Flame

The next morning Jackson jumped from his sleep as his ringtone echoed in the room while his phone vibrated on the nightstand.

After the sleep in his eyes had cleared a bit, he stared at the alarm clock and a frown settled on his face.

However, when he grabbed his phone and stared at the caller's name, his expression became clouded with worry.

"Mom, why are you calling this early?" Jackson softly said after he had answered the call.

"I am standing outside your fence." Rose's voice flowed from the phone, sounding pretty mad.

The tiredness Jackson felt quickly faded as he jumped out of bed, then his toes tingled from the coldest of the tiles while he walked over to his closet.

A while later, he came out of his room wearing comfy sweatpants. Then Jackson gazed at the next door for a moment before heading downstairs.

When Jackson stepped out of the front door and headed for the gate, he could see his mother's impatient eyes staring back at him.

Then he pressed the button on the control, and as the gate slid open, Jackson sighed out his frustration and mumbled "Great, things just got more complicated."

The frown on Rose's face did not fade even when she met up with her son.

"Mom, what brings you here?" Jackson nervously mumbled when he noticed the anger in Rose's eyes.

However, she ignored his question, walked right past him, and headed into the house.

"Damn it," Jackson mumbled as he raced after her.

When he finally caught up with Rose, she was in the living room, staring around the place with a frown still on her face. Then she gazed at Jackson and scowled.

"I spoke to Jennie yesterday, and she told me that you asked her for a divorce. Is that true?" Rose said with a hint of disapproval in her tone.

"Yeah. Yes, I want an end to her and my marriage." Jackson straightforwardly said while dead seriously staring at his mother.

"Why, son?"

"Mom, what do you mean by 'why?' Why! Ha, I was made a fool for months! Do you know how many times I asked her to tell me the truth! Why? Because I can't love her the way I had loved her for all these years. That's why."

Seeing the deep pain in her son's eyes, Rose slowly approached Jackson, rested her palm on his cheek, and gently said, "I know that you are angry now, son. I too am mad at Jennie. But healing comes with forgiveness. Give your heart time to heal, and you will learn to love her again. It was the same with your dad and me."

"It's not the same, mom. We both know that."

Jackson whispered.

With disappointment in her eyes, Rose drew her hand back, and said, "As humans, we are entitled to make mistakes, and it's the same for Jennie. You both have come this far, and you just going to end your marriage like the years you guys spent together means nothing! Why son?"

At that moment Miya causally walked into the living room. Then she stood still, and nervously scratched her hair as she anxiously stared at Jackson then at Rose.

"Good mor...morning," Miya muttered as the color drained from her face.

For a moment, Rose glanced up to the ceiling and took in a deep breath. But when she looked back at Jackson, she still felt enraged.

Then without uttering a word, she walked out of the living room, leaving Jackson and Miya awkwardly staring at each other.

It took a few seconds for Jackson to get over his shock, but once he did, he sighed heavily and said, "I will be back." Then without getting a response from Miya, he ran out after his mother.

"Can we talk!" Jackson called out when he saw Rose heading for the gate.

After a split second of hesitation, Rose stopped. Then she turned around and faced her son.

"Talk about what? How you have a married woman in your home, dressed in your clothes. I saw the ring, son. How dare you criticize Jennie when you guys have not even divorced yet and you are out here messing around." Rose lashed out.

"What? No, whatever you think is going on, is not true." Jackson said in defense.

"I don't care. I know what I saw!"

"I am just being a helpful neighbor. She and her husband got into a fight and I didn't want her to get hurt, that's the only reason she's at my place. There's nothing more to it."

"Well, that makes way more sense. But just know that the only daughter-in-law that I am going to accept is Jennie."

"Great! This is just perfect since I don't plan on getting married again."

Sadness clouded Rose's face as she stared at her son in disbelief. Then she silently walked away, and Jackson didn't stop her since he knew what he had to say will only hurt her further.

When Jackson went back into the house, he didn't see Miya in the living room, so he headed upstairs to the guest room.

"You are leaving?" Jackson mumbled when he walked into the room and saw Miya.

She then scraped Milu in his car seat and hung their nappy bag on her shoulder before staring at Jackson.

"Yeah, I think I have overstayed my visit," Miya mumbled.

A smile surfaced on Jackson's lips when Mila giggled when he tenderly played with her cheeks, then her tiny hand held onto his finger.

"Are you okay?" Miya asked when she noticed the sudden sadness the shadow Jackson faced.

"Yeah. You guys should get going. I will help drop you and them off." Jackson mumbled.

Since they left the house he and Miya did not utter a word to each other until he packed his car in front of her house.

"We are here," Jackson mumbled, looking out the windshield at Lucas standing on the porch.

When he didn't get a response from Miya, Jackson gazed at her and the fear in her eyes told him exactly what she was thinking.

Even though his head told him not to say it, his heart had him under its full control as Jackson gently tapped Miya's hand and said, "You… well you can stay at my place until you feel okay to come back to him."

"Uh. No, it's okay. Yesterday was a mistake. I am sure he wouldn't…" Miya said with uncertainty in her voice.

Then she stared at Lucas and fear swept across her face, but for only a second. Afterward, Miya gazed back at Jackson, softly smiled, and said, "You don't have to worry. We will be fine."

After getting down from the vehicle, Miya was shocked when Lucas raced up to her and hugged her before taking her bottom lips in his mouth and passionately kissing her.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as Jackson watched. Then he got down from the car and took the triplet out of the backseat of his car and carried them to the porch.

After carefully placing their car seat on the floor, he turned around and his eyes met with Miya's gaze, and there was a sudden tightest in Jackson's chest as he and Miya stared at each other while she and Lucas kissed.

"I am so sorry, babe. I swear to you and the kids that I will never raise my hand against you ever again." Lucas pitifully said when he and Miya's part.

She then stiffly smiled at him as her hands stroked his back. But her sight didn't sway away from Jackson. However, he broke eye contact with her and headed back to his car.

'Don't look back, Miya. Don't…' Miya thought as her heart sank.

But when she heard Jackson's vehicle engine started, she squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath.

Then her eyelids slowly lifted when she couldn't hear the car sound anymore.

'That's right, Miya, come to your senses. What you feel is just a flame. It's not real. You are married and so is he. There's no way you guys can work.' Miya thought, yet her heart felt heavy just by thinking about it.