💚💚💚My dear little broccolis.

~ ‼️I am sorry I did not post last week, but a lot was going on in my life. For starters, well, this chapter is pretty long, and I didn't want to cut it at the line break. Also I quit my job, because my bosses were ... well they were not nice, and not conform to the law. And I also learnt the death of my grandmother, which had a bit of a toll on me. So yeah, lot was going on last week, but I'm all better now, ready to update on time. 😊‼️

~ So without further ado, enjoy this light update.

Love, Mina 💚💚💚

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Chapter 4: Conversations (2,8K)

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins

La Femme Chocolat - Olivia Ruiz

If U Seek Amy - Britney Spears

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

Jace's and Clary's PoV

"What did you do Jace?" Aline asked with a very suspicious voice, raising herself from the bed with the help of her elbows.

Jace avoided looking at her, and walked straight to the wardrobe as he mumbles under his breath a small: "Nothing."

He just came back from walking on Clary and her marvel to the sunrise, and all he had been able to think about was that he had wished she wasn't engaged, or at least not to Sebastian. After all, the fact that a woman was committed to another man never stopped Jace from pursuing her; but he wouldn't do that to Aline, no matter what his relationship was to Seb.

The three of them grew up together, but the two boys never managed to develop a real friendship. Aline was their only link, and the only reason why they would speak to one another, and be polite about it. Of course, Aline loved them both, but that love never managed to make the boys like each other. They didn't dislike one another either, they just adjusted with the presence of the other in their lives. And the fact that as they grew up to be adults and hadn't done a thing to see each other over the years only confirmed that they simply weren't meant to be friends.

Aline properly sat in her bed, all sleep gone from her face as she glared at Jace, ready to lecture him; and so Jace cut her off before she could put him in a foul mood before the sun was high in the sky with piercing voice: "I swear, Aline. She's your cousin's fiancé. Even I have some morals. Have a little faith in me!"

She didn't reply anything to that, and Jace stopped pretending that he was actually doing something in the wardrobe. He let himself fall backward on the bed, his head landing next to Aline's hips while his mind was still wandering on what happened just a few minutes ago. Would have Clary been single, he would have kissed her right at the moment when the first rays of sun touched her fair skin.

He never thought he would have said that one day, but for a moment, she looked like an angel. The way the colours embraced her skin, the way her green eyes sparkled with wonders, the way the few loose strands of her hair flew around her face with the faint morning breeze, the way her chest rose up and down with excitement.

With a shake of his head, Jace shook his head, hardly swallowing and thinking that he shouldn't be so obsessed with a girl he only met once, five years ago. She wasn't the sexiest woman he had laid with, so he shouldn't be so excited by the mere thought of her in the morning lights.

As he was doing his best to picture Georges Washington, he felt Aline weave her fingers in his hair and gently comb it. Even though he didn't open back his eyes, he gave her a small smile, apologising through it for his behaviour and the way he was not playing the perfect husband to her in front of her closest family member.

But before he could say something to her, he heard Aline fall backward herself in the bed, her hand leaving his hair. Jace immediately snapped his head up, a frown clear on his face when he heard her sigh, and he worriedly asked her: "What is it?"

"I shouldn't tell you that," She simply responded, making Jace immediately retort to her:

"We tell each other everything!"

Aline loudly heaved, her eyes now focused on the ceiling and she explained: "Well … I think that their marriage is strictly about business. Or mostly."

"Don't be ridiculous, Aline. Seb is a lawyer, and she's an artist," Jace reminded her.

"How do you know she's an artist?"

"I just know."

"Well, my point exactly. Her parents own the law firm Seb is working for. It is some big firm worldwide known, and it has been in their family for generations. But her brother isn't interested in the law either, and … Well, I feel like they got engaged pretty quickly when you consider the amount of time they have been together."

Jace didn't say anything for a moment, downing this new piece of informations. But then he reminded Aline: "We got married pretty quickly as well."

She rose an eyebrow at him, and he conceded that what he just said wasn't a very good counter-argument. On the contrary. But still: "I heard them say 'I love you to one another'. And anyway, that kind of old fashioned thinking is from two centuries ago, Aline. Their marriage is real."

"You love me, Jace. The whole wide world knows it. You tell me all the time, just like I do. And don't think some families aren't ready for the extreme to keep their legacy in the family."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

"Clary, you should get some sleep you know," Seb said as he sat next to Clary, gently kissing her cheek before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Clary ungracefully repressed a yawn, her eyes locked on the horizon, though she still rested her head in the crook of Seb's shoulder. For a peaceful moment, the two them looked at the turquoise sea endlessly dying on the shore, before she broke their silence and quietly told Seb:

"Seb … There is something that I hadn't been honest about …"

"You know Jace," Seb simply stated, sure of his words. Clary looked up to stare at his face, blinking of incomprehension, so Seb explained: " I figured. The very few times he has been around, he's been devouring you with his eyes, as if he knew what's hidden underneath your cloths. And speaking as a man who happened to experience that feeling first hand, I can't say that I blame him. You can be a little temptress when you want."

Clary weakly smiled as Seb chuckled, kissing her temple before he learned backward to rest on his elbows, his eyes still on the sea. This was one of the reasons she liked Seb so much. He wasn't one to look for troubles, or to keep his thoughts to himself. He said what he wanted to say, while still remaining that cool guy it was nice to hang around with.

The minutes passed by, and Clary caught him staring at the ring ornamenting her finger, thing that she had been doing for a while, ever since Jace left her alone, an hour ago, to be precise.

"You know," He said with a big inspiration. "I thought that if I kept on saying it endlessly, I would end up believing it, like your parents do …"

"Yeah … Me too. But maybe it's for the best. Maybe this is what will make us one of those couples who last forever," Clary argued, clearly aware that Seb was talking about their lack of deep feelings for one another.

Sure she loved Seb, and he loved her, but neither of then was in love with the other. She actually ended up engaged by some master manoeuvre from her father's part that neither of them saw coming. One moment they were all having a nice dinner at some fancy restaurant, the next morning, Clary and Seb were engaged, the news on the front page of any newspaper that was a little bit interested about the personal life of big fortunes.

"I don't think so. And I know that you don't believe that, either. You're just saying that because you're scared of how your father will react."

Clary could hear the smile in his voice, even though she wasn't looking at Seb. There was actually a part of truth in what he said. She didn't want to hear her father's rants if she was to announce him anything remotely close as 'the engagement is off'.

"Anyway, I should get ready. Aline wants to talk to me about something, and we're going to the main island. Meaning you'll be alone with Jace today. Hopefully, she's going to tell me that she wants a divorce, and ask me to represent her."

Clary rose an eyebrow at Seb as he got up, surprised to see him so vindictive, and Seb simply shrugged as he explained: "Don't get me wrong, Jace is a good guy when he wants to, but … They're not fit to be together. It doesn't feel right to see them together, and even less to see them married."

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

After Seb left with his cousin, Clary did her best to avoid Jace, and therefore remained locked in the bedroom that she shared with Seb, blasting music in her headphones so she wouldn't even be able to hear him going through the house.

She was working on a new scenery for the comic she was working on with Simon, her best friend, when her phone buzzed against her hip. She answered without even bothering to look at the caller ID, removing her headphones before placing the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"Miello?"

"You should really consider answering your phone with something a little bit more mature."

Clary smiled with love at the sound of that particular voice, and she closed her sketchbook, giving her caller her complete and entire attention.

"I don't think so. I happen to like it like that."

"Of course you do. You're a kid. So how is everything on Paradisiac Island?"

"Everything is great. The view is breathtaking, and it is so warm here. Seb should have taken me here more often."

"Well, he still has a lifetime to do so."

"Not really… We actually might call off the wedding."

"Why am I not even shocked?" Jon said with a tone so blasé that Clary couldn't help but smile at it.

She actually wasn't surprised that her her brother wasn't more fazed by this new piece of news because unlike their parents, Jon never believed in the 'love story' that she was supposed to share with Seb. Far from it, the more their parents bought it, the more Jon was suspicious about it.

"Mom and Dad are going to be so sad. Maybe they'll repudiate us, and then adopt him, instead. They do love him more than us."

Clary rolled her eyes, perfectly aware that Jon wasn't being serious, and she added salt to the wound: "They can keep him, I don't mind."

Jon was probably about to bounce on that, when her stomach interrupted him by loudly growling and making Jon laugh his heart out.

"Clary, eat! I can hear the complains of your poor stomach form the other side of the glob!"

"Yeah, yeah," She mindlessly said, getting up and naturally going to the kitchen to see if she could see something that would nourish her 'poor stomach'.

She actually forgot that she wasn't in her apartment, the soothing voice of her brother bringing her a state of comfort that she only felt when she was at home. She started fixing for herself a quick composed salad, all the while inquiring about her brother and his own life:

"Anyway. How is life treating you, Jon? Did you write a poem, lately?

"Nope. I'm completely stuck in that stupid infamous writer's block. I need a muse. Care to be her?"

Clary rolled her eyes, sitting on the counter as she stuffed her mouth with her composition, and dissuaded her brother the best way she knew how: "Sure. I'll even strip naked to arise your imagination."

"Ew! .. Though, with all that Lannister shit in GoT, it might be a good thing to write about incestuous and torturous desires … Nah! Even with the amount of money I could make of it, it doesn't feel right."

She snickered and retorted: "I know, but you asked for it. Fortunately, I don't have your problem at the moment. The view I have on this island is just … very inspiring. You will see it in our next comic."

"Or … I could come and pay you a visit. After all, if Seb and you just broke off your engagement, I am expected as a good and loving brother to come and break his teeth in order to defend your honour. Though I like Seb better, so I'll break your teeth instead."

"You can try. But before you do so, I just want to remind you of what happened the last time you tried to take me on," Clary mindlessly, still eating her salad with a small victorious smirk on her lips.

"Yeah, that's true. My testicles are still missing, by the way."

"Oh, stop being such a pussy. Wait … What am I hearing?" She suspiciously asked, uselessly squinting her eyes as she could swear that she heard Kaelie's voice screaming an order for coconut pancakes. Just the mere thought of them made her drool with envy.

"Yeah, I am at Taki's, indeed," Jon said with a smug tone, and Clary couldn't repress the moan that escaped from her lips (earning a devious snicker from her brother's part). Her obsession for those pancakes were going to kill her one day, she was sure of it.

"I want coconut pancakes," She whined into the phone.

"I know, but I'll eat them for you. Gotta go. Call you later."

"Bye Jon. I love you."

"What's not to love? But I love you too, little one."

She chuckled, completely renewed by this conversation she just had with her brother, and then she made herself a bit more comfortable on the counter by sitting Indian style, placing the bowl in the cavity created by her folded legs. She silently ate, mindlessly smiling like every time she had an encounter with Jon, because he always knew how to bring a smile on her face.

"Does your fiancé know that you're calling other men when he's not around?" Jace suddenly asked, startling Clary, and making her jump a little.

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering to herself what was wrong with that man, and why he never made a sound when he walked around. It was the second time in the day that he surprised her, appearing out of nowhere, like a cat.

He was leaning against the fridge, looking at her with something that any normal person would have qualified as indecent; but that still made her shiver to her very core.

"Does your wife knows that you sneak up on other women and their private conversations?" She snapped back, making him raise an eyebrow at her.

Jace walked closer to her until he was just in front of her. He could see the unease in her eyes, her chest raising and falling way too quickly, showing how much her heartbeat became erratic. Slowly he raised his hand to her face and played with a lock of her scarlet hair. He liked the way it was like that: wild. A calling to be tamed, even though it was obvious it would never be tamed.

He leaned a little bit closer, making her blush but he still noticed that she didn't ask him to back off. He kept on leaning ever so slowly until their faces were only inches apart, until leaning any more would result on kissing her. He wanted to, but he was afraid she'd reject him. That was a news flash, Jace Lightwood afraid of rejection. Aline would never let him forget that.

"My wife and I have a very open relationship," He said in a sultry whisper.

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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

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~ I started a new story called the Boss's Daughter, and you should really check it out. It's going to be VERY INTERESTING! Go check it out. And go and check on WattPad The Hearts Series, I'm sure you will like it.

~ Anyway, question time:

` 1. What do you think of the relationship between Jon and Clary?

` 2. What about the relationship Seb and Clary have?

` 3. What do you think will happen next chapter?

` 4. What was your favourite part?

Anyway, Cassandra Clare owns the names of the characters from the Mortal Instruments franchise, everything else is mine.

Love, Mina 💚💚💚