Page 18 of Curtis & Jae (Mate Match #1)

Eighteen

Jae

Getting old acquaintances on board to create a new law should have been incredibly challenging.

It was not. This scandal had affected more people than initially thought, giving me more allies than I could have hoped for.

During the initial investigation, it was found that there was at least one other batch with a less than advertised effectiveness. Lara helped with that information.

My potential sister-in-law admitted to having her concerns that we’d end up pregnant when Curtis told her we had used DuoStop. As a doctor, she had seen more than a few patients in her clinic who had become pregnant despite taking the proper precautions.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t say anything,” she’d apologized the day after the news had dropped.

Curtis had told his family we were one of the couples who’d used one of the faulty batches, wanting to be open with them about what I planned to do. They were fully on board.

Lara also wanted to help with her medical knowledge. She admitted there was talk in the medical community, many theories that something had happened, well before the story broke. There just had been no proof, only suspicions, until the whistleblower let the story out.

With a couple of doctors adding to the ranks, we quickly put together a team, proposed a bill, and made compensation easier to obtain. It was a hell of a lot of work. Far more than I should have been doing, especially with a book about to come out and a baby on the way.

Luckily, I had Curtis. My man was wonderful at ensuring I took regular breaks and even had a nap schedule for me. He wasn’t above coming home after lunch to make sure I took a nap. The thirty-minute snooze did help me, so I rarely fought him. Besides, it was best for the baby.

I was busy fielding calls from lawyer friends about which lawmakers were most likely to be sympathetic when I got a surprise visitor at the front door one afternoon: Hwan.

“Hey, Jae.” He greeted me, looking sheepish in his sharply tailored suit. “I’m sorry just to turn up like this. Your parents told me your new address and your news.” He was clearly uncomfortable, yet tried to be friendly. “Congratulations! Can I come in?”

Shaking off the shock, I moved out of the way. I still hadn’t said a word, more than a little overwhelmed.

“Is your boyfriend home?” Hwan was scanning the entryway.

The question broke me out of my confusion. “Curtis? No. Should I call him?”

Hwan hesitated. “Maybe. Depends.” He sighed. “Are you okay talking for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure. Hold on, I’ll see if I can get him on a call.” I pointed him through to the living room and went to call Curtis in the kitchen.

“Hey, are you alright?” Curtis asked as soon as he answered. While it wasn’t uncommon for me to call during the day, I tried to keep it to his lunch break. My man would drop everything for me, I knew that, I just didn’t like to take advantage of it.

“Um… Hwan is here. At the house.”

Curtis went on full alert. “He is? Why?”

“I don’t know. Do you have time—?”

He let out a frustrated noise. “I can’t get home, but I’ll stay on the line with you.” I heard him walking. Probably to somewhere quieter to hear the call better. “Do you want me to send someone over? I could ask my dad, or send one of the crew.”

Just knowing I had backup was enough for me. “Just stay on the line. He won’t do anything.”

Returning to the living room, I caught Hwan watching Percy warily.

My cat was sitting on an armchair looking regal, just staring at my ex boyfriend who had stayed standing, probably wondering if he was about to be attacked.

“He’s never liked me,” Hwan remarked. “Maybe we should have both guessed we weren’t meant to be. ”

“Maybe. Why don’t you sit down?” I sat on a chair, motioning for Hwan to take the sofa. I placed the phone on the table. “Curtis, you’re on speakerphone.” My boyfriend stayed silent, waiting for the reason Hwan had turned up unannounced.

“Look, we might not have been a good match.” I scoffed.

His jaw clenched briefly. “Still, it didn’t give me the right to cheat.

I came to say I’m sorry for how I behaved in those last few months.

We had our ups and downs, but that’s no excuse for acting so horribly and betraying you in such a way.

I really am sorry, Jae.” In his eyes was a plea for forgiveness.

His apology rocked me. It was the last thing I expected him to appear at my home to say. “Uh, alright. I mean, it was awful at the time. It hurt a lot.” Hwan winced. “I’m over it, though. Things are good now.”

Hwan appeared relieved and maybe a little sad at my words. “I’m glad. I just wanted to take this opportunity to clear the air and maybe offer some support.”

“Support?” The question came from the phone.

“Word has been going around that Jae is working with some important people to create some accountability for medical firms, particularly when it comes to omega reproductive health. My firm—”

“Hwan is a lawyer, Curtis,” I interrupted Hwan to say.

“Ah, thanks.”

“Yes, my firm is interested in working with you and those you’ve gotten on board to push through the laws you need.”

Okay, it wasn’t the apology, offering to help was the last thing I expected. I didn’t think the Hwan I knew cared about omega reproductive health. He must have seen the confusion on my face because he went into more detail.

“Seungmin, my husband,” he winced, discomfort all over his features, “was horrified when the news about DuoStop broke. He told me he was particularly worried about less affluent omegas and the burdens this would cause them.” Despite being my replacement, I wasn’t angry at Seungmin.

In fact, he sounded decent. “When I was told you were working on the situation, he asked me to help you. He has always felt bad about how we started. He didn’t know about you until later. ”

“Oh.” I’d never placed any blame on Seungmin.

My ex had admitted the other omega hadn’t known he was in a relationship when they began.

Besides, Hwan had a lot going for him. He was attractive, well off, came from a good family, and was charming.

I couldn’t fault the young omega for wanting him.

“Would you thank him, please? Let him know I’m not angry at him. I never have been.”

“I will. Thank you, I appreciate how gracious you are being with me just appearing like this. Will you consider my offer and my apology?”

Life was all about choices and the paths they put you on. Hwan’s led me to a much better life. If he could help me now so I could improve things for omegas, then I’d put my pride aside and do what was necessary.

“There’s no need. I accept both. What is done is done.” I shrugged. “Yes, it hurt, but it gave me Curtis, where I’m much happier. I’d also love the help. There’s a lot of work ahead.”

“Yeah. Jae has his book and the baby to think of. Anything that’ll lighten the load for him is welcome,” Curtis added, still on the call.

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard about the book. It’s wonderful! I’m glad your dream is coming true.” Hwan genuinely looked happy for me. “Your grandparents are telling everyone about the book. I don’t think they know about the baby. Maybe you should tell them before they find out from someone else.”

Hwan’s remarks about my grandparents sat with me all day, even following me into my meeting with the publisher the next day. Brady could tell I was distracted.

“Why don’t we plan your schedule over lunch?” he suggested, bringing the meeting to a close.

The company had promoted Brady to agent.

He was my go between for the editor, the company higher ups, and controlled my diary.

There was a decent amount of promotion planned, a lot of it for after the baby was born, which would require us to travel.

Curtis, of course, was coming with us, which was why he was hiring more people to cover him.

I still had a few signings to do before I went on leave to have the baby. The hype from the DuoStop stuff was giving me a lot of attention, which the publisher wanted to maximize on. Completely fair, plus it helped my book get seen.

“Alright,” Brady said over our lunches. “What’s wrong?”

It took a little while, but I explained Hwan’s visit and his offer.

Brady was suitably angry at Hwan’s audacity to just turn up, though he also appreciated the apology, saying, “about damn time!” When I got to the part about my grandparents, Brady bristled.

“Ugh, I hate that he’s right. You need to get ahead of this and just tell them on your terms.”

“But—”

“They can’t do anything to you without looking petty. They live so far away and have no influence over your life. Just tell them.”

When Curtis got home, I asked him if he would be there for the call.

I knew Hwan and Brady were right. My grandparents deserved to hear the news from me, not my parents, who I’d banned from telling them, or the news.

Once the book went live, I knew I’d have to do events, and they’d know straight away.

They were thirteen hours ahead of us, so we had to wait until just before we went to bed to do the call. My grandmother loved technology and loved a video call, preferring to see our faces when we spoke. It had been quite some time since I’d called her.

“Hello Grandmother,” I said in Korean, the words feeling strange on my tongue. I was so out of practice!

“Ah! There’s my grandson! It has been too long since I last saw your handsome face. Are you married yet?” She spoke in rapid Korean, the words almost too quick for me to understand.

“Could we speak in English, please? I have someone to introduce you to. He doesn’t speak Korean.”

She frowned. “Have you picked someone who does not know our language?”

Immediately, I felt defensive over Curtis. “He’s learned some phrases.”

Irritation filled me. Nothing I did seemed to be good enough.

My grandmother was my mother’s mom. They had a strained relationship because my mom wanted to stay in the US when my dad was offered a job with my grandfather’s company.

I was so grateful for her making that choice because I felt like there were more opportunities in the US for me and my beta sister.

“Is Grandfather at work?” My grandfather still hadn’t retired, though he was in his seventies. He thought my father was weak for retiring early, while Mom thought it was smart. She didn’t want him dying in his office of stress.

“No. He is here. The doctor told him to slow down. He works half the hours now,” she said with some pride.

The scenery changed as she walked through the house to find him. She then spoke too quickly for me to translate. Neither looked happy.

“We have heard rumors,” my grandfather said without greeting me, “that you are pregnant and unmated.”

I was stunned. How had they learned the truth?

“I—we plan to bond and maybe marry—”

“You will marry this alpha. Even if he is not of our choosing, you must marry and mate with him now that you are having his child.” Grandfather’s face was stern.

For a long moment, no one said anything. Then Curtis moved closer so he could be seen on the screen. “Hello, I am Curtis. I love Jae very much and hope to marry him when we are ready to. After the baby is here. I am excited to join your family.” His Korean was clumsy, though incredibly charming.

“You will do,” Grandmother said in a clipped voice, which softened when she added. “We are too old to travel for your wedding. Your grandfather is unable to fly. Instead, we will help you to pay for it. Send us a list for the baby!”

“Thank you.”

“We are proud of you, Jae. For the book. So incredibly proud!” Then she turned to address Curtis. “We do not want to repeat what happened with Iseul and miss seeing the baby grow. Do you make him happy?”

“I try,” Curtis said honestly. I held his hand tightly.

“Then that is enough.”