chapter 12

Jessica's POV. 

I kicked my foot against the pebble, ruminating on what had just happened between my mother and the man she chose for herself as a husband. 

One would think that as an adult, people would be susceptible to making the right choices, but at the moment, I didn't think that was what was happening. 

"Also having trouble sleeping?" A dark voice that belonged to my nemesis whispered behind me. 

I refused to give him the satisfaction of turning just so that he could look into my eyes and realize that I was having a meltdown on behalf of my mother. 

I didn't even think that was possible. 

"Not everyone has a hard time sleeping especially after they've been carrying their ego all day long." I bluffed, trying to hit him with the most sarcastic line I could come up with in the heat of the moment. 

It was probably pointless but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

Something distant crossed in his eyes before flashing to their impassive look. "You have never had a hard time telling me off no matter how upset you are about your attraction to me. Which was short-lived by the way."

"If I didn't know better, I would have said that you were stalking me, but that would be beneath even you," I responded off-handedly. 

Most of the people who had come closer to me had been particular about what we wanted, but here I was, still trying to figure out my life. With my mother enduring what I didn't really consider a blissful marriage, I was thinking about my life's decisions. 

"Why do I believe that you're just here to mock me about my predicament with my mother?" I fired at him. 

A little tick in his jaw, answer my question. 

"We are the most presumptuous being that I have ever known and you wonder why it seems like I hate you so much?" He asked as though that was the most obvious thing that anyone could request. 

Now that was a rude way of telling a person off even if you didn't like them. 

"I don't remember asking you to like me either. So you can either get off your high horse and realize that when people try to make conversations with you it's because they just want you to get your head out of your ass. You've been moping around these days and I wonder why." 

I quickly threw my hands in surrender, stopping him from going off on me especially when things were not going his way. 

"You've grown into a delectable frustrating being. I remember why I always thought that you were nosy." 

Silence engulfed me like it was no one's business, and I found myself wondering why and how I had been able to push him away completely, especially when I just wanted to know what made him tick.

He tried to put on a persona that made him look very rugged, but something kept blooming inside of me, which I couldn't just place my finger on. 

I was probably delusional but that wasn't going to make me change my views about certain things. 

I believed that we could agree to disagree and vice versa, but even that wasn't enough to set me off course, 

hours of sitting outside my bedroom, yet coming up with no tangible reason why I kept on gazing at the stars as though they held everything that I had ever wanted in them. 

It was probably true, but I didn't know to what extent I could go on with these shenanigans without losing my mind. 

I didn't think it was going to be a bad idea from the start, but right now, after rethinking my entire decision, I believe that I was up for a disaster.

Better put, I believe that I was working my way...

"He is the most stubborn boy that I have ever had the misfortune to raise. Can you believe that he doesn't want to even bond with me for a millisecond, and everyone expects me to jump simply because he asked me to?" Seth's unmistakable voice thundered from within. 

I planted my ears against the door. I wouldn't miss the scoop for anything in the world. 

"Of course... He has been probing about the reason behind his mother's death, and I cannot even comprehend what he intends to get out of it. I believe that my words are not sufficient for him." He hissed, 

The little crack in the door gave me an ample view of him pacing around before picking up his glass of cognac. "Can you imagine the temerity to stand before me and try to unravel something that we have buried further away from people's knowledge?" He laughed.

A dry chuckle accompanied his scoff. 

So he was truly hiding something away from his son and Nate wasn't completely paranoid to point fingers at him at dinner or everywhere he mentioned those things.

"I have the belief that he's going to find something if he keeps on checking and that's going to become a disaster waiting to happen. We cannot allow that to continue."

The weight of his words hit me. 

'We are going to silence him.' 

Was he truly going to make sure that the evidence remained buried forever? Or was he just going to pretend like he had no idea about the cause of his wife's death? 

I might not have paid much attention when Nate was busy dragging him by the horn, demanding answers, but now I could see that Nate wasn't far from the truth. 

He turned and I immediately ducked. I'd be damned if he saw me and condemned me to the same fate as his wife. 

I was probably overreacting but it was better safe than sorry. 

From the way he yelled at my mother tonight, I could see that there was trouble in Paradise, and now that gave me more conviction to stay and read between the lines 

But first and foremost, I needed to relay this to Nate.