CHAPTER 246: SHE’S LYING

Jax listened as Mari told him about her conversation with Jamal, and when she was done, he nodded and let out a relieved sigh.

"I’m glad they’re fine."

"Yeah. Me too," Mari said with a grin.

She poked Jax’s arm with her fork when she noticed he was yet to take a bite from his plate all the while she was talking.

"Eat your eggs before they get cold. I actually made these with so much affection."

Jax arched a brow. "With affection? Why do I have a feeling it won’t taste good?"

Mari gasped and slapped his shoulder playfully. "Don’t you dare insult my cooking. You’ll see. It’s delicious."

He chuckled as he cut into the omelet, "You said you’re not that good of a cook. I’m not expecting much," he said before taking a bite.

Mari leaned closer, eyes expectant as she watched him chew slowly with a straight face.

"Well? How is it? Tell me the truth. Don’t lie."

Jax swallowed and set his fork down. He sighed dramatically. "I’ve never tasted anything like this in my life."

Mari’s lips parted. "Is it bad?"

Jax smirked. "No. It’s surprisingly okay. Like you said, you won’t win any awards for cooking. Let’s leave the cooking to me."

Mari burst into laughter, her head dropping to the table. "You’re such a heartless jerk."

They went on eating, stealing bites from each other’s plates and bickering over everything and anything. The sound of their laughter filled the kitchen, warm and bright, like they had no care in the world.

"I can’t believe you can actually be this much fun while eating. You used to be so cold. I guess I’m rubbing off on you," she said with a grin, and Jax scoffed.

"I’ve never been cold. You were just too noisy," he said, and she laughed.

"I am, right? Well, good thing you are catching up," Mari said as she held up a forkful of egg to his lips.

"You keep feeding me your eggs because you don’t like it and you want me to finish it, right?" Jax asked suspiciously and she laughed as she stuffed his mouth with the egg.

"You hurt my feelings, baby..."

"Feelings my foot," Jax muttered with his mouth full.

Just then, Diva walked in. She stopped in the doorway when she saw them together, leaning close, smiling, plates half-empty. A surge of anger rose inside her chest. But she didn’t let it show. She smoothed her face, pasted on a bright smile, and walked over.

Mari sat up straighter, her fork still in her hand as she looked at Diva then at Jax, whose attention was focused on his meal like he couldn’t see Diva.

Diva wrinkled her nose as her eyes landed on the scrambled egg. "Ugh. That egg smell. It’s making me nauseous."

Before Mari could respond, Jax raised his head and looked at Diva directly. "No one invited you to the kitchen. You can excuse yourself if you feel sick."

Diva smiled at him. "I came to find you. Saw you drive in a while ago. I need to talk to you."

Jax leaned back in his chair."Go on."

"Privately."

His jaw tightened when he remembered she had tried to mislead Mari. "You can say whatever you want to say in front of Mari."

Mari looked from Jax to Diva, wondering what Diva was up to this time now that she saw her plan to cause trouble had failed woefully.

Diva’s lips curved into a small, sly smile. "You might not want her to hear it. Seeing how well you two seem to be getting along."

Mari arched a brow and folded her arms, waiting to hear exactly what Diva had to say now.

Jax gave a short nod. "Go on."

Diva sat down across from them, reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny strip wrapped in tissue. She laid it on the table in front of Jax and smiled sweetly. "I’ve been feeling sick lately. I did a test. It’s positive. Congratulations, Jax, you’re going to be a daddy."

Mari’s mouth fell open slightly as her gaze shifted between them.

Jax shook his head, calm but cold. "We both know that’s not true. I’ve never been with you without protection. Not even when I’m drunk."

Diva’s lashes fluttered as she leaned forward. "And we both know sometimes these things leak. Sometimes they tear. Condoms aren’t a hundred percent safe."

Mari pushed her chair back and stood. "I think I’ll excuse you two now."

Jax looked at her quickly. "You don’t have to. Sit."

Mari gave him a small, reassuring smile. "If she’s pregnant, then you need to have a decent conversation with her. And you can’t do that with me here."

"Are you saying that because you’re upset?" Jax asked, his eyes locked on hers.

Diva scowled, annoyed to see the concern on Jax’s face as he looked at Mari. She couldn’t remember the last time he had looked at her that way.

"Why should I be mad?" Mari gave a half shrug. "It happened before I came into the picture. These things happen."

Diva let out a small laugh and leaned back in her chair. "She’s right. She has no right to be mad. I’m the one who should be mad, if at all. Because she came from nowhere and stole my man."

"I’m not your man. I never was," Jax said harshly.

Mari tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Diva. "If you’re really pregnant, then I think you should calm down, darling. Because that means my boyfriend is your baby’s daddy. You’ll have to do your best to get along with me because we will be in each other’s face for a really really long time."

Diva’s smile faltered, fury flashing in her eyes.

"There won’t be a baby," Jax said firmly, his gaze on Mari now. "She’s lying. I know she’s lying."

Mari gave a soft shrug. "You can’t be sure until she has a confirmatory test. And even then, it’s up to Diva whether she wants to keep it or not if it comes out positive. Relax, baby. I love, babies."

Diva glared at Mari, hating the calm way she spoke and the way she looked so reasonable. "You won’t be coming anywhere near mine!" She hissed.

Mari laughed. "No, I won’t. But if the baby is coming near Jax, then the baby will be coming near me, not the other way around."

Before Diva could respond, Jax spoke again his tone hard as he rose from his seat. "Let’s assume you’re pregnant, how can I be sure it’s mine? We both know you’re not exactly the type to..."

"Don’t insult me, Jax. I’ve only been with you for a while now," Diva snapped.

"Fine. Come with me. Let’s go get a proper test done today," Jax said, picking up his phone so they could leave.

Diva smoothed her hair with one hand and said lightly, "We can do that later. I need rest first. I drove a long way to get here. I’ll spend the night, and we can go tomorrow morning."

Jax opened his mouth to protest, but Mari touched his hand lightly. "It’s fine. She needs to rest."

Diva smiled faintly, satisfied, and rose from the table. Without another word, she walked away.

The room fell quiet. Jax exhaled, looking at Mari. "I’m sorry about that."

Mari gave him a small smile as she stood in front of him and placed her arms around his neck. "Don’t worry about it. I’m only a little upset that my birthday might not go as planned after all."

Jax tucked her hair behind her ears, his eyes serious. "It will. I promise you. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure to resolve this with Diva today."

Mari narrowed her eyes. "How?"

Jax didn’t answer. Instead, he picked up his phone, scrolled through for a moment, dialed a number, and waited.

When someone answered, Jax’s voice was low and firm. "Hello... yeah. I need you to send someone over. I need a blood sample taken for a pregnancy test."

Mari’s lips curved into a smile as he hung up the call. "You could have just ordered test strips."

"I will rather have a blood test done. If Diva doesn’t want to go to the hospital, I’ll bring the hospital to her. I don’t want to waste time worrying about something that isn’t true."

"You’re so smart. I didn’t even think of that."

Jax gave a small shrug. "I don’t want to ruin this chance with you. This might be my only shot."

"What do you mean?" Mari asked curiously, then shook her head before he could respond, "I guess I’ll find out tomorrow."

Jax nodded. "Yes."

"What if she’s pregnant?" Mari asked, and Jax frowned. "I won’t settle down with her because of that. I don’t want her to trap me with a baby."

"I understand. I’m just saying you should bear in mind that it’s possible. And I won’t want to be with a man that would deny or reject his baby regardless of how he feels about the mother."

Jax frowned. "Can we not talk about this until the test is done and we confirm the result?"

Mari nodded. "Sure."