[JAKE]
"Hey guys," Victoria waved.
The shock on everyone's face was apparent. Ivy's face had twisted into a sneer as she looked at my girlfriend.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ivy snarled, stepping forward.
Victoria straightened up. "So I realize—"
"You really are a gold digger," Ivy laughed.
Victoria gave her a confused look. "What—"
"You ran out of the money that you stole from us and now you need more, so you're back. Am I right?" Ivy asked, disgust written all over her face.
Victoria's face immediately fell. "Is that what you really think of me?"
"What else could there possibly be? It can't be that you have feelings for him. You broke his heart and left."
Victoria's fists clenched. "I know what I did was wrong."
"Wrong? WRONG?" Ivy's voice had risen to a shout. "It took you four months to realize? Jake doesn't need you. He was getting over you—"
"Ivy," I snapped.
She looked at me. "What? This bitch—"
"Don't call her names," I growled.
"No, Jake, it's fine. Let her do whatever she needs to get her anger out," Victoria piped up. I glared back at her.
"At least she knows she's a bitch," Ivy said, looking over at her.
"Ivy, I've apologized to your brother, and he's accepted it. If he can do that, then shouldn't you—"
"It's cause he's been brainwashed by you!" She spluttered.
"Brainwashed?" Victoria repeated, sounding amused.
"I don't want you here, get out." Ivy pointed toward the door.
"This is my apartment. I decide who stays and who goes," I interrupted harshly.
Ivy whirled back to me. "Are you fucking crazy? She left you—"
"But I'm back now," Victoria said firmly. "Hopefully forever."
"Forever?" Ivy scoffed. "Bitch, if you even think you can leech my brother of his money, you have another thing coming."
"Why do you keep thinking I want money?" Victoria said, starting to sound angry. "In all the time I spent with you guys, did I ever take your money?"
"That's why you signed the contract!"
"Okay, other than that! I even got myself a job and worked for my own income."
I took Victoria's hand and pulled her toward me. "Don't stress yourself out too much," I told her.
"Stress?" Amy said, looking at the two of us.
"Oh my God, you're pregnant, aren't you?" Alex said, sounding like he had solved a case. "That's why you came back."
Everyone looked horrified.
"You're trying to tie him down with a kid?" Ivy cried out.
"Pregnant? Who's pregnant?" Victoria exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"No one is pregnant," I said sternly. "Victoria got hit with three bullets. She can't stress out too much or she'll slow down the healing process."
"You got shot?" Ian asked her curiously.
She nodded. "It's mostly healed, but my doctor said to look out for another two weeks." I fought hard to hide my smile as she referred to Ariana as a doctor.
"How did you get shot?" Amy asked.
"I got shot first," I told them.
"What? Where?" Ivy asked, sounding concerned.
I waved it off. "We—"
"We were caught in between some gang violence in LA," Victoria interrupted. I looked down at her but she just gave me a look. I realized that I wasn't allowed to tell them about the things that had transpired in California. "Jake got shot. I was trying to help him out and that's when I got hit."
"You risked your life, to save him?" Alex asked incredulously.
Victoria shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did nothing."
Ian and Amy exchanged glances before looking back at us. Alex just looked like he didn't believe it and Ivy still looked angry, but her expression had softened a bit.
"Is that why you stayed in Cali for so long?" Ian asked. "You had to recover?"
I nodded.
"Where did you get hit?" Amy asked.
"My thigh," I responded.
She turned to Victoria. "And you?" Her voice was cold, but there was still a certain softness to it as if she had remembered their past friendship.
"I got shot in the back of my thigh. I also got hit in my upper arm and my shoulder," Victoria said, looking at everyone nervously.
"Let me see," Ivy said, stepping forward.
I scoffed. "With all due respect, Ivanna, you're a third year pre-med student. What the hell are you gonna do?"
"I work in a hospital. I help doctors administer care," she snapped.
"You don't help. You just watch."
"Jake, it's fine. She just doesn't believe me," Victoria said. She took off her sweater and slid the strap of her tank top down her shoulder. She turned around so her back was facing us.
An audible gasp escaped my sister. There was a very obvious hole in my girlfriend's shoulder. It had scabbed over and was healing. It had faded to the point where it was almost a scar. It still hurt to touch but it didn't hurt as much when she moved. Another bullet wound lay on her upper arm.
"Oh my God," Amy breathed. Alex and Ian stared in disbelief.
Victoria just slid the strap back into place and turned back around. "I have another one on my thigh, but I hope it's okay if I don't show it to you. I don't want to expose that much to you guys."
Ivy nodded. "You took these bullets for my brother?"
Victoria shrugged. "I was just shot trying to save him, that's all."
"I—" Ivy cleared her throat. "I'm not excusing what you did when you left three months ago, but thank you for saving him. I'm sorry for calling you names. I guess you do still care for him."
I looked at everyone else and they all muttered an apology.
Victoria smiled widely. "Thank you. I do. I really do love him. It was stupid of me to leave."
"Why did you?" Alex asked.
Victoria stiffened. She obviously couldn't tell him the truth so she made up a lie on the spot. "I just felt a lot of pressure. The media nitpicked the things I did, so I just didn't feel comfortable and wanted to leave. Obviously, I didn't go about it the right way. But I have realized that with Jake by my side, there is nothing to fear."
They all nodded. It seemed like a pretty feasible reason for wanting to leave.
I squeezed Victoria's hand to comfort her. She squeezed back.
Amy stepped forward. "So what are you doing for Christmas?"
***
My father loved to organize parties. It was his favorite thing to do when he wasn't working. That meant that for every major holiday, there was a party. Hundreds of people were invited every time.
This year's holiday party was being held on Christmas Eve at some banquet hall instead of our mansion.
Victoria sat on one of the barstools in the kitchen and swung her feet back and forth. "Do we have to go?" She asked me for the third time.
I turned to her from where I had been cooking on the stove. "You don't have to go. But I would appreciate it if you did. I have to go though, or else my dad will kill me."
Victoria frowned. "I don't even have anything to wear! And I have to get a dress that covers my shoulders. What am I going to wear?"
"Wear something red," I told her, stirring the pasta once more.
"It's not about the color, Jake! Your father throws elaborate and fancy parties and people who are working with your company will be there. It is extremely important that I look fit to be by your side!" She sounded extremely annoyed.
I turned around and placed a pan on a trivet. I got out the lemonade Victoria had made earlier out of the fridge and set it on the table. Victoria reached over and poured us both a glass. I gave her a good amount of the shrimp scampi in the pan before helping myself.
Victoria angrily stuffed it into her mouth before she stiffened and looked up at me. "This is really good."
I smiled at her. "It's the easiest thing to cook." I twisted my fork around the spaghetti. "Okay, how about I go get you a dress?" I offered her.
"The party is tonight. All of my dresses are at the mansion. And they're almost all sleeveless." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Victoria, calm down," I told her. "We'll think of something else."
My phone rang and I quickly accepted the call.
"Hey," Amy said over the line.
"Hey, why'd you call? I'm gonna see you tonight anyway," I responded, swallowing another mouthful of scampi.
"Are you home?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're eating lunch."
"Oh, okay good. I know that you guys just got back so Victoria doesn't have anything to wear. I just dropped off a dress for her downstairs. Make sure you go get it."
"Really? Thank you!" I exclaimed, looking up at Victoria. She just watched in curiosity.
"It's nothing. I'll see you later then." Amy hung up.
"Who was that?" Victoria asked.
"Amy," I said, moving toward the door. I went downstairs, picked up the dress and shoes from reception and was back upstairs in no time.
"Your problem is solved!" I declared, walking back into my apartment.
She stopped with a forkful of food halfway to her mouth. "Where did you get that?"
"Amy dropped it off." The dress was in a garment bag so I couldn't see it. There was also a shoe box.
"If I'm going, I have to start getting ready right now, shit!" Victoria dashed out of her seat and grabbed the clothes from me. She ran off to the bathroom that was connected to my bedroom. I watched her run off, then come back and shovel the rest of the food in her mouth.
"It was really good!" She said in a rush, still chewing. I chuckled as I watched her stuff herself and run off again.
I went into one of the other bathrooms and took a shower there. Once I was done, I wrapped a towel around my waist and used another towel to dry my hair. I walked back to my bedroom to see that Victoria still hadn't come out of the shower.
What the hell was she doing that took so long?
I got dressed in a T-shirt and pajama pants and took a seat on the bed. She came out an hour later with a towel wrapped around her body and another towel holding her hair up. She immediately went for her bottle of lotion that sat on my dresser. After giving me a disgruntled look, she took it back into the bathroom. After ten minutes, I heard the hair dryer turn on. She came out ten minutes after that, with her hair down and dry and the towel still around her.
"Are you going to sit there and watch?" She asked as she took a seat at the vanity table.
"Yes, I have nothing better to do," I said in amusement. She rolled her eyes and swept her hair back into a ponytail. I watched as she applied some sort of cream to her face and patted it into her skin. She took out all the makeup she had brought back from California from her bag. She started with drawing on her eyebrows.
"I think you have nice eyebrows," I told her.
She made eye contact with me through the mirror. "Thank you. But I still have to do them." She went back to outlining and then filling them in. I watched as she did her eye makeup, applying some sort of bronze color to her eyelids. She took out eyelashes from her makeup bag and applied something to it. She leaned toward the mirror and stuck it on her natural eyelashes.
"What are you doing?" I asked. I was actually fascinated with the way she applied makeup.
"I'm putting on falsies," she said, doing the same thing to the other eyes. She went over her fake eyelashes with mascara and applied eyeliner. She took something that resembled a pencil and it looked like she was stabbing her eye with it.
"Are you trying to make yourself blind?" I asked her, shooting up from my seat on the bed.
She pursed your lips. "No. If you want to watch, stop asking so many questions. I'm going to end up actually stabbing myself in the eye."
I nodded and waited for her to finish. Her eye makeup in total took at least twenty minutes. She patted in a liquid that matched her skin tone. I watched her apply everything else, watching how she accentuated some parts of her face and pushed back others. She finished it off with a bold red lipstick.
"Damn," I whispered after taking her in. She was beautiful with and without makeup, but after watching her put so much effort into the look, I could appreciate it in another light.
"So, I should get ready now?" I asked her. She nodded absentmindedly, letting her hair down. I nodded and walked into my walk in closet. I dressed myself in black dress pants and a white button down. I put on a watch and adjusted my sleeves. Running my hand through my hair, I walked back into my room.
Victoria was putting a portion of her hair up and left a good amount of it down. I watched curiously as her fingers worked nimbly over the locks.
"What color is your dress? I want my tie to match," I told her.
She snorted. "What do you think? I have never worn this much red in my life before."
I grinned to myself and went back to grab a red tie. I threw on my black blazer and took my dress shoes out into the room. Victoria had finished her hair, so she quickly grabbed the the garment bag and ran into the closet. I put on my shoes and stood up. I examined myself in the mirror, making sure the folds of my collar were perfect.
"Jake, help me button it up, please," Victoria's voice came from the closet. I walked in to see the skirt of the dress covering her legs. Her whole back was exposed to me as she waited for me to button her up.
"No bra?" I asked her as I slid the buttons closed.
"People keep giving me clothes where I can't wear one." She turned around, finally giving me a chance to take her in.
The dress covered her shoulders and arms but had a slight V in the back. The V-neckline in the front plunged deep, almost to her belly button, exposing her cleavage. The dress wrapped around her tightly, accentuating her slim waist. The skirt dropped to the floor but as she moved her leg, a slit that went to her mid thigh was exposed. There were no other patterns on the dress. It was beautiful in its simplicity as it showed off all Victoria had to offer in a classy, elegant way. It also covered her scars.
"Holy fuck," I breathed. She grinned and sat down. She pulled on the nude stilettos that Amy had also brought. "You're wearing that?" My jaw clenched as I realized how much skin she'd be exposing.
She rolled her eyes. "Stop being a caveman." She stood up and walked to the mirror. "Without jewelry, I look a little plain, don't you think?" she asked, turning to look at herself from different angles.
I crouched down and opened a drawer. I brought out a jewelry box that had been hidden underneath my T-shirts, and handed it to her.
"This was supposed to be your Christmas gift," I told her. She took it from me hesitantly and opened it. I saw her eyes light up as she took in the pieces.
"This is—Jacob, this is way too expensive. This must've cost you a fortune," she said, shaking her head. "I can't take this."
All of the jewelry in the box was adorned with rubies and diamonds. The blood red rubies were all surrounded by diamonds that only brought out the color more. The hair comb was even studded with a few pearls.
I took the necklace from the box and walked behind her to fasten the clasp. "You're going to have to. I don't plan on returning it," I murmured into her ear. I took the bracelet and fastened it around her right wrist. "Do you need me to put in the earrings too?" I asked her.
She slowly shook her head and took out the earrings. After putting them in, she took out the hair comb and slid it into place at the back of her head. She took a ring with a ruby and diamonds from the jewelry she had been given months ago and placed it on her right index finger and slid our former engagement ring onto her left ring finger.
When she turned to look at me, I sucked in a breath.
She was fit to be a queen.
"You are so fucking beautiful," I told her, holding her waist. She wrapped her arms around my neck.
"You look very handsome," she said, cupping my cheek in one hand. I leaned down to kiss her but she ducked out of the way.
"We have to go! It starts at eight and it's going to take us at least thirty minutes to get there if not more." She hurried out back into the bedroom and gathered her beige clutch, stuffing her phone, wallet and lipstick inside. I slowly trailed after her, making sure everything I needed was in my pockets.
"Are you ready to go?" I asked her.
She looked at herself once more in the mirror before giving me a confident nod.
***
I helped Victoria out of the car before handing my keys to the valet. He nodded at me before excitedly getting into my car. I laughed quietly to myself. People were always so eager to drive my Porsche.
I offered my arm to my girlfriend and she smiled widely. She wrapped her arms around mine and we headed up the stairs and into the building.
We weren't fashionably late but we weren't early either. No one paid attention to as we entered, much to my relief.
"Do you want to drink something?" I asked her.
Victoria shook her head. "I am way too nervous to put anything in me right now."
I pulled her over to one food tables and picked up a chocolate covered strawberry.
"Say 'ah,'" I said, practically forcing it into her mouth. She chewed violently before swallowing. She opened her mouth to protest but I just stuffed another one in.
"Jake, stop it!" She hissed.
"It'll help you relax, I guarantee. You love chocolate so much, it has to have some sort of effect," I reassured her even though I was pulling that explanation out of my ass.
She breathed out. "Is there any on my mouth?"
There was nothing but I still nodded. "Yeah, on the corner. I'll get it for you." I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her lips. I pulled back quickly because I didn't want to garner too much attention.
She blushed and turned around. "You're really funny, Jacob."
I grinned at her. "Thank you, I think so too."
I looked around to see that the room had filled up with people. People danced on the dance floor and some sat at their tables. Hushed chatter filled the room.
I turned to Victoria's held my hand out. "May I have this dance?"
She smiled and put her hand in mine. "You may."
I pulled her onto the dance floor, pressing my hand into the dip of her hip and using my other hand to hold hers. She placed her hand on my shoulder. We swayed to the music a little bit before I adjusted my hand on her back and we fell into the steps of a traditional waltz.
We danced for the whole song, Victoria's smile never leaving her face. When the song finally ended, she pouted.
"Another dance?" She asked me.
I nodded and pulled her to me. With another slow song playing, I just wrapped my arms around her and we swayed to the music.
"Don't put too much strain on your injuries," I murmured in her ear. She nodded as she realized that dancing too much might do us more harm.
"Jake!" I heard my father call. Victoria froze against me, causing me to accidentally step on her toes.
"Shit, sorry," I apologized. She nodded and straightened up as my father approached us.
"You brought a date?" he asked me before looking over at her. His eyes widened and looked like they were about to fall out of his head. He took her in before looking at me and then back again. "Vi-Victoria?"
"Hello, Mr. Santiago. It's been so long since I saw you," she said timidly. She was almost hiding behind me.
"I thought you guys broke up," My dad said pointing between the two of us.
"We did. But we're together again," I told him.
He gave me a confused look. "So you guys got back together? Just like that?"
I nodded. "Yup."
"And you're going to pretend that she didn't leave you."
"I was wrong to do that. I let my insecurities get the best of me. It won't happen again, Mr. Santiago," Victoria said.
He looked between us again and nodded slowly. "Uh huh. Well, I've always just been Liam to you. You don't have to call me Mr. Santiago." He turned to me. "You. I have to talk to you later." I nodded. I knew he would grill me on what had happened. My dad looked back between the two of us before shaking his head and walking off.
"Oh my God," Victoria breathed, practically falling against me. "I have never felt that nervous before."
"Not even when I was kidnapped?" I asked her teasingly.
"I wasn't nervous then. I was scared. I was so scared, Jacob, you'll never know. I couldn't do anything to help you. Even now, when I know that you're okay, I think about that fear. I think about how easily I could've lost you." She wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I hugged her back, lightly stroking her back. I looked up to see some of my father's friends giving us shocked looks as they realized who I was hugging.
I ignored them and pulled back. I cupped her face in my hands. "I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere."
"But I am. I have to go back to Cali," she said, looking at me with big eyes.
"But this time, I'll come to see you or fly you out here. And we'll call and FaceTime everyday. It'll be like I'm right there," I told her. Of course it wouldn't but I was just trying to reassure her.
"Hopefully," she muttered. I pulled her back into a hug, only to have someone clear their throats next to us.
We both looked to see Alex and Ivy standing next to us, looking a bit uncomfortable. I kept an arm around Victoria's waist, waiting for Ivy to make a comment.
"You look beautiful," Ivy told Victoria. Victoria beamed at her, a huge smile gracing her face. "Red really is your color."
"Thank you," Victoria said shyly. "You look prettier."
Ivy smiled and looked down at the sleeveless white dress she was wearing. A gold necklace with the initial A rested underneath her collarbone.
I snorted and looked at Alex. "Are you guys dressed up for your wedding?" Ivy glared at me as Alex looked around the room awkwardly. "Oh right. You guys haven't talked about marriage, have you?" I said as innocently as possible.
I suppose it was mean of me to bring up, and maybe even a little insane. Ivy was only twenty years old and Alex was twenty one. It was early for marriage but they had been dating for six years. I knew they wanted to marry each other one day, I just didn't know how early. Maybe pushing them in that direction would at least prompt the conversation. I would like to think it would make Ivy feel more secure in their relationship.
Alex looked at Ivy who was still glaring at me. I flashed her a smile.
"I'm going to look for Dad," she said in a rush and turned around, her dress fluttering behind her as she practically ran away. Alex watched after her, a trace of sadness in the frown lines on his face.
"Hi guys!" Amy exclaimed as she approached us, her arm looped around Ian's.
Alex looked at the both of them before stepping back. "I have a phone call to take. I'll talk to you guys later," he muttered before heading toward the door that led outside the main hall.
Ian frowned. "What's up with him?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea."
Victoria took a step forward. "Amy," she said, "you look stunning!"
Amy grinned. "Thanks, baby girl, but I already knew that."
Ian rolled his eyes at her comment. I just watched in amusement. Amy had been the one to defend Victoria the most when she left and even though she had been the tiniest bit cold to her when they met again, they were acting like best friends again.
"Thank you for the dress," Victoria said gratefully.
Amy shook her head. "It was no problem. I knew you would have nothing to wear since you just got back. Thank God I was prepared or else it would've been a nightmare."
Ian snorted. "When are you not prepared?"
She glared at him. "I own a clothing line!"
"No, you don't! Your mom just wants you to look after her line—" Ian broke out in a yelp as Amy threatened to hit him. "It's just that the line was named after you."
Victoria furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, it's not your line?"
Amy glared at Ian some more before sighing and looking at my girlfriend. "Yes and no. My mom started the line after she had me, and named it after me. She knew that I would inherit it some day, so if anything it would have my name. She's rightfully and legally the owner right now but it's being passed down to me as soon as I graduate. So I still call it my line."
"No, you just like to pretend you're half as successful as us," Ian laughed.
"Successful? Why are you making it sound like you guys weren't all handed your companies? The only person actually working toward anything is Ivy and now Victoria. Jake and you were handed your companies on a silver platter. Alex is going to work for his dad's firm. How the hell are you calling yourself successful?" Amy fumed.
"I make more money than you," Ian said, looking unfazed by what she said.
"More mon—yeah, because your company has been around for so long. My mother's line has been around for less than twenty years," Amy exclaimed.
"Right, but if the clothes were any good, you'd be making a lot more. Which is why you should bring your line under my company. We can work on quality," Ian told her seriously.
Amy scoffed and threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm done. Don't talk to me right now. You don't know what hard work is." She angrily stormed away.
Victoria and I both looked at Ian who only shrugged and walked to one of the food tables. Victoria looked to me this time.
"Do they always argue?" she asked.
I shook my head and led her into a slow dance again. "They've recently started arguing a lot. I don't know why but Ian keeps trying to acquire Amy's line and bring it under his company, but Amy refuses and rightfully so. It's her decision. I guess Ian's trying to make a profit off his relationship."
"Is he always like this?"
"Does he start relationships to make money off partnerships? He does that a lot. He acquires companies or gets new investors and then breaks up with the women a few weeks later."
"And you're friends with him?" She asked me incredulously.
I nodded. "I used to hate him. But he's proven to be really loyal and he doesn't do that anymore. After meeting Amy three years ago, his demeanor has changed a lot, but I can still see that person who only cares about business underneath."
"So what? Does he think of Amy as a business opportunity?"
I shook my head. "He is genuinely in love with her. He never even spoke about taking over her company before. It's something recent so I'm thinking that it's his family egging him on."
"Well, he's not a child. He doesn't have to listen to them."
"You don't know Ian's parents. They live in England but if they ever get word that Ian isn't listening to them, they will come here to straighten shit out. They can and will take their company and hand it over to Ian's younger brother. They will force Ian into an arranged marriage which helps boost the company."
"There's no way that legal," Victoria said, her mouth open.
I laughed humorlessly. "Whether it's legal or not doesn't matter, sweetheart. They'll find a way to blackmail him into agreeing. Whether it be ruining Amy's clothing line or ruining one of our futures, they will find a way to make Ian comply."
"So that's why he is the way he is?"
"I didn't know why at first. I thought he was just disgusting for using women the way he does. But I found out later on that he does it to protect the rest of us. Especially Amy. Out of all four of us, Amy is the most vulnerable. Ivy is going to be a doctor. I'm taking over my father's company and Alex is going to work at his father's firm. We're established, we have good lawyers, we'd be hard to slander.
"Amy's clothing line has been out a solid sixteen years now. Three years ago, that was thirteen. It was new in the fashion world and although it was successful, it was nowhere near as successful as other companies. The company had just started out and if Hall Industries pulled some strings, they could easily be slandered and go bankrupt. Ian's parents knew about his feelings for Amy, and would use that to threaten him into submission. All those girls he used were to protect her and her family.
"Now was it right? No. Do I wish he had told us so we could help him? Of course. But he didn't and it's in the past now. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong now."
Victoria frowned as we danced. "So do they know about their relationship?"
I shrugged. "I think Ian is trying to keep it a secret which is pissing Amy off. She thinks he's embarrassed of her because she isn't as successful or as rich as the other women he dated before. She doesn't know about the problem with his parents."
Victoria opened her mouth to ask another question but I quickly interrupted. "I've told you everything I know."
"Oh," she sounded disappointed as she swayed along.
I smiled down at her. "Don't stick your nose into other people's business."
She scoffed. "I have a right to know! They're my friends too."
"Only Alex and I know about this. You absolutely cannot tell Amy and my sister," I warned her.
She nodded. "Of course I won't. But you really trust me with this?"
I placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "I trust you with the entire world."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How was it? Please excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.
Why am I mentioning Amy and Ian so much? 🙈 ahahaha you'll find out soon!
But anyway, July is so close woah. I really really really want to finish this book by then. Let's all hope I can stick to that goal.
School technically ends on June 19th for me but I think I will be done with all my work by the 17th so hopefully I will be on my grind!
Also I changed Ian's face claim for like the third time. But this time I changed it back to the original one when I first published this book in the sixth grade lmfao.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote, comment and share!
With that said, I hope everyone is staying safe!
Thank you,
Sazeda