Chapter 28 Crazy in Love

“What do you mean by this?”

A woman in black is standing by the window casually inhaling her expensive smoke. The black satin dress made a rustling sound as she moves around to face her brother.

“I’m not quite sure what you are talking about, brother.”

The eloquence and elegance of the woman are shouting no one dares to contradict her actions. She is the epitome of a modern witch. Innocent looking, but vile personality is sitting on her head as a mark.

“You’ve been busy these past few days that you haven’t noticed I am watching you, my dear sister. Tell me, you sent the man to hurt Betty? Am I right?”

Playfully hurting drew on her face but a smile is forming on her lips. This woman is so uncontrollable.

“Watch your mouth. I am not only doing this for myself but for you too. We both know you like her. But you put your guard down, destroying our plans together! Now tell me whose fault all this?”

James stared at Jessica with an unwavering expression on his face. Like he is used to her acting like a madwoman and throwing tantrums every day.

“Just stop it already sis. I’m tired of all of your obsession with money. Please. Just stop it.”

Jessica must’ve been too affected by James' proposition. Her palm flew to his brother’s face surprising him in the process.

“How dare you. James, Tom took everything from us. Our company, our reputation, my marriage. Everything! Don’t tell me what to do! I’m your older sister, I know what I am doing!”

“You’re crazy. It’s not Tom’s fault, Jessica. Have you already forgotten? How our father destroyed him? It was us who destroyed him, Jess! You know that.”

“You’re now taking his sides? What about our plans? How about you? I’ve been wanting you to completely take over his company, James. These are all for you.”

“Please, I don’t want anything from him, Jess. I thought I can bring back what was already lost but I realized we’re at fault in all of this. I don’t want to do this. Not anymore.”

Jess stared at him with wide eyes, can’t believe what he just said. There is no way of backing down now. She had been planning to destroy Tom since the day her father died. Since then, her life began to feel miserable.

“Is this because of that woman, James?”

“No.”

“I can see right through you.” Jessica is smiling evilly like she already has plans to stop all of this.

“No, just stop it Jessica for Pete’s sake! You’re not thinking straight! You’re clearly out of your mind.”

“Now I know what I am going to do.” She hurriedly climbs back upstairs and fiddled on her phone. James ran tailing before her and snatched the phone out of her hand.

“Give me that! James! Give me my fcking phone back!”

“No! You’re not doing anything bad this time, Jessica! I’m tired of you acting like this! Please…”

“Let me teach that woman a lesson! I guess what happened to her that night wasn’t enough to give Tom a fright.” She started to laugh manically clutching her head in the process.

“What did you say?”

“I sent the man that night. He is the perfect reason to kill that woman. And when she died, Tom will come back to me. And then, we’ll kill him. And then you can take over the company. Isn’t that our plan, James?”

James began to suspect her sister hadn’t been taking her meds. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and severe bipolar when she was still in her teens. It all started when she witnessed how her father abused their mother until she died.

“Jess…”

“I’ll kill them all…”

“Jess, stop it.”

“No, I’ll kill them all. And then I will kill you.”

“Jess, stop..” James is now holding her as she thrashes around to the ground. Her attitude entirely changed surprisingly all their housekeepers.

“What? What did you say? I’m crazy? No, I’m not! I’m not crazy. You are all crazy! What did you say? What did you say?! Go out of my house!” she began pointing fingers to one of their housekeepers.

“Jess, please… calm down.”

“No! I said I will kill all of you!”

Thrashing and flailing her hands toward James that has been holding her to the ground. Until blood started to drip on the white carpeted floor. Little did they know, Jessica has been holding small metal scissors on her left hand.

One of the housekeepers shrieked when they saw James bleeding on his arm, with a slash wound. Until their personal driver arrived on the scene calling the police and ambulance.

Jessica is still thrashing to the ground kicking and swinging her hands to the air until James caught her arms and threw the scissors away from her.

“Jess, I’m sorry I have to do this.”

James was able to lift her to the chair and with the help of the housekeepers, they bound her to the chair tying her hands behind her back.

Jess seems to calm down but she is starting to cry. Tears ran down her cheeks with her shoulders shaking up and down.

Not long after, three paramedics and two policemen arrived in the house surprising Jessica. She must’ve been back to herself as fear enveloped her entire face.

“

James, what are you doing?”

The two paramedics lifted her off the chair and guided her out of the house. She is shouting to James, with tears in her eyes. Sure it pained James to see some guy holding his sister to the psychiatric hospital.

“I’m so sorry, Jess.” He murmured as one of the paramedics tend his wounds on his arm.

He is pained seeing his sister dragged out of their house. It’s so sad but he knew she needs medical attention. He loves his sister but in order for him to make her feel it, he had to do it anyway. He can’t bear to see Jessica grow in her dark shadow and completely transform into someone full of hatred.

“Can I talk with you for a minute?”

James arrived in the company with Tom sitting in his visitor’s lounge with a mug of coffee in his hands.

“Thank you for making time for me, Tom.”

Tom sipped on his coffee and crossed his arms over his chest waiting for James to say something. He never said anything, because he knew James is up for something serious and important this time.

“I want to say sorry. For what my sister did…”

Tom’s eyebrows rose that even he somehow hates the guy, it’s still unusual for James to say such things.

“Wait, Jessica?” Tom’s voice grew serious with his back stiffened upon hearing the woman’s name.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I should have seen this one coming. She was the one who sent the man that night.”

“What?! Where is she? She needs to pay for what she did!” Tom roared angrily almost knocking off the coffee on the table.

“I know. But have you remembered the first day of your marriage? When she was found in the woods saying someone is coming to kill her? It happened again. But this time, she kept on saying she will kill all of us.”

The next few words are too hard for him to say.

“And I finally decided to send her to the psychiatric hospital Tom.”

He broke down in tears clutching his eyes as if it would stop his tears from falling. However, anger is still evident from Tom’s face but it looks like James had already managed to settle everything out.

“I hate it seeing her being dragged down by those guys. I hate going to those places and see her in a straightjacket once again. But she had already hurt someone. I don’t want anybody to be hurt because of her.”

“Why—why would she do that?”

“Revenge, Tom. She believed that you two had a baby, that you made her kill it, that you ruined her life. And she wanted to take everything back.”

Leaving the part of James taking over the company out for one reason. He doesn’t want to start fire anymore. And he never once agreed to take everything Tom has. It never crossed his mind ever since.

“She was too blinded with hatred. And I just can’t take it seeing her drown in her own sea of lies.”

“I want to withdraw from my position.” James finally said. Taking off his Identification Card and health monitoring bracelet. Taking off the things that connect him to the company.

“I’m so sorry. On behalf of my sister, my father… I’m sorry, man.”

And then, he made his way out of his office leaving Tom in awe and astonished. There is nothing he can do to his situation. He had finally decided and the man is a man of word.

But flashes of memories of him and James when they were still young, how James tried and secretly brought food to his room when James tried to play with him but it was him who refused and doesn’t want to be friends with them, how James used to lie to his father so that Tom wouldn’t be beaten by the old man.

But James was too young to stop his father from doing horrible actions to Tom. But deep inside, he wanted to beg his father to stop. With the small, frail, and petite young boy he is also afraid of his strict father. But no one can take away the fact that James had secretly taken Tom’s side despite sharing the same blood of Tom’s perpetrator.

Tom arrived in the mansion carrying three boxes of pizza. Seeing Betty in her usual hooded jacket and skin-tight jeans placing plates and glasses on the kitchen counter, made him feel relieved. It’s the first time he felt at peace in his home. It’s the first time he felt something is finally good happened in his life.

“Hi. You’re home.”

He smiled at the woman and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll go and change, then we can have dinner together.”

She nodded and smiled at him taking the boxes of pizza. But Betty being Betty, she took the other box out and handed it out to the bodyguards.

“Thank you, Ms. Betty.” Robert smiled taking the box and the three of them settled at the visitor’s area located at the patio.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled and left the three eating in peace.

Tom is already in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine. He may be stressed out with what happened, but he just can’t let Betty see he is sulking as she is still in the recovering phase.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course. Come one, let’s eat.”

She knew something is up but never bothered to ask deeper. As long as he said he is okay, then it’s fine with her. They ate talking about how his day went, what she did the whole day, and what will be their plans for tomorrow after the doctor’s appointment. Betty proceeds to clean the kitchen but Gretchen offered to do it, and she better took some rest. Betty ascends the stairs but Tom stopped him in the process and gave her the warmest hug and kissed the top of her head. So affectionate. So warm and so sincere. They certainly looked like a married couple taking care of each other. They must have seriously taken things seriously and up to the next level. Tom loves it as much as Betty loves it. They were two young lovers finally baring each other with their love.