Chapter 90. Misterio
I hung up the call with Jackson and remained thoughtful. What was going on between him and Lilly? She left and... I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
"Is something wrong, love?" I turned to James, who still had his hand on the doorknob, his face showing curiosity. "Isidora," he used his warning tone, indicating I shouldn't hide anything from him.
"The man at the gate informed me that Lilly left, and Jackson just told me he won't be coming to dinner." James closed the door so no one would hear.
"Why did she leave?"
"I don't know."
"And why isn't Jackson coming?"
"I don't know either." James sat on the arm of the chair.
"Do you think they had a fight?" he asked, intrigued.
"I think so. I'll ask Leah to call her sister to make sure she's okay; walking from the house is dangerous. Apparently, she didn't let Jackson's driver take her back..." James pressed his lips in disapproval, and then we left the office. When we arrived, Jacob was laughing heartily, but Leah was just watching him with a big smile. James took my elbow to stop me from saying anything or moving forward. It was the first time we saw our son like that, having fun, relaxed, and next to a woman.
"Well, it looks like it'll just be the four of us," they both looked at us as we took our seats at the dining table. I turned to Leah. "Could you call your sister to make sure she's okay?"
"Yes, of course." She took out her phone and dialed, but Lilly didn't answer. "She's not answering. I'll keep trying..."
"Well, since it's just us, I'll ask them to serve dinner," James signaled our housekeeper to have the cook serve the meal.
"So, Leah," I started to make conversation, "do you enjoy what you do?"
She smiled genuinely, broadly, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes, sir. I enjoy it very much."
"She's amazing at what she does," said Jacob with a tone full of excitement. "The project I have with Jackson is already in motion, thanks to her. She's given us ideas to implement..."
"Wow, I hear a lot of excitement!" said James next to me with a big smile.
"Yes, it's nice to meet someone who likes almost the same things as you," Jacob replied, looking at Leah, who blushed faintly. The dinner plates were placed in front of us, the first course being spinach soup, Jacob's favorite, followed by imperial salmon with baked potatoes, Jackson's favorite, and then homemade chocolate truffles, James's favorite.
"And do you know why Lilly didn't end up coming to dinner?" James asked suddenly, almost making me choke on my wine. I stretched my foot to kick him under the table, leaving everyone astonished by his question. "Sorry, I'm just curious why her sister didn't show up," he then looked in my direction. "Why don't you call Jackson to see if she got home safely?"
"It's very kind of you to worry about my sister," Leah replied, seemingly surprised by what James was saying to me.
"We've grown very fond of your sister in this time; she makes our son happy..." James said with all the sweetness in those words.
"Do you want me to call Jackson?" Jacob asked me.
"No, no, I'll call him. I'll leave the table for a moment, continue with your dinner." I stood up and searched for my phone in the pocket of my dress pants. I walked down the hallway until I stopped in the next closest room. Three rings and Jackson finally answered.
"Yes?" his voice was low.
"I know I called you earlier, but we're anxious. Do you know if Lilly made it home safely?"
"She's fine, don't worry."
"How do you know? Were you able to reach her?"
"Um," he paused. "She's here with me at my house in the Hamptons."
"How did she get there?" I shook my head. "Well, that doesn't matter. What matters is she's safe," I sighed in relief. "By the way..."
"Tell me..."
"Do you have a house in the Hamptons?" I heard laughter on the other end of the line. "You rascal, you just revealed that we're neighbors."
"One day we'll all get together, and I'll cook something."
"How about the weekend after next?" I raised an eyebrow hopefully.
"The weekend after next is the company's annual event."
"And Monday is a holiday, remember?" There was a moment of silence. "We can leave early Sunday and come back Monday afternoon."
"Alright, let's talk about it during the week."
"By the way," my heart raced with happiness knowing that Jackson and Lilly were together.
"Tell me..."
"Have they reconciled?"
"Mom, I'm going to hang up," he said, using his irritated tone.
"Okay, okay, I'll let her sister know she's safe."
"Good night." And with that, we ended the call. I let out a scream of joy.
"What's going on?" I heard James and Jacob, alarmed. I turned to them, unable to hide my excitement.
"Lilly is fine, she's with Jackson." I saw the surprise in their eyes.
"Wow, Jackson must be happy," Jacob said amused.
"Did she catch up with him in the attic?" James asked, and I shook my head.
"She's at his house in the Hamptons." Both of their eyes widened more than usual.
"In the Hamptons?" James exclaimed. "Sneaky, he's our neighbor and didn't tell us."
"Oh, so it must be that house..." Jacob murmured thoughtfully.
"What house?" James and I asked, looking at him.
"One day I went to the company, and he had to go see a property. I thought he was looking at a house for himself... but he didn't say anything."
"Lilly has done a lot with Jackson in such a short time," I said, moved. "Considering Jackson and his sanctuary—" I was interrupted.
"My sister? Is she okay?" Leah approached us. "Sorry, but I was alarmed to hear you scream and see them run... I didn't mean to intrude..."
"Relax," Jacob said to her. "Lilly is fine, she's with my brother in the Hamptons."
"In the Hamptons?" she frowned. "But...?" she stopped her question.
"Go ahead, ask," James encouraged her.
"You mentioned a sanctuary..." we all looked at each other.
"Jackson has a sanctuary, it's like an exclusive place for him. He doesn't take anyone there, not even family, so we've discovered that..."
"Lilly is with him," we all nodded excitedly.
"That's why I said Lilly has done so much for him in such a short time. Even I, his mother, didn't know he had a house there."
"What we mean is..." James came closer and hugged me. We stood facing Jacob and Leah. "...that your sister's presence has made our son do things we never thought he would. For example..." James looked at Jacob, who raised an eyebrow.
"Don't embarrass me in front of my date," Jacob said, amused, while Leah smiled.
"This is the first time Jacob has brought a date home," Leah blushed and hugged herself protectively.
"But I love that it's you." I let go of James to wrap my arm around Leah. "Destiny is mysterious, don't you think?" We started walking towards the dining room.
"Do you believe in it?" Leah asked.
"Yes, if you hadn't had to work that night, Lilly and Jackson... wouldn't have met."