Chapter 4
1069 Words
For the rest of the evening, I felt like a stranger inside my own home.
Every laugh.
Every smile.
Every word spoken across the dinner table felt strikingly unnatural.
Damian sat comfortably at the head of the table, completely relaxed.
Jimi was busy telling one of his endless stories from school.
And Jackson...
Jackson acted as though he belonged here.
As though he hadn't just walked back into my life after years of being nothing more than a ghost.
I barely touched my food.
My appetite had disappeared the moment I saw him standing beside my husband.
"So,"
Damian said cheerfully, setting down his fork.
"tell me honestly. What do you think of the project?"
Jackson leaned back slightly in his chair.
"It's promising."
"That's what I keep telling everyone."
Damian laughed.
I watched them talk.
Watched how easily they interacted.
The familiarity between them disturbed me.
Just how close were they?
How long had this friendship existed?
And why had Damian never mentioned him before?
My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed Jackson looking directly at me.
Not openly enough for anyone to notice.
Just enough to make my heart race.
He lifted his glass slightly.
Almost like a private greeting.
I quickly looked away.
"Mommy?"
Jimi's voice snapped me back.
"Hm?"
"Are you sick?"
Damian immediately turned toward me.
"See?" he said. "Even Jimi noticed."
I forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying that."
"I'm just tired baby."
The answer seemed to satisfy them.
At least everyone except Jackson.
His eyes remained fixed on me for a
moment longer before returning to his meal.
Suddenly the door bell rang and Damian stood up to go see who it was, It was our neighbour, I wasn't sure what he came for but my husband went outside with him.
And now I'm left with Jackson alone in the dining, Jimi had just gone upstairs.
Silence stretched between us.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then Jackson calmly folded his napkin.
"You still panic when you're nervous."
I looked up sharply.
"What do you want?"
His expression remained annoyingly calm.
"Relax...I'm only here for business Jenna"
He smiled.
"Or maybe a little bit of you"
He winked and smiled again.
"Despite everything you did to me , I still fancy you , you know, ohh good old days..."
He said, gently biting his lips and lustfully staring at my boobs.
"I didn't do anything to you Jackson, and stop staring at me in that manner, I'm a married woman now." I said while I lifted my fingers up to make my wedding ring visible.
"Listen Jackson, I don't know how you are here right now but whatever game you are playing you need to stop, and if you need me to apologise of course I will, I'm so sorry but please leave my family out of this I beg you"
"You tried to kill me." Jackson said, with a confusing laughter.
"You cheated on me with that loser Micheal and you tried to kill me and run away with my money"
"It was an accident, we never meant to kill you."
"Ohh... right, so you meant to save me? Hahaha...you still as manipulative as ever, you little lying bitch...but that's what I still love about you."
"Cunning. Manipulative...I could still use you."
"Stop Jackson."
"What...does the truth about you hurt?"
"You really believed you could be a better person?"
"Was it Damian? Tell me, who made you believe that? What do you think will happen if he gets to know who you truly are?" Jackson said with a disturbing smile.
I just stood there and tried to stay calm because I knew he was rage baiting me and I wasn't ready to do this with him in my home.
" Leave my husband out of this"
I said, in a low tone.
" I'm not a murderer and I didn't try to kill you, I thought you were dead so I ran away"
" With all of my money?"
"Our money Jackson..."
"You were a self centered control freak Jackson, I had to save myself."
"And besides that money was never all yours but you wanted it all for yourself, even if it meant hurting me."
"I worked for that heist Jackson, I risked my life for it— I used my body and everything I got to make sure we got that money, it was never meant to be all yours, and Michael...he was only trying to save me from you because you were hurting me remember? You tried to kill me first."
"This is my home , I have spent years building this beautiful life with my husband Damian, you can't just walk in and think you can break it, never."
"I won't let you win without a fight."
"Bring it on little trouble...haha, i see you are still in there, that's the girl I came for."
"What game are you playing Jackson?"
"What exactly do you want?"
He smiled.
"You owe me a debt."
"And that's what I came for."
"You want the money? If the money is what you want Jackson it's done, I will pay you every dime of it, I don't need no share of it anymore."
Jackson burst into laughter like I just sounded stupid.
" You think money is all I want for trying to kill me in cold blood?"
"No, little princess , you know I love to get my pay in ten folds."
He laughed mysteriously, then continued.
"Have you ever wondered why your son's eyes don't look like neither of you?"
"Are you absolutely sure Damian is his father?"
My breath caught in my throat.
For a second, I couldn’t hear anything—not the distant sound of Damian speaking outside, not the ticking clock on the wall.
Only Jackson’s words.
Are you absolutely sure Damian is his father?
My eyes flew toward the staircase where Jimi had disappeared moments ago.
Jackson leaned closer, his voice dropping into a whisper.
“Maybe you should start asking yourself what really happened that night.”
Then the front door opened.
Damian’s voice echoed through the house.
“Babe? Everything okay in there?”
Jackson’s smile vanished so quickly it was almost fright
ening.
By the time Damian stepped back into the dining room, Jackson was sitting calmly in his chair.
And I was still standing there, unable to breathe.
- Writer
