Chapter 217


    “Actually … I was talking about Emma’s baby.” Giovanni leans back with a wolfish grin and satisfied


    glint in his eye. The tter of cutlery as Marissa drops her fork and gapes at me with open-mouthed


    shock. I realize she’s not the only one, Arrick’s girlfriend is practically bug-eyed gawping my way and


    no one is holding cutlery now except me.


    “Fuck’s sake…” Jake snaps, raising a hand to pinch his brow, his elbow hitting the table to hold his arm


    up. He knows the shit is about to hit the fan and he’s waiting on it.


    “Dad, you’re an asshole.” Arrick cuts in, instantly, and Marissa erupts.


    “What the actual fuck?! Since fucking when?!” She throws her napkin down on top of her food, ring


    at him then me, focusing on one after the other with sheer fury across her pouted mouth. She doesn’t


    look quite so attractive now and yet all I can do is lower my head and stare at myp to try to control


    the surge ofplete


    tension running through me. Giovanni certainly knows how to ruin a dinner.


    “Arrick. Please take Gloria to the front room and I’ll have your tes sent through … Giovanni. I


    suggest you go eat in your office!” Sylvana snaps, taking control, and stands up. She puts a hand on


    Marissa’s shoulder, sharply sitting her down, since Marissa has risen from her seat in anger.


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    “How did you find out?” Jake res at Giovanni furiously. The waves of rage can almost be seen


    rippling across the table. Everyone turns to look at the older man sitting smugly, sipping his ss of


    wine, as though he’spletely unaware of the scene he’s just caused.


    “You underestimate me, Jacob. Two women at this table with a pregnancy glow and drinking fresh


    orange instead of my $2000 a bottle Chardonnay. You forget I’m a father who knows when ady is


    carrying, and I’m fully aware you set up a viewing for the Wilson house, he’s my golfing partner after all.


    I’m just disappointed that you felt you could tell your mother and brother who are the only two who did


    not react to this news and yet still hadn’t told me.” He slides up, lifting his ss, and walks coolly


    toward the door while Jake visually throws daggers into his back. All I can think of is how keen eyed


    Senior Carrero is. He really is a smart cookie after all. I can’t help but be a little impressed with his


    scarily keen observations.


    I want the ground to open and devour me. The seething hatred emanating my way from Demon Bitch is


    making my skin prickle and inner-Teen-Emma rage, looming inside. Arrick and his girlfriend are


    practically high tailing it out of the room and Sylvana is ring at everyone with a sheer angry momma


    bear look. This is not how I envisioned this would go. I had no idea we’d even be telling Marissa about


    the baby just yet, so, I guess in a way Giovanni has done us a favor.


    “So, this is why you keep fucking stalling and pissing me about?!” Marissa spits with venom across the


    table as Sylvana moves toward her. I’m not sure what her intentions are but gone is the kind maternal


    expression, now she’s angry mamma ready to tackle a crazy pregnant woman down if she dares get


    up.


    “Shut up, Marissa, and calm the fuck down.” Jake res at her. I catch the simmering of something


    between them; fury on his part and possibly the same from her. I wonder if this was how the meetings


    in LA went in the past.


    “Mamma. I think the three of us need to do this without you here.” Jake turns to Sylvana and the sh


    of stubborn flick across her attractive face. She lifts her chin for a moment as she narrows her gaze on


    him and then sighs in defeat.


    “Behave like adults. I’ll be dealing with your father.” She turns, walks around the table, and leaves,


    picking up Arrick and Gloria’s tes in passing, ushering thest of her house staff with her, including


    the poor girl who was caught like a deer in heamps in the corner and pulling the door closed behind


    them.


    We’re left, just the three of us, fused together with heightened emotion emanating across the dining


    room, air filled with the stifling atmosphere and a moment of deafening silence. I look to Jake for any


    sign of how to act or what to say and notice he’s looking down at the table pushing around his wine


    ss, steadying his anger with slow even breaths. He’s thinking about what he wants to say before he


    erupts too. I know this version of him, I’ve seen it in boardroom meetings, when someone is pushing


    his buttons and he’s about to go all ‘Alpha Boss’ mode and take them down. I shiver in anticipation and


    suddenly I don’t want to be in here and doing this. I want to be upstairs or anywhere else but here


    between these two.


    “Well?” Marissa snaps impatiently.


    “Marissa, yes, Emma is pregnant. It wasn’t nned but I’m happy, we’re happy about it. It doesn’t


    concern you in the slightest.” Jake’s steady even tone isced with aggression. He’s trying so hard to


    get control of this conversation before it erupts again.


    “How the fuck does this not concern me exactly?! Everything I have asked for with our baby, Jake,


    every request has been fucking denied me and now I know why! You’re setting up happy families with


    her and my child is being tossed aside like it doesn’t fucking matter!” She spits and ms her palms


    onto the table wildly, setting cups and sses rattling unsteadily. I jump with the impact and Jake


    immediately brings a hand to myp tofort me.


    “This is recent, Marissa. It has nothing to do with any of that. Your demands are ridiculous, parenting


    sses, running to LA every time you click your fingers. We’re not in a rtionship and I don’t want to


    spend more time than necessary with you.” Jake growls back at her, tempers rising, and I grasp his


    fingers to urge him to calm down. Jake’s so much better than this. He deals with negotiations and hard-


    headed business tycoons daily. He shouldn’t lower himself to her standards. He squeezes back and I


    throw him a supportive subtle smile. He takes a calming breath and sits back, lifting his wine taking


    slow deliberate sips, giving himself a moment.


    “So, tell me, Jake … You say you’re happy? Funny … Because I can remember the word abortion


    coming up when I told you that you were going to be a father! You said you didn’t even want kids! Yet


    here you are now ying Mr. Daddy-to-be of the year; buying her a fucking house!” Marissa is sitting


    back with arms crossed across her cleavage, every word like venom on her tongue, ring at me and


    not him, with highly intoxicated hatred.


    “Why wouldn’t I feel differently? You came to me after one drunk night, that I can’t even fucking


    remember, and told me there was a baby. I am in love with Emma, had been for so long and your


    appearance almost screwed up the chance I had with her.” Jake stands up and walks off toward the


    unit behind us, grabbing the bottle of wine, he walks back filling his ss to the top. “When Emma


    found out she was pregnant it was different. It changed everything Marissa, because I love her,


    because I want a life with her, because she’s my world.” He picks it up and downs the whole thing in


    one go.


    Oh, this is not good.


    Jake drinking is Jake sliding into more impulsive, more aggressive mode, where he can be


    unpredictable and harder to control. I throw him a wary look and when he goes to top it up again, I


    swipe his ss away quickly, giving him a pleading ‘please don’t’ nce. He frowns at me and sighs


    before nking the bottle on the table, sitting down instead. I inhale heavily, trying to rx as much as I


    can, while this crap is going on.


    “So where does that leave me?! Our baby?!” She spits.


    “Same ce it already is. Visitation, ess. I’m just not jumping through hoops for you. There’s no


    reason to be a part of your life before the baby is here. I don’t need a rtionship with you because to


    be honest it would always be like this; it has always been like this.” Jake waves a hand between them,


    gesturing each other, locking his green no-nonsense focus on her, and willing her to back down the


    way I’ve seen him make many a man crumble.


    “Fuck no! … You want to see your baby then you sure as hell ept that I’ll be here and in your life. No


    rtionship with me, then no fucking visitation!” She ps her hand on the table again and I can’t


    contain it anymore.


    “Is that what it’s all been about? Having him in any way on your terms? Whether he wants it or not?” I


    sound angry, maybe even as venomous as her, but I don’t care. I’m seeing through her bullshit. This


    isn’t about the baby, this is about being close to him, having control over him like he’s her possession;


    needing to bow to her will in some way. It’s about forcing Jake to have her in his life.


    “Is that what your jealous little head tells you? That I want him? That I’m trying to take him from you?”


    Marissaughs nastily. “Sweetie, please, he’s the one who fucked me senseless that night and got me


    pregnant. He’s the one who was all over me asking for me to go home with him. If I wanted Jake back,


    I only need to ask.” She smirks but I only narrow my eyes and frown. Even I know that’s wrong, Jake


    isn’t someone who lets what he wants slip away. He’s someone who goes after it and if he wanted her


    all along then I wouldn’t be sitting beside him now. I saw her texts telling him she still loves him, and he


    never bothered to reply to her. The woman is deranged if she believes what she’s saying.


    “Marissa. I haven’t wanted you in any way since I was about fifteen and even back then I’m pretty


    damn sure it wasn’t even real love.” Jake sighs, even he’s exhausted with this conversation, and I can


    feel the vibesing from him. He wants her to leave, as do I, since he doesn’t see this going


    anywhere.


    “He’s never wanted you, Marissa. I know him better than you ever will,” I say tly, focusing on my


    hands and the napkin I’ve been twisting the life out of, instead of those vicious dark eyes emanating all


    sorts of hate my way.


    “You know your fucking boyfriend cheated on you, right? With me … about four weeks ago,” Marissa


    spits at me across the table, shoving her te out of the way, knocking over some empty water


    sses.


    “If you mean he kissed you then yes, he told me.” I re back at her, lifting my chin defiantly. I lock my


    gaze onto those dark brown almost ck dangerous eyes ring back at me. My facepletely


    devoid of emotion, even though it feels like a punch in the stomach to say it, just like it used to do.


    There’s a look in her eyes of surprise, at me knowing about the kiss, before she narrows them


    viciously.


    “Kiss? Ha fucking ha! He had his tongue down my throat and his hand up my fucking dress almost


    making me cum, inches away from fucking me if I hadn’t stopped it. He wanted me just as much as he


    did the night, he stuck a baby inside me.” She tosses her hair back over her shoulder and I jump when


    the table is mmed by Jake’s palm disrupting everything, scaring the hell out of me.