Chapter 30
Brian frowned, just about to suggest she come home with them, when he heard Jacob yelling and cursing in the background, “Jessica, I hate you. I wish you were dead.”
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Brian remarked and hung up. His sharp features turned stony slightly.
He thought, ‘What the hell is Jacob saying to his mom? This kind of behavior is only going to push Jessica further away!
Rubbing his temples, Brian felt a headache coming on.
“Mr. Atkinson, did you find Jake?” In the living room, Madeline came running up anxiously in tears. She’d been so close to calling the police.
She thought, ‘If anything had happened to Jacob while I was watching him, I could kiss my chances of marrying Brian goodbye.’
“Yeah. He’s at Jessica’s,” Brian replied, turning toward the car parked at the front entrance, missing the flash of hostility in Madeline’s eyes.
Her nails dug into her palms as frustration flickered across her face. She thought, ‘I was losing my mind with worry over Jacob, and that little brat snuck off to Jessica? So this is what they call a bond by blood?‘
Without hesitation, Madeline opened the passenger door and got in.
Brian gave her a surprised glance. Madeline wiped at her tears, her voice trembling with worry as she said, “I just need to see for myself that Jake’s okay.”
Brian said nothing else and stepped on the gas.
Madeline finally seemed to have calmed down. She wiped her tears, though the resentment and jealousy brewing in her heart were hers alone to know.
She thought, ‘It wasn’t easy getting Jessica, that idiot, to go so far as to file for divorce. What if Jacob’s little stunt brings them back together? I can’t let that happen. No way!
Madeline’s fists tightened without her realizing it, and Brian, sitting next to her, just assumed she was still worried about Jacob.
“Jake’s with his mom. He’s fine now,” he said.
“Great. He probably missed Jessi,” Madeline replied, her eyes flickering slightly. Then she added, testing the waters, “Mr. Atkinson, why not let Jake stay with Jessi for a few more days? Why rush to bring him back home?”
She had been standing close to Brian earlier and overheard Jessica asking him to come pick Jacob up.
Brian didn’t say anything.
Watching his expression, Madeline pretended not to understand. “Jessi’s really something. Jake’s still so young. As his mom, she should be heartbroken over this. How could she seriously be mad at him?”
“They’re just caught up in the heat of the moment,” Brian answered with a frown. He shot Madeline an icy look, his fingers flexing and settling again on the steering wheel–a clear sign he was irritated.
Madeline swallowed the rest of her words as she noticed the expression on his face turned colder, She forced an awkward smile. “Jessi really does love Jake a lot.”
The car fell into silence, and soon they pulled up in front of Inkspire Studio’s building.
As Brian got out, the sound of crashing and smashing echoed from the office. He stopped in his tracks, then stormed forward and shoved the door open hard.
Just as the door swung wide, he saw Jacob grabbing something off the desk and hurling it straight at Jessica.
The object hit the ground with a loud crash, shattering into pieces–it was a glass photo frame.
Madeline rushed to the doorway and saw it all. As she watched Jacob smash Jessica’s head and make her bleed, a flash of delight flickered in her eyes. She realized Jacob hadn’t come to make peace with Jessica after all.
All the anxiety she’d felt along the way finally vanished. She was practically hoping Jacob and Jessica would fall out completely right then and there.
“Jessica.” Brian’s heart dropped. He rushed forward and caught her just in time. “Are you okay?”
Blood was running down Jessica’s forehead and the vivid red looked terrifying.
Jacob.” Brian turned his head and shot Jacob a furious glare. His sharp shout made the out–of–control boy flinch all over.
N/2.1
6:00 AM
272
Chapter 30
Ꮕ
Then, Jacob burst into loud sobs, pointing at Jessica with tears streaming down his face, crying out pitifully, “Sh–she’s the one who abandoned me
first.”
