"Huh?"
"I mean, Jacob. I think he got lost. He's in the library. Tell Cole to come and get him."
I hung up before he could say anything else. Then I sat back on my heels and waited, watching the toddler as he resumed playing on the phone once he realised I was not actually a threat. When something went wrong and warning beeps sounded from his device, he scowled at the game and inclined his head to one side as if to understand what was happening.
My face started to feel tight and flushed. Not for a second could I take my eyes off him while he ignored my presence. A long minute passed like that before the door to the library opened and I glanced up, expecting to see Cole and Jasper.
But it wasn't them.
It was Skye who stood there regarding me in shock.
****
Chapter Thirteen
Skye
"Jacob."
My first instinct when I laid eyes on Jasmine Khan for the first time in almost three years was to get my son away from her. Jacob got up and ran over to me, hugging my legs as we stood there in the library.
I narrowed my eyes at Jasmine's intrusive, unwanted presence.
"What did you say to him?" I asked her in a tight voice.
She looked at me with a calm expression. "Nothing. I was just...keeping him company," she replied slowly.
Her words made me laugh bitterly. "Oh, wow." I shook my head at her. "You seem to have a made a habit of it, huh?" I said smoothly even though my insides were churning and I wanted to do her some serious damage. "Wanting to keep company with people who don't belong to you. Were you planning on taking him away from me as well?"
Jasmine frowned at me. "Skye, listen-"
"What? What could you possibly have to say to me that would even be worth my time?" I bit out, hugging Jacob tightly.
Even though I felt my blood boiling and my body trembling a little at the sight and sound of this woman, Jacob was there holding onto me so I had to keep a leash on my temper.
"I thought he was lost," she replied firmly. "Please don't make this into something else. I was just trying to make sure he's safe."
"It's not your job, Jasmine," I countered just as firmly. "He has people here. His people. And anyway, if I needed someone I loved to be protected, you'd be the last person I would trust with that."
Her chest lifted slightly and she seemed to be drawing in a deep breath as we glared at each other. This woman, this selfish woman who hadn't cared about respecting the boundaries of either her marriage or my relationship was standing there glaring at me as though I was the one who had done her some wrong.
"You have no remorse, do you?" I asked her bitterly, tears forming in my eyes despite my intention to remain in control of my emotions. But how could I do that when faced with the reason the man I loved had cheated on me? She took him from me and he just let her. "You're both monsters," I whispered to her brokenly. "Neither of you even care about what destruction your actions have caused, how many lives were ruined. Armaan, Cole, me and even Jacob-" I broke into a sob as I said that last name.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Skye. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was selfish, I know that. But I never meant to take him away. Jasper was in pain when he came to me and I had to be there for him. I tried to convince him to come home-"
"Don't, Jasmine." I held out a hand to her, pinning her with a fierce look. "Don't start playing the saint now. You didn't mean to hurt us? Then what the hell did you mean to do when you knew he was mine and decided to lay your hands on him?"
I suddenly gasped with the effort it took me to get my breathing in order because my blood was roaring through my ears due to the words she was using to justify herself. The nerve of this woman...
"I looked up to you," I told her. "I came to you for advice. I thought you understood how much I loved them. How much he loved me."
"I'm sorry, Skye-"
"I don't need your apology! It isn't worth anything, do you hear me? I don't care how you feel. You don't get to say sorry after everything you and Jasper have put us through. And Armaan." I looked at her in disbelief. "He worshipped the ground you walked on. You crushed him when you left and now you want to show up here and remind him of all that pain? Remind me. And Cole. Why? Why would you be so cruel?"
She swallowed hard, her arms stiff by her sides and fists clenched. For a moment, she just looked at me with tears in her eyes. Fake tears. Everything about her was fake. Behind her so-called good intentions, there were so many dark purposes. I wasn't falling for any of it now.
"I wanted to bring him back to you," she finally said in a flat tone. "He isn't happy, Skye. He's in his own brand of hell."
"Good," I said, my lips twisting. "He deserves it. More than you. Because he let it all happen and he never stopped to think that he was in a relationship with two people. And that he had a responsibility to his son."
I froze after uttering that last sentence. My hand flew to my mouth in horror. What had I said? Oh my God. Jacob started to whine after he got tired of pulling
