On The Border - Marry Him Or Die

24

Jenny’s POV

We spent half an hour talking about normal trivial things.

We kept the conversation light and short.

I found myself easing up the more I talked with her.

“Do you know how to cook some meals Jennifer?” she asked curiously.

“Yes I learned everything from my mother. I had a lot of free time on my hands and I was bored out of my mind so I asked my mom to teach me all her recipes. I also know how to make some really delicious Turkish dishes too”

She chuckled as she asked “Why Turkish dishes specifically?”

“Because I watch a lot of tv series in that language and their food always looked so mouthwatering. So I tried cooking one of them, and it turned out so good”

“That’s interesting. We should definitely try one of your recipes one day. Maybe you can make something for dessert now?“ she suggested.

My face fell a little as I said in a small voice “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea”

“Ever since you asked about dessert, it became all I can think about. Please? Sara will help you with everything” she said hopefully.

“Alex said not to touch anything and If he finds out…”

She cut me off strictly “Then he will have to deal with me, not you. I will tell him that I asked you for it. I have your back Jennifer I promise”

Yeah, that’s what I am afraid of actually.

What if it was a trap from her?

What if she ends up denying everything and telling him that I was rudely acting on my own?

Ok, maybe it’s a little over paranoid of me, but I can’t help it. I don’t trust any of them. Even when she seems so kind.

“What do you say?” she asked eagerly.

I guess I’ll find out her true intentions once and for all. Even if it means getting some sort of punishment from Alex if she turned out to be lying to me. At least I’ll know what I’m up against.

I smiled and said “Ok, what’s your absolute favorite?”

She instantly answered gladly “Cinnamon Rolls”

“Ok then, I better get started”

I get to work while Diana goes to check on April.

She said that April was also locking herself in her room most of the time. Still not adjusting to the loss of her father.

Well, I had no idea what kind of father he was, but I doubt she’d feel such grief if he was like mine. So I guess he was actually good to her.

Sara and I work together for about an hour.

She makes sure that she’s always there when I add something to the batter, or the filling, making me realize that she was watching my every move.

I’m guessing she was told to keep an eye on me in case I decided to put some kind of poison or something.

It didn’t bother me though. They were right not to trust a complete stranger in their house. A stranger with one hell of a motivation to get back at them for killing her father. Little did they know that I hold nothing but gratitude for Jacob Snow, both for killing my monster of a father and sparing my life after I saw him do it.

I make sure I don’t do anything without Sara’s eyes following me.

I wanted her trust too.

By the end of it, the whole house probably smelled of cinnamon and caramel sauce. It was the most exquisite smell I haven’t smelled in a while.

I think I have out done myself this time.

I was standing in front of the center counter; with my back to the dining room, drizzling the sauce over the freshly hot baked rolls, when I almost felt my heart stop at the cruel cold voice that came directly behind me, belonging to Alex.

“What in the hell do you think you are doing?“

My back stiffens and my hand freezes in midair.

My eyes look up around me without turning towards him and I realize that Sara chose this exact unfortunate moment to disappear and leave me alone.

I’m so screwed.

As soon as I put the spoon down on the counter, I feel his tight grip on my arm as he turns me to face him.

The look on his face was wild. Angry. And promising. Promising one hell of a punishment for this huge act of disobedience to his rules.

His hand was still painfully gripping my arm. But I refused to show anything on my face.

I wore a rather guarded expression, despite the consuming fear swirling inside me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lucas standing near him. Looking down at me with the same expression.

Great, I’m left all alone to fend for myself from these angry, vindictive wolves.

“Well?“ Alex demands coldly.

I swallow and answer in a small voice while looking into his cruel grey eyes “Your mom asked me to make it”

He raises his eyebrows at me and asks doubtfully “My mom?... Asked you?... To make dessert?“

I nod my head slightly.

He narrows his eyes at me suspiciously then whispers in a threatening manner “If I find out you’re lying about this, you’ll see a different side of me that you’ll wish you never crossed”

My heart was hammering inside my chest at this point and my arm was painfully throbbing against his tight firm grip.

He meant every word. I believed it wholeheartedly.

I could no longer look into these fierce penetrating eyes as I cowardly lower my gaze down. And try to keep my shaking to a minimum.

“Lucas, go get mom here” he says tightly.

I could feel his eyes on me but I didn’t dare to raise mine.

My arm was turning numb, and I tried to pull it back slightly hoping he would release it, but instead, he tightened his hold even more and tugged me closer to him as he ordered coldly “Look at me”

I don’t know why, but that command made my already accelerating heart beat faster.

I didn’t want to. Because then he will see the tears threatening to fall down my face, he will see how much he was really scaring me.

“I said look at me” he orders again.

Just as I started to raise my eyes upward, Diana’s voice came from the dining room, saving me from whatever he was just about to say or do to me. Well, saving me permanently or temporarily, depending on what she says to him.

“What’s going on here Alex?” she asked tightly.

Here it goes, the moment of truth.

He turns his head towards her and asks her “Did you tell her to make this?“

The seconds feel like minutes as I wait for her to reply. I don’t have the courage to lift my head to look at her as I await my fate.

“Yes I asked her to make it, I insisted on it. Let her go Alex” she replies strictly.

I suppress a sigh from escaping my lips as I try to regain my breathing.

I don’t wait for him to release me as I tug my arm back and he thankfully doesn’t resist again.

I couldn’t stay in this kitchen a second longer as my tears were about to start falling and I didn’t want to cry in front of them.

I pass by Alex and hurry outside to the front yard through the back door to try and catch back some of the air he was restricting from me with his cruel behavior.

***

Alex’s POV

“Sit down please, both of you” my mom says to Lucas and me, as she sits down in her chair.

We both sit on either sides of her and before I could say anything, Lucas jumps in frantically “Why are you letting her touch our food mom? And since when did we start making dessert again? Are you just covering for her? Because other than that, this doesn’t make any sense”

She looks at him sharply “Are you calling me a liar Lucas?”

“No I’m not. But you are being too trustful of a girl we know nothing about. A girl who could have the courage to kill us all as she tries to fool us into believing her innocent act”

“It’s not an act Lucas. I’ve looked into her eyes and I’ve seen the goodness in them. I’m older than you and that means I’ve looked at all sorts of people during all those years. I’m very well able to distinguish between them. She is a good person. She is nothing like her father. But if you both keep treating her so horribly, so cruelly, you are turning her into him. If you keep this up she will eventually hate us and be willing to do whatever it takes to free herself from this place. You will force her into becoming the person you already think she is”

My brother looks at me for support.

I look at my mom and see her deep sincerity and belief in what she said. She might be right, but as a leader, I need to consider every possibility. I need to be on high alert and expect betrayal from the closest people. If my father’s death has taught me anything, it was this.

“Look mom, you might be right. She might be a good honest person. But that is for me to decide, and I haven’t decided yet. It’s only her second day here. She could be trying to do anything to make us trust her before she turns around and stabs us, including gaining your trust. It is way too early to leave her alone in this kitchen unsupervised like this. It is way too early to let her in so easily”

“She was supervised by Sara the entire time. I made sure of it. But it wasn’t because I doubted her, it was because you do. Sara came and told me everything she did in here, she didn’t leave her side until after everything was put away and cleaned up”

She carries on when I don’t speak.

“Jennifer didn’t even want anything to do with this but I convinced her, she was afraid of you but I told her that I will have her back. And I did, I will always have her back no matter what you think of her. I promised you I will sit aside and let you handle her on your own despite your wrong treatment but I’m not sure I can keep quiet anymore Alex. It’s like you don’t even realize that you’re hurting her. Did you take a look at her face right now, or were you too busy bruising her arm? Because I did look at her face, at her red puffy eyes, she was obviously crying her heart out for hours maybe. She is miserable and scared in this house. Because she knows that everyone hates her here. What kind of life is this for her Alex? What if it was your sister April? Would you let someone like you treat your sister this way?”

I gritted my teeth as her point was delivered with a straight sucker punch to my gut.

I would never let any man intimidate my little sister like this. She was right.

And I did notice her red puffy eyes, which was why I kept asking her to look at me so I could inspect them deeper.

“Well, tell me Alex, would you? What about you Lucas?” she pressed.

We both kept quiet, unable to admit anything.

“All I’m saying is lay off her a little. And stop being so harsh. That’s all. Don’t trust her but don’t hurt her either. Your actions have consequences on her health, at least consider that” she said grimly.

My eyebrows shoot up as I ask tightly “What does that mean?”

“It means she has type 1 diabetes. If you don’t know what that means I suggest you look into it. It’s serious and dangerous. And most importantly, very affected by stress”

“She told you that she is diabetic?“ my brother asks skeptically.

“She didn’t have to. I figured it out when she came into the kitchen asking for something sweet. When Sara told her why we stopped making dessert she took a banana and was about to leave when I made her sit here with me. Do you know what she did?“

“She was embarrassed and thought I would berate her for asking Sara for something sweet when we were still grieving. She even apologized to me! When her watch started beeping loudly, I saw her shut it off and eye the banana nervously but didn’t touch it until I told her it was ok. But then her watch beeped again after five minutes, and she wanted permission to take another one. That’s when it came to me. I asked her about it and she confirmed it. She was hypoglycemic, her watch was warning her about her low sugar level. Wanna take a wild guess as to why that happened? Because of you two making her life miserable for the last two days. So next time you think about doing that to her, I suggest you keep in mind that if her illness took a turn for the worst, it will be on your conscience”

With that, she gets up and leaves the room.

Leaving us speechless and stunned.

She was freaking diabetic? How come I didn’t suspect that yesterday?

I had a general idea about what diabetes was, but it wasn’t enough.

I left Lucas and headed straight for my room.

As I paced back and forth trying to wrap my head around this, I remembered her watch beeping when I pressed her against the car yesterday. I dismissed it as a heart monitor but it wasn’t. She was having a complication. I had scared the living crap out of her back then, did I cause it? Or was it the fact that she was hungry too?

I felt my chest tighten with exasperation at myself.

I should have been told about this from the beginning. If something happened to her in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t know what was happening to her. If something happened to her while I was trying to control her I would have never forgiven myself.

A movement outside the window catches my attention. I sneak a look through the light transparent curtain without moving it.

Jennifer was sitting on the steps of the outer staircase. Her head buried between her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around her.

She was apparently sobbing out there.

I felt like an utter soulless bastard.

All the hate and resentment I felt and directed at her were totally my fault. Despite her sassy comments sometimes, despite her getting under my skin with her words, she truly didn’t deserve most of my coldness and cruelty towards her.

I was just trying to contain her from hurting my family and turning our lives in this house upside down, I didn’t really care what that would do to her, or make her feel.

And to think that I was willing to do whatever it takes to unlock her mysteries tonight by intimidating her or even attempting to hurt her. That can never be an option again. Not with her illness getting in my way.

I didn’t carry any sort of attachment to her but my coldness and cruelty were just an act to make her listen to me, to make her unable to do anything behind my back. I didn’t hate her the way my brother did. I didn’t see her father when I looked at her same green eyes. They may have the same color but hers were more alive and vibrant.

I was only forced to act this way, unwilling but forced.

I sat down on one of the chairs, pulled out my phone from my pocket, and typed ‘diabetes type 1’ into my search engine.

Turns out my general information were very lacking compared to what I discovered through my research.

She was totally dependent on giving herself insulin shots multiple times a day and before meals.

That’s why she wouldn’t come with Sara right away when she came to inform her about lunch and dinner.

She had to give herself insulin and I came and practically accused her of being disrespectful and threatened to punish her if it happened again.

Why wouldn’t she tell me the truth? Why would she hide this from me?

Was it me? Did I not give her a chance to explain herself? Or was she afraid I might take further advantage of her condition?

I closed my eyes in pain and leaned my head back.

Never in my life have I ever regretted doing something to someone as I regretted my whole interaction with Jennifer Walker.

I regretted it, but it had to be done.

Would I have treated her differently had I known about her diabetes beforehand?

Maybe I wouldn’t have backed her up against my car and grabbed her neck, but other than that; the threats, coldness, and harshness, I was forced into it. I have to keep her under my control until I make sure she is the good person my mom believes her to be.

After that, well…we will see then I guess.