Page 50 of Laying His Claim
Chapter 19
Huntington’s Disease: A progressive, genetic brain disorder, characterized by the deterioration of cognitive processes and loss of motor functions. It commonly results in organ failure and, eventually, death.
Justin clicked the web page closed and leaned forward over his desk, allowing his weary head to fall into his hands. His eyes burned from reading. He had spent two days reading through reams of material, scouring websites, even calling up old college friends who were now qualified doctors, seeking as much information as he could. It bothered him that throughout Jalissa’s time at the hospital, nobody there had bothered to do any deeper probing into her medical history. But then, who would think to look into her genetics considering no one knew of her preexisting condition.
And all paths led to the same conclusion. Jalissa’s illness had no cure. The idea of losing either her or Seb—the love of his life and his precious child—was like barbed wire wrapped around his heart.
“There must be a way. There has to be a way.”
As for Jalissa, over the past couple of days she had retreated behind a wall of disinterested silence, as if in a walking coma. He had called Melanie to tell her that Jalissa wasn’t able to come in because she was ill. Still reeling from everything and feeling guilty about everything, Justin sent one of his chefs from his restaurants to take over Jalissa’s shifts. She’d holed herself up in her room, most of the time even locking the door. And though he had the keys, he respected her privacy enough not to barge in. But he hated every moment of her retreat.
She refused to eat, barely drank anything, except when he coaxed her to take a few sips of water. But most worrying, she refused to have anything to do with Sebastian, not even to look at him. His cries brought her to anguished tears, but instead of moving toward him to soothe their baby, she ran in the other direction, slapping her hands over her ears. The fact that Sebastian was old enough now to recognize that he was being rejected worried him. He was grateful for Gwendolyn and her loving ministrations to keep the baby calm while he did his research. Seb was in excellent hands.
Helpless was not a word Justin had ever used to describe himself. He’d always been confident, always been in charge, in business, as well as in his personal life. But this time, he was stumped. There was nothing more that he could do on his own.
He reached for his phone and dialed Kaiya’s number.
* * *
The light tap on the door made Jalissa cover her head with a pillow. “Go away, Justin.”
The door opened and Kaiya and Kalilah sailed in. “Who you’re calling Justin?”
Jalissa sat up in surprise, not knowing how to feel about the invasion. As Kalilah threw open the curtains, letting in a stream of bright sunshine, Kaiya perched on the edge of her bed and plopped a small pastry box on her lap. Hot pink and turquoise, from her favorite pastry shop. “I hear you aren’t eating. Maybe this will change your mind.”
Kalilah came to sit on the other side of the bed, tilting her head and giving Jalissa a critical look. “You look awful. Have the birds started nesting in your hair yet?”
Jalissa couldn’t resist the smile that hovered around her mouth. Only close friends could get away with saying something like that. A tug at the ribbon holding the box shut was followed by a curious peek inside. Profiteroles; she could have guessed. She felt a twinge of hunger, but set it aside and sat there in gloom. “Justin called in the troops, huh?”
“Yep,” Kaiya affirmed while rubbing her back gently. “The men are in the sunroom sipping on fine single malt, and the kids are playing with Seb in the nursery. We’re here for you.” Her voice became softer, coaxing. “Talk to us.”
Too exhausted to resist, she did. Jalissa poured out her story, telling them about her deadly family heirloom.
By the time she was done talking, Kaiya was in tears. “You were going through all of this, and you suffered in silence? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t want anyone to worry about me. And you were going through something worse. After you had your baby, and your parents managed to convince you ‘he’ was dead. How could I bring up something like that?”
Jalissa watched as Kaiya’s face crumpled. “I was too caught up in my own problems to notice you were in pain, too. How could I have been so selfish?”
“Not selfish. You could never be selfish.” Jalissa placed a comforting hand upon Kaiya’s, drew breath and went on stoically. “You know how I’ve always said I didn’t want children? I remember why. It was because of Dad. Huntington’s disease ran in the family, and any child I have would have inherited it, too. After everything my dad put me through, I didn’t want any child of mine to suffer that fate. My dad knew he had the disease before he met my mom. He knew the chances of passing it on, but did he care? No!”
“I’m so sorry, Jalissa,” Khalilah added, voice full of regret. “If I never left for the States, then Kaiya wouldn’t have lost her baby and you would have gotten support from day one. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Kalilah. I should have told Justin the truth from the beginning. I should have been better with birth control. I feel so empty. Seb will hate me as much as I hated my dad.”
“Seb loves you, sweetie. Nothing will make him hate you.” Kaiya, still sniffling, had an epiphany. “There never was an engagement, was there?”
Jalissa shook her head. “He just wanted to make sure that… that Seb… wasn’t terminated.”
Khalilah nodded, “We understand. Justin was always there for you, looking out for your best interests, even when we,” she pointed from her sister to herself, “clashed with him. So, you have to believe he’s going to be in your corner now. Talk to him, Jalissa. Don’t shut him out at a time like this.”
Kaiya wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, nodding in emphatic agreement. “I’ll even take Seb for the night if you like. Give you some time.”
Talk to Justin. As if that would be so easy. She’d been so shattered by the avalanche of revelations that she’d shut him out for the past couple of days. Could they be right? Should she go to him and open up, thrash out this subject once and for all?
Wordlessly, without trying to pressure her anymore, the two sisters clambered into her wide bed, one on each side, and laid their heads on her shoulders. The message was clear:We got your back.
* * *
