#THE_LAST_MINUTE_GROOM
©Sir_Zach
EPISODE 59
Jeslyn blushed but said nothing, especially when Vera was standing behind them.
Maverick frowned when he saw that Jeslyn wasn’t going to say what he needed to hear. He tightened the hold around her waist, making her gasp. “If you don’t open your mouth, we are heading to the room.”
Jeslyn immediately whipped her head up and beamed, “I’ll miss you too,” head to the room? Certainly not! Her body still hurts from last night’s ‘exercises’.
Maverick wrapped both hands around her waist and lowered his head to claim her lips but Jeslyn ‘unknowingly’ turned her face to the side.
“Rex, are you done? When should we leave?” She tried to wiggle her way out of his hold but Maverick’s grip on her was way stronger than her strength.
She sighed and looked up, “Maverick, I need to…” Jeslyn’s words got stuck in her throat as his mouth covered hers.
Jeslyn was worried about the standing behind them but since it has gotten to this point, why not enjoy it? After all, she was leaving because of her anyway.
Vera looked at the couple in front of her with her mind blank. She was here to bid Rossa farewell, after all, she was her only friend and through Rossa, she met her family. A thing she was grateful for, however, the man who was supposed to be her baby’s father doesn’t see her as a living being. She woke up two days ago, yet she hasn’t spoken to him. He doesn’t even know if she exists. Rex who keeps her company is leaving, now she will be alone with this man but live a lonely life. If that happens, how is she going to get her memory back? She sighed and stepped forward. “Rossa?”
Her interruption made Jeslyn pull away and looked at her.
Vera could see the swollen lips and flushed face but that didn’t mean anything to her. She opened her arms for a hug.
Jeslyn was taken aback but still left Maverick’s arms and hugged her.
“You’ll be going far away from home. I’ll miss your absence. Please don’t forget to call me daily to update me on what’s going on with you. Even though we are with the same man, I hope we can be happy together.”
“Not a problem, I’ll call every day to know how you are faring.” Sharing her man with someone else was something Jeslyn cannot stand, especially with Valen’s mother because Valen’s mother has a stronger place in Maverick’s heart than a punny convenient person like her, or so she thought.
The two disengaged and Jeslyn got into the blue car which was Rex’s.
Staring at Vera, Maverick’s face was black, but Vera could see that his gaze on her looked murderous. Those eyes sent terror into her heart, so she immediately turned around and hurried to the house, hoping to hurl up in her room and go invisible.
…
Rex and Jeslyn arrived at Country Y two days later. Unlike Country M which gave a death vibe, Country Y looked harmonious and colorful. Just like Country A but the difference was that Country Y was richer and well developed compared to Country A.
Because it was in the middle of the night, Rex and Jeslyn booked a hotel room close to the airport to spend the night.
Going straight to Celestine’s house wouldn’t be ideal because she lived in the most peaceful and well protected area in the Country.
*Inside Jeslyn’s VIP room…*
She returned from the shower with a white bathrobe to dry herself while blow-drying her hair. Then she heard her phone ring. She knew it was either Maverick or Vera, however, after checking the caller ID, it was from Ray.
She furrowed her brows and was about to drop the call when her finger accidentally slid through the side button.
The side buttons on her phone answer a call but when one slides through it, it auto places the person on speaker.
She was about to hang up when his voice drifted into her ears.
“Jeslyn… please, give me a… hic!”
Listening to his drowsy voice and the hiccup, she could tell he was drunk. Jeslyn picked up the phone, removed it from speaker and pressed it against her ear while doing her thing.
“Jeslyn… hic, hic! Are you there?…”
“Hmm,”
“Please, don’t… don’t hang up. I… I want to tell… hic! You something.”
Jeslyn frowned slightly. Ray had never taken alcohol to this level before. He only drinks on important occasions but has never abused it. Wh@ťěver must have happened to force him to drink so much tonight has landed him a big blow.
“I’m listening. Also, I don’t care how you do it, sober up before you speak to me. I can’t tolerate you sounding like a broken record. If you can’t do that, then call next time.”
“Wait…wait, it’s imperative I tell you…tonight. Give me… give me a moment. Hic!” The phone went silent but the call didn’t end.
Jeslyn felt disgusted. She placed the phone on speaker before putting it down to apply moisturizer on her face.
After about 15– 20 minutes Jeslyn was done applying her night cream and was looking at her phone, feeling bored. Remembering she hadn’t told Maverick she arrived safely, she was about to disconnect the call when Ray’s voice sounded again. Much clearer than before.
“I’m sorry for keeping you… waiting.”
“What do you want?” Jeslyn replied rudely.
“I know I did wrong… I have offended you and your family and I deserve everything… you do to me…”
“Say something else or I’ll drop the call!” She snapped.
“Ok, I’m sorry for wasting your time… before I met you, I was dating your older sister, Emilee.”
Jeslyn’s eyes shot open and she sat upright to hear more. She found out her father had a daughter with Christine’s mother and the girl’s name was Emilee, however after she came out of jail and did research on the family, Emilee couldn’t be found. She even had Rex check Chen’s family record but didn’t find Emilee and her pictures.
What Jeslyn found was a blank space before her name. She believed the blank space was supposed to hold Emilee’s information.
Jeslyn also found it strange that her name was written twice in a weird fashion.
The first was ‘Chen Jeslyn Lee’ and the second was ‘Rossa Lee’ before Christine’s name appeared.
That’s not the point at the moment, so she returned her mind to the conversation.
“Ray, I’m listening.” She called his attention.
“Emilee was a bad child right from when she was little. We started dating when we were In high school and she was madly in love with me. At a point… I got suffocated because the relationship was… choking me. But my sister, who was Emilee’s best friend, kept pushing me.
Emilee was a bully in school and didn’t hesitate to ki|| the girls that showed signs of liking me. Because of that, I broke up with her… but she ki||ed… hic!… Sorry.
She ki||ed a politician’s daughter, thinking she was the reason I broke up with her… The matter became big and the politician refused settlement, Just like the Chen family had always done to cover up Emilee’s bad behavior.
Emilee ran away when she knew she wouldn’t be able to escape jail. She made me aware after a few years that she was alive and later on, she brought up a plan to use you to get the Lee family’s property. I didn’t want to, but my sister forced me…” he paused for a while to allow Jeslyn to digest all he had said.
“I’m listening,” Jeslyn urged him.
“Everything went as planned. Emilee bought all the helpers and guards in the Lee mansion. It wasn’t because those people were after the money. Some of them were thr_@tened with their family’s lives and while others were thr_@tened with your life.
People like Butler Wong and Nanny Martha didn’t betray your Lee family. They were only protecting you… hic!
Maya’s family was not destroyed by your grandfather. It was all Emilee’s plan to turn Maya against your family.
When I discovered I have started to feel something else other than indifference towards you, I got afraid that If Emilee found out, it would be too late.
Those videos that were sent to you were recorded by the lady in the video, Emilee’s assistant. I believe she did it to stop the wedding because she fell in love with me. I haven’t heard from her ever since. Emilee must have gotten rid of her.”
Jeslyn felt her heart squeezing in pain. She bit her lip to suppress the overwhelming emotions and continued to listen. She needed to hear it all.
“The poison, what was it and who administered it to my grandfather? What else do you know? Tell me everything.” She said calmly to not agitate him or make him stop.
“I don’t know what the poison was but Christine was the one administering the poison.”
Jeslyn’s grip on the phone tightened. Her face grew darker and her eyes turned red. Despite the amount of tears trickling down her eyes, it didn’t seem to demolish the fountain of salty water in her eyes.
“Christine…” she called the name slowly through her teeth.
“Jeslyn, are you… hic… there?”
“Yes. What else do you know?”
“The person you married, he is Alpha Chaos!”
Jeslyn froze. She knew the reputation of Alpha Chaos and his likes but never in her wildest dreams would she think she married the devil she was most afraid of.
Yes, she knew Maverick, the Master of the Lu family was a force to reckon with but how could she connect him with Alpha Chaos?
Maverick’s pictures can’t be found on the internet, likewise Alpha Chaos. Unless one searches through the dark web or goes through the underworld because the three Musketeers dominate that place.
Jeslyn took a deep breath to suppress her racing heart. Her tears had long stopped flowing after hearing who she married. They were scared.
“Did you know that?” Ray asked.
“Yes, what else?” Jeslyn immediately answered to make him change the topic.
“It seems he is genuine with you.” Ray chuckled sadly. “He and two other people are messing with my company and family. As we speak, I’m the only one remaining in my family. I have nothing else to live for.”
“Wh– what do you mean?” Jeslyn wasn’t concerned about all his family dying. In fact, she would gladly appreciate it, but why was she feeling scared?
“After what happened to you, my company started going down. I don’t know how we… got entangled in so much debt with a money lender. I remembered I took a loan from the bank, but I was… surprised it turned out to be from a loan shark. When I went to the underground world to find out what was happening, I discovered Alpha Chaos and two other people were suppressing me. Not just me but your father too.
Our companies, properties, lives, and everything has been bought by Alpha Chaos. We are only living on rent without knowing. Any day he gets tired of playing around is the day we all die… including your father.”
Jeslyn was shocked into dumbness. Maverick did all of that behind her back? Her heart felt so much warmth overflowing but at the same time, she was scared. Who are the other two people? Are they Rex and Pink?
“Who are the other two people? And what happened to your family?”
“The whole generation of the Zhou family, including my distant relatives, were ki||ed the same day. Their houses were burnt to the ground just a while ago. Those abroad were ki||ed too… Jeslyn, I’m the only one in the whole Zhou family still alive.”
Jeslyn’s heart thumped louder and faster like it would fly out of her chest any minute. Maverick can’t be that wicked, right? She opened and closed her mouth but no words came out of her throat.
Yes, she sought vengeance, but it wasn’t against the innocent. She was only after Ray and his sister, then her Chen family.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” that was all she could say. No wonder he drank so much. No wonder he sounded like a dying man.
Ray chuckled. “It’s not your fault, Jeslyn. I know that you wouldn’t have allowed it if you knew. You are a good person, so I’m pleading with you, do not turn evil. Do not let vengeance consume you. We will all pay for what we do. It might take a while but all evildoers will face retribution one way or the other. Just like I’m facing mine now.
The other two people, I don’t know who they are but I suspect Frank is one of them.”
“Yo– your friend?” She asked.
“Yes. Frank loves you and has been stalking you since forever. He became friends with me just to be close to you. He ki||ed my sister as revenge for what I did to you.
Jeslyn, you need to know this, Frank is a psychopath. He is obsessed with you… Beware of Emilee and Fran…”
Jeslyn detected the quickening of his voice, like someone who wanted to immediately pass across important information but his voice abruptly stopped and the next thing Jeslyn heard was a loud, “boom!”
The phone shook and fell off Jeslyn’s hold. Her hand that was holding the phone was trembling. Her eardrum rang loudly and a throbbing headache assaulted her temple.
Jeslyn felt dizzy and her vision turned blurry. A few moments later, blood started to trail down her right ear. She fell on her makeup desk in a dead faint.
Meanwhile, in Rose City, what looked like a condemned object, or rather parts of a condemned car could be seen by the side of the road.
The folded object was so badly damaged that the officers couldn’t decipher if it was a car or something else. It was only after checking the CCTV footage a few meters away that they realized it was a car.
The CCTV footage around the vicinity of the incident was all damaged due to the shockwave of the explosion.
“Was it a missile?” One of the officers asked with his head tilted.
“A missile would have ruined the City,” another sneered at the first officer’s stupid question.
“But this certainly can’t be a bomb.”
“It is. Bombs with this kind of effect can only be found in… Country M.”