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“No, you’re still my baby girl. You’ll always be my baby. You’re not a murderer, Jordan, life is just so unfair to you, but nothing changed between us. You’re still my baby. I still see that… that little girl who cries when she gets served with too much oil. You’re still my baby who doesn’t eat eggs, you’re still that girl who thinks about others even when she’s also in danger. You’re doing it right now.” I could barely hear her over her weeps.
“Just promise me you’ll return to South Africa. Promise me you’ll change your number and everything that can associate you with me. Promise me that you will be Sandra George and not Laura Vincenzo, promise me.”
“Jordan…”
“Please.” I whispered, my voice choking with emotions.
“I… I promise. I’ll leave for South Africa and never call you again,” she wept heavily and I shut my eyes as my heart clenched. She was still my mother, she would always be my mother, but now she needed to be a stranger to be safe.
“You don’t have to look for me, I’ll always know where to find you. You don’t need to tell me where you are in South Africa, I’ll know. You don’t need to call me, I’ll call,” I sternly assured her and she sniffed.
“Okay my baby. Please be safe for me.” I hung up and cried into my palms.
I knew I made the right decision, the only choice I had. But that didn’t make the pain any easier to bear. I had just pushed my mother away from me, the woman who had loved me unconditionally and stood by my side through everything.
I took a deep breath and straightened on the bed. I couldn’t afford to let emotions get the best of me. Not now when I had to stay focused, keep moving and be one –or three– steps ahead of the danger coming.
I dialed another number on my phone. It rang, beeped, and a hoarse voice covered my ear. “Jordy, are you alright?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in France, Love. Didn’t you get my message?” He asked and I couldn’t stop the relief that gushed through me, hearing that he was no longer close to me.
“I want you to change your line, Chan. I mean your number. Change your number and don’t call me unless I call you.”
“What are you talking about? Why would I change my number because you don’t want me to talk to you? Is something going on? You can tell me.”
“I killed Troy Antonio,” I deadpanned and he wheezed. My tone was so dry you would think I was telling him about the weather of the day. But that was how I was with Chan.
I was myself because he wouldn’t prefer me being anyone else. He wasn’t physically present every time, but he wasalwaysthere whenever I needed him.
“I killed him today at a hotel, the news might air tomorrow, but I doubt Cedric will immediately call the press. The point is, the Antonios are not to be messed with, they would start to look for information on Alex, and they…”
“They will hurt everyone around you before coming for you,” he completed and I nodded.
That was a common tactic, punishing the offender by making them lose everyone they ever cared about, before finally eliminating them. But I wasn’t going to make the mistake of paying my debt with my family.
“Now that you know, I want you to stay in France. Change your line and don’t call me.”
“I understand that you care about me, but I can’t just leave you, knowing that you are in danger. I can’t stop you, neither can I protect you. But at least I can be there. There’s always a sense of happiness knowing that you have someone with you.” He said and I groaned. God why today?
“Did you and my mother just plan to exhaust me today?” I hissed at him. “Please just stay in France and change your line. If you get caught, I don’t know your ass.”
“Fine, fine. But I won’t change my line, I’ll just always block any information whenever we speak. You better call. I’m going to be worried sick about you while you finally kill the Antonios, you stupid killer.” He snapped and a smile tugged my lips. At least he didn’t play hard to get like my mother. “Where did you tell your mom to go?”
“I told her to return to South Africa. She would be safe there.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I love you, please be safe out there and call me. I’ll be worried sick and you know it.”
“Yoon Chan,” I started softly and he hummed in response. “Nevereversay you love me again,” I finished harshly and he chuckled.
“At least pretend that you love me too.”
There was a comfortable silence for a few seconds, but I broke it. “I met Jayden.”
“You killed him too?” He whisper-yelled.
“Why would I kill him? I… I mean I just met him, nothing else. I met him at the hotel, but we didn’t have time to um…”