Chapter Four
“Grandma… what’s going on?” Karen asked worriedly but got no response from her grandmother. Mrs. Jamie sighed after a while. It seemed like she was quite surprised about the authenticity of the vase and upon seeing that it was indeed a fake, she couldn’t help but sigh. ‘How good would it have been if it were the real thing.’ she thought to herself before looking at her granddaughter, who looked worried. “It’s all right my dear Karen. Even though it’s not authentic, it’s still a gift, and gifts aren’t meant to be rejected unless they are harmful,” she claimed and Karen couldn’t help but smile. Indeed, her grandmother’s wisdom left her marveling. She chatted with her before going to meet her brother. However, the latter was still fuming near the pool, thinking about what Jason had done to him that day. The embarrassment was too much for him to take. Not only that, but his father scolded him to a point and his allowances were going to be cut for a few months. “I’m gonna kill that motherf*cker. I swear it.” He cursed under his breath as he was filled with killing intent. He clenched his fist so tightly that his slightly long nails threatened to penetrate his palm. “Careful, brother. You don’t want to stain the pool with your blood.” Karen chortled. Jared squinted his eyes before shooting her a piercing gaze. If looks could kill, Karen would be in pieces by now. “Are you here to mock me too?!” He growled but Karen shook her head. “It’s quite the opposite. I’m here to apologize. Jason shouldn’t have embarrassed you like that and I’m sorry. It was all on my behalf.” she apologized but Jared scoffed. “Humph, and what about your apology?” he claimed. Karen smirked as she shook her head. “Sorry bro, but you’re not getting that. All I did was defend my husband, so I don’t owe you an apology. I’m only apologizing on Jason’s behalf.” She claimed before turning to leave. She shouldn’t be apologizing at all, but she just had to. After all, Jason was her husband and Jared was her brother. She apologized on behalf of Jason to her brother but she didn’t owe Jared an apology. He started it all anyway. Meanwhile, Jason stayed for about an hour before returning to his apartment. He lived alone. Even though he was married to Karen and was even supposed to be in the villa with the Marco family, he chose not to. After all, he wanted to make his wealth and live a simple life. If his benefactor needed him, he would always be there, but the man was dead. So there was nobody he cared about apart from Mr. Marco’s wife, Mrs. Jamie. Mr. Marco wanted to do more for Jason but he would mostly reject the help and claim that his being alive is due to the old man’s help. He would be ungrateful to take anything else. Hearing this, the man resorted to one last option, giving his granddaughter to Jason to marry. Although Karen didn’t want that, she felt like she needed to honor her grandfather’s last wish, but to her, Jason proved to be even more useless by the day. So even though they were married, they weren’t living together. “I’m better off not being married than being married to a lady who doesn’t see my worth.” he would usually say to himself. He undressed himself and took a shower before going back to bed. He laid face-up against the ceiling and began to ponder about his life. ‘What exactly am I doing here?’ he asked himself. This wasn’t the first time such a question would surface in his mind, but he would always go into deep thought whenever it came. ‘Peace of mind… this is even more of a hassle than the peace I need. Besides, it’s too boring.’ he thought to himself. He suddenly heard the paper rustling beside him and he turned his attention to it. It happened to be the newspaper that Allan gave him this morning. The headline was his main focus and Allan’s words began to resonate in his mind. Surely, he was having second thoughts. However, thinking of what happened and how his grandfather kicked him out of the house, he couldn’t help but shake his head. “I can’t go back. There’s nothing left for me there,” he claimed before going back to sleep. ************ It was a bit early in the morning and the sun had just begun to come up. Its rays touched Jason’s skin filling the area with warmth and life. The latter opened his eyes but was forced to close them back, as the light of the sun was a bit piercing from his red eyes. After a while, he slowly reopened them again after which they slowly adapted to the surrounding light. Jason checked his bedside watch and seeing the time, his revealed no emotion and he simply closed them back, as if returning to sleep. However, a few moments later, he sprang up from his bed and quickly rushed to the bathroom. After freshening up, he put on some clothes and prepared breakfast for himself, scrambled eggs and potato chips were the only things on the menu this morning. Just as he mixed the eggs, he suddenly heard a knock on the door. “Hmm? I wonder who that could be. Better not be Allan.” he uttered to himself before opening the door. However, the person behind the door was the last person he’d ever expected to be there. Behold, the Princess of the Marco family, Karen Marco, was here. Her expression was as cold as ever, but that was what told Jason that everything was okay with her. “Wow… wasn’t expecting you to be here, sweetheart.” Jason teased but she pushed the brown paper bag against his chest before waltzing into his apartment. “Can’t you at least welcome me in first?!” she growled. “Uhm… you already did that yourself,” Jason muttered under his breath before closing the door. He examined the contents of the paper bag and saw something that spelled the name ‘Breakfast’. ‘That’s weird, Karen’s not one to bring me breakfast.’ he thought before looking at Karen with a confused gaze. However, he thought about teasing her even more. “Wow… the princess brought me breakfast. I wonder why?” he mentioned like he wasn’t talking to anyone but she could guess that his statement was directed to her. “Dream on. Grandmother told me to do this, that’s why. I don’t give a rat’s ass about you.” She claimed and Jason finally smiled. “Really? If that’s the case, then why call me your husband amid so many people last night? Aren’t you afraid of public opinion?” Jason questioned but Karen’s face seemed to turn a bit red. “That’s none of your business, asshole.” she pouted. Jason couldn’t help but heave a sigh of resignation while smirking. Even in her little way, Karen still cared about him.Chapter Five Jason placed the breakfast brought by Karen on the kitchen counter before resuming his work. He was preparing breakfast before she came in, so he just had to continue with that. Karen watched him and she was confused. “What are you doing?” she asked and the latter looked at her. “Preparing breakfast,” he replied. “What happened to the one I brought you?” “Well, I was already preparing one before you came. Didn’t expect me to go to work with an empty stomach, did you?” Jason asked but Karen scoffed. “So you’re not going to eat it?” she questioned, her voice colder than normal and her eyes squinted. “Of course not. I don’t want a certain tigress yelling how useless I am.” Jason chortled before pouring the eggs into the frying pan. “What do you mean? Have I ever screamed about how useless you are before?” Karen asked and Jason looked at her with raised brows. He didn’t speak as he expected her to figure it out. ‘Silly
Chapter Six Jason couldn’t begin to fathom the reason for this person coming here but he sighed and regained his calm demeanor. However, the cold look didn’t leave his face and he kept his eyes on the man in a white suit. Mary noticed the sudden change in his expression and wondered what was going on. She traced his eyes and saw the man in a white suit, but she didn’t recognize him.“Hey… you okay man?” She asked but Jason sighed.“I’ll be right back.” He said before shifting the milkshake towards her.“What? Why don’t you just take this with you…” She uttered but the latter didn’t seem bothered. She pouted before grabbing his milkshake and wanted to place it inside the fridge, but she decided to take a sip.“Hmm… this tastes good,” she uttered before deciding against putting the milkshake inside the fridge and drinking it instead. Her mood had also brightened.Meanwhile, the man in the suit walked into the restaurant and took a seat. He ordered a few things from a good-looking w
Chapter SevenIt was a bit early in the morning as Jason was just about to go to work. He did not have breakfast he intended to grab brunch by afternoon. Just as he prepared to put on his shoes, he heard a knock on his door.“A visitor this early? I wonder who that is,” he said before walking towards the door and opening it. However, he saw a familiar but unexpected face looking at him coldly and standing by his front door.“May I come in?” Karen asked and Jason sighed. He wasn’t one to keep grudges, but he was no longer going to remain the same to her. He would normally want to invite her in and have a brief chat with her, even though he was already late for work, but not today.“Nope. I’m just about to go to work.” He said and the latter frowned. She simply groaned inside herself but didn’t complain.“I brought you breakfast again.” She said but Jason sighed.“Well, you’re gonna be eating it on your own because I’m not hungry,” he said before going back inside to pick up his bag and
Chapter Eight It would be an understatement to say that Karen was stunned by those words of his. She was completely caught off guard and suddenly, she couldn’t help but think about him. She looked at his calm but still serious face and a tint of admiration surfaced in her mind, even though it was only for an instant. ‘He considers me a priority to him and my safety matters. Why though? He could simply just let the assassins kill me. After all, they were most likely sent by my brother and I think he knows this too. Yet…’ She thought to herself and pursed her lips.“Keep your eyes sharp, Karen. Don’t act like I’m holding you hostage.” His voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She wanted to flare up and turn this into a small argument but remembering that there were assassins after Jason, she just kept quiet.“I don’t get something though. Since they’re after you, why don’t I just go home while you deal with them… or let them deal with you…” She suggested but Jason shook his head.
Chapter Nine“How…. How did you do that?” Karen inquired but Jason wasn’t really in the mood to answer.“Long story. We need to get out of here.” He replied before pulling her hand and leaving the restaurant while staying crouched down. However, Karen’s mind was a mess. She was completely shocked by Jason’s ability. To her, she was so terrified to the point of seeing Jason as a savior who would get her out of this mess.‘He… he sensed those assassins before anyone could and he even fought three armed men and killed one of them. He’s skilled in combat. It’s almost like he has been trained.’ She thought before taking a glance at Jason’s face. The smooth facial contours and the depth in his eyes made her wonder, ‘Who the hell is this guy? What could he have seriously been through while our entire family was criticizing him?’ these thoughts ran through her mind but she did nothing but obey him. After all, it felt like she could only be saved by this man.They got out of the restaurant and
Chapter Ten Jason winced in pain as he pocketed his gun. He had been holding back due to Karen being with him and he didn’t want to fully unleash his abilities before her. Now that she was gone, he could finally switch to his killing mode. However, he looked at the wound on his shoulder and for some reason, the bleeding wasn’t stopping, only slowed. ‘Damn it… if I don’t treat this soon, I might as well be a goner. Imaging dying by bleeding to death… not exactly the kind of death I hoped to have.’ He laughed bitterly before returning to the tunnel. This time around, he walked on the tracks instead and used the darkness to his advantage. ‘To them, I’m running away. But they’ll be shocked to realize that I’m waiting here for them.’ He claimed before slowing down. He made sure not to use a flashlight, as that would put him at a disadvantage. Rather, he adapted to the darkness and he knew fully well that his pursuers would use flashlights, making him spot them as soon as he
Chapter 11Who the fuck did the boss ask us to eliminate? Hank was confused. For a moment Hank was in a crossroads of decision and wondered if he should go home, or try to kill this mysterious man for the boss. As he was still dwelling in his thoughts, Jason fired a bullet intentionally on Hank who ran for his life. Knocking down people on his part as he exited the subway back to the road above, he fled into the busy road.“Coward” Jason mustered under his breath amidst all the pain from his wonder which he had managed to endure the pain and the flow of blood.Getting to the top spot of the train station, he fell and one of the train station guards saw him and rushed to help him. Let me take you to the hospital mister, the guard said. Jason, Took his phone from his back pocket, and with a little strength said “Call my wife”. The guard with confusion replied “I don't know your wife”“Sir, can you hear me?” the guard asked, his voice steady but laced with concern.Jason nodded weakly,
The air was thick with the scent of jasmine as Karen stood on the veranda of the grand Marco estate, her heart heavy with the burden of her unspoken words. It had been months since Karen and Marco had truly spoken, and even longer since the incident in the train station. The tension between them was palpable, but Karen was ready to tire to adjust things with her husband.Karen had spent the last few weeks trying to reach out to Jason, who had distanced himself, retreating into the solitude of his apartment in the city.She had called, sent messages, even written him letters—each one filled with the hope that he would come back to her, back to the life in the estate.But Jason remained silent, his pain and doubts holding him back from returning to the place that held so many memories, both beautiful and painful.She knew the reasons for his hesitation. The Marco family was not just any family; the fighting, legacy, power, and expectations weighed heavily on Jason’s shoulders.But recen