- 12.
Around eleven, my phone on the nightstand
started buzzing.
I squinted at the screen.
It was a number I didn’t recognize. Before I
could answer, it hung up.
Jake, wearing his silver–rimmed glasses, was
sitting next to me reading. The firelight
lashes.
I swear, this guy had way too much energy.
“Who was that?”
“I don’t know. Wrong number, I guess.”
“Hmm.”
After a moment, he noticed me staring at him
and looked over. “Why are you staring?”
“You have way too much energy.‘
“Is that so?” He smirked.
I picked up on the innuendo and scoffed. “If
you weren’t so tired…”
L
I covered his mouth, and he leaned down and
kissed my hand.
“You didn’t show me any mercy when we
debated back in college. Did you ever think
husband
that I could be your one day?”
He looked at me, his eyes unreadable.
“If I had lost to you, would you still remember me?”
“Of course! I even…”
I even looked you up back then.
His gorgeous eyes crinkled at the corners, and he teased, “You looked me up?”
I mumbled, “Come on, you were a legend on
L
campus. I couldn’t not know about you.”
He was so cool and aloof, always either making money or working toward making money. And he still managed to be the top student in his major. He and some classmates even started a software company.
“So, why were you working so hard back
then?”
He paused for a moment. “Want to know?”
“Yeah.”
He hesitated, like he wasn’t sure if he should
tell me.
I sat up and wrapped my arms around him,
resting my head on his chest. “What’s the
く
matter? Can’t tell your wife?”
Jake said, “It feels like I’m trying to get
sympathy.”
Over the years, Jake’s adoptive parents had pretty much ignored him.
In middle school, he was sent to live with distant relatives, helping out at their diner for food and tuition. In high school and college,
he had to earn his own spending money. His
adoptive parents would call him up with sob
stories, asking for money to help them out.
He used to think it was because they were
poor and didn’t know how to express love.
Then their second son was born.
He saw how they doted on that child.
r
And he realized, if you’re not loved, you’re just not loved. There’s no excuse.
After that, he rarely went home. No one there wanted him around. But his parents still called him for money all the time, and 90% of the money for their house came from him.
No wonder he was such a workaholic back
then.
My blood was boiling.
“Your adoptive parents were monsters! I bet
they knew you weren’t their kid the whole
time. How could anyone be so heartless? |
feel bad for you.”
“It’s okay. I have a wife now, and you’re going
to take care of me.” I joked, half–serious, and
patted his head.
He suddenly hugged me tight.
He buried his face in my neck and took a
deep breath.
“You said it, Janice.”
