ZARIA

Chapter 22

Kei

But seeing as it has already been a month since she had walked back into his life, and more importantly, Ren's, he hated to admit it was necessary. No matter his feelings on the issue and how much he wished to be anywhere else, he had to at least try to get along with her for Ren's happiness.

After all, his son deserved to have both of his parents present in his life, and if Jessica was serious about reconnecting with Ren, then he would just have to endure.

"So..." she began, crossing one of her legs across the other, her expensive shirt stretching across her chest as she leaned back into her chair. It was a calculated move meant to provoke a reaction in men, or him, in this situation, and it would have worked once upon a time. But as Kei looked at her, he felt nothing. The way her body had once excited him was missing; her curves, although gorgeous, were somehow wrong.

He kept imagining Zaria in her place; the girl's lean body, beautiful eyes, and curly hair so much more appealing than whatever Jessica could offer.

"How have you been?"

He blinked, one of his brows rising a bit at the question.

"Fine." he simply said, the urge to roll his eyes more potent than ever.

Kei knew she didn't care, or at least not much, because he knew her. Jessica never did anything or said anything without reason, without a need for something hidden between the lines.

She was wickedly smart, unabashedly calculated, and capable of doing or getting anything she wanted if she put her mind to it. It was what initially attracted him to her, but as the years went by, it became apparent that that was all that she was; a manipulative, cold bitch who only cared for herself and nothing and no one else.

"That's good," she murmured, sitting up straighter, a slight frown appearing on her pretty face at the brisk tone of Kei's voice before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, her face blank.

"I was thinking about picking up Ren from school today, if you don't mind. I wanted to have dinner with him, which you are welcome to attend as well." she continued, one of her hands stretching across the table and covering his.

"I want us to get along, Kei. I know I hurt you, and I'm so sorry. But Ren is the most important thing in this whole mess, and I think we should do everything in our power to get over the past and move forward for our son's sake. Don't you?"

"I mean, we have both changed, and maybe, just maybe, if we allow ourselves a chance to get to know each other, we could even learn to love each other again. I know I want that. I missed you, Sir." she purred, one of her fingers slipping underneath his shirt sleeve, skimming over the soft skin of his wrist.

The moment the words crossed her lips, Kei snatched his hand away, a shiver running down his spine, but not in a good way.

He couldn't help but imagine Zaria again, her pretty, freckled face and pouty lips, as she sat before him and called him that. It never failed to make him hard, the sound of that one little word so right on Zaria's lips, sounding so wrong coming from Jessica.

"No," he said after a moment, crossing his arms as if trying to shield himself from her advances.

"Look. I agreed to you visiting Ren and getting to know him, and I only did that because Ren had begged me to, because had it been up to me, you would have never again crossed my doorway. But that's it. That's all you are going to get from me. I don't want you; I haven't for a long time, and that will never change, no matter what you say or do. Us? There is no 'us' Jessica. Make sure to remember that."