It had been two weeks since Jilly stayed in Italy with Marco. But now, it was time for her to go home. She couldn't keep her work on hold for long.
"Will you come with me?"
-
Jilly had arrived in New York. The first thing she went to was the bar. Her brother texted her, asking if she could come down to check on the delivery for today if she had some time. He couldn't make it due to a job in another country.
She would love to go home, but she missed working already as the New York air hits her nostrils.
The taxi dropped her off in front of the entrance. The truck usually goes to the back as they unload. The bar was closed and very quiet as usual. They would get crowded once the night hits.
Jilly moved her feet inside the closed bar. She pushed the glass door open and the inside was not as empty as the outside. She could see a woman sitting on the chair as she inspected the stocks coming in.
"I shouldn't have bothered to come here if I knew you would be here. Did Kook tell you to come down?" Jilly's voice startled her. She turned around quickly and was surprised to find Jilly standing behind her. Jilly raised her eyebrow, waiting for her answer.
"Yes, he is," Kathrine replied.
"Then why did he tell me to check on things myself?" Jilly questioned the situation. Even when she asked her, she probably wouldn't know the answer. So, she had to figure it out herself.
"Tell me, Katherine. Did he tell you to be here or did you come here by yourself?" Jilly asked her in a hard tone. There was hatred in Jilly's eyes shorn towards her. It was clear and Katherine was aware.
"He told me to come down here, Jilly. He was in another county since yesterday and you just got back. I can go if you wish." Katherine's voice shook up, hoping that she didn't make a mistake by saying that.
"No, stay here and get the work done. I don't want to see a slight mistake in the documents. My hands are too clean to get them dirty this soon." Katherine understood the meaning of her words. Jilly would kill her, but she didn't want to, for now.
"Jilly." She stopped dead in her tracks and let out a painful sigh.
"What, Katherine?" She replied, not looking back. Because it was not only Katherine who called her name. She heard another voice along with hers.
"There are some documents that need immediate attention. I should have returned them yesterday, but no one was there. Since you're here now, can you sign them please?" Katherine spoke. It was either to give him the time before Jilly could leave or it was unintentional, she got her attention.
"Hand them to me and you can get them back at my house." Jilly slightly turned around to grab the documents, but she was faced with him. He stood there, holding the documents that were meant for Jilly and Katherine was nowhere to be found.
"Give them to me and I'll leave immediately," Jilly said, extending her hand out to receive the documents.
"You're home." He smiled sadly while looking at her deeply. He missed her a lot, he couldn't sleep and work properly. Especially, after another guy answered her phone when he called the other day.
"I am," Jilly replied plainly.
"Where did you go... for that long?" Cayne asked. He wanted to know about the guy who picked up her phone. He wanted to know, who he was to her. He didn't want to go crazy over that.
"Vacation," she replied.
"I've missed you," he confessed. He thought that it showed he was not doing well since their separation.
"I don't." The way she masked her feelings made him believe every word that came out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Jilly. I'm really sorry," he apologized, again as his eyes got teary. He handed the documents to her and she wasted no time in delaying. But it was not his plan. His plan was to have her in his arms and he succeeded flawlessly.
As she was in his arms, he couldn't handle the sadness. He held her so tight, afraid that it was too soon to let go.
"Forgive me, baby. I will keep apologizing to you until the day you forgive me. I know you will, one day," he murmured against her skin. "You can be with someone else. But I will make sure that your heart only belongs to me and I am yours, always."
He broke the hug just to grab her face. With only one free hand, he leaned in and brought her face closer to his. He placed his lips on her and savored the moment.
He moved his lips slowly and through closed eyes, the both of them could feel wetness on their lips and none of them bothered to open their eyes to check. Until she pulled away. She quickly took the documents out of his hand and left before he could even open his eyes.
His head dropped.
"I risked my job for you." Katherine's voice could be heard approaching him.
"Thank you," Cayne said. He slowly brought his head up and looked at the door where it was left ajar, letting the sun come in through the crack.
"She wouldn't forgive you right away," she continued, watching his back on her.
"I know."
"Kook has been avoiding me since Jilly left. He thought she would never come back, even if he tried to bring her back." Cayne frowned.
"What do you mean?" Cayne asked.
"She has someone protecting her if she asks to. You didn't know about him, did you?" Katherine was surprised to discover the fact that Cayne never knew about the Italian family of hers.
"You mean the guy she was with?"
"No, about her guardian," Katherine replied.
"Why does she need a guardian when she has her parents?" Katherine bit her bottom lip conflicted. She shouldn't have opened her mouth about someone else's family. Look where she got herself into. "What, Katherine? Tell me."
"Jilly was thrown away when she was a baby and a mafia don found her. He became her guardian until she was old enough to make her own decision. Her parents then came to get her back, knowing her potential in their business. Jilly may be a Bakerhubb, but her name is never registered in the family certificate. Kook tries to convince her, but Jilly is like a diamond. A tough rock to break."
Cayne was left speechless by a new fact about Jilly, the woman he had been with together for four years. He felt like he knew nothing about her.
"But she's not in the business." Cayne knew Jilly was never involved in their family business.
"Not in the business? Just look at her, Cayne. She is the business, I have been helping her for years. But... I've never seen her in pain like this." Katherine's voice got lower as she felt bad for Jilly. "I am sorry, but I'm not the only one who's at fault here."