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I knew it wouldn’t be Jeremy’s fault. I would never blame a child. The result would be the same, though, and I just wanted to protect Christian from being hurt like that again.
“Ah, I get it. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about that. They’re kids. They are going to make friends and then lose them. There isn’t anything anyone can do to change that. If it helps, Jasmine most likely won’t be there that long.”
“What makes you say that?” Based on what I had gathered from her, she wasn’t looking to go back to Adam. She certainly had no problem standing up to that fact.
“She hasn’t worked since she discovered she was pregnant. Adam didn’t want her to. It’s been close to four years now since she last had a job. She is a good mother, but she is not the best at managing her life. She is often messy and doesn’t remember to focus on the finer details. She even would forget to pay bills before she moved in with Adam.”
I could hear the disappointment within his voice, and clearly, he had seen a different version of Jasmine than I had seen. Though, to be fair, I had only known her a couple of days if that when you added up the hours I spent with her.
“How is Adam holding up?” I didn’t really care, but it was only polite to ask.
“He’s furious that Jeremy is gone. He never expected this or to be so embarrassed. What she is doing is unacceptable. I am relieved that you have given her a job. I know her and Jeremy will be safe with you. Once she gets a taste of being a single mother and having to do it all, she will be coming back.”
Jasmine didn’t come across that weak to me. Being a single parent was hard, especially balancing work, but Jasmine seemed strong enough to handle it to me. Again though, I barely knew her.
“She says she doesn’t love him,” I pointed out.
He scoffed before he spoke, “Love has nothing to do with it. Jeremy deserves to have both of his parents in his life. He doesn’t deserve to come from a broken home like low-income families. My grandson will not be raised that way. She will come to her senses and come home. Mark my words. Until then, at least they are safe.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that technically, my son was from a broken home. That was the thing with Francis, sometimes he got too attached to what his parents had raised him to believe. He got too caught up in being the perfect example to high society socialites. I just wanted what was best for Christian. I didn’t care about keeping up appearances.
“I’ll make sure they are okay. For now, it’s getting late, and I still have a kitchen to clean.”
I had been hoping speaking with Francis might help to calm me down, and it did to a level. However, the guilt was only getting worse, and I needed to get off this call.
“Thank you for what you are doing for them. I truly appreciate it. Let me know if there are any problems that come up.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine.” As long as I could keep my hands off of her.
“Goodnight old friend.”
“Night Francis.”
I let out a deep breath as I ended the call. Yup, I was going to Hell.
Jasmine
Igotthelastof our bags into the nanny-suite, and it felt weird to be here. It felt weird that this was going to be our new home, but it also felt weird to be here without Jeremy. I knew he was just in the connecting house, but he had never been away from me before. I had never gone to sleep without him just down the hallway from me. I felt anxious, which was a newer feeling for me. I had always been good at going with the flow. There hadn’t been a situation where I felt anxious or nervous really.
From what I could see, the house was nice. It was all one level, so I guess it was more like an apartment, but there was a patio just off from the living room that had a nice little patio table that would be great for meals when Jeremy and I were over here. There was also a yard, but it was connected to the main house. I still knew Jeremy would have fun running around in it, and hopefully, him and Christian would continue to bond with each other.
I didn’t like how Liam was handling having the two boys together. I didn’t like that he didn’t want them to be close. They were going to be around each other every single day for the next eight months, at least. I could end up getting my own place in town, and then they would be at the same school. The only reason I could see that he didn’t want them to be close was because he was looking down on us. We were the help.
I was used to working, but I wasn’t used to being the help. It was going to take some time for me to adjust, because despite what Liam said, I wasn’t going to be crawling back to Adam. I refused to be in a relationship without love or mutual respect. Now I just needed to make sure that what happened in the kitchen never happened again. And I wasn’t just talking about the mess.
I needed to adapt a bit to what Liam expected. I wasn’t going to stop the boys from getting their hands dirty or having fun. However, I would make sure that everything was cleaned up properly as we went. It was the best compromise as I was going to give him and maybe as time went on, he would grow used to the small mess every now and then, and it wouldn’t be such a big deal.
My phone rang, and I grabbed it out of my purse. It was getting late, and I had no idea who would be calling me. I saw my father’s name across the screen, and I hovered my thumb over the answer button, but I couldn’t bring myself to hit it. I knew I was being a shitty daughter by not calling him or my mom. I knew they were worried about me and Jeremy. However, I couldn’t seem to bring myself to speak with them. Their voicemails of accusation, disappointment, and open hostility told me that they weren’t all that worried and more pissed off at the embarrassment of me running out on my wedding.
It might be petty, but I wanted them to be calling me because they wanted to make sure Jeremy and I were okay. That they understood how difficult it was for me to do that. But they only seemed to care about Adam’s feelings.
My phone stopped ringing, and I let out a sigh. I was a terrible daughter. I scrubbed a hand over my face and decided that there was nothing I could do about this tonight. I needed some time to decompress after everything. I made my way towards the bathroom and started to draw a hot bath. I tossed off my clothes and sunk into the water as I pulled up Kenny’s number. I knew it was late in Miami, but I also knew that to Kenny, it was morning.
I hit the speaker button and placed my phone on the side of the tub. After three rings, he answered, “Girl, you best be calling me from prison or something. I haven’t heard from you since your epic run down the aisle.”
I couldn’t stop the smile at hearing his voice. I loved Kenny. He was incredibly gay and fabulous. He was also my best friend. I had met him when I was working at the strip club. He was a bartender, and you would think he would never have been hit on, but he actually got laid a lot. It was crazy how many bi-curious and in-the-closet guys went to strip clubs.
“That bad, eh?” I said as I slid back and allowed the hot water to start working my tense muscles.
