operation on the
other side,â she muttered. âWeâll go back to Auntie
Adrienneâs house. Weâll stay there for two or three weeks
more.â
âBut my stuff! My cool fridge!â
âThey will still be there when we get back, sweetie,â
She drove the car that Adrienne lent her back to the
Adams Mansion.
âThat was quick!â Adrienne was practically beaming
when they saw her.
âNo, unfortunately, weâre still moving. But our
neighbors are getting some major works done on the walls
and in the garden. Theyâre working on the other side of the
wall twenty-four-seven. I cannot let Jared live like that. So, I
decided to move back in. Only for two weeks. Is that okay?â
âYou know, you didnât even need to ask, right?â
Adrienne whispered to her.
That night, before she went to bed, she sent Jin a
photo of her getting ready for bed. âBack at the Adams
Mansion,â she captioned the photo. Itâs already morning in
Paris, and she didnât expect him to respond. But she was
pleased when she received a message a minute later.
Jin: Why?
Her: Neighbors are doing major works even at night.
Like who does that?
Jin: Contractors with clients who donât care about the
money just to get the job done on time.
Her: What?
Jin: I mean maybe they have a deadlineâby hook or
by crook.
Her: So it would seem. Anyway, itâs too noisy, Jared
couldnât sleep. So, I decided to bring him back here until
Janis and her team finish their work. The housewarming isnât
gonna happen too. I cannot bring people there with all that
noise going on. You know, Justin had been skeptical about
this from the beginning.
Jin: Iâm sure heâll be pleased when he finally sees your
new haven.
Her: I hope so.
It warms her heart to remember that she and Jin
worked together to make the place perfect for their son.
Jin: What are you wearing?
She bit her lip. She was completely new to all of thisâ
the sweet stuff, coupled with kinkiness. Is this what
relationshÂĄps were supposed to be like? Youâre completely comfortable with each other one minute, and then youâre
going at it the next?
Her: A silk nightie.
Jin: Sounds delicious. What else?
Her: Nothing else⊠đ
Jin: Jesus, get me home now!
She giggled as she texted, âYouâre gonna have to wait.
Two weeks will zoom by fast.â
Jin: Two weeks cannot come soon enough.
âč
She started feeling naughty and decided to tease him
more. She took a selfie of herself, lying in bed. When she
looked at the photo, even she found itâsteaming hot, and
she was the least narcissist person she knew. Her soft
blonde tresses framed her face, as she bit half of her lower
lip. The white blanket covered the top of her br-asts, but
still revealed a wh0le deal of cle-vage. Her eyes looked
mesmerizing, she looked innocent and sensual all at the
same time.
She clicked the send button before she could stop
herself. She waited anxiously for his reply. One minute. Two
minutes.
Riiinngg!
She almost jumped out of her skin when her phone
rang. She smiled when she saw Jinâs number on the screen.
âHi,â she greeted him.
âIf thatâs your way of making me even more
miserable, youâre succeeding,â he said.
She laughed. âWell, Iâm just giving you an incentive to
come back after two weeks, like you promised.â
âI wanna come back now.â
She heard him gro-n in frustration. She could only
giggle at his reaction.
Then in a more serious tone, he stated, âYouâre so
hot⊠and innocent⊠sensualâŠâ he paused and added,
âIncandescent.â
She smiled. âThank you.â She liked the word he used
âincandescent.
âIâm crazy about you, you know,â he said.
She giggled. âYou might have told me that before.â
âI said it at least twice before. And Iâm telling you
again now.â
âMaybe when we see each other again, you can tell
me that in person.â
âOh, I will. I will tell you so much more than that.â
She sighed happily. Her heart swelled, she couldnât
believe this kind of happiness could be real.
âJinâŠâ
âYes, love?â
âYou need to sleep now,â she said. âItâs five in the
morning your time.â
âThe photo you sent was stronger than any coffee Iâve
had. Iâm wide awake now.â
She laughed. âNow, you need to delete that photo.â
âItâs going to be my wallpaper.â
âJin! No!â
âWhy not? Canât a guy use his girlfriendâs photo as his
phoneâs wallpaper? Isnât it normal?â
âI donât know. Nobody made my picture a wallpaper
before.â
He laughed. âThereâs a first time for everything, ma
belle. Iâve never done it before either.â
âOkay. Just donât leave your phone lying around for
everyone to see. Anyway, I need to go. The kids want to go
to the beach tomorrow.â
âAre you going to be accompanied?â
âAdrienne and Justin will be there.â
âGood. Send me pictures once in a while, okay?â
âPromise.â
âWhen I come back, I want us all to go on a small
holiday.â
âWho?â
âThe three of us,â he replied. âYou, me, Jared.â
âWell, that can only happen after we tell everybody
about us.â
âYes. So, do what it is you need to do. When I come
back, we wonât delay this any longer.â
She sighed. âOkay.â
âGood night, ma belle,â
âGood night, Jin.â
That night, she slept with a big smile on her face. In
her dreams, she was in cloud nine. Well, she could very well
be.
Days zoomed by quickly. Julianne had been so busy
with work. Justin was working on a new strategy to supply
their products in Asia and other emerging markets.
Two days after she moved back to the Adams
Mansion, she received a delivery from âImmortal Gardensâ in
her office. It was a huge, beautiful flower arrangement
encased in a glass container with a wooden base. The
arrangement contained immortal roses, hydrangeas and
other smaller flowers in different colors. The front of the
wooden base had a message engraved on it, âYou are
incandescent.â
She smiled from ear to ear. She knew exactly who
sent her the flowers. She took a photo and sent Jin a
message.
âNow, this is a gift I wonât say no to,â she wrote on the
description. âSo beautiful! Thank you!â
He replied after two minutes, âYouâre still going to get
diamonds once in a while, you know. But youâre welcome.â
She was practically glowing, and she was scared that
people were beginning to notice. Justin was looking at her in
a weird way when he told her that about a business trip she
might soon go to. After briefly giving her the details, he
stayed in her office, just looking at her with a raised brow.
âWhat?â she asked.
He shrugged. He walked over to the shelf where she
placed the immortal flower arrangement.
âThese are very pretty,â Justin remarked.
âI know,â Julianne looked back at her computer
screen, pretending to read something.
Awkward!
âImmortal flowers?â
âUh-huh.â
âWhere did you buy them?â Justin continued. âI want
to get one for Adrienne. She loves roses⊠more than jewelry
and designer clothes.â
Heâs fishing! Aaarggh!
âUmm⊠Immortal Gardens. They have many different
arrangements.â
Justin stared at her for a moment. It was as if he was
waiting for something. Julianne held her ground.
Heâs not gonna get anything from me.
Finally, Justin gave up and said, âOkay. Iâll go check
out the store. Maybe Iâll get more information from the
cashier.â
Julianne faked a smile and then went back to her
computer screen.
Shit! Justin has his ways! He can investigate and he
will know who sent me the flowers!
She bit her lower lip nervously. As soon as Justin was
out of her office, she grabbed her phone and texted Jin.
Her: Busy?
He replied after a minute, âFor you, never.â
Her: Justin was asking about the flowers. I think heâs
gonna go to Immortal Gardens.
Jin: So? Those are beautiful flowers, you have to
admit. Iâll bet Adrienne would love to have that.
Her: I know!
Jin: So? Let Justin get one. Heâll score points with his
wife. He loves spoiling her.
Her: Thatâs not what I was worried about.
Jin: What is it then?
Her: Justin can pry, investigate, even pay for
information. He can ask them who the sender of these
flowers was!
Jin: I doubt they will give that information easily.
Her: Hello! Weâre talking about Justin Adams here?
One of the most powerful men in Chicago!
Jin: Donât worry. He wonât find anything. Gatwick paid
in cash and didnât record any senderâs information.
She breathed in relief.
Her: Thanks. That was good forward thinking of you
and your assistant.
Jin: Him more than me. Me, I donât care if Justin finds
out about us. Better if he does.
Her: I still have more than a week to go, remember?
Jin: Of course, I remember.
Her: By the way, I need to go to Detroit next Monday.
Jin: Why?
Her: Business. Iâm meeting the owners of a huge
Japanese conglomerate. They have a huge project for next
year. Theyâre interested in making Adams Industries their
steel partner for the stadiums theyâre building in Asia.
Jin: You speak Japanese?
Her: No. Iâm hoping they speak English well. Do you
speak Japanese?
Jin: Of course, I do.
Her: Conceited!
Jin: What? You asked! Iâm surprised your father didnât
invest in sending you to language schools. Didnât you have
businesses around the globe? You have a glass factory in
Paris but you didnât know how to speak French.
Her: Gian does. Gian is fluent in at least six languages.
Jin: So, your father thought Gian would need it, but
you wonât?
Her: sâ±0t on!
Jin: Werenât you supposed to inherit half of your
businesses?
There was a twist of pain in her chest again.
Her: Gian was going to inherit our businesses. Me, he
was hoping I would marry a rich guy who can enhance our
business connections.
It took a while for Jin to reply. She was afraid he would
change his mind about them once he found out that she had
been disinherited, and she had nothing to show for under
her name.
Finally, her phone beeped.
Jin: I gotta go, ma belle. Speak to you later.
She stared at his last message for a long time. For the
first time since she met him again, she thought how stupid
it was for her not to tell him about her standing in her
family. During that time she made this decision, she was
convinced that nothing could happen between her and Jin
Starck. Thus, he didnât need to know any significant detail
about her life. But now that sheâs officially dating him, she
was worried that part of the reason he was with her was
because he thought she was still a woman of good standing
in the A-list society they were living in.
She sighed.
I guess that will be the first thing I need to tell him
when we see each other next week. And he can decide
whether to take me as is or leave me the hell alone.
Before the weekend, she received a call from Janis
asking to meet with her briefly in her house.
When she arrived in her home, she noticed that the
renovations on the next-door still hadnât finished yet. There
were trucks and workers on the backyard.
Janis arrived a few minutes after.
âIâm so glad you are able to make some time to meet
me,â she said.
âDonât think about it,â Julianne said. âWhatâs up?â
âWell, I was going to ask if youâre going to be around
here the next three or four days?â
âWhy?â
âWeâll do some major works, mostly on the walls. You
might hear even louder sounds. Also, major landscaping is
going on in the backyard next door. I was afraid it must
cause a major disturbance.â
âOh, you mean itâs going to get worse than it already
is?â
Janis nodded apologetically.
âBut the owner is willing to compensate this. Next
month, you can stay rent free.â
Her eyes wÂĄdened. âWhat?â
âWeâre truly sorry for the inconvenience. We hope you
can accept our offer.â
âThatâs too generous. No need for that,â Julianne said.
âIâm not here anyway. I have a business trip next week. My
son will stay with his uncle. So, itâs really no big deal.â
âBut we insist,â Janis said.
âOh, okay. Then, tell the landlord that I thank them for
their generosity. But please, we cannot extend further. I
need to get on with my life. Here. In this house.â
âOkay. So, since youâre not going to stay here for a
couple of days, might I suggest you donât leave anything
valuable behind?â
âWhy?â
âJust a precaution. We have workers coming in and
out. I donât want to take any risks for loss or damage to
valuable property.â
Julianne nodded. âI totally understand. I will make sure
of that.â
When Janis left, Julianne cleaned up the house a little
bit. In the bedroom, she smiled at the sight of her bed, as
memories of her nights with Jin flooded her mind. They
spent two nights together. They used that bed more than
half a dozen times.
She took a selfie of her and sent it to Jin.
She wrote, âBack at the house for a bit.â
She waited for his reply. Usually he responds within a
minute. But for the past two nights, heâs responded to her
messages less. Sometimes, he barely read her messages at
all.
He called her two nights ago, but they did not talk
much because he was tired from an event he went to. She
remembered that short conversation.
âIâm sorry, did I wake you up?â he asked.
âNo, thatâs okay,â she replied. âWhatâs up?â
âI just wanna say goodnight.â
âWhere are you?â she asked.
âParis. Home. I just got back from a charity gala. My
father forced me to attend.â
âMust be a long party. Itâs already five in the
morning.â
âItâs a Round Ten event. And itâs in our hotel. I had to
stay after the party to oversee the breakdown on the
ballroom.â
âDonât you have an assistant who can do that for
you?â
âGatwick is⊠er⊠indisposed.â
âOh, so how was the party?â
âBoring,â he replied. âBut I had to pretend I was
enjoying it.â
âWell, whatâs important is that you survived it.â
âI did. I always do. And I always will.â
Julianne thought she heard a bit emotion in his voice.
It sounded like weary or sadness, she couldnât quite place it.
âAre you okay, Jin?â
âIâm just tired, I guess,â he replied.
âOkay, then you better rest.â
She heard his sharp intake of breath. âArabella, when I
get back, we need to talk. I have to tell you something.â
She suddenly felt nervous. âCanât you tell me now?â
âNo. This is not something we can discuss on the
phone,â he replied.
âWhatâs it about?â
âAbout us. About our arrangement in the future,â he
said. âItâs something we need time to discuss and think
about.â
Well, that doesnât sound bad, does it?
âOf course,â she said. âWe need to tell everybody
first.â
âWell⊠maybe we can do that after we talk.â
âOkay,â she said. âWell, goodnight then.â
âGoodnight.â
Are we okay?
But she didnât ask that question before she hung up.
And now, she wanted to beat herself with a hammer for not
doing so.
His tone of voice wasnât as jolly as it used to be the
previous days. And his text messages had been lesser, his
calls almost non-existent in the following days.
Heâs probably just too busy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ring of a
doorbell. She ran downstairs to answer the door. She
thought it could be Janis again.
When she opened the door, her jaw almost dropped to
the floor when she saw who was outside, ringing her bell.
She wore a white faux fur coat over her skin tight
black sequined c*cktail dress. She wore at least a five-carat
diamond on each ear, a diamond choker necklace, and
matching diamond tennis bracelet. She was sparkling all
over. Julianne thought, all she was missing was a crown and
a petal-covered red carpet on her feet.
âLeave us,â she told the man beside her.
Julianne stood in front of her, tongue-tied.
âJudging from your shocked expression, I take it that
you know me,â she said. âMay I come in?â
Julianne recovered from her shock and opened the
door for her. She walked in,side in her sparkling crystal-
studded stilettos and Julianne watched her thinking, âWhat
the f-ck is Vanessa Bernard doing in my living room?â
Vanessa looked around her house, scrutinizing it.
Julianne had a few ideas about whatâs going on in her mind
and sheâs guessing none of them were good.
âWhy are you here?â Julianne asked.
Vanessa raised a brow at her. She looked at her from
head to feet, unashamedly scrutinizing her look.
âMiss Bernard, please. Can you get down to business?
I have places to go.â
âOf course, you have,â she said in a heavy French
accent. âYouâre working extra hĂŠrd to support your son,
arenât you?â
âExcuse me. I donât see why thatâs any of your
business.â
âYou made it my business when you started sed-cing
my fiancĂ©!â
Julianne blinked back at her. âExcuse me? What are
you talking about?â
âYou know well what Iâm talking about, Miss Sanders,â
she said. âYouâre my fiancĂ©âs other woman. Ever since I met
Jin Starck, heâs always been focused. Nothing can get his
eyes away from his goals. The only thing that mattered to
him was Starck Corp. Thatâs why I know I would be the
perfect wife for him. I am the only one who could give him
his much-coveted goal of being the number one hotel group
in the world.
âAnd then recently, he looked distracted, out of focus.
So, I had him followed, investigated. And your face came
back in the reports. You are his current distraction. I had you
checked out. Youâre related to Justin Adams. You came from
a wealthy family too. But⊠not anymore, right?â
Julianne bit her lower lip, refusing to answer.
âIt doesnât matter if youâre not rich anymore. Jin
Starck doesnât need any more money,â Vanessa continued.
âBut itâs power and influence that he needs.â
âDoesnât he have that too?â Julianne asked, raising
her chin.
âYes. But who doesnât want more?â Vanessa raised a
brow at her. âWe all do. Especially Jin Starck. His ambitions
have been around longer than heâs known you. He can
easily forget you after heâs tired of your body. But his
familyâs goals will always be there.â
âWhy are you really here? You want me to stay away
from him?â Julianne asked. âShouldnât you be asking him to
do that instead? Or donât tell me you donât have a hold of
him?â
âOh sweetheart. I have him on a leash now,â Vanessa
said in a sultry voice. âWe were together the other night, did
you know? He left my apartment late. Like almost early
morning. Weâve sealed the deal. Iâve seen the ring he was
going to give me once we announce our engagement to the
public.â
âExcuse me?â
âHe didnât propose to me at the party, yes. He wanted
to make it more intimate, rather than public. I agreed. And
now, Iâll be wearing my heirloom engagement ring as soon
as Starck Corp. makes the big announcement on the papers.
Do you know that ring was worn by his grandmother and
was passed on to all the brides of the first-born Starck sons?
I thought, I should tell you this in person.â
Julianne shook her head. âIf what youâre saying is true,
Jin would tell me himself.â
âHe would,â she said. âIâm sure about that. And heâll
probably leave it up to you if you want to maintain this tryst
of yours or not. He would offer you to stay. Iâm certain heâs
smitten with you. But I guarantee you, he wouldnât offer you
marriage. He probably wants to. But he wonât. Because he
canât.â
âBecause he had already proposed to you?â
âBecause our families had already sealed the deal.
And if he backs out, my father will move to get Starck Corp.
out of Round Ten. Thatâs not a good blow to their numbers
because Round Ten was built by his ancestors. It would be
quite shameful to lose that privilege and title⊠and what?
Over a has-been heiress who had been disinherited by her
own family for giving birth to a bastard son.â
Julianneâs blood boiled. It took every ounce of her
control not to punch Vanessa Bernardâs thickly made-up
face.
âYou call my son a bastard again and you wonât live
long enough to make it to that wedding you speak so
proudly of! You wonât even make it to your own engagement
party!â
Instead of being threatened, Vanessa merely smiled at
her. âAs I was saying, Jin Starck will never choose you over
me. At least never legally or officially. If he does, he stands
to lose every bit of their competitive advantage in this
market. They may incur so many losses. Starck Corp. prides
themselves of being completely family-owned. And Jin
Starck is a genius. Maybe even better than his
predecessors. Would you want him to fail, because of you?
Are you worth it?â
Julianne closed her eyes. She wanted to curse and
shout at Vanessa. But how could she? Vanessa just asked
her the very same question sheâs been asking herself.
Was she worth it?
Jin would lose everything over her. Was she really
worth all that trouble?
âI have no ambitions over my future marriage with Jin
Starck. He doesnât love me. I know that much and I have
accepted it a long time ago,â Vanessa continued. âThat man
is incapable of falling in love. Donât fool yourself and hope
that if youâre good enough, heâll fall head over heels for you
eventually. He wonât. In the end, heâs still a servant of his family legacy. I understand this very well. I am sure he will
have a mistress or two in the future. I will allow that. I intend
to take on lovers myself too. It will be an open marriage.â
Julianne narrowed her eyes at her. âWhat the hell are
you trying to tell me?â
âIâm telling you that you have to accept the fact that I
am going to be Missis Jin Starck, while you⊠you will never
be worthy to wear that name! And Iâm telling you now, what
our arrangement is going to be in the future. You will
become my husbandâs mistress! Thatâs the farthest you will
reach. He will provide you with a nice home, even take care
of your child! But legally, you will have nothing! Only I and
our future children will have the right to wear his name and
have access to his fortune. Thatâs what our future
arrangement is going to be. And if you cannot accept that,
you better leave him now. Because he will only be yours in
bed. But never in name and never in paper!â
âWhy would you marry him if you know he was going
to cheat on you? If you ask me, youâre the one selling
yourself short here. Not me.â Julianneâs voice was
controlled, and she tried her best to look stoic. But deep
in,side, her blood was boiling and she was fighting the urge
to drag Vanessa out the door by her pretty hair.
âI donât care,â Vanessa muttered. âI want him. We will
spend the rest of our lives together because a divorce would
be too costly. He can take mistresses like you in the future,
but in the end, he will always come home to me. And that is
enough.â
Julianne shook her head. âThat would never be
enough for me.â
Vanessa nodded. âI know,â she said. âI checked your
profile. Youâre smart and well-raised. Obviously, you are
beautiful. Iâm quite certain you would be able to find more
suitable candidates for your hand. Plenty of guys would die
for a chance to marry you. If you do not want to be Jin Starckâs mistress, I suggest you leave him now. I have a
feeling you deserve better than that.â
âHow sure are you that he will choose you? That he
wants the same life as what youâre talking about?â
âBecause he doesnât have a choice,â Vanessa said,
smiling at her smugly. âMy father had already spoken to the
other members of Round Ten. If Jin Starck doesnât honor our
agreement for marriage, Starck Corp. will be voted out of
the circle.â
âWhat kind of business circle votes out a member on
the basis of personal issues?â
âThe highly competitive kind,â Vanessa replied
immediately. âThis circle was created so they donât go rogue
and kill each other on the market. Each of those ten
members are dying to vote each other out. The fewer they
are, the more competitive advantage they will have, the
greater market share they will enjoy. All my father needed
was sixty percent votes and Starck Corp. is out. And letâs
say, heâs already gotten forty. It will only take the
McKenzieâs vote to kick Starck Corp. out. And being head to
head in market share for decades, this is a golden chance
for McKenzie to kick Starck out of the game.â
Julianne fell silent. Vanessa looked at her thoughtfully,
then she asked, âDo you really want Jin Starck to gamble his
familyâs legacy and future for you? Are you sure youâre
worth it?â
Julianne stared at Vanessa coldly, trying to keep her
stoic face on. Vanessa walked towards the door.
âWell, Iâll be on my way,â she said. âYou have a big
decision to make. And I have an engagement party to plan.â
She turned to Julianne one last time and added, âI hope you
make the right decision and we never see each other again.
I think youâre too pretty, too smart to become any manâs
mistress. Even of the great Jin Starck.â
With that, Vanessa turned on her heel and walked out
the door. Julianne followed her and locked the door behind her. Then she fell on the floor, buried her face on her hands.
It took her all her strength not to cry in front of
Vanessa Bernard. But now that sheâs all alone in the home
that she had built with Jin, she let all the tears fall.