Chapter 9

Jasmine

I run out of the kitchen like a coward. What is he doing here and why isn’t he leaving? I get to the bathroom and hold Bella over the sink to wash her hands. I give her mouth a wash and pick out a piece of spaghetti out of her hair. This girl is so careful in everything she does, but she becomes a demon when it comes to spaghetti.

I run the bath for Bella.

“Do you want to put the bubbles in Bella?”

“Yes!” She claps her hands in excitement.

I give her the bottle.

She squirts a generous amount in before I take the bottle from her. If I left it with her, she would empty the entire bottle in.

I pause for a moment before I lock the door and strip her out of her tomato covered t-shirt. I help her into the bath and she pulls all her toys into the water. He wanted to wait so he will need to wait for a while. It feels so strange having a man in my apartment. I always felt so comfortable with Reese, but with Christian, I can’t shake the feeling that he is dangerous. I can’t put my finger on it.

I let her play in the water for a while. When I see her yawn, I wash her hair quickly and wrap her up in a towel. I take her into her bedroom and dry her off before putting her in her pyjamas. I get a fresh towel to dry her hair before I comb it through with a little jasmine oil.

I can tell how tired she is when there is no chatter bursting out of her.

“Do you want to say goodnight to Mr Hayes?”

She yawns tiredly but nods her head.

I pick her up and go into the living room.

He looks up from his phone and smiles at us. My suspicious nature automatically assumes he is up to something. He was a callous asshole when I first met him. Why is he being so nice?

He stands up and holds his arms open for Bella. To my shock, she moves over to him to hug him.

“Thank you for having me for dinner, Bella. I can’t wait to show you all the animals tomorrow.” He gives her a small peck on her cheek.

Okay. Not dangerous. This man is fucking lethal.

Bella puts her head on his shoulder and pats his cheek with her hand.

“Night night. Mr Hayes.” She yawns before she continues. “I want to meet some chickens tomorrow.”

“You will.” He said before looking at me. “Do you want me to take her into her bedroom for you?”

She looks so comfortable with him. I nod and move out of the way for him to carry her to the bedroom. I quietly follow them.

He pulls her covers off before putting her in bed and tucking the covers under her chin and tweaking her nose.

“Goodnight beautiful, Bella.”

He stands up and faces me.

“I will wait for you.” He said, but his eyes look intense as he scans my face.

I watch him till he walks out of the room. I switch her night light on and turn the main light off.

“Would you like a story tonight, Bella?”

She shakes her head.

“Just cuddles, Mummy.”

I slip under the covers with her to give her a cuddle. Her hand comes up to play with my hair. She twirls it in her fingers until I see her eyes half close.

“Goodnight, my baby.” I whisper to her softly. I remember when Reese found out I was pregnant with Bella. He picked me up and swung me around until I was dizzy. He may have left us, but he left me with the most precious gift. Our Bella.

I wait until her cute little snores start. Not much will wake her up when she is this tired.

I kiss the top of her head before I slide out of the bed. I leave the door open slightly.

Right, Mr Hayes.

Let’s see what you have to say for yourself. I doubt he stayed because he was dying to have spaghetti with us.

When I go back into the living room this time, he is looking at Bella’s pictures along the fireplace.

“You seem to be good with children.” I said to him.

“I have a nephew a little older than Bella.”

“Oh. How many siblings do you have?”

“There are three of us all together. I have a younger brother and a younger sister.”

“Ah. That explains why you are so serious, being the eldest.”

“Someone had to be the responsible one.”

“Can I be frank with you, Mr Hayes?”

“You can if you call me Christian.”

“Why are you here? You could have dropped us off and emailed me or sent me a letter.”

“I enjoyed spending time with you both. I didn’t want to talk about the building in front of Bella.”

He sounds sincere.

“Why did you invite us to your parents’ home? Do they even know they will have uninvited guests? I won’t take Bella anywhere if it made her uncomfortable.”

“I messaged my mother. They know you are coming tomorrow. Bella will love her visit there. It isn’t too far, just a couple of hours’ drive.”

He waits to see if I have any further questions. When I don’t speak, he continues.

“We have cancelled the regeneration project. I will look at another site for the project. Any further projects I will take more care and if people need to move, I will place a generous package so no one will be disadvantaged. As an apology, all the tenants will be charged a subsidised rental price. You should all have the letter issued out to you by the middle of next week.”

“Woah. You’re serious? This isn’t a publicity stunt?”

I know I must look like a fish with my mouth open, but I am stunned. If the newspaper’s information is accurate, a lot of money has gone into this renovation project. His grant and planning permission had all been approved.

He waves a hand in the air as if it was nothing.

“I will find another site for my project. I will pick you both up around 7 am, or is that too early for Bella?”

He stands up to leave.

“If you can make it 7:30, that would be great.”

I am excited for Bella. I haven’t taken her anywhere except for parks or museums since Reese died. I have barely left the house in the last month.

“Of course. I will see you both tomorrow.” He pauses for a moment as if he is about to say something further, but he smiles and walks towards the hallway.

I follow behind him to lock the door.

Bella wasn’t wrong. The man is a giant. I have never seen him out of a suit, but it makes him seem all the more intimidating. It was satisfying to see Mavis put in her place.

“See you in the morning, Jasmine.” He said, but he puts an arm around my waist and kisses my cheek. My body is stiff as a board at his touch. His cologne assaults me. He smells so good. Before I can react, he is gone. I look at the door for a few moments before I lock the door. I rub my cheek where he kissed me. The guilt floods through me instantly when I think about Reese.

Oh God. What am I doing?

I can’t cancel tomorrow because I have no way of getting in touch with him. My footsteps feel heavy as I make my way into the kitchen to clean up.

I stand in the doorway. He has washed all the dishes and there isn’t a single smudge of tomato left on the table. I go to the table and sit down in a daze. I don’t realise I am crying till I feel them roll down my cheeks. Angrily, I wipe them away. Everyone has an agenda. I am going to make it clear to him tomorrow that I will not be his fling or whatever he wants. I get some kitchen roll and blow my nose.

Once I wash up and go into my bedroom, I wander over to my jewellery box. I pull out my wedding ring. Reese knew I loved a darker yellow gold because it stood out against my skin colour. He spent extra to get me a higher karat of gold. We didn’t have the money for an engagement ring. He always said he would get one for me later. Not that I minded. I was so happy when he proposed to me. I slip the ring on my finger. It feels loose on my finger. It feels so wrong being without Reese. Everything feels wrong.

“I miss you so much, baby. Why did you leave us?” My voice cracks before I can finish speaking.

I lie down on the bed and pull the box of tissues from the side table. I sit the box on top of Reese’s pillow.

It’s going to be a long night.