This story goes by so fast! I can't believe it. I'm already at chapter 10 of 14. O.O
Thank you to alicheriee, Arabella and AllAboutThatPotter for the sweet reviews! I love to read your thoughts about this world and your predictions what's coming up! That goes especially to Arabella, as I can't tell you this otherwise, but also goes generally. It's just so fun, though I'm also always worried that my story won't be as good as your predictions. ;)
But yes, please enjoy this chapter!
Jade's father has half the day off – not because of his daughter's birthday but out of coincidence because his boss had to close the business for half the day out of other reasons.
He asked Jade to a late lunch after school and Jade agreed. She takes Beck with her now. He sometimes also takes his wife when they agree to meet up somewhere. Why shouldn't she be allowed to have Beck with her? Especially on her birthday. And as Beck is her soulmate.
Her father also barely pulls a face when they walk up to him together. He nods curtly to both of them as they sit down in the booth opposite to them, before he congratulates Jade on her birthday and hands her a gift.
She waits until they have ordered and shortly talked about each their days at work and school, before she finally says: "As you might be wondering... My mark says Beck."
She pulls off the wristband she was still wearing and offers him her arm to read.
He does, his face showing nothing, no surprise, no joy, no disgruntleness.
When he looks up again, he doesn't look at Beck, but Jade straight in the eye instead.
"You're sure he's your soulmate?" he outright asks.
And Jade gets the question after what her parents went through with each other. It doesn't happen often but it happens. The name 'Beck' should be rare enough. But her father actually trusts her to know if the boy next to her is that Beck.
She only nods, looking right back into his eyes and he looks at her for another moment, before he stands up with purpose and holds out his hand to Beck.
Beck stands up too and shakes his hand.
"Be good to her," Maximilian says.
And that's the nicest thing Beck thinks he has ever heard from Jade's father. Promptly, he smiles. "I'm trying."
.
O
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After that late lunch, they drive to Jade's home together where Jade's mother and her brother are already waiting – as well as her stepfather.
Her mother greets them enthusiastically and offers them some of the birthday cake she got for Jade after work that her brother proudly gets to cut. They accept though they are pretty full from lunch.
"Are you two okay?" her mother whispers after a while to Jade, as if Beck couldn't hear her while talking to her little brother, though he's sitting right next to Jade.
"Better than okay," Jade says. Beck also understands what her mother is on about and he turns his attention towards the pair, gently interrupting the conversation he had with Jade's little brother. Promptly Jade turns her wrist on the kitchen table they are sitting at.
Her mother looks down on it and her eyes widen. "It says Beck!" she calls out and runs her fingers over it as if she can't believe it, before she looks back into Jade's face, her own face lighting up. "Oh, my. Honey, that's amazing! It says Beck!"
"I know," Jade says as in telling her mother that she knows herself what name it says, but can't help but smirk as her mother pulls her up and into her arms.
Beck feels warm just seeing it. The pure joy displayed on Jade's mother's face at the realization that her daughter already found her soulmate so early and that it's Beck.
Her mother then also hugs Beck while Max, who didn't come with them into the kitchen at first but probably also wants his slice of cake now and therefore came back, witnessing his wife's reaction, walks closer, raising his eyebrows: "You sure you didn't put that on yourself with a marker?"
"Max," Jade's mother says, pulling back from Beck appalled.
"It was a joke," Max says, putting a stupid grin on his face like he always does after he has let his wife seen his awful side. Beck despises him. He has before Jade told him about his whole behaviour as he has already met him by that time and felt that there was something off about Max's behaviour around Jade.
Beck has a few words on his lips about how he would never disrespect Jade's child if she already had one that wasn't his, that he loves everything about Jade and that he feels in his heart that that would include her children even if they weren't his, and about how that's how a soulmate is supposed to feel. But he doesn't say anything because he knows that just like him Jade prefers to fight her own battles.
And he feels that Jade doesn't care about her stepfather's words this time. Because this asshole can't hurt her.
"If you need to put me down, roll with it," Jade coldly tells him. "You were never able to and you never will be."