Sunshine's Returned
JACK'S POV
It was time to have a real conversation with Vera. We hadn’t really talked since that day in the garden, even though we promised to always be honest with each other. After our guests left, the house got quiet. We were alone in the kitchen, washing the dishes. Malone had downed a cup of coffee and gone upstairs. Timothy had left with Hannah’s family. He was already best friends with Tasha.
Half an hour later, as I rinsed the last plate, I finally answered the question Vera had asked earlier. "I went to see Monica’s father to confirm something. You won’t believe what he told me."
She leaned on the sink, arms crossed. "I was worried, Jack. You shouldn't leave like that without telling me."
I placed the last plate in the rack, dried my hands with the small blue towel, and hung it back up. "You didn’t even ask me what I found out. And you don’t seem surprised."
She looked away. "I saw Monica last night. She’s back in our lives, and I get it, you want to fix things with her. Even though she lied about being sick and dying, I know you still love her. I just hope you do the right thing and send her away before she pulls you back in."
My chest tightened. I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around her. She sighed against my neck but didn’t hug me back.
"You think I went looking for Monica to bring her back into our lives?"
She stayed quiet.
"She might have her reasons, like before. You might forgive her. She’s your first love, Jack. The mother of your child. You care more than you admit."
I pulled away and placed my hands on both sides of her, trapping her between me and the sink. I needed her to look at me.
"I promised you she was part of my past, and that’s where she belongs. Why can’t you trust me?"
"I do trust you, but—"
"But you think I don’t love you enough to let go of everything else? You think I’m lying when I say you’re my everything? Are you still scared of Kenneth?"
She coughed and turned away. "No, I’m just… Monica showed herself to me on purpose. It felt like a challenge, like she was daring me to fight for you."
I had to stop her before she drowned in her own fears.
"That wasn’t Monica. That was Maureen, her twin sister."
She froze. Her eyes grew wide. "Twin sister?"
I nodded and stepped back so she could breathe.
"I don’t know the full story yet, but her father told me Maureen disappeared after fighting with Monica during their first year in college. I don’t know why I never heard of her."
Vera ran her fingers through her hair. "They look exactly alike. It’s crazy."
"It’s a lot to take in, I know. But it makes more sense than Monica coming back from the dead. I need to see Maureen, find out what she wants, and why she’s hiding from her family if she wants back into our lives."
I gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers brushing her soft skin.
"I’m sorry, Jack. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst. I just panicked. I don’t want Monica, or anyone, to come between us. Malone’s behavior is making things worse, too. He’s acting more and more like his father."
She swallowed hard. "Ken left his family with nothing. He kicked his sister out of her inheritance and only cared about power. You know what he did to me. Now my son— our son— hates me because Ken poisoned his mind. He’s becoming just like him."
I let my hands fall and shoved them into my pockets.
"Malone was raised by Ken. His blood is in him. You can’t expect him to warm up to you overnight. He needs time. You both do. And if, in the end, he chooses Ken... Vera, you’ll have to let him go."
Her face hardened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"No! I won’t let Ken take him again. Never! Malone stays with me, whether he likes it or not. That monster will rot in jail before he ever takes him away from me again."
She stared at my chest, fists clenched. When her eyes met mine, they were filled with pain.
I couldn’t tell her what I saw on the way back. Not yet. It would break her.
I gently pulled her into my arms again, one hand resting on her back, rubbing in slow circles. She trembled and then broke. Warm tears soaked my shoulder as she sobbed.
"He’ll come around," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "He’ll see how much you love him. Just give him time."
While she cried in my arms, my phone beeped. I pulled it out and saw a text from a hidden number. It was an address, Downtown’s most popular club. Monica’s favorite place. It had to be Maureen.
I looked at Vera. She had stopped crying but still looked shaken.
"Would you come with me to meet Maureen?" I asked, brushing her lips with my thumb.
"How did you find her?"
"I think she sent me this."
She blinked, wiping her face. "How would she even have your number?"
"We’ll find out soon enough. She better be ready to answer everything."
I grabbed her hand and walked her to the door.
"When all this is over, we’re getting married and taking the kids on the longest vacation we’ve ever had."
She laughed through her sniffles, and just like that, her smile returned, the one that always made me feel like everything was going to be okay.