Chapter Twenty-eight

20 missed calls and 50 text messages. 

Almost all were from Jack. She didn’t have to read each one to know what was the content of those.

She couldn’t sleep. Her head is somewhere wondering about everyone and everything all at once. She was even doubting herself.

She wished she had more time to think about her next actions… or even enough time to process things. She had the right to sulk and get angry. In this situation, though, it isn’t her place to keep Elias away from his father. 

“Where the hell have you been, Hyacinth? I’ve been calling you all night long.”

Everything he said was immediately translated into betrayal. That’s what happens when people cheat. Things might get fixed, but it will never be the same. Betrayal costs trust. All the trust that took months to earn was gone instantaneously.

“I’m with Elias. He is safe with me.”

“Why did you not come home yesterday, honey? Everything alright?”

“No.” Her voice started to break. “Things are not alright. My head is a mess right now.”

Jack sighed on the other line. “Sweetie, come home. I miss you.”

He had always been a sweet and such smooth talker. Now, she wonders if he became better because of the instances in which he had to lie. 

“I need to sort something out. I’m sorry if I kept Elias away. I called someone to drive him home. I don’t want him missing school tomorrow.”

“How about you? Are you not coming home?”

“Not yet.”

“Hyacinth, what’s wrong?”

Unfortunately, unlike Jack, Hyacinth is a bad liar. She could already taste her own blood from biting her lips. “I kissed someone else.”

All she could hear was Jack’s heavy breathing on the other line. She didn’t want to keep that a secret. Going back and pretending that nothing happened and pretending she saw nothing was also not in her option. What if all this time, she has been living a fake life? Ignorance is bliss, they say. Now, she understands where that feeling of bliss came from.

“Did you fuck another man?” His voice was deeper. She could only imagine the fury that would be in his eyes.

“No. I didn’t.”

“Then, let’s call that a momentary lapse of judgment and continue our lives. Just please come home. I miss my son. I miss you.  I forgive you, Hya.”

He was still angry. There were pauses when he was speaking. Perhaps, thinking and threading things carefully. Jack is a proud man who wouldn’t let this go easily. He was also a single parent when she met him who would do everything for his son.

Maybe marrying her was one of the sacrifices he made for Elias. Maybe he never loved her and only loved the idea of them as a family.

“I can’t… because I couldn’t bring myself to forgive you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to have this talk now. Let’s meet some other time. Give me more time to think.”

“Don’t you dare end the call, Hyacinth! I am warning you!”

Something inside her snapped whenever he raised his voice. She badly wanted to slap him for making her believe in fairytales, happy endings, and even freaking marriage. 

“Or else what, Jack? What will you do? Fuck another woman? Oh, you already did.”

She ended the call and massaged her forehead. There goes that numbing headache again.

***

A week has passed and Hyacinth misses Elias so badly. She managed to temporarily rent her workmate’s studio in The Heights. It was a small place in an unfamiliar neighborhood. She couldn’t stay long in a hotel or motel, scared that Jack could track him. She has been avoiding his calls but read his messages that sometimes asked for forgiveness, begging for a second chance, or even gaslighting her of cheating too.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

He somehow figured out that it was Nikolai who he kissed. How that happened was a mystery for her as well. That is only one of her many problems. Even with that complexity, it still wasn’t on the top of her list.

Preston is the only person she knows who could help her in this case.

“I need a lawyer. I have a few things I want to consult with you.”

He was restraining himself from getting emotional. This time, Preston was being professional. She made sure to meet him at the firm. She is here to ask him to take her as a client, after all.

“Of course.” He didn’t even hesitate or think about what she had to ask.

Hyacinth promised not to cry in front of anyone today. She already spent every night crying. That would be enough.

But how can he be so soft-hearted? How can Preston easily give in when she said nothing yet? He’s making her feel sorry for pushing him the other day when Preston hugged him and called her Belle.

“I…” Her voice quivered. There goes the threat of tears. Hyacinth paused to compose herself. Heaven knows that if she cried, it would be impossible for her to stop. “I want to divorce my husband and I need help with my son.”

There goes that soft look from Preston. His hand was formed into a fist, ready to throw a punch at someone. Like how a brother would take his sister’s pain.

“I’ll do the best for you, Hyacinth. Don’t worry. Elias will stay with you.”

“I’m not talking about Elias.” She handed Preston the envelope that she had been holding onto since she walked inside the office. “I’m talking about the son I had from my previous marriage.”

“Y-you… What do you mean?”

“Here’s a copy of my DNA test with Liam. Proving that I am his biological mother. I trust that you still keep this a secret, as your client and as your sister.”

“Katherine Isobelle…”

“I would prefer to be called Hyacinth until I get my memory back and figure out what to do next.”