Chapter 57 Juice

Chapter 57 Juice
When Jack got down on one knee and proposed to me, I felt like I was going to faint.
It was such an unexpected move that I could scarcely process what was happening. Sure, he was a handsome young man, and we had enjoyed a few good times together, but that was hardly enough for me to consider becoming his wife! Especially considering that I hadn't seen him for weeks and thought that he was gone from my life forever.
I barely knew anything about him except that he was Malcolm's son and that he'd been raised in the lap of luxury. Okay, I also knew that he could be kind and funny at times, and I was definitely familiar with how passionate he was. But other than that? Not much. It surely didn't seem like enough of a foundation for a marriage.
On the other hand, my heart was thumping in my chest, and I recognized that feeling as a surge of hope. For so long, I had been trapped in a kind of limbo, carrying the baby of a sometimes charming, sometimes cruel man who cared nothing for me.
Furthermore, he was still technically married to my mother, so my only chance of securing a good life for myself was protecting and taking care of his child.
Jack, meanwhile, had always been sweet and gentle with me. He'd also gone to therapy and come to terms with the issues that ran in his family, and I was proud of him for accepting that he needed to make important changes.
He had also had shown great bravery by coming back that one time in defiance of his father. He may not have been the man I needed when we first met, but he was showing great promise of becoming the man I needed.
"Yes," I said. "I will marry you."
"Oh, you just made me the happiest man in the world!" cried Jack, jumping up to his feet and wrapping me up in a big hug.
Being in his arms felt so wonderful and so soothing that I instantly knew I had made the right decision. And if he really could depose his father and take over the business, then I would be set for life. It really was a win-win situation for everyone involved, as far as I was concerned.
"Okay, that calls for a drink," said Jack, grinning from ear to ear. "And some more juice for you, of course."
"Of course," I said, cradling my stomach, now convinced that Jack was the father of my baby, if not in fact, then in spirit.
The staff seemed a little confused by our exuberance, but we didn't let that put a damper on our celebration. For the next hour or so, Jack shared with me his grand plan of how he wanted to take the family business forward once his father had gotten the help he needed.
I sat there and watched his eyes sparkle, and I felt my heart swell, knowing that I had such an ambitious young man by my side. If anyone could resurrect the family business and invest new vitality in it, it was Jack, and I fully believed in his vision, even if I didn't understand all the details.
The only part that made sense to me was him talking about how he might become one of the richest people on the planet if everything worked out all right, and that sounded pretty good to me!
Already I could see myself appearing on the cover of fashion magazines and doing red carpet interviews for celebrity galas and special events. The whole world would know that I was married to a multi-billionaire, and there would be lots of gossip about what brand of clothes I was wearing and how I managed to keep such a trim and attractive figure even after giving birth to a few kids.
Yes, I was definitely going to have another baby as soon as I could, if only to further cement Jack's devotion to me. There was too much of a cloud of suspicion around the one I was carrying now, so I knew Jack would feel a lot more secure once he'd fathered at least one or maybe two other children with me. It wasn't going to be easy being pregnant for so many years in a row, but if that was the price I had to pay, then so be it.
All in all, it was a fabulous night that Jack and I shared on that balcony. I kept glancing down at the ring on my finger, marveling at how it shone even in the dim light. It was proof that my life was on the way up once again, and all those people who had doubted me like my cousin Lindsay were going to have to eat crow.
And if anyone ever dared to suggest that I hadn't earned my position as Mrs. Jack Kent, I'd show them the scars on my legs to prove just how much I'd suffered on my climb to the top.
I invited Jack back to my room to finish off the evening in style, but he declined, saying that he needed to take care of his father first. I was a little disappointed, but I fully understood. His father was not going to go down easy, and he had a lot of friends and admirers. The last thing I wanted was to further enrage the staff, who already resented me as it was.
Alas, that meant I went to bed alone, but I spent a long time lying there, dreaming about my glittering future. Frankly, I got so excited that I resorted to my old ways, sneaking one hand down between my legs to give me a little relief as I fantasized about all of the wonderful things that were going to happen to me.
Per Jack's instructions, the next day I had Alfred drive me to a town that was about four hours away. The excuse was that a French fashion designer had flown into the country to do private fittings and design for a select few customers, but the real reason was to get me out of the house while Jack did what he needed to do.
Also, as Alfred was one of Malcolm's oldest and most loyal employees, Jack thought it was best to not have him around.
I spent the night in a five-star hotel, although it wasn't quite as grand as the Three Palms. Alfred, as my bodyguard, slept in a room a couple of floors beneath me and was so safely out of the way when I got the the message that everything had been taken care of.
Honestly, I'm glad that I wasn't there to witness it happen because seeing Malcolm get dragged away would've probably broken my heart.