After Escaping From Wedding Night

Chapter 28: Love?

Lves had allowed Jessica to have the next two weeks off to recover from her ordeal. The whole staff team had heard what happened to her and Jessica was surprised that everyone, including Sarah, had sent a card and flowers to her home. It made Jessica feel nice, that she was cherished.

And Jessica had really needed this time to sort through her thoughts. Her mother usually left her and her personal matters alone but this time she did not hold back. Carol hounded her the minute she got home and was better enough to tell the whole story.

Of course, Jessica left some of the 'unimportant' deals out, but Jessica had no choice but to reveal everything to her mother. Carol had listened quietly, absorbing everything that her daughter was telling her. She had a hard time believing that Jessica had done such a thing to Roger but understood why Jessica had done it. Carol also felt guilt; her daughter should not have been the one to shoulder the burden of supporting this family. That should be her duty.

They had a long talk – mother to daughter. Jessica felt relief as if a huge burden were lifted from her shoulders. They talked through everything and though Jessica was immensely sad at the decision they had reached; Jessica knew it was the right one. In the end, the only thing that mattered to her was Evan and her being close to Roger would only hurt not only Evan but Roger as well.   

So, the first thing Jessica did when she went back to work was to find Roger and hand in her resignation letter.

Roger was not surprised; he had a feeling this was coming. He read her resignation letter word by word, over and over again. He was impressed; Jessica had made careful preparations, and the resignation letter was emailed to him as well as a printed hard copy.

Roger put down the letter and looked up at Jessica, who was sitting on the chair opposite his desk. Roger looked at her, a mask over his emotions. Jessica felt uneasy and shifted in her seat; she felt uncomfortable sitting in front of Roger, especially when he was staring at her like this. "Why are you staring at me? Can I go now?"

Roger raised his eyebrows, "I'm waiting for the penalty. Are you going to give it in cash or online account transfer?"

Jessica knew that he would talk about the money. The words she was going to say next had been practiced many times before she had fallen asleep last night and on the way to the hotel this morning, "How much? Maybe you can pay it for me," Jessica smirked.  

Roger frowned. Why did she think that I would pay her? Was she crazy?

Jessica straightened her shoulders and sat up, trying to look confident even though her nerves were shaking inside.

"Well, you are my husband, right? Technically, I own half of your assets. So, you can just take the money from whichever of your account you prefer!" Jessica stood up with an attitude praying to God this would work.

Roger looked at the woman who was talking nonsense in front of him. He had never seen someone as cheeky as her!

"Jessica, did you take your medicine this morning? Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Jessica nodded seriously, "I am just peachy!" 

Roger sat back and analyzed her. He hated to admit it, but she was right. Jessica had blindsided him once again. They were husband and wife by law, and they had no prenups. But Roger was sure there was a way around it since they had been separated for as long as they were married.

Taking Roger's silence as a victory, Jessica beamed and turned towards the door. "Oh, and dear husband, while you are at it, do you have some money for me right now? I am going a bit low…" Jessica batted her eyelashes at him. This part was not what she had practiced last night but she could not help but add it, just out of spite.

Roger leaped up and seized her hand, dragging her body hard towards him, around his table. Their faces were so close, Jessica could feel his minty breath on her nose.  

Roger said in a deep voice, "Maybe you should do your duty as a wife first."

Jessica swallowed loudly, "I'm sure you have many other girls willing to do that for you!"

Roger smiled, "Do you think I will let you go this easily?"

Jessica yanked her hand away from him and glared, "You have no choice!" With that, she stormed out the door.

Jessica sighed angrily once she reached the hallway. Who the hell did he think he was? On the one hand, he hated her and wanted to avenge what happened three years ago, but on the other hand, he was kind and caring and saving her life. Why? Jessica was confused and angry.

"Ughhhh!" She groaned out loud. "Jessica, what have you gotten yourself into?" 

She looked at the cleaning trolley in front of her which reminded her she still had a full day of work ahead of her. Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Jessica grabbed the trolley and waited for the elevator.

She eyed the man that got out on the floor just as she stepped inside the elevator. He was thin and tall and wearing a worker's clothes. From his physique, she could tell that it was not anyone from the hotel. Then why was he wearing a worker's vest? And why was he visiting Roger? Maybe he was Roger's friend, or he had invited him for something? Roger was the owner of this hotel after all.

Jessica thought nothing of it, but she could not help but feel an uneasy feeling wash over her. This was the same feeling she had gotten when she had stepped inside that darn taxi.

_______

Roger half leaned on the head of the bed. Was he going crazy? He had not been able to focus on anything the whole day except Jessica. All he could think about was her cleaning the room, her on his bed, her beneath her moaning and panting.

He had to remind himself that she was the enemy!

Roger shook himself out of his thoughts and decided to grab something to eat. When entering the elevator, Roger felt something was wrong. He pressed the close button. After the elevator door was completely closed, he was sure that his feeling was right. He took his cellphone out and wanted to call his security; however, his phone was knocked out of his hands by someone. It was a man wearing all black with a bright vest on top of his jacket. His face was covered with a black ski mask.

Roger spoke calmly, "What do you want?"

The man spoke in a rough tone. As he was wearing a mask, his voice was very oppressive. "My boss asked me to warn you that the last cargo was intercepted by your men as soon as it arrived at the wharf. This warning is a gift for you. If you still get in the way of tomorrow's shipment, he will kill you."

Roger sneered and replied, "You can go back and tell your boss that I will be waiting for him tomorrow."

 "Roger, you do know that I can kill you now?!"

Roger knew it was naïve of him to mess with a killer, but he could not help but goad him. Unbeknownst to the man in black, Roger had pressed the emergency button in the elevator so hopefully, the staff had been alerted. He made sure to position himself in front of the camera so they could see it was him who was trapped.  

His trick seemed to work as the elevator continued to descend. The man looked around in panic.

"What the f**k?" 

Roger smirked, "Tell your boss he needs to send smarter people."

The man growled and jumped at Roger with his knife drawn but Roger was quick to sidestep him. He tried to push him away but knew his chances were limited in such a tight space and with him using a knife as a weapon.  

The lobby was a blur of people with security, police, and ambulance on scene. By this time everyone knew that Roger Ricard was trapped in the elevator with an assailant and he could possibly be hurt.

Jessica had heard the news from her coworker and had left everything in the middle of cleaning a room and ran down to the lobby in a panic. She knew it was the man she saw this morning! She should have said something! She should have stopped him! She should have told Roger! She should have done something – anything!   

By the time Jessica reached the lobby, Roger was out of the elevator. She rushed to Roger through the crowd, pushing people aside. She needed to see he was okay! Her heart was in her throat in fear and panic. What if he was hurt?

There he was. He was surrounded by his bodyguards and nurses. Even though he did not seem hurt, Jessica flinched at the sight of blood on his fingers.

"Roger?" Jessica called out in worry.  

 Roger seemed to be surprised by her sudden appearance and just stared at her in silence and confusion. Tears were flowing from her eyes and her face was set in a worried expression as she examined him up and down.  

Suddenly, she pushed aside the nurse and hugged Roger tightly muttering through her tears, "You scared me. I thought…I thought…"

Roger stood stock still, not knowing how to respond. Jessica's tears made him uncomfortable. He thought Jessica would be happy if he was hurt.

So why was she crying for him?

Roger gingerly hugged her back, not caring about everyone staring at them. He spoke in a husky and deep voice, "You should be happy if I die because you would get a lot of money."

Jessica, still in his arms, looked up and glared at him. "How can you say that? What do I want money for? You are the one that matters to me," She replied softly.

Roger frowned and looked at her face of grievance, speechless. Was he so important in her heart? Even more than money? How was that possible? Was it not her that had destroyed him just for money three years ago?

Love sometimes did not make sense. You do not know when it comes. You only know that everything is suddenly turned upside down.