The wound on Jotham's cheek hurt a bit but that's nothing compared to the anger in Julie’s eyes when she’d thrown those objects at him.
On the bright side, he’d rather have her angry at him than be met with nothingness and indifference, he thought.
If Julie could get angry at him then there might be an opportunity for him to turn that feeling of anger back to the love that she had once had for him.
He was soon in a VIP ward of the same hospital that Julie was.
“The injury is not that deep. I'll just have to clean it and put a plaster on it and you’ll be good to go,” one of the attending doctors told him. He had gone there to fix the minor injury on his cheek.
He nodded absentmindedly; he was more worried about how to ensure that Julie divorced her husband and came back to him. He had let her slip away once, but he was resolute in his pursuit of her this time.
He suddenly stood and said to the doctor that had just finished attending to him, “My family donates so much to this hospital, so fucken make sure my woman is fine and healthy." he commanded the doctor standing before him.
"Got it, sir." The doctor answered politely.
Jotham left and was soon at the kid's school. He picked the twins up and dropped them off at Julie’s house. He wasn’t particularly fond of children but their gummy smile always had his heart melting. The girls had their mother’s smile.
Jotham had Murray look after the kids while he went back to the hospital to pick Julie up. After all, the doctor had just informed him that Julie was better now and was good to be discharged.
On getting to her ward, the anger expressed on her face when he entered was comical.
“I said I never wanted to see your face again,” she yelled.
“The doctor said not to stress yourself.” He gently reminded her.
“I wouldn’t be stressed if you’d just leave me the hell alone. Why can’t you understand that I want nothing to do with you!”
Jotham rushed to her side when she lost her balance. “You can be angry with me later; for now, let’s focus on your health. The twins are waiting at home to meet you.”
At the mention of the twins, he felt her tense up.
“Stay away from my children,” she told him, following quietly as he led her to his car. She had to find a way to keep her babies away from him so he wouldn’t start having suspicions about them. After all, the resemblance between him and the kids was obvious.
They were soon at her house. “Mummy!” her girls screamed as soon as they set their cute eyes on her. Running towards her happily. They embraced her in a warm hug.
Seeing the beautiful girls being gummy all around their mother melts his heart. It was such a beautiful sight to behold. “Let’s give your mother some space, shall we?” Jotham finally said. He gently herded the girls back to their shared room while Julie watched on, amazed that the girls obeyed him.
“How did you introduce yourself to them?” she asked the question that had been bothering her for the last few seconds.
Jotham shrugged. “I told them that I’m the man that is going to marry their mum.”
“You can’t just say that to them, they’re kids! They won’t understand adult relationship dynamics. Whatever game you’re trying to play with me Jotham, don’t have the kids involved.”
He stood across from her, his hands planted on the kitchen island as they faced each other. “I’m not playing games, Julie, not with you. I meant what I said about wanting you back.”
In place of the expressionless face that Julie had been used to during the course of their marriage was a longing that was all foreign to her.
But she’d given him her heart once and had it broken, she’d be a fool to trust him again.
“You can leave now, I’ll take over from here.”
“Go freshen up and come back, I’ll order dinner. You haven’t had a proper meal outside of that bullshit they serve in the hospital.” Jotham said, unwilling to leave.
All her protests for him to leave fell on deaf ears as he grabbed his phone and placed the order. He didn’t even ask what she wanted but she was stunned when she heard him order her favorite. Surprised that he even knew what it was.
She left to bathe. By the time she came down to the dining table, the twins were already seated and having dinner. Jotham beamed at her as she sat down.
Long ago, she'd dreamed of this exact scene: Jotham returning home from work, their baby snuggled up against her, and the family of three sitting down to a cozy dinner.
Julie blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over. That dream was long gone and she hated Jotham for bringing them back up from her memory.
That’s right, she had to hate him so her suppressed feelings would never make it back to the surface.
“What will you girls like for dessert?” Jotham had suddenly asked.
“Cake!” squealed Astrid and Vesper, excitedly clapping their hands and looking at their mother. “She never lets us eat cake.”
“Cause it’s bad for you,” Julie chastised gently. “And your health.”
Jotham frowned at the now visible pout on their faces. “How about we try making a cake together? That way we don’t use all of that unhealthy stuff they use at the bakery.”
“Jotham!"
He looked up to see the stern look Julie was giving him.
She cautioned, "Don't even think about indulging my kids with late-night sweets, especially cake."
“But they want to have cake.”
“And I’m saying they can’t have it. If you have a problem with how I raise them then you can leave. You’ve overstayed your welcome.” Then she threw in, “I’m sure your fianceé misses you. I don’t want to get accused of taking another woman’s man.”
“I told you Mirabel and I are done.”
“No discussing any of that in front of the kids.”
Jotham offered to take them to their room and tuck them in. Before Julie could protest, the twins grabbed his hands and asked him to read them a story.
“Mummy, can he stay? He hasn’t finished telling us the elephant story.” Astrid had spoken.
"Sweetheart, he has a family of his own to take care of. We shouldn't keep him here too long."
Jotham quickly countered, his time casual. “I don't mind staying the night. And to set the record straight, I'm not tied down to anyone. The engagement is off, and I've been single ever since."
“I didn’t ask.” Julie took the kids up to their room and tucked them in
before going back down. “Goodnight, Jotham; I hope this is the last time I get to see you.”
