The Beginning of the End - Jenlisa

Chapter Twenty-Four

∞∞∞

"Riley!" Jennie shout resounded through the house, and was instantly met with laughter.

Resisting the urge to groan out loud, the brunette made one last swipe of lipstick before hurriedly exiting her room and heading down the hallway. Jennie came to stand in another doorway in a matter of seconds, only to see her son comfortably seated in the middle of his bedroom, grinning up in her direction.

"Riley Jase Kim!" Jennie groaned. "I asked you nicely to go to sleep!"

"I know, but you're leaving!" Riley whined, clearly well-entertained.

"Riley, how old are you?" Jennie asked, incredulous. Although the boy had his moments of rebellion, since he hosted a lot of energy and happened to find her reactions particularly amusing they were few and far in between—and almost always caught her in the worst of times. "This isn't the first time you've been alone. What is wrong with you?"

Riley responded with another laugh.

"Come on.~" Jennie insisted. Entering the room, she picked him up and promptly deposited him on the bed. This time, the boy complied, allowing her NINI to pull the covers over him, tucking him in. "Now, I want you to stay here." Jennie emphasized. "I want you to sleep. I mean it."

Riley gave a nod in response, and Jennie gave him an unconvinced look, but she kissed his forehead, regardless. Then Jennie straightened and made her way out of the room, skillfully avoiding the small and cute brown Pomeranian puppy seeking for attention.

Once Jennie turned out the lights and closed the door behind her, she heaved a sigh. This would have been a perfect end to a hectic day, but it wasn't over yet. Rushing to her room to retrieve her phone, Jennie stormed back down the hallway and down the stairs. She couldn't wait until she could finally slip underneath the covers of her bed and close her eyes.

The front door opened before Jennie hit the landing on the first floor, sending sweet relief through her veins.

It was only a matter of moments before she came face to face with Lisa.

"Take care of Riley." Jennie instructed in a rush. "Make sure he really does go to sleep."

The tall Thai blinked. "What?~"

Jennie rolled her eyes. She pushed past the tall blonde without a single intention of repeating herself, and it was only then that Lisa had the chance to see what she was wearing: a pale pink LANVIN Victorian Ruffle Dress accentuated with silver belt that hugged her slender body effortlessly. It was short, perhaps shorter than Lisa was used to seeing on her, but it was looser on her body. But there was something about the pale-pink color that complemented her flawless milky-white skin so perfectly and the stilettoes that did so many wonders to her white lean legs... something that made the outfit more beautiful than anything Lisa had ever seen her wearing.

Before the Thai's mind could even fully register the action, Lisa had grabbed the brunette's upper arm and halted her movements.

Jennie turned to face the tall blonde, straight khaki hair flying around her face to rest on her shoulders. Her feline eyes, darkened by make-up, looked down at Lisa's hand first, before they met the blonde's own wide with surprise.

A frown on her features, Lisa took another look at the brunette. "Where are you going?"

"Out." Jennie replied, and Lisa could feel the small effort the brunette put into freeing herself from her grip. "To dinner."

"What?" Lisa very nearly yelled. "You have a date?"

The brunette's brows furrowed as Lisa's grip suddenly grew tighter. "Yes! So I can tell my newly-found soul-mate how I live with my ex-wife." Jennie threw Lisa a flat look, before yanking her arm free and snapping. "Some of us have work too!"

"You're—"

"Late." Jennie completed. "That's what I am."

Turning around to leave, Jennie was stopped once again.

"I'll take you." Lisa proclaimed, preparing to follow the brunette.

Jennie's firm answer deterred the tall blonde. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I am perfectly capable of driving myself around."

"But you can't drink if you drive yourself there." Lisa retorted.

For a moment, Jennie seemed taken aback by the tall Thai's insistence. "Well then, I won't drink."

"Tch~, it's impolite to refuse a glass of wine."

Jennie was stunned. But most importantly, she was torn between the desire to either laugh or smack the Thai. "Wow, hello diplomacy." Jennie mocked. Then she rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Lisa."

All Lisa could do was let out a frustrated groan as the door closed behind Jennie.

∞

The lights were out and the house was silent when Jennie came home late that night. She was careful as she closed and locked the door behind her, doubting that Riley or Lisa were awake and not wanting to bother them.

Her conviction lasted until Jennie exited the foyer and almost ran headfirst into the half bare-naked chest of her ex-wife.

Taking a step back to avoid crashing into the tall Thai, Jennie gazed up with surprise clearly written over her face. Then her eyes narrowed. "You've been waiting." Jennie accused.

Lisa was quick to deny. "No, I..." She pointed behind her to the kitchen. "...was thirsty."

Raising an eyebrow, Jennie remained unconvinced. But she decided to give the tall blonde the benefit of doubt after a moment spent in contemplation, and tucked a lock of khaki hair behind her ear as she moved past Lisa to advance into the house.

"So..." The tall Thai voice stopped her. "You refused that glass of wine?"

Jennie rolled her eyes before she turned around to face Lisa. "You would be happy to find out I wasn't offered one."

"You have no idea how fortunate that was..." Lisa insisted.

Jennie huffed an amused breath at the ridiculousness of it all. "I'm going to bed." Jennie announced. "Did Riley...?"

"Go to sleep when you told him to?" Lisa guessed. "Nope~. But that's my fault. I asked him to tell me more about that Kim Hanbin boss of yours."

At that moment, Jennie didn't know whether to be amused, pleased, annoyed, or devastated, so she swallowed, and resumed at answered with a simple. "Get a life, Manoban." Turning around, Jennie began to make her way upstairs. She was about halfway through when her steps faltered, and she hesitated.

Her voice was soft as Jennie spoke her last words of the day. "Hanbin wasn't even there, by the way. So that you can, you know, finally sleep."