Luring The Cold Hearted Billionaire
"WHAT?!" Gulat at pasigaw na tanong ni Jane ng marinig ang nakakatakot na balita. "I told you to keep your eyes on him!" She worriedly hissed at the person on the other line. Kinakabahang napatayo s'ya mula sa pagkakaupo sa swivel chair n'ya habang malakas ang kabog ng dibdib n'ya.
"Jake naman! You promised to take care of him!"
"You promised to stay with me too, but where have you been? To your husband? To what? To get back to him? And leave me?" Ani ng baritonong boses ni Jackson na kinahilamos n'ya ng kan'yang mukha.
Humugot s'ya ng malalim na hininga bago binuga iyon ng marahan pilit na ikinakalma ang sarili, pero hindi iyon nakatulong kahit kaunti. She is still worried and nervous as fuck.
"Pag-aawayan na naman ba natin to? Jake nawawala ang anak ko—"
"Anak natin! You always said before that he is our kid and now what anak mo na lang?! Dahil ano babalik kana sa gagong 'yon?! Nerlay kinakabahan din ako! Kasama mo kong nagpalaki sa bata! Anak natin 'yon!"
Napahilot s'ya ng kan'yang sintido saka napapikit ng mariin. "Jackson. We both know he's not yours. At wag mo kong sigawan, because you don't know what move I made just to file an annulment with that man you're calling gago. I'm keeping my promise to you, alright? I just been with him to make him sign the annulment papers. Now can we please stop arguing? Where did you last saw JH?"
"On the ice cream store. I just went to comfort room and when I get back, I can't see him anymore." Sabi ni Jackson or Jake for short sa kabilang lin'ya na kinadagdag ng kaba sa dibdib n'ya.
She's starting to bite the inside of her right cheek in dreadfulness that is consuming her at the moment. She's afraid, what is happening right now is the worst and greatest nightmare for a mother.
She already lost one of her kids almost five years ago and that traumatizing event never let her sleep good at night since then and what is happening right now, that they can't find Jake Hudson is awakening that unbearable fear inside of her.
"Let's call the police. C-Call the police, Jake please, I'll look for some stores he likes, h-he is probably there." Her shaking and stammering soft voice said as she went out of her office on her restaurant Sa'kong Irog.
She did not manage slept for two days straight since that night she left that annulment paper on Hermes' mansion, and she's aware how haggard she looks like at the moment.
Napalunok s'ya habang mabilis at malalaki ang hakbang na nagtungo sa kotse n'yang nakaparada.
That traumatizing event entered her mind again that made her eyes tear up. She bites her bottom lip as she went in inside her car and drove it mindlessly.
She was bleeding, she woke up with unbearable pain attacking her nine months old baby bump and when she opened her eyes to her nightmare, she saw herself bleeding. She cried and shout and ask for help as she forced herself to walk out of her small apartment hoping that the friends, she made on her neighbors but instead of getting some help, she gets accusive stares. They watched her as she bled to death, hanggang sa pagsarhan s'ya ng pinto ng mga iyon, at malabas n'ya ang isa sa kambal na dinadala n'ya.
She gave birth to her dead first born in front of her apartment. Good thing Jake Hudson was fighting, he waited, he waited for the right time for him to see the world, he did not leave his mom and when the nurses and first aider brought her inside the ambulance that is when they announced Jake is safe and fighting, Jh's heartbeat on the monitor woke up her from losing her mind after she lost one of her twins.
Napakurap-kurap si Jane ng maramdaman ang pag-agos ng maiinit na luha sa mga pisngi n'ya. Hindi n'ya namalayang umiiyak na pala s'ya. Marahan n'yang pinunasan ang mga luha saka pinagpatuloy ang pagmamaneho n'ya.
She was silently driving her car when her phone rang, without looking on the caller ID and with the thought of it was a call related to her son she answered the call, and the moment she placed her phone over her ears, Hermes baritone voice lingered her ears.
***
NAPAIGIK SA SAKIT si Jane ng marahas na hablutin ni Jake ang balingkinitang braso n'ya. She bites her bottom lip stopping her tears from falling.
"You're going with him, again?! For what Nerlay?! To get JH from him or leave me permanently?!" Marahas nitong niyugyog ang braso n'ya na kinangiwi n'ya.
"Jackson n-nasasaktan ako ano ba! Let me go!"
"I won't! I won't fucking let you leave this place just to go back where he is!" Nanggagalaiting sigaw nito sa kan'ya na halos lumabas na ang mga ugat nito sa leeg. His handsome and used to be soft and charming face was now colored red in too much anger, he looks like he'll explode anytime and this is the first time Jane saw him like that.
He is always patient and kind but he does get mad every time she's mentioning her husband— Hermes' name for some reason she can't understand. At alam n'yang napuno na ito ngayon lalo na at ang dapat bakasyon lang nilang tatlo na magkakasama ay naputol pa dahil sa nagising na lang s'yang kasama si Hermes.
"Alam mong andon sa mall 'yong asawa mong gago ano?! Plinano n'yo 'yon?! Plinano n'yong kunin mula sakin si JH para may rason kang bumalik sa kan'ya tapos pagbumalik kana sa kan'ya hindi ka naman babalik sakin ganon diba?! Anong tingin mo sakin Nerlay?! Tanga?!—"
"Anong tingin mo din sakin ha?! Tanga?! Para pag-isipang kidnapin ang sarili kong anak?! Hindi ako gaya mong baliw mag-isip Jackson— ah!" Napatili s'ya at napasinghap ng patigilin s'ya ng malakas na sampal nito.
He hurt her, he really did, she was restraining herself to fight back earlier because he wasn't hurting her this much yet, but on what he did just a second ago, Jane snapped.
With her eyes full of tears, she glared at him but her lips smirked before putting all her strength to her right hand and throwing it on Jackson's face, slapping the man harder than he did to her.
"Now we're done. We are done, you just proved me that you're just an asshole just like how you called Hermes. Remember our deal once you hurt me physically, we're done." Matapang na an'ya n'ya dito at ini-straight ang likod n'ya para mag taas noong harapin ito kahit mahapdi ang pisngi n'yang sinampal nito.
The only changes she has for almost five years that she's proud of is she can fight for herself now and that she has the confident to stand up for herself now.
Hinanap n'ya ang pagkirot ng puso n'ya ng makita n'ya ang pagdaan ng sakit sa kulay abo nitong mga mata gaya ng nararamdaman n'ya sa tuwing makikita n'ya ang kaparehong sakit na iyon sa mga mata ni Hermes. Pero wala, wala s'yang naramdaman kahit kaunting sakit.
She stepped her feet back as she tries to hold her tears. She might can fight and stand up for herself now but her eyes and heart were still the same, easy to be teared up and easy to be ripped out.
***
JANE WIPPED HER TEARS off and made sure that the bruises Jackson made on her arms and face was hide well before she went out of her car and walk towards the mansion where she managed to see the changes Hermes' did for her.
Her heart skipped a beat and after that her heart beat raced as if she just finished running a couple of kilometer fun run.
She was just about to knock when the door opened. Opened by the little boy who made her worried for the whole day.
"Baby!"
"Mommy!"
***
HERMES STARED AT Jane as she hugged JH tightly. His stare softened as he felt a warm hand just caressed his heart.
He should be mad, he should be fuming mad at her for hiding JH from him but he can't find that supposed to be anger towards her, he just can't because the idea of JH completing the family Jane promised him and JH as the reason of Jane changing her mind on filing annulment was enough to comfort his heart and mind.
He is not stupid, he knows that JH is his, JH got his eyes while he got his face from Jane. Hermes is so sure that JH is his son. Their son.
Their eyes met that made Hermes stilled from his place, he cleared his throat before dragging his eyes away from her but immediately brought it back when he heard Jane talked.
"Let's go, baby." Sabi nito at akmang ilalabas na si JH ng mansyon ng bumaba ang bata mula sa pagkakarga nito at patakbong nag tungo sa kan'ya.
"How about daddy?? Daddy stays here alone? Can't we stay here mommy?" JH sweetly and innocently asked that made him smile sadly.
With his eyes glinting with sadness, he looked at Jane who's looking at their son with the same sadness on her eyes "Daddy Jake is waiting for us- "
"He's not my dad! He's, my uncle!"
Niyukod ni Hermes ang anak nila at hinalikan ang noo ng bata bago tinuro ang pintuan sa likod ng mansyon na patungo sa garden. "Why don't you play on the garden for a while Hmm? Daddy will just talk to mommy. It will be adult stuffs so little JH can't hear it."
"I can't? Ooookayy." JH ran out of the mansion leaving both of them, standing meters away from each other.
Silence fills the space between them for a second before he finally decided to break it with his baritone voice.
"I want to be mad at you. I want to scream at you and blame you why I did not see him as he grow up, why I wasn't beside him as he grow up, but you know why I can't Jane?" Malungkot n'ya itong nginitian saka n'ya tinuro ang puso n'ya. "Because this muscle called heart is stupidly in love with you, and I know that it is also my fault why you left, that I hurt you more than you are hurting me right now, that even my heart bleeds to death I don't have the rights to get mad at you because I hurt you first."
Sunod-sunod na pumatak ang mga luha n'ya. He sniffed and dragged his bloodshot eyes to look on the other part of the living room.
"I want to blame you why it hurts so bad, pero pilit kong tinatanim sa kokote ko na ako din 'yong dahilan kung bakit ako nasasaktan ngayon, kasi kung 'di kita sinasaktan noon hindi 'to mangyayari. But Jane wasn't the five years enough for you to torture me? Jane it's hurts. Sobrang sakit na, tama na please? T-Tama na hindi ko na kaya."
"T-Tama na, gusto ko lang naman maranasang mahalin mo pero bakit umabot sa ganito? Please. Please I beg you to stay but not for me anymore. If you can't really l-love me then at least stay for JH. Let's give him a normal family, at least for our kid. Kahit wala ng pagmamahal mo basta andito ka sa malipit at abot tanaw ko ok na ok na 'ko."
____
THENAUGHTYGRAY