Laura
"How can your wife and mother of your child mean nothing to you?" My eyes widened, his too. He looked like he wasn't expecting me to say such. He never expected it.
"What?" He exclaimed and I didn't know when a chuckle escaped my cheeks.
There was nothing funny about it but I was just amazed that he wanted to deny it.
"Moira isn't my wife. We are not married, we were never married. And I'm sure not married to anyone." He retorted while I smirked and then took a seat.
This is sure going to be a long talk - I muttered to myself while he sat close to me too.
"I know you don't believe me, Laura but that's the truth. I'm not married to Moira." He repeated but I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Jake stood there, his expression a mixture of guilt and frustration as he unraveled the story. I sat, barely able to process what he was telling me. Moira though not married to him, was not just a part of his past but a deeply entangled part of his present too.
All this time, I had been tormenting myself, thinking I was just another disposable fling for him, and here he was telling me something far more complicated.
"Why didn't you tell me all of this sooner?" I asked, my voice shaky, trying to find some control over my emotions. I had to know why he had let me believe the worst.
Jake sighed, running his hand through his hair, something he often did when he was stressed. He stood up, looked ahead for some seconds and then sat down on the bench across from me, but even now, he seemed so far away. His eyes were lost, as if the memories were pulling him back into the past.
"I didn't know how to tell you, Laura," he said, his voice low but steady. "Moira was a huge part of my life for years. We were in love… or at least I thought we were. Back then, everything seemed perfect. She was my girlfriend and my best friend. We were loud about it, too loud, I realize now."
He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. I could hear the hurt in his voice, the wound that Moira had left still raw.
"But then I found out," he continued, his eyes hardening. "She was cheating on me the whole time. Playing me, making a fool of me. And it wasn't just some fling. She was with someone else the entire time we were together."
"The first time I knew about it, it was my manager at the time who sent the pictures to me. The man's face wasn't visible in the picture and even when I walked in on her a week later in the house I got for her, I still couldn't see the man's face. I couldn't even watch the horrible scene in front of me, I only took pictures, turned back and left."
"Wow… that's so sad…" I let out pitifully.
"That wasn't the worst part. They both actually didn't know I saw them. They just went on with their business. She came back to my house later that evening and I showed her the pictures. There was no room to deny, so we just broke up."
I could hear the anger in his voice, and for a second, I didn't know whether it was directed at her or at himself. Maybe both.
"Why didn't you break up with her publicly then?" I asked, still trying to make sense of the fact that the world thought they were still together. "I don't get it. If you were that heartbroken, why didn't you let everyone know?" I quizzed.
He sighed again, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"At that time, I was just starting to take over my role in the family business. My father didn't want any scandals, especially not one involving me being publicly humiliated. Moira was just starting her modeling career too, and she knew that a scandal would destroy any chance of success for her. So, we both agreed to keep the breakup a secret. It was in both of our best interests."
I sat back, letting that sink in. My mind was racing. All this time, the world thought they were still together. That was why I had seen pictures of them on social media, why people thought they might even be secretly married.
"But that doesn't explain what happened the day I walked in on you two," I said, my voice tightening as the memory flashed in my mind. "She was all over you, Jake. I saw it. She was kissing you, and you didn't push her away."
His eyes darkened, and I could see the weight of that moment pressing down on him.
"That day," he began slowly, "Moira wasn't there for some romantic reunion. She came to tell me something… something I had no idea about."
I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for him to continue.
"She told me she was pregnant when we broke up," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "She had a daughter. My daughter."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
"What?" I whispered, barely able to get the word out. "She has your daughter? You really have a daughter?"
He nodded, his face pale, as if saying it out loud made it even more real.
"I thought you already knew. The way you attacked me seemed like you even had evidence."
"I was only angry. I saw it online but I didn't really believe it." I quickly cut in.
"I didn't believe her at first too," he said, his voice tight with emotion. "I thought she was lying, trying to manipulate me like she always did. But she had proof. She showed me DNA test results… and it was true, Laura. She's mine."
I felt like I couldn't breathe. Everything I thought I knew about Jake, about the situation with Moira, was being torn apart. And to think I had been so jealous, so angry, over something I didn't even understand.
"So, you went to see her?" I asked, my voice shaky. "That's where you went on your last trip?"
He nodded again, his eyes filled with a pain I hadn't seen before.
"Yes. I had to meet her. I had to meet my daughter. It's been years, Laura. She kept this from me for years, and I needed to see her. To know if it was real."
I could see the conflict in him, the guilt, the anger, the confusion. I could only imagine how he must have felt, walking into that part of his life he didn't even know existed.
"And what about when I walked in?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. "Why didn't you stop her from kissing you? If everything between you two was over, why didn't you stop her?"
Jake's face twisted in frustration, and he ran a hand through his hair again, clearly agitated.
"I was caught off guard, Laura. You have to understand. Moira dropped a bombshell on me, and I was trying to process everything. When she kissed me… I didn't even realize what was happening at first. But if you had stayed a second longer, you would've seen me push her away. I wasn't going to let it go any further."
"I'm sorry she insulted you. I should have done something. It was my fault that she belittled you in that way." He apologized and I felt my anger dissolved immediately.
I was busy with other thoughts. I looked at him, trying to process everything. It was so much to take in all at once. Moira, the daughter, the kiss, it was overwhelming.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?" I asked again, my voice softer this time. "Why did you let me believe that you were still involved with her?"
He looked down, his hands clenched into fists.
"Because I didn't want to drag you into my mess," he admitted. "You didn't deserve that. Moira has a way of complicating things, and I didn't want to hurt you by bringing her into our lives. I thought I could handle it on my own, but clearly, I was wrong."
For the first time, I saw the vulnerability in him. He wasn't just the confident, powerful man I had known. He was someone dealing with the fallout of a past he couldn't control, trying to navigate a situation that was spiraling out of his hands.
"I'm sorry, Laura," he said, his voice filled with regret. "I should have been honest with you from the beginning. You deserve better than this."
I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to respond to everything he had just laid out in front of me. Part of me wanted to be angry, to yell at him for keeping me in the dark. But another part of me understood. His world had just been turned upside down, and he had been trying to protect me in the only way he knew how.
I stood up, needing space to think. He watched me, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
"I don't know what to say," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "I just… I need some time." I let out while Jake nodded, understanding the weight of my words…