Chapter 20

It's the twentieth chapter! I just want to thank everyone who helped make this possible. I'm an amateur and you managed to encourage me to continue even when I thought I needed to give up. So, thank you so much!

Chapter 20 - KMCF

"Say cheese!" Jennifer's mother said. She was kneeling on the ground with a camera in her hands. She watched her daughter, Jennifer, grin as wide as she could, though she was covered in grass and mud.

"Cheese!" Jennifer copied.

"Hunter,  smile." Jennifer's mother ordered. The boy stood near Jennifer with a concerned face. He eyed Jennifer once more before looking back at the photographer.

"Look at Jen." He pointed at his dirty friend who didn't seem to care. "Shouldn't she change before we take the picture?"

"She will, but after. This possesses a kind of homely atmosphere. If we remove the mud from Jenni,  we would also be removing the rustic, down to earth feeling that the scene is captur-" she stopped her talking, clearly seeing the young boy wasn't aware of the art major's dialect. "In other words, no."

He sighed and looked at Jennifer again, he smiled slightly. She smiled back, but much brighter. He then turned towards the camera. 

**End of flashback**

I placed the picture back on the table and sighed. I took a step back to savor the rest of the pictures on my shelf. Most without Hunter and some from my college days. I was ready to pick up another picture, but my phone rang loudly.

I fixed the towel around my body before answering my phone. "Hello?"

"Jen, there are people with cameras surrounding the store." Miranda exclaimed.

"Did Marcos e-"

She sighed loudly. "Yes. He told me everything. He said I shouldn't say anything to them and that I should close the store for the day." 

"You're not mad?" I asked.

"It's not like you planned for this to happen," Miranda yawned. "Let's close the store for the day. I'm pretty beat from last night anyway."

I felt a sense of relief, I wasn't really in the mood to work at all. "Okay," there was a long pause and I figured she was questioning my tone of voice. "Inform Rocxy, I'm sure she'll be jumping for joy!" I cracked a joke to convince her I was okay.

Miranda laughed and I knew her superstitions were dying down. 

"So, what are you going to do on your day off?" I put my phone on speaker and began to put on my clothes. A white crop top, a long, flared, floral skirt and my favorite type of shoes, pumps.

"I think I'm just going to go over Brandon's place, I haven't seen him in a while." She said gleefully.

"Are you sure it's not because you don't have any food in your fridge?" I laughed a little.

"Of course not, I'm not that type of person." She replied.

"Whatever you say." I said as I applied my sludge proof pink lipstick and created a nicely done wing with my eyeliner.

"What are you going to do? Watch Ozzy pick out the clothes you'll be wearing next week?" I rolled my eyes.
"No. I'm going shopping with my mother." I brushed my hair softly.

"I've got a better idea, why don't you go see Hunter?" I pondered on what she said. It wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't an entirely good one either.

Marcos had dropped me off and I ended up laughing, which turned into crying. I didn't know what was going on with me, the tears didn't stop until a few minutes later. I just knew that every time an image of Hunter popped into my head it hurt my heart. All of my childhood memories that included him came rushing in and I couldn't stop. I felt so stupid, I didn't know anything and I didn't dig into it. I followed the path that lead to a complete dead end. We didn't have a real relationship, we weren't anything. So, what would become of us? I loved the sweet sensation, the excitement, the passion when I was with him, but reality stepped all over them. Why can't he tell me? What was going on? Why does he need to lie? For the past days I had been trying to persuade myself to leave my uneasiness aside because I didn't think I needed to know. Because I thought I had no right whatsoever, that he'd tell me sooner or later. But, I was just being foolish and vulnerable.

I tightened my grip on my brush, just thinking about it again was making me feel sick. "He's busy." I told her.

"My point exactly! A surprise visit, it'll make him a whole lot happier."

"Okay," I lied as I frowned. "I'll go see him."

"You're lying, Jen." She sounded disappointed.  "I hate when you lie. I'm not forcing you to go see him, but I think that's the best resolution for your problem. I don't think waiting for him to make the first move is the right thing to do, you're not going to get anywhere like that. I'm sure you have a bunch of questions you want to ask him, so get yourself over to his place and get the answers you need. Don't be a love sick puppy."

Hot tears streamed down purse and at the same time I was thankful enough that I couldn't find my regular eyeliner and mascara and settled for the waterproof version. I clenched my teeth to keep from making any sounds.

"Jen, you're crying, aren't you?"

"No," I started to dab my face with a napkin, mostly around my eyes.

** **

I walked through the doors of the building after escaping the media that hung around my condominium. I had a box of big sized muffins with different flavors and aromas. I passed by the snotty receptionist and gave her a heart warming smile.

She was startled at first, but in return she sent a repulsive look my way as I headed for the elevator. The minute the doors closed I could feel the tension pressing down on my shoulders as I passed a floor.

I fumbled with my purse strap and tapped my feet to help with my jumpy behavior.

Ding!

This was it, Hunter's floor. He was the only person living on this floor. I rang his doorbell and immediately the door opened. I stared at the blonde that wore a blue dress and black high heels that almost made her the same height as me.

"Hi," I smiled politely.

She opened the door wider to let me in. "Come in." I got a little agitated at how she made it seem as like it was her penthouse.

I turned around to face her after I set the box of muffins and my purse on the kitchen counter. "Is Hunter here?"

"No, he had to step out for a bit, but he'll be back soon." She said as she walked over to the box of muffins. She took out a strawberry one and bit into it slightly moaning. "I've been starving since yesterday." She threw her head back after taking another bite.

And they say New Yorkers are rude.

I smiled again, no matter how annoyed I was getting. I looked around and the lounging area was decorated with documents, files, telephones, laptops, wine, basically a mess. The living room was no cleaner, in fact the kitchen was practically the only thing in sight that was clean. He  must've really been working hard.

"I'm sorry it's such a mess, we haven't had any time to clean up." 

I winced slightly. "That's okay."

"That reminds me, I have to get back to work." She sighed before sitting in the lounging area. I sat in the chair across from her, but first I had to move a pile of papers.

"Need any help?" I reached over to grab a file, but she grabbed it hastily.

"No thank you. I'd have to get approval from Manning." She then began to type something on her laptop.

I corrugated my eyebrows in frustration. "I'm sure Hunter won't mind if I help out a little."

She didn't reply after that, this woman was infuriating. I sighed and started to look around the piles, I could barely understand what was written on them. This was way more complex than a simple clothing store.

"What's this?" I questioned after finding a small mess of magazines and newspapers.

I pulled out a magazine and scanned the cover.

The Hunt for Hunter.

"Some stupid tabloid on Mr. Manning." She muttered.

The magazine had a picture of Hunter with shades and he didn't look too happy. At the bottom it read, "where could he be?"

"Tabloid?" I questioned unconsciously.

Laura, I mean, she shoved her laptop to the side and reached for a magazine in the pile titled: Hunter Manning caught kissing Kaitlyn Durme. My heart weakened, it felt like it'd break any minute.

It wasn't an entire front cover, like the last one, it was just a small section on the front. "In this one, Kaitlyn baited him and that's how it became a huge misunderstanding."

"How about this one?" I picked up the first magazine I touched. The Hunt for Hunter.

I waited for her response as she swallowed the content she bit. "Oh, that, they're just looking for him."

"Looking for him?"

"Yeah, no one knows he's in NY except for a few people, myself included. I'm surprised that the paparazzi hasn't found him yet." I flipped through the magazine as she talked.

. . .it has been weeks since we've last seen Hunter Manning, sources say he's on a private vacation abroad, but where exactly?

I carried the heap of magazines and dumped them on my lap. No matter how much it hurt me to look at them, I still did it. Each passage was another painful wound for me. Jessica Wilson speaks out on Manning cheating rumors, Hunter Manning escorts Audrey Gillette to Gala, Eva Kies and Hunter Manning calling it quit

I read through all the magazines and there were about 10 and they were just the ones laying around, there were probably thousands of them all over the country. Over the past few years, I had only gotten my hands on 10. I knew about him being with women, only I didn't think it would be this much or this recent. He had supermodels, musical artists, actresses, and socialites. Compared to them, I was probably just a thing to pass the time. But, why?

"Do you know why he's here?" My eyes where still attached to the serials in front of me.

"Business deals. That's all I can tell you, everything else is classified." She went back to typing and jotting down some things on paper.

So, he's not here because of his family and friends?

I put the gossip magazines back to their original spots, but not the newspapers and business magazines.
They weren't as bad as the gossip ones, but they hurt as painfully. They were all about negotiations between big named companies, deals with people I didn't know about, money he gained from it, pictures of the companies he claimed, and shots of the things he owned.

He was lying to me and I believed him even though it was so obvious!

I planted everything back to its original location, just in time for Hunter to come back. We both turned around to get a look at the man that fueled my anger.

"Jen?" He was surprised.

I stood up and walked towards him, I was a flame of fury, but I had to act normal. Even if the man I was mad at was wearing a white dress shirt-the sleeves rolled up to his elbows-that wasn't fully buttoned. "Hi," I smiled.

He set his keys on the kitchen counter before stepping closer to me. "What are you doing here? Couldn't stand the loneliness you felt without me?" He smirked, one of his signature moves that made my heart skip every time he used it.

"Never in your wildest dreams. I just wanted to deliver those muffins on my day off." I pointed to the box of muffins seated near his keys.

"Mm, sure." He smiled. His eyes moved to Laura, who was in the middle of taking another bite of her muffin. "Laura, can you buy me a cup of coffee?"

"You could just ask me to leave, Manning." She said as she walked past us. He snickered at her comment and she left with a satisfied look on her face that irritated me.

His eyes returned back to me once the door shut closed. He took my hand in his and twirled me around, he then held me by my waist to stop me from spinning. He pulled me close to him, until there was no space separating the two of us.

I looked at him and blushed. I wasn't supposed to fall into his tricks, I was supposed to be mad at this man. He was making that way too damn hard.

He brushed the strands of hair hovering over my face behind my ear and sent me another one of his seductive smirks. "So, what's new?"

I cleared my throat and began to speak. I needed to focus, I wasn't going to let him get away with anything. "Well, Miranda and I decided to open a second location."

"That's a good idea, you're both successful with just one store, imagine a second one."

We're not the only ones that are successful.

I forced a smile, I couldn't bear listening to his encouraging speech, especially since it had to do with a topic he was lying to me about. "Rocxy looks really different now, she dresses more professional and her hair isn't colorful anymore. Oh, and apparently she's a math whiz."

"And you're not feeling jealous at all?" He raised an eyebrow while he smiled.

I scoffed, who would want a liar?

You.

I ignored my thoughts. "Not at all," I replied.

He chuckled. Hunter leaned down to place a kiss on my lips, but I averted his attempt. I knew once he kissed me, I'd never get a chance to confront him. "Jen?" He gave me an questioning look.

He released his grip enough for me to push back and get a better look of him. We grew up together and he disappeared for years without a single phone call, text, email, letter anything that would confirm that he still thought of me. But, what did I get? Nods from his parents that symbolized he was okay. Then, he suddenly shows up and I welcome him with open arms only to be in a barricaded relationship with him. Every deception was in plain site, all I had to do was piece them together. He was a billionaire, a playboy, a liar, yet I was still attracted to him.

I searched his face for answers, maybe he'd realize what was going on. He didn't. A single tear fell from my right eye, next my left, and then both eyes embarked on leaking. "Jen?" He called my name again.

I covered my eyes with my hands, I wished I could've stopped my tears, but they kept flowing. I was supposed to be strong, be able to show him who he was messing with. This was the side I didn't want him to see.

"What's wrong?" He attempted to pry my hands off my face.

**Third Person's POV**

Her heart clenched tightly, everything she had been holding in released involuntarily. Hunter failed attempts to get her to say something lead to him, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and hoped she'd stop crying soon.

Jennifer loved the comfort she was receiving, but after a few moments, she realized that it was wrong. He was the cause, she didn't need his sympathy or his care. If he cared enough about her this would have never happened. She pushed him away from her before brushing off the tear stains on her cheek.

"Don't.." she gasped slightly. "Don't touch me."

After recovering from the thrust he received, he frowned. "Can I ask what's wrong?"

From his response, Jennifer couldn't help, but laugh sadly. "Have you ever met Audrey Gillette?"

His body grew tense, he knew what she was getting at. "You read the magazines."

"How about Eva Kies? I think she has a couple hit songs."

Hunter slowly stepped closer to her, he knew she was breaking down, he had seen it before. At the same time, he felt terrible, it was his fault, he caused this. "Jen."

She retreated hastily, the entire thing seemed hysterical. "Don't you dare come closer to me, Hunter." Her emotions were mixed up, she was angry, sad, hurt. Who she wanted to console her was the person causing all her pain.

He sighed to hide the pain he was feeling. "I don't know what the problem is Jen, I've already you told you about the things I'm not proud of."

"You don't get it, Hunter!" Jennifer felt another torrent of tears, she took deep breaths stop them. "You never mentioned anything about those women being celebrities. Do you know how that makes me feel? Makes me feel like I'm just a thing to entertain you, since you're not surrounded by celebrities."

"Jennifer!" He yelled at her, he was getting agitated. She wasn't seeing what he was seeing.

Jennifer was taken back by the sudden anger that sparked in this voice, but quickly retained her composure. This was nothing but a lie and he wouldn't admit, she believed. "Isn't it true? I mean, a thing like me doesn't even deserve a proper relationship with you. Maybe I'm too plain to be seen with you or maybe-"

She was ranting and it didn't look like she'd stop anytime soon, so he cut her off. Not only was she saying words that she didn't truly mean, he was receiving them like gun shots. "You know why we can't have a proper relationship, Jen. You wanted this, you proposed that we do this and now you're mad because of it?" He crinkled his eyebrows in frustration.

"I only set this up because your bad choices pushed me away!" She shouted.

"If I didn't, you'd be in my bed by now, Jen!" Hunter shouted back.

"It's better than what we're doing now!" Jennifer's heart was racing rapidly and she could feel her hands vibrating. It was all to frustrating and stressful.

He combed his fingers through his hair and began to take deep breaths.

". . .multi-billionaire."

He speedily turned to look at her. "What?"

"You're a multi-billionaire." She repeated. "You're a multi-billionaire who's only here for business deals." She lifted her head up to get a look at his expression. He looked flustered.

"Jen-"

"You're not here to see your friends or family. You came back, just for business, as if you're not wealthy enough. For years, you never once thought to come back for the sake of the people you left behind? Instead business drew you back in?" A tear rolled down her cheek before she had the chance to stop it.

"That's not entirely true."

"Then, why are you really here?"

Hunter didn't say anything, not because he didn't know what to say, but because he couldn't say it. He just stared at her, knowing just looking at her was hurting her.

"That's what I thought. I can't believe you can stand right in front of me and lie through your teeth. You didn't once think I deserved to know, even after disappearing for years!" Her voice was louder and she was starting to see anger in the mix.

Jennifer walked towards him, only to grab her purse that was hidden behind him. "I'm done." Her voice was a bit unstable, her anger was the only thing keeping it from collapsing.

"Jen." He hollered. There was no answer, she really was done. "Jen!" He called again, hoping she'd response before she made it to the door. "Is this really what you want?"

She barely made it to the door, she spun around to the face him. "Hunter, what I want, is a place in here!" She formed a fist and used it to hit his chest. "I want you to open it for me." Jennifer struck his chest again as he stood there and watched her release her anger. She hit his chest repeatedly, each time was softer and slower. She copied the same words until her voice couldn't shout no more.

He grabbed her wrist before she could afflict her final blow, now realizing her anger was once again turned into sadness. "I want you." She said softly with her head down and her hand encaged by his.

Her words hit him hard, from just three words he could see every affect he had on her. Hunter released his grip unhurriedly. "You know I want you too, Jen." He whispered.

"I don't know anything anymore, I'm afraid they're all lies." Jennifer had nothing else to say, all she did was walk towards the door. Her body felt weak, everywhere hurt, everything hurt, she needed to go.

He watched her leave the penthouse, leave a lingering feeling to chase after her.

** **

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