11:34
Chapter 478
“My mom was in a car accident–the police called me! Jonathan, what am I supposed to do if something terrible happens to her?”
Marina’s voice on the phone was trembling on the edge of tears.
Niamh saw the flicker of irritation on Jonathan’s face, but he still tried to calm
Marina down.
“Don’t panic. I’m on my way.”
He hung up just as Prescott stepped out of the visitors‘ room.
Before leaving, Jonathan turned to Niamh. “Take care and get some rest. I’ll check in on you again soon.”
Niamh said nothing, the little plastic–bead bunny keychain digging painfully into her palm.
So, she’d been fooling herself again. No matter what, Jonathan’s heart was always
with Marina.
Night had fallen by the time Jonathan slid into the car, Prescott at the wheel.
What Niamh never knew was that the keychain had actually been crushed under a shipping crate. Jonathan had painstakingly picked up every bead and restrung them, recreating the bunny with his own hands.
Prescott drove in silence, wanting to say something, then thinking better of it.
He couldn’t figure Jonathan out–wanted to ask, but knew it wasn’t his place.
Prescott had never experienced a first love. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t understand Jonathan at all.
Was your first love really so important?
***
A
Late at night, the world was quiet. Niamh lay alone in her hospital room; the nurse on duty was sleeping next door, her loud snores keeping Niamh awake.
Niamh stared at her phone, the screen glowing in the darkness.
Jonathan had risked his life for her once. But she knew it was only a matter of time before all he felt for her was hatred.
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11:34
At the police station, with Jonathan there to handle things, and with the other party’s family compensated generously, they stopped pressing charges against Edna.
Marina had made it sound on the phone as if Edna had been the victim, but in truth, Edna had been the one to hit someone else with her car.
The other party had been furious at first, and the police were strictly following procedure.
Marina, who’d been looking for an excuse to pull Jonathan in, now had the perfect opportunity to help Edna–and herself.
“Oh, Jonathan, we couldn’t have managed without you,” Edna gushed, practically pushing Marina toward him. “Marina, Jonathan’s done us such a huge favor–you really ought to thank him properly…”
Catching her mother’s not–so–subtle hint, Marina immediately played along.
“Jonathan, I know a new bar that just opened. Let me buy you a drink–surely you
won’t turn me down?”
In the past, she wouldn’t have needed to add that last line. But now, she wasn’t sure Jonathan would say yes. She upped the pressure–especially in front of her mother, making it awkward for him to refuse.
Jonathan hesitated only a moment. “Alright.”
Marina tried not to show her satisfaction.
Jonathan drove them to the club, Marina in the passenger seat. She’d already made up her mind–she wasn’t going home tonight. At least, not to her own place.
Inside the private lounge, Marina wasted no time and ordered two bottles of Ace of Spades.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Just the two of us… you really need that much?”
“Whether you drink or not is up to you. But I’m drinking,” Marina shot back, grabbing a bottle and taking a long swig.
“What are you doing?” Jonathan snatched the bottle from her, only to see her eyes fill with tears.
“Jonathan, do you really not love me anymore?” she choked out.
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