The Third Wheel

The Third Wheel - Part 10

Jordan parked his convertible into the garage. He entered the mansion which has a modern flair to it. Whenever he enters the house, he couldn't help but shudder. Sure, it may be a large and comfortable place to live in, with the swimming pool and indoor gym, he always had that reaction. He knew why, though. He passed the large living room and before he could walk any faster, he heard a female voice greeting him from the living room. "Jordan? Is that you?" said the syrupy voice behind him. Jordan flinched, and plastered a fake smile as he turned towards the woman. "Good evening, Serena" he answered with fake politeness, almost choking on his words. Serena folded her arms in front of her slender body. "Aren't you supposed to be friendlier to your beautiful, sexy stepmother?" she answered with that annoying throaty voice of hers. Jordan flinched at her words. Friendlier to a beautiful sexy stepmother? Jordan thought. 

He studied her. What she said was true: With a tall, slender body like a model's, her rosy red full lips, large blue-green eyes, long, thick and silky red hair and perfectly tanned skin. But when she flipped her hair and saw the flash of orange of her perfect nails, he remembered why he hated her. No, he loathed her. Before he could say anything, the door of the mansion's main entrance was opened. Jordan didn't do anything, but Serena turned towards the entrance and called out the person who opened the door with a syrupy voice, "Honey! You're back!". Jordan watched Serena as she hugged a man in his late 40s. He turned towards the stairway and ascended it. 

"Alexander" said a deep voice. Jordan continued on ascending the stairs when the deep voice called out to him again, louder this time, "Jordan Alexander Watson!". Jordan paused, but he just stood there without even turning. He heard the deep voice sigh deeply. "Aren't you going to greet your father?" the deep voice said. Jordan smirked but it turned into a sneer when he turned to face the man who claimed as his 'father'. "Oh, now you're calling yourself my father? Funny, I don't recall you acting like a father with a son my age" he answered, his tone low. Serena, who was clutching his father's arm, was about to snap back, but was stopped by the man. Jeffrey Watson gave his son a gentle smile. "Did you have your dinner?" he said, his voice calm. Jordan scowled at Jeffrey, but answered anyway, "Yeah. Can I go to my room, now? I'm tired". Jordan saw Jeffrey's face dropped with disappointment, but he gave Jordan a smile anyway. "Sure" he said pleasantly. Without any hesitation, Jordan continued on ascending the stairs, but he caught Serena's catty remark before he entered his bedroom: "You are such a softie towards your son, honey bun! You should disown him or something". Jordan closed his door, hard.

He threw his body on his comfy queen-sized bed. He covered his eyes and sighed deeply. He then turned his head towards his study desk. He picked himself up and sat on his comfy swivel chair. As he did so, he took out a picture from the bottom drawer. He studied it with a faint smile. In it, there was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and dark green eyes like Jordan's and Jeffrey,  whose built and strong jaw just more noticeable due to his young age, those traits that were in common to Jordan's. The woman and Jeffrey were sitting together on a bench with a 5-year-old Jordan between the two. He felt something in his chest, and he knew he felt sad. But then, he suddenly grit his teeth and he shoved the picture back to where it was. He saw his reflection at his wardrobe mirror. His handsome face was contorted with rage. As he studied his reflection, he noticed that it was getting even horrid as he remembered that picture. The picture that he held on to before was a picture of his mother, father and himself before that event happened six years ago.

He remembered how it was back then. He thought that his parents were happy, but then he found out about his father's affair with a certain model. His father was working on a project involving models. It seems that he spent too much time with one of them, and the 'connection' just happened. He remembered how his mother always cried secretly when she thought he wasn't looking. The way his father always rudely brush off his mother. To the 10-year-old self back then, it was like watching hell. How could such a happy couple become like that? After facing those situations for roughly six months, he came back to his home, empty. What with the warm greeting and sweet scent from his mother was gone. He remembered how he cried in his bedroom, refusing to eat, refusing to see anyone, even brushing off Samuel and Kimberley's visit. His father did nothing, instead he continued on with his relationship with the woman that made his mother suffer. He found out later on that his parents had their marriage in the rocks since two years before his 'hell' began. A month after his mother's absence, his father married the model, who was none other than Serena Woods. She was the typical gold-diggers like in the movies that Kimberley always force Samuel and him to watch. Right after they married, Serena not only became the wife of a prominent CEO, she also took over the house. She fired the maids and workers who had taken care of him since he was young and replaced them with new and anti-social workers. He didn't care, since his sadness turned to anger. Why did his mother leave him? Why did his father did that to the woman he loved? Why wasn't his feelings considered? Aren't adults always telling you to think before you act? He was so sad at that time, and he blurted his feelings towards Kimberley, hoping for her to comfort him like she usually did. Instead, she rejected him and told him that he's just a friend, and he comes from a troubled family. He remembered how shocked he was at that time, and healed his wounded heart by going out with lots of beautiful girls. How did he and Kimberley continued their friendship was a mystery to him.

He then took off his clothes to get ready for his shower. While he was showering, he stood there, this time thinking about his time with Sophie. She was so enchanting that night, and he was tempted to make her his. He told himself to be patient, and thought of his attraction towards her. He was actually worried of this said attraction. He feared that the reason he was attracted to her was because she had a mysterious aura that piqued his interest at the first time they met at the library. Her harsh words were new to the him that was always fed with cutesy and flirty comments from the girls that were always surrounding him. After he knew about her situation from Robert, he felt like they were one. But what if it was just a temporary attraction? Sure, he only knew about her siblings only, but somehow, the complication just made him attracted to her more. He realized he has been in the shower for a long time and turned it off. As he wiped his wet hair with a small towel and already fully dressed with a black tank top and sweat pants, he sat on his swivel chair yet again. 

He spun the chair until he felt dizzy. After cooling his head, he sat there, still pondering over his attraction towards Sophie. It wasn't like him, to ponder such things about a girl. Yet, he still feel like they had a connection. He felt like they were made by each other. What is up with me tonight? I've been thinking of corny things since just now, he thought. He hoped that his feelings for her were real. How is he going to prove it? he thought frustratingly. He remembered Sophie's mysterious words before he left her. He suddenly felt energised. He was smiling broadly as he took his phone and dialled Robert's number. He could not contain his excitement as he heard Robert's sleepy voice.

TO BE CONTINUED