Bad Romance(BOOK 5)

Chapter 14-Do I Wanna Know?

"Do I wanna know? If this feeling flows both ways...Sad to see you go...was sort of hoping that you'd stay..."

Jared spent his entire day arranging his stuff in Shannon's guest bedroom. He glanced at his phone a couple of times to check if Anka called but it was radio silence on her end. He smiled happily, thinking she finally got the message.

The last thing he wanted to have on his mind right now was her moaning and complaining about how his kids needed attention. He never really wanted kids in the first place. Sure, it was fun to cuddle with them at a concert for a few minutes, just for the good publicity, but to have them on your head on a daily basis was a different thing.

"Are you sure this is a good idea right now?", asked Marianne as she opened another suitcase.

"Yeah That is the plan. I need a break from all the madness going on in my house right now.", laughed Jared.

"But what about the press? Aren't you concerned that they will find out you moved out of the house?"

"They know I like working on various stuff and that I love to work in quiet. Plus announcing that I'm working on a new album will take the pressure off my back. Don't give me that look. I will go back to the house when I feel ready...Anka gets me.", said Jared in a serious tone, mentioning his wife.

He knew that if he mentioned Anka, basically everyone will give him a pass. Everyone adored her. His band mates, his employees, his family. At some stage he wondered what she did to them to receive so much love and then he remembered she was supposedly the mother of his children and basically the only children the Leto clan had.

Marianne knew better than to question Jared's decisions. In all the years she worked for him she knew he was the boss. She kept giving him stuff from the suitcases and Jared put them neatly in the closet. But something didn't stand right with her. Jared's estrangement towards his wife was out in the open and it felt weird.

The old Jared wouldn't even dream of spending one second without his wife, especially now with the kids. The old Jared would have taken time off to focus on family. But then again, the old Jared wasn't here for now and there were no signs of his return.

"I think we're done here.", said Marianne as she gave Jared the last clothing item.

"Okay...I'll go and have a shower and we can go to the studio. I've called Tomo to let him know I'm coming. He told me Shan's getting the first flight back too. So, it's a good time to announce that we are gonna start working on the new album.", said Jared.

"I like how you have your ducks in a row.", said Marianne.

"I always have my ducks in a row.", replied Jared with a wink.

He took his shirt off and headed towards the shower. Just as he let the water run over his body a splitting headache hit him. He closed his eyes and and he saw Anka's face. She looked angry. And then he saw himself, pushing her against a wall squeezing her throat. He opened his eyes and that image disappeared.

He didn't care about her, he made that very clear...then why did that image made him feel like he wanted to cry?

Jared washed himself and then went out of the shower. As he towel dried himself another memory flashed right before his eyes. It was Anka again. She was crying. Her mascara was smudged all over her face. She looked scared and was trying to explain something to him through gestures. He saw himself wrap his arms protectively around her and comforting her. It wasn't as intense as the previous memory but he felt that she was relieved.

"Everything okay? I heard you scream.", asked Marianne as he emerged from the guest room.

"Yeah all good...the water was too hot...", replied Jared.