Drowning In His Lies

CHAPTER 20: Come In

Jaden stood at the gate of his father's mansion for 15 minutes.

No car. No phone. No pride. Just a man who got out of a cell 30 minutes ago.

Inside, Mimi watched from the window. Her mother-in-law stood behind her.

"Go to him," Chief Mrs. Cole whispered. "If you still love him, go to him."

"What if he hurts me again?" Mimi whispered.

"Then he will have to face me. And I will kill my own son."

Mimi laughed through tears. Then she ran.

Barefoot, she ran down the stairs, past the maids, past the garden, to the gate.

The gateman opened it.

Jaden and Mimi stood face to face. For the first time in one year, no Tania, no Damien, no police, no cameras. Just them.

"You came out," she said.

"You called me," he said. "Your mother said you said 'come home.'"

"I didn't say it. She did."

"I know. But I was hoping you meant it."

Silence. The air between them was heavy.

Mimi looked at his face. Bruise on his lip from the cell. Eyes red. Shirt torn.

"You look terrible," she said.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Jaden, I... I don't know how to do this. Every time I close my eyes, I see you standing there, watching them beat me. How do I unsee that?"

"You don't. You shouldn't. But Mimi, let me spend the rest of my life making sure you never see that again. Let me be the man who stands IN FRONT of you when they try to beat you, not behind you."

He went on his knees. At the gate. Where all the neighbors could see. The great Jaden Cole, kneeling in the sand.

"Mimi Amara, will you... will you let me be your husband again? Not today. Not tomorrow. Whenever you are ready. But let me wait. Let me be your gateman, your driver, your floor partner who eats cold fried rice with you. Just let me stay."

Mimi cried.

Then she did what no one expected.

She knelt too. In the sand, in her designer dress.

"Stand up, Jaden. We have both knelt enough. From today, we both stand. Together."

She held his face. "I forgive you. Not because what you did was small. But because my heart is tired of hating you. I love you. I have always loved you. Even when I wanted to kill you, I loved you."

Jaden kissed her forehead, then her tears, then her lips. Soft. Like he was scared she would break.

From the balcony, Chief Mrs. Cole and Chief Mr. Cole clapped. The maids clapped. Even the gateman clapped.

And far away, parked in a black Bentley, Damien watched.

He smiled, wiped one tear, and started his car.

He drove away. Because true love sometimes means staying. And sometimes it means leaving so she can be happy.

Mimi and Jaden stood up, holding each other, covered in sand.

"So..." Jaden whispered, "can I come in?"

Mimi smirked, that old Mushin girl smirk.

"Only if you promise to cook that stupid fried rice you always burn."

"I promise to burn it for the rest of our lives."

They walked into the mansion, hand in hand.

Tania was still in jail.

The video was deleted from the internet by court order.

Baba T, the fisherman, was given a new house and a fishing company by Mimi.

And Damien... Damien got a letter the next morning. Handwritten by Mimi:

"Thank you for saving me. You will always be my brother. - M"

SEASON 1 ENDS.

Season 2: The Wedding & Tania's Revenge From Jail

Want me to start Season 2, Chapter 21?