All the Wrong Places

Chapter 2

2.

            Tu es ravissante…

            J'adore…

            Je chérirai ce moment pour toujours…

            Restez avec moi…

Julianne sat up from bed, waking up from a deep sleep. She looked at her bedside clock. It was only four in the morning.

            She reached out for her ankle, to rub the tattoo that was permanently etched there.

Seven years ago, in a small studio apartment in Paris, she was sneaking out quietly, trying her best not to wake him up so he couldn’t stop her from leaving… so she could let go of this fantasy life and face the nightmares that were waiting for her at home.

            She thought she would forget him—the only man she’s ever been in love with.

Jas Mathieu.

But even now, he still haunted her dreams. And oftentimes, in the middle of the night, she would lie in bed, thinking about him.

            She wanted to fall in love. She did. And he was perfect. An aspiring painter waiting for his time to shine. He wasn’t rich but he was ambitious. He had dreams and he had what it took to make them happen. That was one of the things she admired about him. She wished she could have been with him when his break finally came. But she knew from the beginning that their time was limited. She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t even give him her real name.

            She remembered the day she decided to get a tattoo. She had always wanted to get one but she knew her parents would never agree.

            “Well, how often do they look on your bum, your hip or the inside of your ankle?” Jas asked, his voice full of mischief. “You could get a tattoo—in a place where they wouldn’t care to look, right?”

            She decided that her father had already signed up her life to the McAllisters anyway. Getting this tattoo was something she would do for herself… something to remember her days of freedom in Paris.

            “Okay, why don’t you choose a design?” she asked him.

            Jas drew a heart and butterfly wing tattoo design on a piece of paper. It was a bit of an abstract, but quite cute and elegant. She liked it very much.

            “Are you sure you trust me to be the designer of probably the only tattoo you will get in your life?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

            “Well, I have faith in you,” she replied, smiling back at him. “Something to remember Paris by. You and my tattoo.”

He asked the tattoo artist to draw the design on her. When it was finished, she distinctly saw the line inside the heart that unwittingly looked like the letter J. Beside it was a line that formed what looked like one wing of a butterfly.

            She narrowed his eyes at him. “You had your initial drawn on my ankle?”

            He laughed. “Like you said, me and your tattoo.”

            He was right. She never forgot him. The tattoo always reminded her of their borrowed time together.

            But who would have thought that he would change her life forever? That one night was all it took to bind him to her for the rest of her life.

            Jared Adrien Sanders.

That was her son’s name. His middle name was after his godmother, Adrienne, who had always been there for Julianne since she’d been banished by her parents.

Every day, Jared reminded her of his father. They had the same shade of reddish-brown hair, the same aquamarine eyes, which were his most attractive feature. Jared even had the same dimples and chin as his father. How could she hope to forget the beautiful man she fell in love with in Paris? Jared was the exact miniature of Jas Mathieu.

            At an early age, Jared exhibited creativity and skill with his hands. Julianne knew he was going to be an artist like his father. Every day that she fell in love with her son was another day she stayed in love with his father.

            Once every three months, Adrienne and Justin would go to Paris to visit Adrienne’s family. They would take their three kids with them—Jeffrey, who was seven now, and twins Jaeden and Jaelynn, who were three.

For the past year, since Julianne came back to the States from her exile in Italy, she’d been living with Justin and Adrienne, along with her son. Justin offered her a job as VP for Corporate Strategy for Adams Industries. The salary was good and included a rent-free stay in the Adams’s Mansion.

Julianne thought to use her intellect this time instead of her heart. She let go feelings of pride, remorse and fear and decided to go home. It didn’t matter whether her parents would forgive her or accept her son. What mattered was that Justin gave her a chance to give her son a bright future, even if he didn’t have a rich father like the rest of his cousins. She would provide for him and she vowed that Jared would never feel that there was something missing in his life.

Jared had grown close to his cousins over the last year. The first time Julianne allowed him to go with Justin and Adrienne to Paris, Jared almost didn’t want to leave. It was as if he felt that a part of him belonged there. He was part-French after all.

A week ago, Jared begged her to let him go to Paris once again. She was in the middle of an important project for Adams Industries and could not afford to take off from work. Reluctantly, she let her son go without her again. She promised she would be with him next time.

Julianne picked up her phone to check her messages. Paris was seven hours ahead. It was almost noontime there. She was hoping Adrienne sent her updates about her son.

She saw one message from Adrienne. It had a video of Jared.

“Tu… es… wait what?” Jared was saying in front of the camera. Then he called somebody that Julianne couldn’t see from the video. “Uncle Jin! What was it?”

“Ravi…” somebody was saying in the background, coaching Jared.

“I got it,” Jared said. Then he faced the camera again. “Mommy! Tu es ravissante!” He smiled widely, showing the deep dimple on his cheek. Then he blew her a kiss. “Je t’aime.”

Julianne smiled at her son’s attempt to speak French. In a way, she felt that he should speak the language. It was a part of him.

Julianne dialed Adrienne’s number.

“It’s too early. Why are you up?” Adrienne asked on the other line.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Julianne replied. “I saw the video.”

“He’s so adorable, isn’t he?”

“He is. That’s what he’s been up to lately?”

“Yeah, my brother’s trying to teach him some words. Maybe by the end of this trip, he’ll be more fluent than me. I’m still struggling and I’m part French.”

So was Jared.

“I hope your family didn’t mind that you brought an extra kid with you,” Julianne said.

“Are you kidding me? My parents love Jared,” Adrienne replied. “Even my brother adores him and he’s a bit of a monster sometimes.”

“A monster? How could any monster be related to you?”

“Well, many years ago, I thought my brother was one of the most adorable and sweetest guys on earth. Then history changed him. He’s now unemotional, detached and sometimes a bit of a crude. That’s why he didn’t attend our family gatherings. You won’t even see him in our family photos. He just… doesn’t like to socialize very much. It’s a long, complicated story. Maybe you need to meet him to understand what I mean.”

“Well, I don’t socialize with our entire family either and I’ve been MIA in our family photos for years. But I have my reasons.”

“Ian… don’t worry. I know someday, Uncle Edward will come around. You guys will patch things up,” Adrienne said encouragingly.

“It’s been seven years, Adrienne. I’m not keeping my hopes up. Neither should you.”

“Well, I know there is hope. He never antagonized Justin for helping you seven years ago. And he never said anything negative when he found out that you’re working for Justin and that you’re living with us.”

“Not saying anything does not mean agreeing, when it comes to my father. Sometimes, it just means, he’s biding his time. You should know that about him. Besides, it’s not about me anymore, Adrienne. I was hoping he’d have the heart to even look at his grandson.”

“The right time will come. His heart will melt when he sees your boy. Hey, if Jared could melt my brother’s almost-non-existent heart, I’m sure he can soften your father’s. Jared is a naturally charming boy. He must have gotten that from his father.”

He did. Jas Mathieu was one of the most angelic and charming creatures I’ve met. He’s a beautiful old soul.

Julianne shook off old memories of Jas Mathieu from her mind, to keep from feeling heartbroken once again.

“Wait, what about your parents? I hope I’m not imposing too much on them. I haven’t even met them yet.”

“I told you, your son is a natural charmer. He’s already stolen my parents’ hearts. They already consider Jared as their family. And they cannot wait to meet you.”

“Yeah, I promise I’ll come next time.”

“Well, that next time will be soon enough,” Adrienne said.

“Why?”

“Well, my mother is throwing a huge party next month. And all of us are expected to attend,” Adrienne replied. “She’s celebrating the success of one of her books. She’s hit another bestseller. She does this every time one of her books hit the number one spot, which is at least once a year.”

“Wow. Send my congratulations.”

“You can tell her yourself when you arrive here,” Adrienne said. “It’s going to be a double celebration. My brother is about to be engaged.”

“Is that engagement by his own will or is it the type of engagement that both our families are fond of getting into?”

Yes, their families were quite notorious for arranged marriages. Adrienne’s mother and stepfather had an arranged marriage. Justin and Adrienne had been arranged to marry each other too. Good thing they were already in love when they found out about the arrangement. Justin’s father and mother had also been arranged to be married. Julianne, too, would have been married to the man they arranged her with, if she hadn’t gotten pregnant first.

“Well, he’s been seeing this girl on and off. She comes from a good family who owns a chain of hotels that Starck Corp. had been looking to acquire. Marriage between him and this girl would be very convenient.”

“You mean it will be easier for your brother to acquire this chain of hotels if he were to marry this girl?”

“In a way, yeah.”

“How much does your brother want to expand your family’s hotel properties?”

“My brother is a prodigy. He started working for Papa when he was only sixteen. By eighteen, he was already handling half of Starck Corp. and my mother’s spa and relaxation chain. It’s his life’s mission to see Starck Corp. at the top of the world.”

“And getting this girl’s family’s hotels will do the job?”

“It will give Starck Corp. a very huge and very rare advantage, apparently.”

“How difficult is it to acquire these properties?”

“Difficult since it’s purely family-owned.”

“If I were his VP for Corporate Strategy, I would advise him to do the same thing. Marry her. That is, if he didn’t have a heart, like you said, and he didn’t look forward to marrying for love anyway.”

“Unfortunately, nothing is more important to my brother than our family business. He would do anything and would stop at nothing.”

“And this party is going to be an engagement party?”

“Well, not yet. Because he’s only expected to propose to her there.”

“In the middle of the party? In front of all the people he barely knows? That’s very unromantic, don’t you think?”

“What do you expect? It almost happened to me, remember? Our parents expected Justin to propose to me the same way—at one of my mother’s book parties. Maybe Mom was trying to start a tradition.”

“I will forever be sorry that I missed that party. How I wish I’d seen the faces of your parents when you guys didn’t show up to your own engagement party.”

“I’m sorry you weren’t a bridesmaid at my wedding either.”

“Yeah. I hated Justin for weeks when I found out you were getting hitched on a secret wedding in Italy! Your timing was impossible.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be a bridesmaid when I marry her again, Ian,” Justin said on the other line. Julianne could hear Adrienne protesting. Justin must have taken the phone away from her.

“You’re going to marry her again?”

“Of course. I’ll marry her over and over if I have the chance. But I do intend to get married again in the States. We’ll renew our vows. And this time it’s going to be grand. Everybody will be invited.”

“Good, because I will never speak to you ever if I miss it again.”

“Anyway, did you read the email I sent to you yesterday?” Justin asked. His tone turned serious and professional. Julianne had to remember that she’s now talking to her boss.

“Yes,” she replied. “RJ Shipping looks promising. But in terms of experience, they’ve only been in the market for two years. I don’t know if they’re the right company to handle our shipments in Asia.”

“I trust the owner. He’ll be in Chicago in the coming weeks. Do you think you can meet up with him?”

“Me? Well, I’ve given you my opinion. Don’t you think Procurement should be the one to handle that meeting?”

“I know what George is going to say,” Justin said.

“Me too.”

“I know. I just want to give River a chance. And if you meet him, you’ll understand why I’m inclined to trust him. And maybe you’ll give a different input before we set out the wolves to see him. And as my VP for Strategy, I’m sure you’ll come up with some other recommendations. I want to make a partnership happen. River was one of the people I could trust with my life.”

“Fine, I’ll meet him.”

“Thanks, Ian. Now, do you want to speak to my wife again?”

“It’s okay. I’ll call later. It’s only four in the morning here.”

“Don’t worry, too much, Ian. Jared is in good hands. They love him here.”

“Thanks for doing this, Justin. And thank Adrienne and her lovely family for me.”

“Sure. Speak to you later.”

Julianne smiled to herself. She missed her son very much. Next time, she won’t be too busy to visit and meet Adrienne’s family.

***

“Look, Mommy!  Look at my new notebook.”  Jared took out a sketchbook from his backpack.  “Uncle Jin gave it to me,” he said proudly.

Julianne smiled at him and flipped the sketchbook. He’s already painted on some of its pages. Julianne was amazed at the swirl of colors and details of his drawings.

“Your son has talent,” Adrienne said to her.  “He can be a famous artist someday.”

“Yes,” Justin agreed. “Look at those details and the blending of colors. It’s quite advanced for a six-year old.”

Julianne stared at the pages in front of her. Even she was impressed by her son’s skill. And she knew he still has plenty of room for improvement. She was certain he’d be a great artist someday. It was in his blood. Another trait that Jas Mathieu passed on to his son.

“My family was so impressed with Jared, that my brother couldn’t help buying him some art supplies,” Adrienne told her.

“Really, Adrienne, he shouldn’t have. Your family is so nice.”

“Don’t fuss about it, Ian. They fell in love with your son.”

“Can you draw me, sweetheart?” Julianne asked Jared.

He laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

“Of course not. I know you can do it.”

“Someday. I’ll ask Uncle Jin to teach me.”

“Oh, he draws too?”

“Yes!” Jared beamed. “He’s very, very good!”

Adrienne giggled. “I’m afraid that when God spread talent in our family, he gave it all to my brother.”

“Excuse me, I beg to disagree,” Justin interrupted. “You are equally talented. Whose name was on the New York Times Bestselling List at least five times?”

“Jamila McBride?” Adrienne teased.

Justin grinned at her. “Yeah, I remember Jamila McBride.” He gave Adrienne a knowing smile that made her blush violently.

Jamila McBride was Adrienne’s pen name. There was a history to that name that only Justin and Adrienne knew about and they didn’t want to tell anyone.

“Well, maybe you’re right. Jin is good with lines and colors. I’m good with words,” Adrienne said proudly.

“Where are all my colors?” Jared went to his nanny and took a bag from her. He opened it to reveal a designer case with at least eight tiers of color pencils, crayons, paint brushes and watercolors.

“Look Mommy! I got all the colors!”

“Oh dear God! You must have at least three hundred colors in there. Are these all yours?”

“Yes! I’m so happy!” Jared replied happily.

Julianne inspected the case and read the brand. It was a designer brand too.

“Adrienne, this is too much. I looked at these pencil collections in Italy. They’re expensive!”

“I do not know the price tag of these things. And I didn’t buy them. Jin did.”

“These are worth at least three thousand dollars!” There was a time in Julianne’s life a couple of years ago when she wrote these on her wish list for her son. She didn’t have enough money then and she was jobless. But she promised herself that someday, she would save enough money to give them to Jared. Now, a man she hadn’t even met beat her to it.

“Three thousand?” Adrienne echoed, her mouth hanging open. “Well, my brother can be extravagant. And I told you, your son can be quite persuasive and charming.”

“I’m sure it didn’t even hurt his wallet,” Justin said. “Jin doesn’t care about money when it comes to family.”

“But Jared is not really…”

“Nonsense. He’s my nephew,” Justin cut her off. “If you feel bad about it, I’ll pay Jin back.”

“I’m sure my brother will not accept that,” Adrienne argued. “I told you. Jared is as much their family as my kids are. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“Well then, thank your brother for me. I’ve never seen Jared this happy before.” Julianne felt a twist inside her chest. Not only was Jared deprived of toys and other material things when he was younger, he was also deprived of a father figure.

Mason had been there for them since Jared was born. So was Gian, Jordan and Justin. But Julianne always felt that Jared was looking for something more permanent.

“You don’t seem too happy about it, though,” Justin remarked. Julianne realized that her eyes appeared a bit teary.

“No. I’m happy with all the attention that Jared was getting. But I can’t help but feel that he’s still looking for a father figure.”

“Well, you can always get in touch with his biological father. See if he’s matured in seven years and is now ready to take on the role of being a father,” Justin said acidly. “Of course, you know that won’t stop me or Gian from beating him to the pulp, right?”

“Justin!” Adrienne slightly pinched her husband’s arm. Then she turned to Julianne. “Forget that moron. You do not need a man who developed a spine only after seven years. He’s too late. Maybe what Ian needs is to go back to the market and start dating again.”

Julianne almost choked upon hearing Adrienne’s suggestion.

“No, Adrienne. I can’t do that. I barely have time for my son. Your husband is a pretty meticulous boss.”

“Excuse me. I’m result-oriented. As long as you deliver what you promised, what you do with the rest of your time is up to you,” Justin said. “It’s not my fault if you keep raising the bar on my expectations. You’re just too good at what you do.”

“You need a break sometimes, Ian,” Adrienne said. “Tell you what, you’re really going with us to Paris. Clear all your schedules. I want no distraction. I’m going to introduce you to new friends and you can have the time of your life in Paris.”

“Have you forgotten already? The last time I had the time of my life in Paris, I ended up having a child in my belly,” Julianne quipped.

“Well, maybe this time you might end up with a husband and a stepfather for Jared,” Adrienne teased her.

“Whoa! That’s way too soon. I promised myself I would take it slow next time. I mean, if there will be a next time.”

“Now you regret falling for Jared’s father, huh? Who would have known he’s a spineless piece of s**t, right?” Justin said.

“Justin!” Julianne hissed. “You do not know him. You do not know our story. You cannot judge him like that.”

“I don’t need to know him. All I know is that he left you to deal with your pregnancy alone. He didn’t even come to find you after Jared was born. That says a lot about what kind of a man he is. I, for one, would never let my son become a bas… become fatherless.”

Julianne could tell that Justin was still seething with anger. After all these years, Justin, Gian, Jordan and Mason would turn murderous at the thought of Jared’s father. And Julianne knew that it wasn’t fair because that beautiful man, who gave her Jared, didn’t even know that the magical night they spent together has borne a son.

“We do not need him. I’m working hard so Jared will have everything he needs. He may not have as much as his cousins, but I will make sure he will have enough,” Julianne said. And she knew that when she said those words, she was making a promise.

Julianne lost many things the day her father kicked her out of their house. She lost her trust funds, her bank accounts, her credit cards, her family. Since then, she had been living frugally. She let go of all the luxuries she’d been used to since she was born. She bought only what she and Jared needed.

Every financial support she received from her brother and her cousins, she saved for Jared’s education, his future.

Someday, she knew she would be able to provide enough for him. They would have their own house. Jared would be able to go to a good university so he could forge his own future.

“Jared may not have a father, but he has all of us,” Adrienne said, putting an arm around her husband’s waist, as if trying to calm his dark mood. Then she turned to Julianne. “You have us. You don’t need anyone else.”

Justin sighed and placed a kiss on Adrienne’s forehead.

“Well, you’re right. Jared has all the family he needs right here.”

“And he’s welcome in my family too,” Adrienne said. “Even Jin was completely besotted with him and I thought he had a heart of stone.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Well, when Jin was younger, he was a playboy but he was also very charming and sweet,” Adrienne replied. “But recently, he just became careless. He disregarded people’s emotions. With women, for example, he wasn’t afraid to show them that there’s nothing in the future for them. That everything is temporary. They couldn’t expect him to fall for them at all.”

“Well, I thought Justin was just as cold before he met you. And now, look! He still cannot get his hands off you! Several years and three kids later,” Julianne teased.

“Hey, I have my reasons. All my life, I was raised with the knowledge that I was arranged to be married to some heiress I did not know. I was trained not to fall for any woman because I wasn’t free to commit to them.” Justin looked at his wife tenderly. “But I believed in love. And I think the moment I met Adrienne, I’d always known I was going to fall hard for her and I was hopeless to fight it.”

“It’s a good thing I was the heiress you were arranged to marry. Or else, your parents might have banished you and we’d both be living in Italy for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, that’s not too bad either,” Justin said. “Mason is sporting his banishment just fine.”

“True,” Adrienne agreed. “But going back to Jin, he’s a more serious case. He was free to fall in love and choose a wife, and yet he doesn’t seem to be taking good advantage of his situation.”

“I thought you said he’s about to be engaged.”

“Yes. That’s not entirely against his will. He’s going to propose because it’s expected of him, and because it’s good for business. He’s choosing that path because he’s weighed in all the pros and cons. And like I said, he has a heart of stone. He’s incapable of falling in love. So, he’s spared from all the drama of choosing between marrying for love or marrying for business advantages.”

“No one is incapable of falling in love,” Julianne disagreed.

“Well, maybe Jin was,” Justin said. “He’s a serious case. Sorry, hon.” He smiled at his wife apologetically.

“He’s old enough to know what’s right and wrong. My stepdad was pressuring him for an heir too. Somebody has to inherit all that empire. So, I guess he’s chosen the perfect woman to marry. Somebody who has beautiful genes to make beautiful babies with and at the same time gain him the needed advantage to make Starck Corp the unprecedented number one hotel chain in the world.”

“Well, I feel for the guy,” Justin said. “If he only knew that there was no more beautiful feeling than having beautiful children with the woman you fall in love with over and over every day. And Adams Industries’ financial reports are at its highest compared to previous generations. The success of my company is not because I married for business at all. Inspiration can give you all the advantages you need.”

“I tried talking Jin out of it months ago,” Adrienne said. “But he’s made up his mind. He’s going to propose to Vanessa even though he’s made it completely clear that he’s not in love with her.”

“Well, good luck to Vanessa Bernard,” Julianne giggled. “I’m sure, as an heiress, she could totally hold her own.”

“Or good luck to Jin,” Justin said, his voice sounded a little worried. “I heard she could be quite a handful.”

“I’m sure. Some said she’s quite a brat. But then again, who could blame her? She was born having everything at her beck and call.” Adrienne sighed heavily.

“Hey, I grew up getting everything with a flick of my fingers but I was never a brat,” Julianne said. “It’s a good thing I was level-headed. Because, look at me now, all banished and disinherited.”

“You’re doing great, cuz,” Justin smiled at Julianne proudly. “And someday, Uncle Edward will realize that.”

“You’re holding on to that hope the same way you’re hoping Mason’s parents will take him back?” Julianne asked raising a brow.

“Mason never asked for his parents’ forgiveness,” Justin replied.

“Maybe I won’t either,” Julianne said. “I did that plenty of times in the past. He never listened. And now, I’m just overwhelmed by the fact that my son couldn’t be accepted by his own grandparents.”

“When they meet Jared, they will fall in love with him,” Adrienne said encouragingly.

Julianne shook her head. “If they don’t? And if they can’t even bear to look at him? What will I tell my son?”

“We’ll do it slowly. One step at a time,” Justin said. “I don’t want Jared to experience rejection either.”

“I’ll think about it,” Julianne said firmly. “Anyway, what about you two? Any plans for more kids?”

Adrienne blushed and Justin hugged her to him, laughing.

“It might be sooner than you think,” Justin said. “I hope we’ll be blessed with another set.”

Adrienne’s eyes widened as she stared at her husband. “What do you mean set?”

Justin shrugged. “This family is so blessed with twins anyway. I hope to be lucky again and get another set of twins. I want a big family. It’s lonely growing up alone.”

“How big are we talking about exactly?” Adrienne asked nervously.

“At least five kids,” Justin said with pleadingly.

“Oh you guys! You can have a dozen kids and you can still give them the best in life. Don’t worry too much about it, Adrienne. Did Justin tell you the size of his trust fund?”

Justin laughed.  “What trust fund?  I lost all of my funds the moment I got married.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Julianne asked, quite alarmed. Justin could not have spent all that money!

“I meant that I turned it over to Adrienne to manage,” Justin looked at his wife lovingly.

He looked completely whipped and for a moment, Julianne couldn’t help wishing that a man would look at her like that someday.

“For your information, Mister Adams, we have barely touched that money. I was preventing you from spending it all on your luxury car collection.”

“These cars will all go to our kids someday. I was just test-driving it for them.”

“Men and their love for engines,” Julianne said, shaking her head.

She watched Jared who was happily sprawled on the floor, exploring his huge art set.

“You should encourage your son to paint, Ian. He’s got a lot of potential. Not many kids can paint as well as him at this age,” Justin said, watching Jared too.

“He’s a painter, isn’t he?” Adrienne asked Julianne in a cool, careful voice.

“Hmm… a French man who paints for a living,” Justin said, picking up another clue about the identity of Jared’s father.

“Give it a rest, Justin,” Julianne said. “I won’t tell you. You’ll end up murdering him anyway. And I don’t want blood on your hands.”

“I was just wondering…” Justin shook his head as he watched his nephew.  “Who wouldn’t want to be the father of that sweet, smart, talented and beautiful kid?”

“Justin’s right.  Even my brother will be quite ready to adopt him,” Adrienne said.

Jeffrey peeked into the room and called Jared. The two boys ran off to the garden to play.

Julianne felt a pinch in her heart. She loved the man who gave her Jared. She could be in love with him still. Maybe she will love him forever. It was her fault he never knew his son. He didn’t deserve to be judged like this by her family. But how could she explain this to them now?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a phone ringing. It was Jared’s. She gave him a phone so she could call him when he was in Paris.

 “Who could be calling him aside from me?” Julianne asked Adrienne, who merely shrugged in response. She answered the phone.

“Hey kiddo, how are you doing?” a man asked on the other line.

“Excuse me, who is this?”

“Oops. You must be Ian, huh,” the man said.

“And you are?”

“Jin Starck,” he replied. “Adrienne’s brother.”

“Oh. Yeah. Hi. This is Jared’s mother,” Julianne said. “I’m just looking at the stuff you bought for my son. You shouldn’t have. I know it’s expensive. I’ll pay you back.”

“Hell, no! It’s nothing compared to the joy he felt when I gave it to him. That moment was priceless,” Jin said. “Your son is absolutely a joy to have around.”

“Okay. Well, then, thank you.”

“No problem.”

Julianne tried to paint a mental picture of Jin Starck. Adrienne said they look a little bit like each other but with her angelic features, Julianne could not seem to picture a male version of her.

“Jared is in the garden playing with his cousins. I’ll tell him that you called.”

“Yes, please. I promised him I’d check up on him like I check up on Jeffrey and the twins.”

“That’s really sweet of you,” Julianne said. “Thank you.”

“No worries. It was nice talking to you, Ian.”

Julianne stared at Adrienne after she hung up the phone.

“That was your brother calling my son,”

“Before we left, Jared made him swear he’d call him. Jin usually calls my kids to check up on them. Jared asked him to call him too.”

“Your brother sounded sweet… unlike the heartless man you were just talking to me about.”

“Well that’s a side of him he only shows to family.”

“He’s like me in a way,” Justin said. “There’s nothing we won’t do for our family.” He looked at his wife again. “There’s nothing I won’t do for you and our kids, honey.”

“I know,” Adrienne said. She leaned forward and kissed Justin on the lips.

“I thought your brother was French,” Julianne remarked.

“Three quarters.”

“He doesn’t have a French accent.”

“Sometimes he has. Most of the time he loses it. English was his first language anyway. He’s multi-lingual. I guess it’s easy to lose the accent after you’ve lived in too many different cities.”

“I wish I met your family the last time they visited here.”

“You’ll meet them soon. They know about you already. Your son couldn’t stop talking about you.”

Julianne laughed. “I hope he said nice things about me.”

“Of course, he did. He’s been telling them that you’re the most beautiful lady he’s ever seen.”

Justin began laughing.

“And you find that funny because?” Julianne asked, pretending to be offended.

“I’m sorry. It’s not that. I just remembered one time when Jeffrey told Jin that you’re prettier than any of the girls he’s seen him dating. Jin didn’t know what to say to that. He was so embarrassed to hear that from a child.”

“No thanks, Jeffrey. I don’t think an heir will ever be interested in me.”

Justin raised a brow at her. “What are you talking about? You’re absolutely beautiful, Ian. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Remember when I first met you, Ian? When I thought you spent the night at Justin’s place?”  Adrienne asked.

“How could I forget that?” Julianne giggled. Adrienne broke up with Justin, when she thought she slept in Justin’s apartment, not knowing they were cousins. That was the first time Julianne saw Justin bawl over a girl.

“I thought you were very beautiful,” Adrienne said. “You were like a Barbie doll in the flesh. Even your voice was a perfect pitch. I thought any guy would fall for you. And you know what? You’re even more beautiful now.”

“Why would you think that no heir would fall for you?” Justin asked, slightly irritated.

“I would be happy to set you up with my brother, if he wasn’t the ruthless, heartless scoundrel that he is now. You deserve better than a man who doesn’t believe that a woman could put him under her spell and he’d willingly follow her to the ends of the earth. You’re too good and too pure for that devil. But trust me, the minute he lays eyes on you, he’d be cursing the day I married Justin because that made you technically related and it means he cannot include you in the list of women he can play with.”

“It’s not that, Yen,” Julianne said. She suddenly felt uneasy and a bit embarrassed. “I’m a single mother. I’m not sure a good, single guy would take another man’s child into his home. I’ve seen this happen in real life. And I don’t know if I can risk Jared’s feelings for that. No man is worth it unless he loves my kid the same way he loves me. We’re a package deal now.”

“I’m sure you will find a good man someday. And he will love not just you, but Jared as well.”

“Even if I don’t, it’s okay. Jared’s feelings and his well-being goes first. I want to focus on his future. That’s what matters most now.”

“Well, don’t close your doors, Ian. Who knows? The man you need is just around the corner.  And the time you will meet him is sooner than you think.”

Julianne forced a smile at Adrienne. She admired her positivity. But in her own thoughts, she seriously doubted that Adrienne was right.