The Beginning of the End - Jenlisa

Chapter Fourteen

∞∞∞

∞∞∞

Summer: Summertime in South Korea is generally warm but often sees monsoon rains from July to August, making the whole country almost intolerablely muggy.

Jennie and I – the two of us - We have had enough time to get used to the changes in our lifestyles, opening up, and became comfortable with each other's presence.

Our July...

The second time that I used my card key was on a hot summer evening. I had just returned from the exhausting choreography coaching abroad, and wanted to see the two most important people in my life before I headed home to catch a few hours of undisturbed sleep.

What I found was Riley sulking at the kitchen table and Jennie nowhere to be seen.

There was a notebook and a textbook spread out in front of him. His little brows were furrowed, and he was looking as though he wanted to be anywhere else but there. By some means it was part of my genes, funny though. His entire face lit up when he turned and caught sight of me. He jumped out of his seat and launched himself at me before I could even fully process the action.

I grinned as I caught him easily and lifted him up into his little arms, hugging his small frame tightly against me.

It was almost amazing how effortlessly I had managed to make a place for myself in Riley's life, how my natural loving character came about, how easily I had managed to fit the role of a second mother by way of a father figure, and how much satisfaction it brought. And I knew that part of the reason for that was Jennie – for keeping my place in my son's life unoccupied.

At times like these, I felt terribly guilty for all the things I had screamed at her that fateful night.

"You know, it's incredible how I leave you alone for ten minutes, and you find something else to do."

I turned around at the sound of her voice to come face to face with the woman that would forever be haunting my thoughts.

Jennie was dressed in a black Balmain structured fitted short dress with sleeves that reached her wrists and hems that brushed her mid-thighs. Her long, milky white legs were clad in a pair of high, nude heels, and she was holding an envelope in her hands, together with her phone and a set of keys. Her long khaki hair had been tied into a very well-made ponytail in order not to uncontrollably fall down her back. Wearing her make-up, her catlike eyes touched with the slightest hint of black, her lips tainted pink, and her complexion as flawless as always. Elegant.