It's been a minute. Some plot was changed but not by a lot.
Clary POV:
Clary groaned awake as sunlight drifted through her curtains and fell straight on her bed. A small smile pulled on her face as she remembered last night. She kissed Jace Wayland. For as long as she can remember, Jace always had a special place in her heart. From the first time she laid her eyes on him, she wanted him to be hers. His golden innocent eyes stole her heart and, for a moment, she thought her pathetic life could have gotten better if he was by her side. But fate had its own mind and Jace Wayland became one of her tormentors all through high school.
High school. Clary's chest felt heavy remembering her time in that hell. To this day, she is unsure why everyone hated her. With Sebastian, she understood but still, a first-grade crush should not lead to this severe bullying. Shaking her head to get rid of old, painful memories, she reached for her phone. Checking through her email she saw a couple of potential clients who wanted to work with her on different art pieces and some work-related emails that notified her that her presence is needed at Jace's office today.
Stretching her arms above her head, she rose from the bed and took a quick shower. Dressed in a simple blue dress, she rushed out of her room. Deciding to skip breakfast, she rushed out of the door and hailed a cab. On the way to the office, Clary checked her phone to see a new text message from Jace.
Jace: I had a great time last night. Can't wait to see you again.
He sent that with a wink emoji. Clary's heart fluttered a little at the message and a frown pulled on her face. Letting her mind wander, she thought about Jace and how he apologized for everything he did to her six years ago. But an apology is not enough. Especially since the bullying mentally scarred her and it took a lot of time to gain her confidence back. However, she can't help but think about how it was mostly the girls who did most of the bullying but Jace never stopped them either. At least not in front of her. Plus he is a big womanizer and after seeing Kaelie in his office yesterday, Clary doubted if his apology was real or not. Maybe he's playing a game to get in her pants or trying to make a joke out of her again. Or maybe he is truly sorry for what he did, a small part of her whispered.
The kiss did change something. It changed a lot of things. Clary was confused about her feelings towards Jace. However, she did know she was not going to forgive him after just dinner and a kiss. He needed to grovel some more to get in her good graces. Yes, she was attracted to him but she also got hurt by him one too many times. The thought of being with Jace scared her. She's been burned by him many times. She was scared of getting her heart hurt again. Clary was unsure how she should act around Jace. She didn't want him to believe that things between them will be easier from now on. She was still bound to him by a contract. Nothing was different. Her father was still sick, her mother was depressed, her brother was still MIA, her art career was put on hold so she could help her family. Clary had to learn how to run a business and her engagement party was in less than a month. The thought of her engagement party twisted her stomach. Jace and her parents were organizing a party to publicly announce her engagement to Jace. Since her parents do not want the world to see that this is only a contract marriage, Jace and her need to go on public dates and convince everyone that they are madly in love. And after the engagement, they will get married so Jace's company and image can become stable again and she can learn the way to run a business. To make sure our motives are met, the contract mentions that they have to stay married for a minimum of three years and after that can choose to divorce each other. Within these three years, they had to play the role of the perfect couple.
With thoughts of her contract marriage, Clary walked inside Jace's company and was informed to head to the conference room for a meeting. With a heavy sigh, she walked towards the elevators already wishing the day to end.
Jace POV:
She's late. Jace keeps staring between the clock and the door every five minutes. He sat at the head of the table in one of the conference rooms with Alec, Simon, Kaelie, and a couple other department heads. Today, they were going to brief Clary on what different departments do and how they run. Each department head had prepared a presentation, so Jace knew he was going to be stuck here all day. He didn't have to stay. But just knowing Clary will be in here all day made him stay. He wanted to be near her. When she was in the same room as him, he felt calm. Her presence comforted him and he liked being able to see her to make sure she was okay. Jace wished he could take back everything he did to her in high school. He wished he could take her pain away and give her all the love she deserves. He thought back to the first time he saw her. He was new and ran straight into a short redhead. She looked up at him in pure awe and he noticed her green eyes and freckled skin. He wanted to count every freckle on her face. She was beautiful. Still is. He was rendered speechless at her beauty. They could have been a thing. High school sweethearts and what not. But he wanted to be popular and chose the wrong crowd. A crowd that hated his fiery redhead and like a sheep he followed them. Never really partaking in the bullying but never really stopping them either. Sighing, Jace winced at how much of a coward he was. Secretly wanting her and the popularity. And he chose being popular over her.
The stories she has told him horrified him. How could he let them do all those things to her? Instead of protecting her and comforting her, he turned his face away. Anger surged through him. He was angry at himself for not stopping them. But what's done is done. He can only show Clary how much he has changed and how much he still wants her. He can give her all the attention and love now. Fill the void hole in her chest with everything he can give. Show her how much she means to him.
Their first kiss replayed in his mind for the millionth time. It was perfect. She was perfect. The way her small hands gripped my shoulders and the way her mouth moved against his. He wanted to kiss her again. He was addicted to her taste. Taking a deep breath, he knew she was here. Her smell lingered in space and he looked up to see the woman who had him wrapped around her little fingers. He locked his eyes with hers and instantly all the tension from his muscles were relieved. He raked his eyes over her face lingering on her lips and then continued looking over her body. She wore a simple blue dress, nothing fancy and yet she looked absolutely divine. A small blush formed on her cheeks and she noticed me checking her out and he smirked at her. She immediately looked away mumbling a quick apology for her delay. She took a seat beside him and he leaned forward until his lips touched her ear and whispered, "Hello Red." She gave him a small smile before turning her body away from him and towards the screen. A frown settled on his face. Was she ignoring him? Did he do something wrong?
"Let's get started!" Alec announces to the room. Everyone straightened up and focused on him. "Clary, thank you for joining us. Today our department heads will present about their departments. What they do, how they do it, why they do it, so on. This will give you an insight of all the departments that make up a company. Do you have any questions?" Alec asks.
"No, I am excited to learn about the departments," Clary says with a solemn expression. Jace's from depend. Something was wrong.
"Alright, first up, Simon- our new head of IT Department" Alec introduces. After that he tuned everyone out except for Clary. Her shoulders were tight and her expression was somber. The entire time she kept her back to her and he could tell she felt his gaze on her the way her shoulders shivered. Was she regretting the kiss? Did she not have a good time? She looked pretty contemptuous last night so what changed?
After multiple long and boring presentations, they decided to call it a day and planned to meet again tomorrow to go over the company website and data. Jace thanked everyone for joining and quickly made a beeline towards Clary who was smiling and talking to Simon. Something green and hot ran through his veins as he saw her smiling at him like that. She looked relaxed and happy to talk to him. Complete opposite to how she is with Jace.
"Hey poppy, are you ready to head out?" Jace walked over to them and said. Clary tensed up and looked up in surprise and confusion.
"Head out where?" she asked.
"Home," Jace says, "We skipped lunch and I am hungry. How about we grab some takeout and watch a movie or something at home?" Jace liked the idea of having a home with Clary.
Clary hesitated as she looked at Simon and said, "Maybe some other time? I want to go back to my apartment and just call it an early night."
"Oh, we can go to your apartment then. I'll drive. Meet me downstairs," Jace insists and walks out of the door without waiting for her answer. He wanted to spend the evening with her and talk about what was going on.
Starting his car, he waited for Clary and saw her walking towards him and he opened her door. Her posture was still tense and she only mumbled a quick thanks before taking her seat. They drove to a restaurant and picked up some food and started the drive to her apartment.
"Clary, what's going on?" Jace asked once the silence got too uncomfortable. "You've been ignoring me all day."
"It's nothing. I am just tired," Clary whispers. The little spitball but not being herself and something was clearly up.
"Was it the kiss? Did you not like it? Please, just talk to me," He placed a hand over hers urging her to talk.
"No, it wasn't the kiss. I am just," she pauses and tries again, "I just don't know how to act around you anymore," She lets out.
"Act like how you want to act, baby. I don't expect you to become nice to me all of a sudden. I don't expect you to forgive me either. I want you to be the real you. I don't want you to pretend and most of all I don't want you to ignore me," Jace sighs. "I won't be mad if you treat me the same way as you did before the kiss. But please, give me a chance to make up to you." Jace says while looking between her and the road.
Clary nods her head and whispers, "I saw Kaelie in the conference room today. And you were there too and I just couldn't help but think that there is something going on-"
"Nothing is going on with Kaelie and me, Clary. I haven't touched anyone but you since the contract. I may sleep around a lot but I am not a cheater. I won't do that to you. I don't want Kaelie. I want you," Jace parks the car and looks at Clary. He cups her face in his hands and leans in so his forehead touches her. "Only you." he whispers against her lips. With a small nod, Clary pulls away and they head upstairs.
Clary heads into her room to change while Jace serves dinner. The insecurity in her eyes broke Jace's heart. She believed he was playing games with her. At first Jace could not believe it but then he remembers he never gave her any reason to trust him. Rolling up his shirt sleeves he puts on a movie on the TV and waits for Clary. He could get used to this. Coming home to/with Clary, eating dinner, watching a movie, spending time together. Jace never did this with a girl. Before the contract, Jace was a fuck em chuck em type of guy. Never sticking around longer than needed. But with Clary, he didn't want to leave her.
Clary walks in with sweatpants and shirt on. "Thank you for the food," she says as she sits next to him. They eat their dinner and watch the movie, enjoying the silence and the company. After cleaning up, they settle on the couch again and Jace puts his arm on the back of the couch. "So, can we like make out now?" Jace asks and chuckles when he receives a slap on his chest.
"You wish, asshat." Clary smirks.
"Okay, how about just a kiss? As dessert?" Jace pushes.
"I don't want you to get fat. So no," Clary teases.
"A peck,"
"Jace."
"Just a small peck," Jace pushes his lips together.
"Fine," Clary grumbles and leans up, quickly pecking his lips.
"Too fast. One more," Jace grumbles.
"No, that's all you get," Clary smirks.
"Please," Jace begs.
"Drop it." Jace grumbles again but starts to watch the movie.
Sometime during the movie, Clary falls asleep. Her head against his chest, Jace lowers his arm and wraps it around her shoulders. He moves the blanket so it covers her arms and drops a kiss on her head. Inhaling the smell of her sweet shampoo. Jace sat there for a few minutes. Soaking up the cuddles and wanting to never leave. Eventually he picked her up and took her to her room. She stirred a little when he placed her down but remained asleep. Jace leans down and tucks her in and plants a kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, Clary. Sweet dreams," he whispers before walking to the door.
"Good night, Jace," a sleepy Clary whispers back. A smile formed on his face and remained as he drove back to his home.
Leave a review :)
