She sighed.
The room grew quiet again as the five of us continued eating, mostly pushing the food around our plates and taking a few small bites here and there just for the sake of saying that we did. I allowed my mind to drift once again, thinking of new recipes that I could incorporate into the restaurant menu. The menu didn’t need any adjustments, but thinking about new recipes was certainly a lot easier than thinking about—
“I miss Jasper,” Janiyah pouted, putting her fork down.
Well, so much for not thinking about him.
I expected to hear Jamal’s mumbled agreement, but I raised my brow at Gran as she nodded and drawled out her own, “Me too.”
“What?” She raised her own brows at me. “I do. I think we all do.” She sent me a pointed look.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I stirred my mac and cheese around for the tenth time in the span of three minutes. “I’m sure he’s happy to be back in the comfort of his own home, with his caregiver and his… fiancée.”
Gran sent me a look, but didn’t say anything else about it as she stood from the table. “Done eating. I’ll start washing the dishes.”
“Quinn, don’t you think you should talk to him at some point?” Amanda questioned quietly once Gran was out of sight. “It’s been two weeks now. I think that’s more than enough time for you to—”
“Two weeks isnot‘more than enough’ time to get over police swarming my home and nearly arresting me for ‘abducting’ the precious King,” I huffed. “I don’t want to hear another word about Jasper, okay?Please. If I so much as hear his name, I’m going to scream.”
“Fine, fine,” Amanda sighed, grabbing the remote to turn the TV on.
Apparently, the television had been left on a news channel because the first thing I saw once it came on was Jasper, surrounded by a large entourage as he spoke at what seemed to be some kind of press conference.
It was odd seeing Jasper dressed to the nines and speaking formally with a news reporter, surrounded by an entire staff. Just a few weeks ago, he’d been lounging around in our little old apartment, sulking when Gran beat him at yet another game of monopoly, allowing the kids to draw ‘tattoos’ on him when they were bored with drawing on paper, and laughing at my stupid jokes, sometimes just to make me happy.
The news reporter’s voice spoke over him for a moment.
“—Jasper King, made his first public appearance in three years outside the Serenity Cove courthouse after reacquiring financial control of his assets, and this is what he had to say.”
“Uh-oh,” Jamal said, covering his ears. Janiyah quickly followed suit. “Tia Qwinny’s gonna scream!”
I narrowed my eyes at the two of them before turning to look at the TV again, watchingas Jasper spoke to an eager-looking reporter.
“Yes,” he answered, a question asked. “I have ended my engagement with Crystal Hill, as I felt it was for the best.
I was sure that the other woman probably ended it when she learned how he’d been spending the past few weeks. Cringing internally, I focused on what he was saying, all the while wondering why he even felt the need to announce his breakup publicly when he hadn’t previously announced his engagement.
Going forward, I only want to focus on improving my health. A few years ago, I thought that I would never get better, but over the last couple of months, my health has steadily been progressing. I plan on finally taking on a more active role in King Industries. To launch myself back into society, I’ve decided to hold a celebration for my thirtieth birthday next month. The event will be held at the estate, of course. Guests will be required to donate towards charities for people living with debilitating conditions in lieu of gifts.”
“That sounds lovely.” The reporter smiled. “But if I may circle back around for a moment… You have now regained full financial control over King Industries since your reemergence, correct?”
“Yes,”
“Does this mean that you’ll go into work at King Industr—”
I snagged the remote from Amanda and turned off the TV before she finished her question.
I wished I could forget any of it had ever happened. Forget about him completely. But how could I when his face was all over the news, and worse, his presence was still felt in my home?
At this point, I may as well have been living in a garden. It felt like I was. Huge, expensive-looking bouquets of flowers littered the apartment. They’d started arriving just a day after Jasper left, and now, I was more than used to receiving a knock on the door three times a day. Nigel was always the one standing on the other side, yet another lavish bouquet with a note that I refused to read attached to it in his hands.
At this point, there wasn’t a counter, a table, or a shelf that wasn’t covered in flowers, and hardly any floor space either. I nearly tripped every time I dared to take a step!
Why did he lie to me? Was everything a lie? What was I to him? Some means to an end? His caretaker? My heart was in shambles as I considered his deliberate omission.
“Quinn–” Amanda started, but she was cut off by the sound of a loud crash and Gran’s loud cry soon after. We both gasped, flinging ourselves out of our chairs and rushing into the kitchen to see what was going on.
“Gran! What happened?!” I yelled, running toward her. She was on the ground, clutching her side as she attempted to get up again. I quickly pushed her back down, frowning as she went without a fight. Usually, she’d be fussing at me and trying to push me away, but this time, she only clutched my hand.
