When the Night Falls

JASMINE

“You’re married?” I asked. I didn’t know whether I wanted to burst into tears or hit him.

“No,” he said forcefully. His eyes met mine, and there was a storm rolling within them.

“Lana and I are not married, and I have only seen her once since Then’s first birthday. And trust me, that exchange was not a pleasant one.”

He took another step closer to me. Part of me wanted to back away, but I allowed him to cup my face in his hands and turn my face to me look at him. His gaze was fierce.

“I care about you, Jasmine. And I have never nor will never cheat on you or lie to you. I was planning on telling you about Lana, but I… It’s a painful topic. She isn’t easy to discuss, and the fact of the matter is… Well, honestly, she’s terrifying to me. But I want to tell you.”

I looked up into those beautiful blue eyes. Theodore Jefferson didn’t often show vulnerability. but there was something in his gaze that made me feel for him, that made me soften.

I gently brought our l*ps together. It was a sweet and gentle k*ss, not raunchy and kinky like the ones earlier tonight, nor fierce and passionate like our first time.

No, this was something else. This was an expression of something I’d been feeling for a while but hadn’t had the guts to say to him yet. And the way he was k*ssing me, I think he felt it too.

Finally, I broke away from him. My hands reached up to caress his face.

“I believe you,” I said. “But I need to know, I can’t fully trust you if I don’t know everything about you, Theodore Jefferson.”

He looked deep in thought for a moment before finally nodding carefully.

“Fair enough. I’ll tell you everything. But not here. Let’s go back to my bedroom. My real bedroom/

As he led me through the darkened mansion, there was a sort of awkward silence between us..

I felt like the vulnerability I’d just seen from him, not to mention the k*ss we’d just shared, had opened some new doors in our relationship. But we couldn’t step through yet. Not until this last secret was revealed.

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When we finally stepped inside his room, Theodore sent for some tea and biscuits. We sat on the bed, facing each other like college roommates sharing some gossip.

He poured me a glass of tea, and I took a small bite out of a biscuit.

“So,” I said, trying to break the ice. “You’ve got me all fed and watered. Now I wont i

about Lana.“

to know

He shifted uncomfortably, opening his mouth to speak, then closing it again. He didn’t seem sure how to begin.

“Lana was… She was… Well…

Well….

rubbed

“Hey.” I placed a hand on his leg and soothing circle into his thigh. “It’s okay. What if we play the twenty-one-question game again? I’ll ask you things about Lana, and you answer me that way.”

“The only catch,” I continued, “is that you have to answer them all this time. You don’t get to veto or say no to any of them. Deal?”

He looked up at me, and I could see him thinking about it.

Finally, he leaned back on his palms and nodded.

“Do your worst, Ms. Gibson,” he chuckled..

I wracked my brain for what to ask, then finally came up with a starting

uestion.

“Were you ever married to Lana?”

For a long moment, he just looked steadily into my eyes. And then he nodded.

“For how long?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.

“We were, uh, we were together for five years,” he answered finally. I had to give him credit. Even though these questions must have been killing him, he maintained eye contact as he

answered.

“Did you love her?” I didn’t know what made me say it. The question just sl*pped out from some jealous place somewhere deep in my soul.

Theodore blinked but didn’t look away. He took a long, deep breath before answering.

“Yes. Or, I believe I did. At first. When we first started out, things were wonderful. She met me without knowing who I was, and so, our relationship was pure. It was honest. Or at least that’s what I thought.” His face darkened as he seemed to remember something, so I pressed on.

“When did it start to go bad?” I asked. Theodore chuckled.

“It was Thea. Lana, well, she really wanted to have a child with me, and I wasn’t sure why. I never wanted kids, but she was insistent. So, I finally gave in and agreed to have a child.”

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I thought back to both times we had S** so far, about how insistent he always was about wearing a condom. Now, it all made sense. He sure as hell didn’t want another kid when his current one was so tangled with his memories of his cruel ex.

“What happened after Thea was born?” I asked, leaning forward slightly. I felt like I was on the verge of learning some secret that had been kept from me since I first met Theodore.

A look of pain crossed his face, and, for the first time, I thought he might not answer me. But after taking a breath, he started speaking. “Once Thea was born, Lana showed her true colors. She started sleeping around on me and spending my money with reckless abandon.

“It was immediately clear what was going on. She’d never wanted a child. She wanted an insurance policy. We had a prenup, and she knew that I’d divorce her if I realized who she really was. So, instead, she saddled me with a child.

“I didn’t know what to do. I spoke to my mom, and she told me I should try to get a divorce anyway. She told me that things would only get worse the longer I stayed. And so I did. I filed for divorce when Thea was six months old. And then…”

He trailed off, and for the first time since our game started, he broke eye contact with me. He gazed through the window at the grey pre-dawn light outside..

“What happened next?” I asked. I was on the edge of my seat now. But Theodore didn’t respond.

Gently, I reached out and turned his face back to mine. “What happened when you filed for divorce?” I asked again. Theodore gathered himself and then started to speak.

“I never wanted Thea. But that didn’t mean that, when she came, I didn’t love her. I’ve never been able to connect with her, that’s true. But I still care about my daughter. The same cannot be said for Lana.

“The night after I handed her the divorce papers, she marched up to the room where we kept Thea’s baby formula, and she poisoned it.”

A gasp escaped my l*ps, and my hands went to my mouth. “She tried to kill her own daughter?”

Theodore nodded and kept talking. It seemed that now he’d started, he had to continue.

“We could never prove it was her, and she had all the right alibis. But I know what happened.

Mothers almost always get custody in a divorce, so she knew she’d be stuck with my kid for the rest of her life. So she took matters into her own hands.

“Thankfully, I suspected something was up and got the formula tested before Thea could drink it. When our divorce went to court, my lawyers managed to convince the judge that Lana shouldn’t have custody, even if there wasn’t evidence to convict.”

“And what happened then? Did she disappear?” I asked. I’d forgotten all about our game now. I was held captive by the horrible, twisted story.

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Theodore chuckled humorlessly. “For a while. But then, about a year ago, she showed up at the house and said she’d sue for custody of Thea if I didn’t give in to her demands.”

“But the judge? Can’t he stop it?” I asked, horrified. Theodore shook his head.

“That judge is long gone. And if there wasn’t enough evidence against her at the time, there definitely isn’t enough today. She’s looking for things to use against me in her court case now. That’s what Iris was hired for, and I bet it was her who broke in that day we had to go to the

panic room.

I thought back to the pretty woman I’d seen arguing with Theodore right after I got her.

“Has Lana been back to the house since she threatened you with a custody battle?” I asked. Theodore nodded bitterly again.

“Twice a month since then. Each time, she shows me more evidence she’s scraped together that I’m not a worthy father and offers me another chance to give in to her demands. And each time, I refuse. So now I’m afraid we have no choice but to go to court.”

When Theodore finished speaking, he returned to looking out of the window. As I watched him, my heart broke a thousand times for the man. And for Thea.

Two innocent souls trapped in the web of the monstrous, backstabbing gold digger of a woman. No wonder there was a coldness between them.

I rested my hand once more on Theodore’s leg.

“Theodore,” I said softly. “I love you.”

He looked up at me, surprise evident on his face. “I…”

“You don’t have to say it back, but I love you, and I promise I know you’re a good father. You love Thea. I can tell because you’re working hard to learn how to connect with her.

you

“Not many fathers who’ve been through what you have would do that. And I swear to that I’ll help make sure this Lana woman never lays a finger on her. Or you, for that matter.”

For a moment, he stared at me. And then he pulled me into another furious, passionate k*ss.

As his tongue pressed into my mouth, the fire seemed to spread throughout every fiber of my being, warming me up from the inside..

We k*ssed for what felt like hours, but was probably mere seconds. Finally, we pulled away to gulp for air. As our breaths gently subsided, he turned his gaze back to me.

“I care about you deeply,” he said, finally. I felt a slight pang of letdown at that. But it wouldn’t have been fair of me to expect him to be all lovey-dovey so fast, especially after everything he just told me about Lana.

I pulled him on top of me, accidentally knocking over the tea tray in the process. Tea spilled all

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over the floor, seeping into the carpet.

“Oh, shi t,” I mumbled, reaching for a cloth. But Theodore stilled my hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered. Then he k*ssed me again.

We k*ssed until the sun was peaking up over the forest in the distance, sending purple rays of light into our room.

After a moment, I pulled away from Theodore to watch the sunrise.

And that’s when I realized there was still something I didn’t understand about his story. I turned towards him, my brow furrowed.

“But why did Lana want custody of Thea,” I said thoughtfully. “You already said she got a massive payday from you in the divorce.”

Theodore looked at me, and I could tell he was weighing what to say next. Finally, he seemed to, decide on the truth.

“Well, there’s one thing Lana always wanted from me besides money.” he explained.

“What?” I asked, confused.

Theodore sighed, then ran a hand through his hair before answering. “My crown.”

“Your crown?” I asked, a smirk playing across my face. “What do you mean ‘crown?” Like a toy?”

“Not exactly,” Theodore said, sitting up and pulling me gently against his chest. “You see, my father’s last name is Jefferson. But his brother’s last name is Capet.”

“Okay?” I asked, still confused.

“As in, my uncle is Louis-Auguste Capet, better known as King Louis the Twenty-Second, ruler of the Kingdom of France.”

“Meaning.

“I asked, unable to believe my ears. Theodore smirked down at me.

“Meaning I’m heir to the throne of France.”