Ethan’s POVI sigh feeling accomplished. I managed to bag a date with Alexia. At first, I wasn’t sure she’d say yes but she pleasantly surprised me. I felt guilty for not defending her during the whole dinner fiasco. My mother was the one at fault. I mean Alexia’s lasagna was exquisite, you could only find cooking that good in very few places. My mother just decided to be petty and hurt poor Alexia’s feelings. I was helpless though. As much as I wanted to help, I still had to factor in the fact that she was my mother. I wanted to avoid conflict and, in the end, Alexia was the only one affected.I finish up with work quickly needing to pick Alexia up. It’s already past 6 but if I leave now, I could make it a little after 8 which to me is fair enough. I leave my office and get into my car. I gave my driver the day off so I have to drive on my own. That’ll give us privacy at least. Halfway through the ride, my phone starts ringing. I plan on ignoring it but as the ringing refuses to sto
Alexia’s POVI checked my phone one more time and it’s already 10 pm. Where could Ethan possibly be? I mean if he knew he wouldn’t even show up, he shouldn’t have bothered offering to pick me up.“Sis, what’s wrong?” Aiden and Austen both ask in unison.“Nothing my darlings, Everything is fine, I reply” lying to them. I am anything but fine. I got to the apartment shortly after talking to Ethan. I was so excited to see my brothers. Being away from them for so long felt like a nightmare. They were just as happy to see me telling me everything that went on in my absence. I was so proud of how responsible they had become.My mood started to dwindle when 8 pm had passed and I still hadn’t heard from Ethan. No text, no call, absolutely nothing. At first, I assumed he was just running late then I started to worry. What if something had happened to him? But couldn’t he have given a heads-up? My mind went through multiple scenarios trying to piece together reasons why he didn’t show up. The
Ethan’s POVIt's already past midnight. I finally managed to calm Melinda down after a lot of talking. I am drained and all I need is a nap. I look to my left and see Melinda already fast asleep. I would have just crashed here but after her display earlier on I’d prefer we give each other some distance. I also think of Alexia. She must be so pissed; I just hope she got home safe. I need to go see her and try to explain things to her.What am I even going to tell her? She would never believe I just went to check up on Melinda. She doesn’t trust me when it comes to women. I wouldn’t trust myself around women with the kind of reputation I have but this time I honestly didn’t do anything. I don’t even want to think about how she must feel right now. I practically ditched her even though I knew we were meant to be traveling in a few hours.It’s starting to feel like I just keep putting myself in situations where I need to apologize continuously and I hate it, I don’t want to be like this w
Alexia’s POVI wake up a little later than expected, I walk to the kitchen and see the boys already seated eating breakfast with my usual chair unoccupied but with food for me on the table.“you boys are the best,” I say then sit down to dig in. I can remember how I had to be the one to teach them how to cook since our parents passed. I guess it’s paying off now.“It's the least we could do,” Austin says. They look all grown up even though they are dressed in school uniforms.“I wish I could drop you guys off at school like other kids enjoy but I still don’t have my own set of wheels,” I say. This was one of the many things I could not provide for them and they never once complained about having to walk to and from school every single day.“You know we don’t have a problem with that is, I mean the walking gave us this mean build we have. The ladies love it” Aiden jokes“You boys are so silly, but I promise to give you guys the world soon. Just give me time” I say and they nod“Enough
Alexia's POV The day continues like nothing happened. I got here this morning not knowing how I would confront Ethan without calling for an outright war but he managed to use his charms to put me back on his side. I don't regret it though being married to your enemy sounds like a lot of unnecessary work. I already have his parents frustrating me. At least he should be on the fence or occasionally on my side rather than against me.I use my phone to read my latest addiction while blasting my ears with music. These two things give me hope, give me life, and most importantly keep me sane in every situation. These two things are music and books. They just take me to worlds I can only imagine. My life could be a total mess but I get the chance to forget that with the help of my books.I learned how to sing from my mother. She loved music and had different ways to explain it to me. She met my father at a music club one night then they became inseparable after. I reminisced until a knock jo
Alexia's POV I've resumed work fully and I have to admit I am probably the first person to ever prefer spending the whole day at work than staying in that wretched house. At least at work, I can pretend everything is okay and I don't have to worry about Ethan's parents. Most especially his mother. That woman is after my sanity and I just don't know how long it'll take before I finally break.Luckily for me, her insults are only for when Ethan isn't around when Ethan is with us she sticks to simple backhanded compliments or rude questions she tags as just being curious. “You need a break from that house,” Bridget says after I narrate how terrible staying at the Blackwood's mansion has been.“I'm already sick of it,” I tell her. Ethan's mother just keeps finding new ways to make me hate staying there. I still don't know why she dislikes me so much because she can't be so bitter for no reason.“At least you get to live in a nice mansion,” she says, trying to console me. “You know I do
Alexia’s POV“Please drive faster” I tell the driver, hoping he'd just speed the fuck up.“I can't go any faster ma'am so you need to calm down and let me do my job” he says in a clipped tone. I might have sounded rude but I don't know what the problem is. What if Austin had another panic attack? He started having them after our parents died but he got better or at least I thought he did. My brother needs me and I don't know what to do. My phone buzzes and I check it quickly hoping it would be from my brother but it was from Ethan. Ethan: are you okay? Call me when you get thisI look at the message and just leave it on read, I don't think I can talk right now until I see them.After what felt like an eternity and more, the car pulls up to my apartment or what used to be my apartment, now I live in that mansion of doom. I open the door and what I see makes me feel dizzyThe whole place was decorated with balloons and flowers and decorations with cake in the middle, then my brothers j
Alexia’s POV It's lunchtime and I’m with Bridget at our favorite coffee spot close to the office. Ethan didn’t sleep at home last night so I’m guessing, my not going out with him pissed him off. I don’t know why he would be upset, it's not like we are a real couple. He might have been trying to be nice but I am trying to keep my peace heart safe. If I fall for Ethan it would end catastrophically and I am trying to avoid something like that from happening. “where is your mind at Alexia?” Bridget asks. She had been talking for at least two minutes but I just zoned out. “I’m so sorry I just got a little distracted,” I tell her “what's up?” she asks looking concerned “I don’t know, let's just say married life is very tricky,” I say avoiding giving details. Talking about what is going on with Ethan and me feels like a betrayal. She just wouldn’t get it either way “well if you ever feel like talking just know I am one call away. It's almost the end of lunch so I think we should start