Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

"Coffee or tea?" Jerlina asked Wyatt now sitting on the front porch of their home.

He was alert and was looking around.

The dogs were kept in the backyard and Duke and Earl stayed at both sides of Jeremy.

Jeremy decided to meet in a neutral place, but Wyatt preferred to keep their meeting a secret, and in the end, he sneaked to their home for a meeting.

Jeremy was very skeptical of Wyatt's intentions.

Seeing Jerlina treating that guy as a guest, Jeremy rolled his eyes at her. 

"Coffee?" Jerlina smiled at him.

This guy can get petty at times.

Well, he is not petty but being careful after how Wyatt spoke ambiguously about her during their last meeting. 

But she was pleased Jeremy didn't mind her attending the meeting.

She asked if she can join the meeting because she wanted to bring up certain things, and it seemed like Wyatt wanted her in the meeting too. 

She thought Jeremy won't allow her to join, but he agreed after thinking deeply for five whole seconds.

Since Jeremy agreed, Bobby was the happiest. Apparently, private meetings among the gang lords are not uncommon but this is the first time two gang lords are meeting when there is no apparent war.

Bobby was pretty happy this time Jeremy won't be alone and told her ways to get help in case something goes awry.

It seems like he didn't like for her to serve Wyatt. But she does this for a purpose. As a secretary, she has learned that when you make the other party comfortable enough, you can pretty much make the deal go largely in favor of you.

"Tea," Jeremy said folding the sleeves of his usual plaid shirt. It was grey this time and even then the blue of his eyes was piercing.

"Coffee," Wyatt fixed his cuff. "Make it Irish."

"Yes," Jerlina nodded with a smile and went inside the house.

Earl followed her in while Duke stayed by Jeremy's side.

Jerlina prepared everything and rolled it out in a hostess trolley they had for some reason in their home. 

Jeremy raised his brows seeing the full English tea set in front of him. He thought she'd bring a mug with the teabag soaking in. He didn't expect a full tea set.

There were snacks and desserts. And it seemed like Wyatt had a different set of snacks.

Well...

Jerlina passed the Irish Coffee to Wyatt and sat beside Jeremy and poured tea for him. The way she poured the tea was so elegant and he watched her without blinking his eyes.

Whenever he thinks that he knows everything about her, she'd throw a curveball making him surprised.

Isn't she amazing?

"This is perfect," Jeremy couldn't keep his praises in his heart and spoke openly, forgetting Wyatt's presence as he took a sip of the tea.

"David Millman liked to have tea and I learned. I'm pretty decent, aren't I?" She smiled pouring a cup for herself.

"You're amazing!" Jeremy smiled. 

"Hmm... So where did the missus learn to make Irish Coffee?" Wyatt looked impressed too.

"I used to work in a bar," Jerlina smiled.

She was not lying. She has worked in a lot of places and she gained a lot of experience and knowledge from those jobs.

"Mmm," Wyatt nodded taking in another sip. 

And in some minutes, what was supposed to be a stifling and tense meeting between two ganglords turned to a casual business meeting.

"So, as I said... I am planning on leaving everything here and rather than Viper, I'd rather you take care of my territories," Wyatt came to the point.

Ever since the untimely passing of his wife, he's been reflecting on everything and he came to this decision.

"Why the change of heart?" Jeremy asked. 

Wyatt seemed honest but there are a lot of problems in implementing his wish.

Wyatt looked at Jeremy and took in a deep breath.

"A fifteen-year-old in Grover died in a petty fight with one of my guys. His mother came to me, tears in her eyes, and asked me one thing..." Wyatt cleared his throat.

"'Will you let this happen to one of your sons? Will you give a weapon in your teen son's hand and ask him to fight for you? Will you even let them hold a weapon ever? You won't! Why should our sons suffer for your cause?' She asked...And... No... I wouldn't want my sons to take after me... "

Wyatt placed the Irish Coffee Mug on the coaster.

"I wanted to just leave but the meeting with Viper made me think... I can't abandon those who were with me till now... At that time, Shaun... Your missus lending a helping hand to Shaun made me think of a plan," Wyatt looked at Jeremy. 

"People like us..." Jeremy cleared his throat. "We can't just leave... We have no out."

Jerlina almost dropped her cup.

People like us... People like Joel...

She knew what it meant. Isn't that an age-old wisdom..?

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

She placed the cup on the saucer and looked at Jeremy. He turned and his eyes met with hers.

His eyes were filled with a lot of emotions. A little bit of sadness, some guilt, some hope, and a lot of expectation.

She now understood him better. Till now she's seen him as a lot of things. He's kind, strong, rich, and is vulnerable at times. She was scared of him, admired him, and liked him.

And this is another part of him - the dangers surrounding him.

He has helped a lot of people and unfortunately, he took a weapon in his hand to achieve what he has. And once you take a weapon, you cannot put it down. 

So, if she's accepting him, she has to be prepared to accept that aspect of him and face dangers with him. 

It is not going to be easy, but...

Jerlina smiled at him. Her heart didn't feel troubled about that part of him. Even her life is in danger for unknown reasons. 

So how can she deny his love for this reason?

Jeremy's heart filled with relief seeing her smiling from her heart. This is something he always wanted to talk to her about. This is also one of the reasons he wanted to let her go back then.

But seeing her, sitting by his side, with no fear, having peaceful conversations with a guy he never could bear the sight of...

Never once has his meetings with Wyatt went this smooth. This time Wyatt has already decided to be peaceful, but Jerlina has contributed to his decision.

Is she suitable for me? Yes, very much. 

How can I not love her?

"I wanted to hand it over to you, but after that incident that day... I knew my plan won't work. So, I have a revised plan and for that, I need the help of the missus." Wyatt spoke in a pleading tone.

Jerlina looked at Jeremy and he had a proud smile as he shrugged.

If she's asked help, it should be her decision.

He's not going to interfere.