( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉 . )
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APPROXIMATELY TWENTY MINUTES after dropping a grand on John's bail, Jaylene found herself sat in her parked car with her eyes focused on the home sat in front of her where the Harrington's resided. The red home stood out the most compared to any other house on that particular street. The roof was slightly damaged from the hurricane, the grass was freshly cut, the porch leading towards the front door was lined up with sunflowers. It looked exactly like the picture.

As she gripped onto the steering wheel with her gaze settled on the house in front of her, all she could hear was John's voice taunting her. Deep down she knew he was right. She knew that she had no business involving them in her lavish life. There was a reason why they hadn't tried to reach out to her and her brother after all these years. For all she knew, they probably hated her guts and never wished to see her.

But being the stubborn girl she was, she pushed the obvious facts to the side before stepping out of her car and heading towards the front door, hesitantly reaching her arm towards the doorbell, growing anxious when she heard the sound erupt through the home.

Before she could even get the chance to turn to walk away, the door was pulled open and in front of her stood Florence Harrington. It took her a few seconds to recognize the girl stood in front of her, but when she did, she gasped in awe.

"Well I'll be damned." Her hand hovered over her mouth, unable to believe the sight of the girl stood in front of her. "It's about time your old man finally let you cross that invisible barrier separating us."

Jaylene couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle, awkwardly smiling in the process. "Actually, my dad has no idea that I'm here. He thinks that I'm off shopping."

Florence pursed her lips into a thin line, disapproving of the girls actions, but nonetheless, she stepped aside, welcoming her granddaughter into the cozy home. "Why don't you come in. I'll make you something to eat to get some meat on those bones of yours." She spoke with a smile.

Without a second thought, the brunette entered the home, waiting a few seconds until Florence led her towards the kitchen. On the way there, her eyes lit up with glee at the sight of numerous pictures that were lined up on the cream-colored walls. Most of them were family pictures which consisted of six family members. She wasn't aware that her mother had siblings until now. "Is it just you here? I thought you were married."

"Mark owns a bait shop near the dock heading towards figure eight. He spends most of the day there all seven days of the week." The older woman explained, heading into the kitchen with Jaylene close behind. "We paid the house off a while ago, but there's still bills we need to pay for the utilities."

"I'm really sorry for coming here without a notice. I understand how uncomfortable you must be right now." Jaylene leaned her body on the countertop, sending the brunette an apologetic smile. "You probably can't even stand the sight of me after all the horrible events that occurred with my moms death—"

Florence shook her head, quickly interrupting Jaylene before she could mutter another word. "I will never hold you accountable for what happened with Marleen. You and I both lost her, Jaylene."

Jaylene looked down at her feet, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "I hate to be such a straightforward person, but I can't help but ask." She began by apologizing beforehand for the painful question she was about to ask. "But how'd you find out she was dead? Who informed you?"

"The maid was the one who found her. Your father had taken you and your brother out on a boat ride when everything occurred." Florence managed to speak, shutting her eyes at the painful memories that resurfaced into her brain. "So we were the first to know about it."

"If you don't mind me asking, do you remember the name of the maid at the time? Is she still on the island?" Jaylene questioned, looking towards her grandmother who was searching through the refrigerator.

Florence furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, immediately shutting the fridge door. She looked towards Jaylene who was equally as confused as her. "You don't know?"

Jaylene straightened her posture, eyes narrowed as she shook her head. "Know what?"

"The woman you're looking for is the same woman living under the same roof as you. She took your fathers last name when the two got married less than two years after Marleen's death." The thought of the brunette-haired woman caused Florence to roll her eyes in annoyance. She knew that there must've been some sort of spark between the two while Henderson Rosewood was still married to Marleen. It was evident. "That venomous snake claimed herself to be one of your mothers closest friends, but I know that isn't anywhere close to being true. You don't marry the man your friend loved less than two years after her death."

Jaylene gasped, unable to believe the new information that was being fed to her. "Lorelei."

"I'm surprised that Henderson never informed you how he met that woman." Florence scoffed in disbelief, shaking her head at the poor choices the man had made. "It's like she was waiting for something to go horribly wrong between their marriage so that she could swoop in and yank him from her."

"Now that I think about it, he never actually told Nate and I how she was brought into our lives. I was young when it happened, so I never really thought to ask." Jaylene replied.

Florence sighed, noticing the frown that ghosted over Jaylene's lips. "Do you like homemade chocolate chip cookies? Cause we're gonna need something to fill our stomachs while I tell you everything there is to know about our dearest Marleen."

｡･:*:ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹

BY THE TIME Jaylene had finally decided to depart herself from the Harrington household, night had already fallen. The moon brightly illuminated the atmosphere, stars scattered all around it. The breeze that ran past her felt cold against her bare arms, causing goosebumps to form on her skin as she opened her car door and stepped inside.

And as soon as she shut it, she let out a frustrated sigh, resting her forehead on the steering wheel with her hands firmly gripping it. She couldn't go home. Not after learning the truth about her step-mother who she now hated with a burning passion. Jaylene knew herself all too well, she'd probably swing at the woman without bothering to explain herself.

She thought about staying at a hotel, but there were family friends who ran it. They'd rat her out to her father before she could even pull out her credit card to pay for a room. Motels were destroyed from the hurricane. Andrea lived two houses down from her, but their families were friends, and Jason also lived in that house. It was a rather uncomfortable situation that Jaylene wasn't about to tangle herself into. She would ask Kiara whether she could spend the night, but the two weren't close enough to consider each other friends. Plus, the Carreras would certainly dial Henderson's number the second they caught a glimpse of her.

Letting a few more seconds of silence pass by, an idea suddenly popped into her head, causing her to fasten her seatbelt before turning the engine on. "This is the least you can do for me." She muttered under her breath, placing her hands onto the steering wheel and lightly pressing her foot against the pedal to begin her journey.

Less than ten minutes later, Jaylene approached the brightly-lit shack, scrunching her face up in disgust at the mess scattered all around it. Wheats were extremely outgrown, letting her know that they hadn't been yanked out in a while. The only nice view there was the ocean that was close by. But in a very strange way, it made her feel safe. Safer than she felt on the part of the island that she was meant to call home.

Speaking of home. Before the entire situation that occurred with the pills, she had been planning to sneak off of the island with a group of friends, but it never actually happened. So she stored the duffel bag in the trunk of her car incase something like this ever happened. Incase she ever felt the need to run away for a few days.

She knew how over dramatic she was being, but something didn't sit right with her either way. In her opinion, it was severely fucked up that Lorelei hadn't wasted a second before wrapping Henderson right around her finger. It only caused her hatred towards the woman to increase. There had always been something fishy about her.

With a sigh, Jaylene walked towards the small shack, immediately pounding her fist against the thin door.

John B. pulled the door open, both confused and surprised at the sight of the girl stood in front of him. "What the hell. Isn't it a little late for you to be wandering around this part of the island?"

"I need a place to crash. I mean, this place can use some cleaning up, but it'll do." She shrugged, walking past him and into the small living area. "Plus, you're still in debt with me. Remember?"

"Well then come in I guess." He sarcastically spoke, shutting the door behind him as she leaned her body against the armrest of the couch.

"This place is a shithole." Jaylene bluntly spoke, eyeing the mess that was littered across the ground. "Is this what it's like living alone?"

"Not all of us have a maid who cleans up after us." He coldly replied, completely catching her off guard.

"Thank you for twisting my words, John B." She rolled her eyes, noticing the dried up tears lining up his cheeks. "What's got you in such a mood? You were fine earlier."

Pursing his lips, John B. walked towards the small kitchen, grabbing two cold beers from the refrigerator and sliding one towards Jaylene, accepting the fact that she would be spending the night. "Did you tell Ward Cameron about the scuba gear?"

Jaylene shook her head, taking a seat on top of the countertop. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a snitch. Why?"

"He fired me today because I broke his trust." He mentioned, popping open the can of beer to take a large chug from it. "And if it wasn't you, then it had to be Sarah Cameron."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, seriously? And you're sure it was Sarah?"

"You and her were the only two who knew about the scuba gear. If it wasn't you then it had to be her."

"Well that's fucked up. I guess we're both having pretty bad days, huh?" She popped the can open, drinking a small portion before setting it back down beside her.

Furrowing his brows, John B. wondered what she was talking about. "Why? What's going on with you?"

"I paid them a visit, my grandparents. Only Florence was home, but she told me some things that should've stayed buried." Jaylene awkwardly started, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Uh, basically, my step mom used to be the maid before getting with my dad after my mom died."

"So? Your dad has some sort of strange attraction towards the working class?" He joked, but she didn't seem to find it amusing in the slightest.

"Less than two years after my mother's death they got married. My grandma thinks that something might've been going on beforehand." She explained. Deep down she was sad at the revelation, but she was also relieved that the nasty truth surrounding her picture perfect family was finally breaking through the surface. "In other words, it only makes sense that she wasn't just the maid. She was my dad's mistress."

"Wow. That's brutal."

"Yeah. Guess my life isn't equally as perfect as everyone thinks, huh?" She brought the tin-foil can back towards her lips, letting the liquid intoxicate her. "What about you? Something tells me that those tear stains on your face weren't a result of losing your job."

"It's a long story."

"Well, lucky for you, we've got the whole night ahead of us, John B."

authors note. I disappeared for like a week, but I'm back! Literally so excited to finally dive into the whole royal merchant chaos! I'm not entirely sure whether I want Jaylene to play a major role, but hopefully I'll have that figured out by the next chapter!