Song for the chapter: "Stronger" by Clean Bandit.
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The drive to the nearest park was quiet and comfortable. Jonah drove while the radio played the latest pop songs at a low volume. Vanessa sat in the passenger seat with her elbow leaning against the closed window while she contently stared out of the window, observing the fast traffic of the city. AJ was content to play with his Spiderman action figure toy, occasionally making muffled whooshing sounds from the back seat. Jonah grinned in his seat, loving how the simple act of driving together made him feel like a family man.
Vanessa turned her head and gave him a smile before pointing to a large sign on their left. "There's the park." He nodded and indicated to pull into the neighborhood recreational centre. The place was still new to the area but was proving to provide a service to the community that Jonah wasn't even aware was missing. It was clean, beautiful and provided picnic areas as well as family fun sports facilities.
"I've never been here before," Jonah commented as he and Vanessa climbed out of the car. Once Vanessa had ensured AJ was out the car safely, she joined Jonah at the back of the car.
"Really," she said surprised. "AJ loves coming here. There's a small pond in the picnic area where he plays with the ducks."
Jonah smiled and reached for the picnic basket before Vanessa could. "I've heard of this place but I've never been here. It seems like the perfect place to spend a Saturday afternoon with your family."
"It really is." Vanessa walked up to him and smiled up at him with her right hand up against her forehead as a makeshift shield against the bright sun. "I'm glad you're here with us."
"Me too."
They gathered their blankets and toys for AJ and began their journey towards the best picnic spot. AJ walked ahead of Vanessa and Jonah, acting as their guide and seeming to know exactly where it was he wanted to go. They walked down a long hill and in the distance Jonah could see the glistening of dark blue water. It seemed AJ only had the ducks in mind. Jonah grinned.
"There is where we'll go." AJ proclaimed, rushing towards the waters' edge. Jonah looked to his left where Vanessa stood still for a moment, smiling fondly at her son who ran with great enthusiasm towards the feathered animals.
"He looks happy," Jonah whispered as he and Vanessa settled their belongings on the ground near the biggest tree.
Vanessa smiled brightly and unfolded the blanket on the ground at their feet. "He loves it here. We don't come here often. I usually only come here with my parents and Nick since Sofia loves this place as much as him."
Jonah smiled, "Your family seems nice."
"They're great. Hopefully we get to spend more time with them so that you can get to know them more."
Jonah nodded noncommittally before standing upright and staring back towards the top of the hill with his eyes scrunched in confusion. He cringed, hoping what he saw was a figment of his imagination.
His wish fell on deaf ears as the images in the distance became more focused as the two bodies moved closer towards them until they were stood grinning in front of Jonah and Vanessa.
"Eden, you're here." Vanessa stood behind Jonah, proclaiming in surprise.
Eden smiled, "Yes and thank you for giving me such precise directions. It was actually really easy to get here and find you both."
Jonah's eyes bugged out and he turned to glare at Vanessa. "You told them we were coming here today?"
Vanessa grimaced and stuttered her answer, "Yes but-"
"I should have known. This was all for the cameras right?"
"What? Jonah-"
"All that talk about giving us a chance didn't mean anything. You're just playing the part for this stupid show."
"Jonah would you just-"
"I'm such a fool."
Vanessa growled lowly and stepped forward to slap her hand across his mouth. "Would you shut up and let me actually finish a sentence." Jonah's eyes were large in surprise but he found himself nodding slowly and allowing Vanessa to speak. "Good. Look I didn't lure you here under false pretenses. I suggested this family picnic because I meant every word I said to you. I want to try. Eden is here because despite everything happening between us, we are part of a televised contest. Eden reminded me that all outings have to be recorded. We signed that we would Jonah." She sighed and removed her hand from his mouth. "I had no choice but to let them come."
Jonah frowned, feeling uncomfortable at the sudden pain in his chest. He felt like a scumbag. "I'm sorry Vanessa. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just, happy that we're doing this and it hurt when it looked like you only did this because you were forced to."
"I understand. I would have assumed the same thing considering every time we've spent together before now has been because we were forced to. But please believe me that I'm not trying to fool you."
He smiled and reached forward to hug Vanessa. "Let's just forget they're here and have a family day."
"I'd like that."
#
All things considered, the picnic was going smoothly. Eden and the cameraman had managed to make themselves scarce, blending into the background. Jonah had almost forgotten that they were there except for the odd times Eden would scream out some annoying direction like "Jonah you're blocking the camera lens, we can't see Vanessa" or "Don't mumble." Jonah was one more command away from throwing a piece of lettuce at her.
"Just ignore them," Vanessa whispered, leaning forward and placing her hand on his knee. "Let's just enjoy today alight. Why don't you go kick the ball with AJ? He's only ever had Nick and my dad play with him like that."
Jonah smiled sadly, noticing the regret and hope in Vanessa's voice. He could only imagine how taxing it must be emotionally to not have a male influence around the house. It was clearly something that affected both Vanessa and AJ.
"I'd love to." Jonah stood up from the floor and before joining AJ, he surprised Vanessa by bending down to place a soft kiss on her head.
#
Vanessa watched from her place on the blanket. A bubble of warmth settled heavily inside of her at the sight of Jonah and AJ running around, smiles stretching the skin around their lips. Nothing ever looked so good to her.
"So this is what you giving me the chance I deserve looks like?" Vanessa's body shook as the stiff and far too familiar voice sneered from behind her. She turned around in her seat and her body stiffed at the sight. He was tall enough to block out the setting sun from her eyes and he was wide enough that he blocked Eden from her view. He stood over her, towering her with his brute and authority. He had his hands on his hips and his legs wide apart. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a zipped up leather jacket that appeared far too stereotypical.
"Cole."
"You said I would be allowed to see AJ. You said I could be his father."
"Yes but-"
"You said you would tell AJ that I'm his father."
"I know that and-"
"I thought we were going to try again. You weren't always such a good liar back when-"
"Would you shut up!" Vanessa screamed at Cole and threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm tired of being interrupted." She growled and stood up from her place on the ground. At this point, the screaming had alerted Jonah of Cole's arrival and he and AJ were quickly making their way toward them. Vanessa shook her head slightly at Jonah and looked at AJ, hoping that Jonah understood her silent plea. His lips pulled into a deep frown but with the widening of her eyes, he stayed back, holding onto AJ's shoulder.
"What are you doing here Cole?" Vanessa asked with her attention back to the situation at hand.
"I was asked to be here."
"And who may I ask did that?" Vanessa groaned and shook her head. She should have known Jonah wouldn't stay back.
Cole turned around and glared at Jonah, puffing his chest out like a gorilla fighting for dominance. "I did." The trio of adults turned around to find that Eden had joined their group. She stood looking everything but shameful of her actions.
"Why would you do that?" Vanessa asked.
"Simple, this is a show. As much as this contest is supposed to be reality, we also need to be mindful of ratings. The other couples in this contest have been providing our viewers with drama at every turn and people are tuning in to watch it. You two however, are not. In the words of our viewers, you're boring to watch."
"So you mess with our lives just to make for a good show?" Jonah growled, moving to stand next to Vanessa.
"No, I'm simply making the world see the parts of your lives you keep trying to hide. Vanessa, you were chosen for this contest because of the potential drama of your baby daddy situation. And Jonah, you were chosen because of your traumatic past and the drama that could present. We wouldn't choose anyone who would present us with no material to run the show so of course I'm going to find a way to keep you relevant. You signed the contract so you'll have to deal with it."
Vanessa's body folded in on itself, her arms wrapping around her middle as she tried to sort through her emotions. She felt betrayed at the news Eden exposed. The reality behind her acceptance into the show had Vanessa questioning everything but it appeared that Jonah was too, based on his ever changing facial expressions.
Eden cleared her throat and Vanessa looked towards the beautiful woman, now seeing her resembling a shark rather than a possible pageant winner. "Since we're being honest here, there is something I was hoping to discuss with you two."
"What more could there possibly be?" Vanessa asked broken-heartedly.
"As I said before, our ratings haven't been what we expected. The network doesn't see the show being successful enough to last a year. They think the public will be bored after a couple of weeks which is why the show has been changed to run for only six weeks."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that the contest will only be lasting four more weeks, as will your legal obligation to be married. If you last until the end of our contest in four weeks time, not only do you win the money but you can then decide if you wish to stay married to your partner or not."
"We only have four more weeks to be married?" Jonah asked carefully.
Eden smiled, "Yes, then it's up to you to stay married or get a divorce."
Vanessa gulped, fearing the impact of Eden's words. "Well thank goodness for that." Cole announced joyfully. "I can wait four weeks to be reunited with my family." Looking towards Jonah, Cole smirked before saying, "You get four more weeks at playing daddy to AJ and then, I take over. After all, I am the boys' real father."
"What?" AJ asked. Vanessa cringed. Now what was she to do?
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