Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Happy Holidays! May 2023 be a lot more kind to all of us. Lots of love to you all <3
Gossip
Falling asleep should've meant rest. But that wasn't the case for me.
I was having fever dreams... but they were more like fevered nightmares.
Jace said not to think too much about the occurrences of the day, but it doesn't help when it follows you into your sleep. It follows the events of the day I found out about my dad's affair.
He comes out of the room and I stared at him.
"Isla! W-what are you doing here, darling?"
"I was looking for you."
But in the version of my dreams, I knew from the start of the dreams what was behind that door. And I twisted the doorknob and flung the wooden door open.
The thing was... everytime I managed to open the door, my dad would again be there.
"Isla! W-what are you doing here, darling?"
"I was looking for you."
And as if it was an endless loop, I would repeat opening the door only to find my father standing in the middle of his office. There was no private room, no other woman.
But I knew there was someone else.
Somehow in that dream, I started running faster, trying to open the door as soon as I walked into that office after opening and opening and opening the same door. As if by doing so, the next room wouldn't have time to change. And I would see who was there in the reality I knew.
After four or five times, I finally turned to my father.
"Where is she? How could you hide this for so long? How could I have not known? What's wrong with me?"
But maybe I really didn't want to know. And that was why my brain refused to show it to me.
...
I woke up in cold sweat, my teeth chattering. Moving was still difficult but I forced myself to get up. My arms were shaky, and I was breathing hard. Sitting up, I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
And somewhere in the background, my ears heard Jace. But my eyes didn't see him and that was the problem.
"Sierra," his voice was low... as if he didn't want to wake me up.
As if he didn't want me to know, a sinister voice in my subconscious whispered.
There was suddenly a lump in my throat. And as if I was a crazy person, a burning feeling started feeling in my chest.
The door opened silently, and I snapped my head to that side.
I must have startled him, because Jace paused. He stared at me, gray eyes widening over-so-slightly. A second... two, three—
"You were talking to someone?" I finally asked, a hint of irritation bleeding into my tone.
Jace blinked, as if gathering himself, "Work."
He crossed the room with a few fluid steps and stopped on my bedside. He leaned down and pressed his palm to my forehead. He shifted his hand, touching the back to the skin.
"You're drenched," He murmured.
I stared at his face. Jace wasn't even looking into my eyes as his focus followed his hand. And as if finally feeling it, he returned the stare.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I asked who you were talking to," I prompted.
A confused expression crossed his face, "Sierra? We were talking about work. Why?"
At the face he was making, the emotions brewing started to simmer down, "You didn't say it was Sierra the first time."
Jace drew back his hand and stared at me blankly, "Huh?"
And that, was how I confirmed that was I turning into a crazily insecure person.
"Never mind."
I pulled the covers up to my neck, poising to lay down. Jace tugged at it the same time, pinning it down on the bed. Our eyes locked.
"Let go," I told him sternly.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Jace demanded.
"Nothing," I tugged at the sheet but his grip was strong. "Let go already." I dropped my eyes to my hands, avoiding that searching look he was giving.
"Sierra is my assistant. What are you thinking?"
"And so is my father's mistress."
The moment I said that I regretted it. And I colored to the roots of my hair. Jace knew. But the man didn't say anything for a solid five seconds. Quelling all the embarrassment in the world, I lifted my eyes to his.
There was a dawn of understanding as his expression softened, "That mistress is probably more of a receptionist. And I'm not your dad."
"I know," I replied out of reflex. Then stopped to whisper, "But I don't know that do I?"
I'm sick, I wanted to say as an excuse for my behavior. But on top of that, I wanted to add—I'm sick of everything lately. And I shut my mouth before I dig myself a deeper grave.
"Sierra is Tristan's ex."
I was ready to wave it off, "Yeah, sure—what?" I blinked a few times staring at him.
Jace seemed satisfied with my reaction. He sat beside me on the bed.
"I thought it was obvious with their interactions."
I blanked, my mind whirring back to the wedding. His friends all sat together with Sierra... and I looked back at Jace, his face expectant.
"Sierra seemed irritated by everyone that day," I finally said. Then a frown, "Why are you employing your friend's ex?"
Jace seemed to think for a bit, leaning back, "Because she's good at her job? Who cares about Tristan, anyway?" He laughed looking at me, "Don't look at me that way."
"It's not funny," I complained. I rubbed my arms, suddenly feeling the cold air.
Jace immediately noticed, giving me back my blanket.
"It was way back in college, and they didn't end on good terms. Tristan went a bit over the rails with their breakup. So, I decided to create an excuse to keep Sierra around before he went completely mad."
That sounded admittedly... juicy. My ears were perking at this information.
I paused, "But if that was way back in college..?"
Jace hummed, "If they don't get back together, that's on them. Sierra's already been working with me for years. I'd done my part. At this point, our relationship is just completely professional."
"Do you think they still like each other?"
"I know they didn't date anyone after each other. Tristan does nothing but study and lurk in the hospital wards. Drives his mother insane."
"And Sierra?"
"She works as my only assistant. What do you think?"
"You're both busy."
"Exactly."
There was a pause. And with that, an overwhelming tiredness came down on me. Jace seemed to notice at once, leaning in to help me lie back down by adjusting the pillows beneath me. I scooted to my side, facing the windows. The sun was now high up and the room should be warmer, but I didn't feel it. My shoulders shook with the incoming chills.
Jace pulled the blanket up to my cheek and I glanced up at him.
"Why'd they break up?"
Jace shrugged, "You know how this works. The rich marry the rich as far as we're concerned."
I hummed, "Like us."
"Like us," Jace affirmed. He brushed some hair off my forehead and frowned, "You should change your clothes first."
I remained in that comfortable position, not moving.
"You mean Sierra is poor?" I was already thinking of their university.
Jace knew my meaning, "She's a working scholar."
"Tristan didn't know that before getting involved with her?"
"He did."
"Is this the part where you tell me Tristan's parents got involved?"
"And Sierra's parents too."
"They didn't like Tristan?"
Jace frowned, his eyes narrowing. "They liked him initially, but Tristan's mother put pressure on them. Sounds a lot like your parents, right?"
An eyebrow automatically raised, "Is that an insult?"
A slight smile slipped into his face, "You know what I mean."
This man was right in some angles. Not entirely though. But in a sense... I wouldn't dare get involved with anyone knowing my parents were going to arrange a marriage for me. It was a good call from my standpoint. Jace was already difficult to deal with, along with our complicated families, imagine having another guy and his family added into this mess.
My head played with the idea of 'Tristan went a bit over the rails'.
I started closing my eyes, "Why are you helping them get back together then?"
The bed shifted with his movement, "Because I'm a bit at fault. I introduced them. And it was obvious that Sierra mistakenly thought he was another struggling student. I didn't bother to correct her. I knew she wouldn't have entertained him otherwise."
I opened my eyes again. Jace's silver eyes were singularly on me, "Why didn't you?"
"I'm not sure either. But that's partially why I insisted on hiring Sierra after that whole affair fell apart."
"You knew it was a bad idea that they got together in the first place so you're trying to get them back together?"
"Are you insulting me, Mrs. Black?"
My lips twitched, suppressing a laugh, "Something like that."
There was quite a bit of silence as I absorbed the whole conversation.
"I think you shouldn't get too involved with their issues."
Jace's eyebrows drew together. "In my defense, I haven't said a word to them about their non-relationship since they broke up."
Non-relationship. In my head it sounded humorous.
I closed my eyes again, "You're quite... talkative. We're gossiping about your friends. Should you really be telling me this?"
The bed shifted again, "You do realize you don't accept short answers?"
"If they make sense, I do." I told him.
"Don't go to sleep yet," Jace ordered with a firm tone, I opened my eyes. "You change your clothes or I'm changing them for you."
I was this close to letting him.
Protesting silently, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. Jace was already peeling the blankets off me again. The cold air hit my skin.
"So did I make sense just now?"
I shrugged, more focused on the fact I was forced off an already-comfortable position. "Sure, I guess."
Jace sighed, "You don't sound convinced."
"I am," I argued. In fact, Jace was the one who didn't look convinced.
"It's a good thing Tristan is coming over to check on you. I haven't taken you to the hospital since there's an unknown virus going around, and Tristan doesn't recommend going there. And Sierra will be here in an hour due to some paperwork needing my signature, she'll bring food as well. Looks like we'll all have lunch together."
My eyes widened, "No, you didn't."
"Yes," Jace nodded solemnly, "So confirm it with your eyes."