"Oh, I just imagined Derak punching Kyle, that's all."
"Jessica, if I was there that day, I would have." Derak replied stating his point.
Recalling Derak's call before the accident, I asked, "Derak, you said, 'Amanda paid for the first two months' bill?" Derak also recalls the conversation and says, "Yes, the detective said, 'Amanda paid for the first two months before leaving Kyle here at the hospital with his depression. Then you came and paid the rest."
"What's going on? Wasn't he in for a fracture?" Patricia asks in a confused tone.
Sandy also says in a confused tone, "Yeah, didn't you say, you came to congratulate your friend and found Kyle in the hospital for a fractured leg, and he had no one so you began talking to each other and then things reached to getting married?"
"Guys, if I told you, 'Kyle was in the hospital for his depression treatment, you would have stopped me."
"Like hell we would, look where you are today, without him." Sandy retorts, waving her hand in the air.
"I know, but I don't think or believe depression is a reason to shun people away. And, his depression has nothing to do with him leaving."
Before I could say anything else, Derak says, "Girls, why don't you go back to your work. Patricia, Jessica is already not at work, if you'll also not be there, it will be chaos."
Realizing the facts, Patricia says, "OK, then I'll head over to the office. Sandy, I'll drop you off."
Sandy nods and comes over to me and hugs saying, "OK, take care and take every call we make, OK."
As the girls leave, Derak comes over and pulls the chair over and says, "Jessica, the reason I sent them was so I could tell you about Amanda. The detective told me she paid for those two months' bills from a card, and she was not employed as in employed to have any sort of money in her account." He takes a deep breath, "I had intentions to check out the records and see who's card she used. Maybe we can get a hand to follow up."
I got up and said, "Derak, I'm fine. Let's get my discharge papers and then head over to the cashier and find out about what you said."
As I finished, Derak said in a concerned tone, "OK, but you will do as I say, OK?"
I nod with a smile and then we head over to the doctors office and get him to make my discharge papers. Then we headed over to the cashier and I asked the cashier, "Hello, my name is Jessica Jiles Walter. My husband Kyle Walter was admitted here for treatment three years ago. I would like to check his bill's record. So, could you please show them to me."
The nurse smiled and said, "Of course Mrs. Walter. May I have your husband's file number please."
I took a card out and said, "Yes, here's his discharge card."
The nurse took the card and then after clicking the number on her keypad, handed it back. Then she tells, "Yes, Mrs. Walter, the first two months were paid by credit card by the name of a Mr. James Boyd, and the next seven months bills were paid and cleared by you."
I looked towards Derak to see if that's all he wanted to know, but Derak asked, "Sister, can you please tell the amount she paid?"
The nurse looks at her computer screen and says, "Ah, yes, a thousand."
"A thousand, what do you mean by that? I mean a round figure?" Derak asks in a confused tone.
The nurse again looks up and says, "Yes, actually the bill was seven hundred and ninety, but from the records, she paid a full thousand by card and took the change as cash. Anything else I can help you with?"
"No thanks, but can you please give me the receipts of both the bills?"
The nurse taps on her keyboard as two receipts get printed. Handing them over, she says, "Here sir, one is for a two months payment and the other one is for the seven months payment."
As Derak takes the slips, he thanks her and says, "OK, Jessica, let's go. For now we'll head over to my home and you can meet my parents, who now probably are going to become your parents. And, let me go and find out about this James Boyd guy."
"What? Leave me alone with your parents?" I asked Derak in a shocked tone.
Derak smiles and says, "Oh, don't worry. Once you meet them, you'll think you're at home and when I come back, I might feel like I am the adopted one. You'll love them, trust me. Come on."
Over at Derak's home
As we got out of the car, the housekeeper came out and said, "Welcome home sir, and how may I address our guest?"
Derak smiles and says, "Oh, she's not a guest, she's my sister. Her name is Jessica Jiles Walter, and please inform the staff her words are mine."
As the housekeeper left, I looked at Derak and said, "Derak, you don't have to be so formal. It's like you're adopting me."
As we enter, Derak smiles and says, "Hey, that's not a bad idea. So, how do you fancy being a Claude?" "Oh, I don't need to be adopted to be called Claude. After all I have already accepted you as my brother, so Claude or Jiles, it's no difference." Recalling the fact I never met my parents, "Actually, I prefer being a Claude."
As I said this, Derak's parents came out and Derak says, "Jessica, my father, Clive and my mother, Sandra. And, mom-dad, Jessica Jiles Walter."
My parents come forward and my mother hugs Jessica and says, "Welcome home dear. Come on, let's go inside."
As we go to the sitting room, Aunt Sandra tells the server to bring tea and the cookies she baked that day. As the server comes and places the tray on the table, Aunt Sandra says, "OK, you can leave, and (looking towards Derak and Uncle Clive) what are you boys doing here? Can't you see it's time for me and my girl?"
Uncle Clive gets up and says, "Come on Derak, let's leave the girls alone."
As Derak leaves with his father, Aunt Sandra says, "Jessica, why don't you change your surname. I did after I left my first husband."
OK, I was not expecting to hear this, so I said in a shocked tone, "What? Uncle Clive."
Aunt Sandra completed the sentence for me, "Yes, he's not my first. The first was a useless being on this earth. You can call him one of those adolescent crushes one thinks is love. Anyways, thankfully I found out sooner and left him. He also betrayed me so after I left him, I didn't want anything to do with him, so I changed my surname as well."
I took a deep breath and said, "Aunt Sandra, it's not as simple as it sounds, especially for me. Today I'm the CEO and founder of Spirit Fashion, a world renowned fashion brand. I began my business as Jessica Jiles and at that time not many knew about me, but over the past three years, my business has sky-rocketed. And, over these three years everyone knows who Jessica Jiles Walter is. At times I even skipped writing Jiles thanks to my parents loving shower on me. And, my clients also address me as Mrs. Jessica or Mrs. Walter. Changing my surname will affect me badly. My signature, legal documents, I'll have to change everything, our deeds. It's too long. And for me being called Walter is now just a surname. It doesn't bother me."
"And his stuff? I hope you have already thrown it out." Aunt Sandra says in a frank tone.
"I didn't cause, he asked to take his stuff himself. Since Derak is his friend, I called him over to take and give him. I never asked if he gave or not."
"The only things I gave him were his drafts, legal documents and his office paperwork. As for his clothes and daily necessities, he can get them from her." Derak says in a frank tone.
"Derak, come on, why'd you have to behave like a spoiled brat?" I asked in a tone mixed with hurt and guilt.
"What? You are feeling sorry for him. Jessica, after all he did to you, you still feel sorry for him?" Derak questioned with a sad look on his face.
"OK, OK, remove that sad look. You look like I took your bat from you." I said in a slightly scolding tone.
Just then Uncle Clive called him so he left again. As Derak left, I whispered softly and said, "Aunt Sandra, I promise I won't tell you about it."
Aunt Sandra did it again, and completed my sentence.
"Jessica dear, both of them know." Then in a little serious tone, "Dear, a couple's relationship is the most fragile one in the world, and trust is the strongest thread that bonds two people in a marriage. I'm not saying, 'a couple can't and doesn't have secrets kept from each other. But if it's about a past relationship, you should tell. No matter how many years you've spent telling your spouse you love them over the years, the day they find out you loved someone equally or even more, that hurt is unbearable. Though I learned it the hard way, my parents divorced when I was sixteen. My father found out my mother had a love that lasted for a year and she loved him a lot. More than knowing his wife loved someone, he found out from one of my mother's friends. I didn't want to make that mistake so I told him. And Clive also is not my second love. I met another man after my first love, but he did not like the fact so we parted. Then I met Clive. He not only accepted my past, but gave me so much love, I totally forgot about him. That's why I'm not telling his name, cause I don't remember who he was."
Recalling we never asked about each other's past seemed like the biggest reason for our marriage failure today."Jessica, what's the matter dear?" Aunt Sandra asked me in a concerned tone.
"Oh, nothing aunt. It's just I realized this could and is the cause of our divorce. We never asked each other anything about our past. That's why I always thought I was his first love, but now I realized I was the second and probably a substitute as well."
"Jessica, you seem to be a very intelligent girl. After all, you began a world renowned fashion business from the ground all by yourself, then how can you call yourself the substitute?" Aunt Sandra said in a questioning tone.
"Aunt, I don't know if you saw, but she's a replica of me. Just her look has a little flaw here and there, but she does look like me." I said stating my point.
"Exactly, she looks like you."
I was going to say, 'that's what I meant, But what Aunt Sandra said made a solid point.
"Jessica, there's no one who's look has a flaw, unless it's plastic surgery. Like someone did a job on their nose, but the result was not perfect, so we say, 'the nose still has a flaw or lacks the perfect touch. And, isn't all of this just too coincidental. She happens to look like you, she happens to meet your parents, she happens to become the long angry billionaire heiress, she happens to be Kyle's first love, she happens to be his current wife?"
Seeing I was still in a puzzle, Aunt Sandra says, "Jessica dear, are you still considering yourself her substitute?""Aunt Sandra, he went back to his first love. Does that not make the point?" I said in a desperate tone.
"My dear, you still don't get it do you?" Aunt Sandra gets up and brings a file over. Then she plays a video of the conference that my parents held to introduce Amanda to the world and says, "Look at yourself and Amanda."
Seeing I can't make out what she wants me to see, Aunt Sandra says, "Jessica dear, look at your perfect jawline, and the dimple you get when you smile, exactly like your father and mother. She doesn't have it. Jessica, she's a plastic surgery replica of you. Whatever she's doing, is to take your place and maybe your love as well."
Yes, more than the fact she's taking over my billions of dollars inheritance I was more worried about Kyle, "Aunt Sandra, even if this is correct, then also Kyle left me for her or rather the money now."
Aunt Sandra takes a deep breath of despair, seeing I still didn't understand, "Jessica, I think Kyle is not betraying you as in betraying."