“Guess what, Ponyo? I've got something for you too. You honestly didn't think I forgot that did you?”She pouted at me. “You know you didn't have to.”“I wanted to,” I said firmly, holding up a second paper bag I'd brought along with me. “What sort of best friend would I be if I don't get a birthday present for my best friend?”“Richy — ”“See what's inside first. Please.”She exhaled, taking the bag from me. “You're so sweet, it hurts,” she murmured. I watched her carefully as she unwrapped the box inside the bag, her eyes widening, my heart beating erratically. When was the last time I was nervous about something as simple as a gift?“Oh, Richard,” she gasped, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Richard, this book isn't out yet! I got it on pre-order, but it won't be released till another six months gone by. How did you ever — ” she flipped it open, tears escaping her eyes when she saw the personally written note inside. It was from Nina Simone, her favorite romance author. “Is this...
“Are you home right now, babe?” The phone line rustled with Talia's yawn as she replied lazily. “I'm at Grandmother's place, Elena. She wanted us to have lunch together.”I bit my bottom lip, feeling a flash of guilt because it had been a while since I visited Grandmother Willow. I had been wallowing in my own sorrows too damn much lately.“Want to come over?” Talia asked in a singsong, that knowing stretch on the last word. I chuckled. “Is Richard there too?” He was the main reason why I had been avoiding Grandmother Willow's place. He went there a lot to seek her counsel, and due to the fact that I wanted to ensure we spent as little time as possible with each other as the wedding date drew closer, I had no choice but to stop visiting Grandmother altogether.Talia tsked. “If I told you the truth, you wouldn't want to come anymore.”That confirmed things for me. I exhaled as I glanced around my office, feeling so lonely. I needed someone to talk to. To share my pain with. “Alright
“You're a jerk, through and through!” Talia yelled at me from the backseat, before turning to Elena. “You think so too, right babe. He's a jerk, right?”Elena nodded. “A hundred percent,” she said before looking up, our gazes colliding in the rearview mirror, her eyes however unfocused. She belched, scrunching up her face at the putrid smell that left her mouth. “You're a fucking jerk. I hate you,” she whispered the last part, but I caught it anyway.Something about the way she said it hit me hard, and a dull ache I couldn't make sense out of rippled across my chest. I knew they were both drunk, and I shouldn't take what they were saying to heart, but I'd never seen Elena look at me with so much...so much disregard.“Ponyo? Is everything alright? Did I do something wrong?”She looked away, resting her head against Talia, the two if them snuggling close in the backseat. I sighed as I kept my attention forward, on the road, as I drove us home. I didn't understand a thing. Elena and Tali
I groaned softly at the feel of her ass on my thighs and wrapped my hands around her waist. "W-What do you think you're doing, Ponyo?"She laughed. "What does it look like I'm doing, Richard? I want to sit here. On your thighs.""You can't. It's... it's not — ""I don't care what it's not. I want to sit here, and I'll do it anyway.""Tell me the truth, Elena. How much did you drink today? You don't sound like yourself."She moved, pulling herself closer and I gritted my teeth, blood rushing to my cock and making it even harder. She was sitting right on top of it, wiggling that arse right on top of it, and though I was trying my hardest not to, the thing I wanted most was to rip her panties off, drag down my sweatpants and fuck her real good.Disappointing? I knew. But this was probably every man's weakness. Every straight man's weakness."I did think I took a lot earlier," she whispered, her beautiful emerald eyes darkening. "But now I realize I didn't take enough. I've never had the
She took a step back, crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. “Now you're making things up. I asked you for your shirt. I didn't ask you to fuck me... though, judging from the way you're hard, I already suspect that you want to. So quit the responsible man act and do what your body wants.”I ignore her rant. “Let's make a deal. Would you go to sleep if I give you my t-shirt?”She nodded. “That'll be fair.”“Fine, Fine, babe. I'll give you the t-shirt, but this ends here, okay? Stop pushing me. I don't know what's gotten into you, I don't know what you have in mind, but this is wrong in every sense of the word. Knowing you, you're going to be pulling your hairs in regret tomorrow morning.”“Oh yeah?” she flipped her hair back and grabbed her dress, pulling it over her head, letting it drop to the floor. My jaw went slack. “Damn, you're... you're naked. You didn't wear any underwear to the club. Elena, God, this is...this is foolishness. What if you'd been raped? You'd nev
“Elena?”I groaned at the sound of Grandmother Willow's voice and snuggled a bit closer to the oddly warm pillow, not wanting to wake up. “Ugh, is it seven AM already?”“R-Richard?”My eyes snapped open, every trace of sleep instantly disappearing as my mind began to clear. Turned out that the warm pillow I was lying on was infact a broad chest, and a strong hand held me down to it.What the hell was going on?To add to my agony, fragments of last night's embarrassment flashed through my mind. Fuck. Oh no, I was so fucked.I blinked twice and twisted in Richard's arms, waking him up in the process. He grunted, blinking slowly, his eyes finding mine as he beamed lazily. “Morning, club girl,” he greeted. “How was your night?”The smile on his face faded as he looked past me, and I let my eyes fall close, shame overwhelming me. All I'd ever done lately was make stupid decisions because how else could I explain this mess I was currently in?“Shit — Grandma,” he blurted helplessly, his voi
I shrugged. "To be honest, even though we say we're best friends, you don't know me as well as you think you do, Richard," I said, deciding to settle for the excuse he was handing out to me. "It's been months since I got laid last, and I wasn't thinking straight. I wanted it badly, and anyone would've done. That's all there is to this."He narrowed his eyes at me, looking me over slowly. "Is that what you do sometimes? Get drunk? One-night-stands with strangers?"I exhaled, pursed my lips, unable to look at him. "So we're going to do this? Seriously? Why do you care so much about what I chose to do with my life? I'm a fucking adult, Richard. I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to lecture me. And you're free to judge me all you want. I don't care."He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Elena, come on. You know that's not what I'm trying to do here. I just need you to be careful. You can't let just any random man have access to you. What am I even saying, don't even dream of
My heart tore apart even more as I took my sister's wedding dress off the hanger. We'd just gotten it back from the fashion designer last night, and it was stunning. I was sure, without a doubt, that it would look beautiful on her. Every second of making the design for this dress was a torture like no other. It was a constant reminder that my feelings for Richard was meant to have ended a long time ago. That my unrequited love was soon to go down the drain. Luckily, Richard kept to his word, and didn't tell Sarah about that disgraceful night. Which meant he hadn't given much thought to it himself. I'd tried to keep my distance, believing I'd destroyed our friendship, but instead he kept calling, texting and stopping by my office to check up on me a lot more now. He seemed genuinely worried about me, which was ridiculous because he was the reason I was in so much pain.I exhaled as I brushed my fingers over the contours of the wedding dress, my chest hollow. I couldn't even see proper
I slipped into my wife's dressing room and leaned back against the wall, taking a moment to just watch her. Her makeup artist was putting the final touches on her, and she looked fucking magnificent. Tonight, her long hair was loose and wild, spread all over her body, accentuating the blazing-white gown she was wearing.It was the same gown I watched her draw on Sarah's birthday. Seeing it on her tonight was surreal. Her creativity knew no bounds, and I couldn't be more proud of her.Her eyes lit up when she saw me, and I pushed off the wall. I grinned when she dismissed everyone in her room, no doubt reading the look in my eyes.“Richy," she said, smiling. I would never tire of the way she said my name. On her lips, it was simultaneously a prayer and a sin."Baby," I whispered. "You look far too fucking beautiful in this. I can't take this. I can already imagine what all your pervs will have to say about the photos of this book launch." She chuckled. “It's the last one, my love," she
My heart was pounding wildly as I led Elena to the helicopter that was waiting for us. I had negotiated more multi-million dollar deals than I could count, and never before have I felt fear like I felt today.“Are you okay?" she asked as I buckled her in. “You're so quiet."I nodded, unable to suppress my nerves as I sat down next to her."Where are we going?" Elena asked through the headphones.I beamed at her. “You'll see.”I held her hand tightly as we flied toward the cabin where our story started. I knew that there was no point in pondering on what-ifs, but lately I couldn't help but wish things had played out differently.What if I'd drank a little less and actually remembered my night with Elena? Would we have been happily married years ago? We'd have made so many more memories together, and we'd both have saved each other from so much pain."Wow!" Elena pointed out the window, a huge smile on her face when she saw the hundreds of flowers spread across the lawn...She was so rid
I walked through the home Richard and I built, my heart heavy. There was no trace of Sarah left, our cleaners ensured it. Yet I could still feel her here. I wondered if the scars she left would ever fade.I was trembling as I sat down on the sofa, still reeling from the news that was released about her. Countless affairs, and irrefutable proof that the child she was carrying was not Richard's.Climbing her way to the top like that...I never would have expected that. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was like I never really knew her at all, and it made me feel even worse for sacrificing so much for her.I felt like an idiot, and I was ashamed of my subservience. I catered to her all our lives, feeling guilty for having had the childhood she'd always wanted, when it was obvious that she lacked for nothing.She'd always had this way of making me feel inferior, and if not for Richard, I never would've been able to untangle myself from her web. I didn't even dare think about what would
My heart felt heavy as I walked into the house I arranged for Sarah. I wished it hadn't come to this, because despite the rift between them, I knew Elena still loved Sarah. I wished I didn't stand at the center of their fallout. All I wanted to bring my wife was happiness, not torment. I knew Elena. I knew she was still hoping that Sarah would change, but the bitter truth was that she wouldn't."Richard," she called, smiling. That intimate and smug smile of hers irritated me a great deal. I may have been able to dispel many of the rumors she circulated, but I wasn't able to get rid of them entirely."Congratulations, " I said. "The doctor told me you're in the clear, and the baby is doing well. Looks like a change of scenery is exactly what you needed."She nodded. “Yeah. I love this place. It's much better than your place. We'll have to renovate that. It isn't child-friendly, and I hate the interior."I nodded as I sat down on the sofa, opposite her. “Yeah, we're not doing that. Elen
I watched as Alanna joked around with Talia and Felicia, my heart full. Emerson, Ford, Brock, Talia and Felicia have been staying here with me, much to Alanna's delight and Silas's annoyance.Felicia and Talia have been taking turns sleeping next to me, ensuring I didn't get caught in a downward spiral caused by social media. Though truth be told, there wasn't much being shared anymore. Richard's plea worked, and people massively took down their posts. It sparked discussions about cyber bullying and the mental health of celebrities, but while that topic was on people's minds, so were we."Elena," Alanna called.I walked up to her, and she frowned as she pulled their security feed up on the TV. It showed Richard walking into the building, and my eyes widened.Silas groaned and gritted his teeth. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my least favorite Delmonte."Alanna and I stared at him wide-eyed as he called up the police and requested that Ares be taken off their property. He turned to me
I was absentminded as I took a bite of the breakfast Alanna made for me. I tried not to, but I ended up scrolling through my social media feeds all night, and I found nothing but hatred directed at me. Despite Richard's best attempts, screenshots of deleted content were making their rounds across all channels. We've made it into every single gossip magazine, and they were all scrambling to create timelines of Richard and Sarah's relationship.It came to no surprise to me when The Herald reported on Sarah's pregnancy, which only villainized me further. Now I was not just the woman standing in between two childhood sweethearts, I was also the evil stepmother-to-be.Watching my love for Richard being turned into a spectacle for everyone to witness was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. Photos I couldn't recall taking were being posted online, showcasing how we used to look at each other when Sarah and Richard were still dating. The media had everyone convinced that I'd been se
My heart felt heavy as the driver that picked me up parked in a large elevator. It started to rise, until the car was parked in the corner of my friends' living room.The passenger door opened, and my friend Alanna offered me her hand. Her arms instantly wrapped around me, enveloping me in a tight hug, and that one small human gesture was more than enough to make me fall apart. I burst into tears, loud, heart wrenching sobs escaping my throat as she led me to the sofa. “I didn't know where else to g-go,” I said to her.Alanna and I have been best friends ever since she walked into my boutique in search of a wedding gown. No one has ever understood our friendship, but it was one of the most genuine and closest I've got. Alanna was one of a kind, and right now, she was the one person that could give me the solace I needed, without judgement.“I'm going to kill him," she whispered.“Easy, Little Psycho," her husband, Silas, said.Silas handed me a handkerchief with a small ¥ embroidered
I was barely thinking straight as I walked to our bedroom, tears streaming down my face andRichard on my heels.“Baby," Richard pleaded. “Please. Please trust that I'll fix this."I whirled around to face him. "How?" I screamed. “How will you fix this, Richard? Articles about us are all over the internet. It isn't as simple as suing just one single magazine, and even if we do, it's too late!"I walked into our wardrobe and yanked my clothes off the hangers, my movements erratic."Elena," Richard called in panic, his voice breaking. "What are you doing, Ponyo? You can't... don't do this. I beg of you, don't do this, Elena."I shook my head and grabbed my suitcase. "I'm not spending another moment in the same house as her. I've tried, Richard. For years, I've tried, sacrificing my damn soul to keep her happy in the process. I can't take much more.”He grabbed my shoulders and held onto me tightly, panic flashing through his eyes. "You're insane if you think I'll let you go."I shook my
I walked into the kitchen to find Sarah sitting by the breakfast bar, dark circles marring her beautiful face. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with defeat. She knew. There was no doubt in my mind that Richard confronted her about what she did five years ago.She huffed and looked away as she picked up her teacup, her hands trembling. I wished I had the energy to keep up the facade, but I didn't. After what Richard told me last night, I could barely stand to look at her. How was I supposed to allow her into my life, knowing how much she tookfrom me? "Why did you do it?" I asked, unable to keep the question buried.She looked up at me and gritted her teeth. “Do what?""That night... why did you sneak into Richard's room? Why did you pretend it was you he slept with?"She looked away and shook her head, avoiding my gaze. I'd never seen her at a loss for words, but she was today. It was clear that she thought she got away with her deception. Just how long had she gotten away with m