Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 187: Jealous And Possessive

Mari stood by the kitchen counter, arms folded and eyes narrowed, but not in her usual playful way. This time, her gaze was serious in a curious way.

She tilted her head slightly as she watched Jax move around the kitchen as he prepared lunch. This Jax was all smiles and chuckles.

Was this his usual personality when she wasn’t here? Or was he putting up this act because he was still in Chad mode?

”Why are you staring at me that way?” Jax asked with a little smirk, amused that she was yet to recover totally from her shock.

He could only imagine how embarrassed and shocked she was to have revealed so much to him without meaning to.

”Is this how you normally are when I’m not around?” she asked, her voice soft.

Jax cocked a brow. ”Define ’normally.’”

She didn’t smile. ”You know what I mean. This... version of you. Is this the real you? Was this what you meant earlier when you said you didn’t know how to be yourself around me? Is this you being yourself?”

”That’s a question for Jax to answer not me,” he said, turning slightly and tapping the spoon against the edge of the bowl.

Mari gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. ”Right. So you’re not Jax now?”

”Right now, I’m Jax 2.0.”

She laughed a little. ”Oh? 2.0? Like an upgraded version of Jax?”

He picked up a fork to stir the salad. ”Sort of. This version is still in beta. Not fully released yet.”

He liked how this version seemed to make her speechless. The feeling he got from seeing her looking so flustered was priceless.

It was like the tables had turned and she had gone from making him uncomfortable to becoming uncomfortable. He wanted to see how long it would take for her to recover and revert to her flirty self.

Mari snorted. ”Why upgrade something that is perfect already?”

”Perfect? So you think Jax is perfect?” He asked, his grin tilting higher.

”I never said that,” Mari said, but he chuckled.

Jax shrugged,”You implied it. I bet you like Jax better because you feel he’s easier to mess with.”

Mari laughed again, and this time, her eyes softened. ”I never said I like Jax better. This version is not bad. At least you aren’t so boring.”

He paused, ”I was never boring.” He said, placing the knife down and wiping his hands with a towel. Then he leaned against the counter and gave her a crooked smile. ”And you shouldn’t get too used to this version. I haven’t decided if I’m keeping it.”

”Why go back to being that way if you can be this way?” Mari asked, and he met her gaze, studying her.

”Which one do you really prefer?” He asked curiously.

Mari leaned against the counter too, mirroring him. ”Honestly? The original. Whichever one that is.” She gave him a pointed look. ”This version sort of threw me off balance. I haven’t found my footing yet.”

Jax chuckled. ”Is that such a bad thing? Being thrown off balance?” Jax asked, his voice lower now.

Mari’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden change in his voice. She shook her head. ”No. I like surprises. And you seem to be full of them.”

Jax stared at her for a moment, and smirked. ”No wonder you like me,” he said as he turned to prepare the dressing for the salad.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Jax busied himself with mixing the salad, and Mari watched him in silence.

Her thoughts drifted to earlier, when he said he was done with Diva. The way he had said it had seemed like he was sort of giving her an assurance that that he was done with Diva and she could attempt to seduce him.

Jax turned to glance at her. ”Why are you so quiet this time? What are you thinking?”

Mari arched a brow. ”Why are you always asking me why I’m silent when you’re the same person always telling me to shut up?”

Jax chuckled. ”Your silence makes me uncomfortable. At least when you’re talking, I know what you’re plotting.”

Mari grinned. ”Thanks for the intel. I’ll start being quiet more often.”

Realizing his error he nodded, deciding to play it cool. ”Perfect,” he said. ”That was the plan. Trick you into shutting up.”

Mari threw back her head and laughed. ”If you think I’m gonna fall for that bull, you’ve got another thought coming. I’m going to keep quiet more often whether you like it or not.”

They both laughed as Jax picked up the two plates of chicken salad. He handed one to her and motioned toward the stools by the island.

They sat together, and as Jax ate in silence Mari propped up her elbows and rested her chin on her fists as she stared at him.

”What?” Jax asked, wondering what was playing in her head this time.

”So... are you really done with Diva?” She asked, before taking a forkful of salad into her mouth.

Jax chewed slowly, then nodded. ”Yeah. I am.”

She looked at him carefully. ”Because of me?”

He lifted a brow. ”Do you want it to be because of you?”

Mari hesitated. ”Not exactly. I mean... I’m not that much of a bitch. Even if I sound like one sometimes.”

Jax chuckled. ”You don’t sound like a bitch at all,” he said, and she smiled.

”Thanks.”

”You sound more like a brat than a bitch,” he said, and she glared at him making him laugh.

”Give me back my thanks,” she hissed, making him laugh more.

”Take it back. You can unthank me,” he said, and she laughed despite herself.

”Yeah. Unthanks,” she muttered, ”You haven’t answered my question, though.”

”It wasn’t because of you,” he said, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth. ”I was eventually going to end things with her.”

”So... my being here didn’t influence your decision in any way?” She asked thoughtfully.

He paused. ”In a way it did. She was being unreasonably jealous of you. And it got on my nerves.”

Mari frowned slightly. ”Her jealousy wasn’t for no reason. She loves you. I’d be jealous too if you were my man and you allowed a girl from nowhere to sleep on your bed...”

”I’m not her man. And I didn’t allow you sleep on my bed,” Jax cut in.

”But I slept there, didn’t I?” Mari asked, and Jax looked at her incredulously.

”Only because I was asleep and didn’t even know you were there,” he said, unable to believe they were back to that argument and he had to defend himself to her when she knew the truth.

”Why did you sleep so soundly that you didn’t know another lady was on your bed? Why would you even leave your door open knowing you have a crazy kidnappee under your roof? Why would you even dream of another girl and touch her?” Mari asked, and Jax frowned.

”Are you seriously asking me such ridiculous questions right now?” Jax asked, and Mari shrugged.

”I’m just trying to say if I were in Diva’s shoes I’d feel jealous and offended too. You have no right to sleep soundly with another lady on your bed even if you’re in coma I expect you to wake up and push her out then you can go back to being comatose,” she said, and Jax laughed.

”You must be a very jealous one,” he asked and she nodded.

”Yes. I can be very jealous and possessive. I don’t like to share,” she said, and he raised a brow.

”Yet you wanted me to be your fuck buddy,” he pointed out.

”Yeah. Exclusive fuck buddies. You can’t have sex with anyone else while you’re with me,” she said with a shrug and he chuckled.

”So, you wanted me to be your fuck buddy when you knew Diva was in the picture, yet you don’t want to share and you don’t want to be the reason for our breakup either. Aren’t you a little confused?” Jax asked with a smirk.

”Wait! That wasn’t what we were discussing! Don’t make me deviate. I was trying to say the relationship between you both might have been strictly sexual for you, but for her, it was something deeper.”

Jax scowled at her. ”Can you please stop talking about Diva? Stop assuming you know anything about what we had.”

”I might not know it all, but I do know that she loves you,” Mari said firmly. ”Maybe she agreed to be your fuck buddy because she hoped that someday you’d start loving her back. If the table was turned, I’m pretty sure you’d have felt jealous too.”

Jax eyed her for a moment. ”If you say so. Can we change the topic now? Or do I have to leave you to eat alone?” He asked with a raised brow.

”Fine. I have something else I wanted to discuss with you anyway,” she said as she placed her fork down and looked straight at him.

Jax wiped his hands again and gave her a nod. ”Alright. Go ahead.”

She took a breath. ”I know you’re working for my parents.”