Chapter Fourty Seven

Chapter 47

“Jay is right,” Jemima announced, taking Alan by surprise. He glanced at Jemima, curiosity gracing the features on his face.

“What!” Alan exclaimed as disbelief colored his cheeks. He was unable to believe that Jemima would side with Jay.

“Yes Alan, I don’t think Jay would say anything to Jon if it didn’t help him,” Jemima defended Jay as she stood between the two men. Torrents of emotions clouded Alan’s vision, the dominant one being shock.

“How can you even say that? Jay uttered something that was borderline insensitive and you go on about how he said it to help?” Alan queried, seeking clarity as Jemima glanced into his eyes. She watched as the tempest of emotions flooded his blue eyes as the sun’s rays cast directly on them.

“I believe he did,” Jemima replied simply with a calm tone as her gaze fluttered to Jay. Jay gazed at her with curious eyes, wondering why she was siding with him.

“Why are you taking his side?” Alan muttered in exasperation as he felt betrayed, causing Jemima to glance at Marcus whose back was leaned against a car with his hands tucked into his pockets, and watched as the drama unfolded.

“I’m not trying to pick sides here Al. This is me being as objective as I can be,” Jemima stated with a nonchalant shrug. She did not know why she sounded so calm when currents of emotions swirled within her but she knew in her heart, without conviction that Jay couldn’t have muttered or done something insensitive without just cause.

“How is this you being objective? He said something insensitive about my father, causing the old man to…”

“Jay would never say anything out of order if it wasn’t going to help!” Jemima exclaimed, abruptly interjecting Alan as he spoke which caused him to gape slightly in shock.

“How do you know that?” Alan exclaimed, raking his fingers through his hair as he stared up at the sky in exasperation.

“Because he did that to me too, Alan!” Jemima retorted, taking Alan by surprise. Alan’s gaze shifted from Marcus to Jay before finally landing on Jemima. Without uttering another word, he marched into the house, anger evident with each stride he took.

“Why did you do that?” Jay’s inquiry pierced the already tense atmosphere, eliciting a heavy sigh from Jemima.

“Do what?” Jemima shot back, scrunching up her face. She did not want Jay to think that she helped him because she had finally forgiven him.

“Defend me,” Jay muttered simply with his hoarse voice. He gazed into Jemima’s eyes and loved how beautiful her honey-colored eyes danced in the sun’s rays.

“It was the decent thing to do,” Jemima replied, shrugging softly. Jay walked up to her, tucking a loose strand of her hair. Marcus was momentarily forgotten in that moment as the two began lost in their world.

The gentle breeze blew softly, swooshing Jemima’s hair softly as she closed her eyes and savored the feel of Jay’s touch against her skin.

“Get your hands off my sister Jay,” Marcus ordered, causing Jemima to abruptly pull away. She had forgotten he was there.

Jay turned to face Marcus, casting him a mischievous wink before adjusting the hem of his jacket. He returned his focus to Jemima and gave her a wink before disappearing into the house. Jemima glanced at his retreating figure and felt something in her stomach tingle but she could not place her fingers on what exactly they could be.

“Ahem!” Marcus cleared his throat, causing Jemima to return her focus to him. Marcus smiled mischievously, prompting Jemima to squirm beneath his eyes.

“What?” Jemima inquired defensively, walking away from him. They both walked side by side, making their way to the garden.

“I saw the way you looked at him Jem,” Marcus pointed out, not bothering to look at her. Jemima’s cheek flushed red, eliciting a defensive look from her.

“I looked at him like I would look at any other person,” Jemima insisted, kicking a pebble that lay by the side of the road.

“Is that right?” Marcus queried, casting her an accusing glance while he folded his hands behind his back and they reached the garden. It overlooked a small pond that was surrounded by water lilies.

“What are you not saying?” Jemina inquired, sensing the underlying tone in his voice.

“As your Godfather, I’d tell you this; while you think you may have acted objectively, you did not. Emotions were laced in your actions but as your brother I’d tell you this; Never cause animosity between two men who love you, especially when you are more in love with one on a deeper level than the other,” Marcus advised as he walked away slowly, leaving Jemima to not watch only his retreating figure but ponder on what he had just said.

Jemima sat by the pond, watching as the sun glistened against the water and the lilies floated softly. She listened to the breeze blow gently as it rustled the leaves.

As the sun set, Jemima rose and walked back into the house. She walked to her bedroom and peeled off her clothes before entering the shower. She sat in the shower, allowing the water to cascade down her body.

Jemima’s mind wandered to what Marcus said about not causing animosity between the two who loved her.

“There ain’t no way Jay is in love with me! That guy hates my guts!” Jemimar mused aloud with a wry chuckle as she allowed the cooking water from the show to wash through her hair.

Then suddenly, the feeling Jemima had felt in the pit of her stomach resurfaced, causing Jemima to finally pinpoint what that feeling was- she didn’t want to murder Jay Black anymore.

“No!” Jemima gasped as she turned off the shower, allowing the thought to sink in. The strong urge that she usually had to kill Jay was gone. She had no desire to hurt him.

Jemima dried up herself with her towel and walked into her bedroom as she tried to dispel the thought. Jay had been her biggest rival and she had always wanted to eliminate him from the game but now, she didn’t have the urge to anymore.

So many thoughts raced through Jemima’s mind as she wondered why she didn’t have the urge to kill him anymore until suddenly it dawned on her - she was in love with Jason McIntyre Black.

Jemima dressed up in a pair of shorts and a shirt and lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling as her mind raced with different thoughts.
That couldn’t be possible! There was no way she loved Jay. She hated him with every fiber of her being, Jemima thought to herself.

A knock sounded on Jemima’s door, jolting her from her reverie.

“What!” Jemima called out sharply, her voice rising as her heart began to pound in her chest.

“I’m going back to Rome!” Jay replied simply from the other side of the door, not waiting for a response.

Jemima’s brows furrowed in confusion as she glanced at the door while listening to the receding footsteps of Jay. Immediately Jemima bolted into action and ran out of the door, following Jay into the living room.

“What do you mean you’re going back to Rome?” Jemima queried as she emerged into the living room, scanning her eyes over everyone.

Jemima observed that a bag was packed in the corner and Jay and Dimitri were all dressed up.

“What’s going on?” Jemima inquired, confusion etching the features of her brows as she stared at everyone.

“We have to go back to Rome?” Jay reiterated, slinging his back across his shoulders as he solemnly looked at Jemima.

“Why?” Jemima inquired, folding her hands across her chest as she glared at him. She didn’t want him to go back because she was going to miss him, at the same time, she did not want to admit it either.

“We got a call and we have to go and sort it out,” Dimitri replied, causing Jemima to fixate her gaze on him.

Jemima noticed that worry graced the features of Jay’s face, causing her to sense the tension in the atmosphere. She glanced around the room and observed that no one was smiling. Alan was nowhere around the vicinity but Marcus was and he just sat on the couch, with a crossed leg.

“Is everything alright?” Jemima asked, her heart rate beating faster. She wondered if this was another mission or if Jay just wanted to get out of her hair as soon as possible.

Nobody answered Jemima. They all kept a straight face. Jemima noticed Vanessa pursed her lips, keeping her gaze locked to the ground.

“Is nobody going to give me a response?” Jemima questioned, her aggravation rising to the surface as she anticipated their answers.

“We have to go Jem, I’ll brief you later!” Jay muttered, causing his Adam’s apple in his throat to bob up and down as he swallowed the emotions that had welled inside him which caused Jemima’s worry to further deepen.

“Marcus, what’s going on?” Jemima questioned again, hoping Marcus would at least give her a response but he kept mute and shut his eyes, attempting to not involve himself in the drama that was going on.

“Take care,” Vanessa called out, planting a soft kiss on Dimitri’s kiss. A telltale sign that they had resolved their differences and all was well.

“Vanessa isn’t going with you guys?” Jemima quizzed as her confusion deepened.

“Would somebody please tell me what’s going on?” Jemima pleaded to be put in the loop of what was happening.

“Lilith is dying!”