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Caught In-between 85
ESTEFAN'S POVAll my brain cells died when I saw Rhea standing by the doorway with accusing eyes. I knew a lot of negative thoughts were going through her head but I couldn't think of anything to counter them.For the first time in seven years, I was grateful to Leah for managing to convince her and change the topic which raised another question in my mind."Is Rhea's birthday tomorrow?" I turned to Leah the moment Rhea walked out. "Yes. It's part of the reason I came here." She bobbed her head. "I've not been able to celebrate Rhea's birthday with her for a few years now because I always have something scheduled for that day, so celebrating her birthday with her is another way of apologizing for what I did." "How come she didn't even mention it once?" I raised my eyebrows at her. "Rhea always forgets her birthday. If I didn't come here, you would have ended up treating the day like every other day because the birthday celebrant doesn't even know it's her day," she explained. "She
Last Updated : 2023-03-10Caught In-between 86
RHEA'S POVAfter I finished the breakfast Estefan made for me, he washed up and left saying he had to pick up something outside the palace. I went into the bathroom and stepped into the bathtub filled with water. As I sat inside the tub, I realized that I had never had a good memory of my birthday and that day was no different. My birthday was cursed to be a sad day for me. If not, why did I have to find out the truth about Estefan just a day before my birthday? Feeling depressed, I sunk my head into the water and remained still for almost minutes. When I could no longer hold my breath, I pushed my head out of the water, gasping for breath. I ended my bath session and stepped out of the bathtub. I went into my closet to get dressed before I made my way out of the room. Stepping out of the elevator on the first floor, I froze on my spot when I noticed all the decorations in the room. "I thought the birthday party was just a cover-up for their lies. Looks like they are going through
Last Updated : 2023-03-11Caught In-between 87
ESTEFAN'S POVONE MONTH LATERI sat in my study lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the door open. "Hey bro," Esteban's voice pulled me back into reality."Oh, you're back." I blinked my eyes. "How was your honeymoon?" "It was the best month of my life." He grinned as he perched on the edge. "So how was everything here without me? And how are things going with Rhea?" "Everything went well. Rhea is fine too." I shrugged as I tried to concentrate on the computer in front of me. Esteban took a good look at me and said, "What's wrong?" I knew I couldn't hide the fact that I wasn't okay from him no matter how I tried not to let it show.Deciding not to hide anything from him because I knew he always had a solution, I replied, "it's Rhea." "You guys were doing fine before we left, what happened?" "Nothing, that's the problem." I leaned into my chair as I ran my finger through my hair. "I thought we were doing fine too until I noticed she was drifting away from me. She avoids spend
Last Updated : 2023-03-12Caught In-between 88
RHEA'S POVSitting with my legs crossed on the bed, I continued reading the next chapter of the book I started that morning. Everyone was catching up downstairs with Anna and Esteban but I preferred to be on my own. Before the end of next month, I would no longer be with them so I was trying to get used to not having them around me. I knew that it would be hard to go back to spending every single day within the four walls of my dad's house without seeing any of them but I had to adapt to it again. It wasn't difficult then, so it shouldn't be difficult when I leave, right?A knock on the door pulled my attention away from my book. Estefan would never knock before coming in, so I knew it had to be someone else."Come in," I answered.The door opened and Anna walked in with a smiley face. "Hi." "Hey." I returned the gesture. "It's good to have you back." "Yeah." She took the same position I was taking opposite me. "Why didn't you join everyone else in the living room?""No reason. I j
Last Updated : 2023-03-13Caught In-between 89
ESTEFAN'S POVMy eyes widened in shock as I stared at the woman in front of me, who was about to give up her dreams because of her fear. At that moment, I understood that the opposite of success is not failure, it's fear. One would only fail when one stops trying but one would never succeed if fear was holding you back. And that was Rhea's case.She put the laptop aside and was about to lie down on the bed when I pulled her back up by her arm."Are you serious right now? You want to let all your hard work go down the drain?" I scrunched my eyebrows as I spoke."Do I have a choice? she whispered and I could hear the sadness in her voice. She wasn't ready to forfeit her win, it was her fear speaking for her. I had to do something to help her get rid of it, or else it would cause bigger problems in the future."You have a choice, Rhea. Everybody does. You limit yourself to things that are convenient for your condition that's why you don't explore the choices you have." "Then what do y
Last Updated : 2023-03-14Caught In-between 90
RHEA'S POVWith a racing heart and shaking legs, I ran out of the restaurant. I got to the car and pulled the handle of the passenger's door, but it didn't budge. The street got more crowdy and tears rolled down my cheeks as I continue to pull on the door handle."Rhea," Estefan called from behind me before he came to the front of the car and pressed the car key. I wasted no time rushing inside the car when the door opened. Leaning into the chair, my chest heaved up and down as I tried to get oxygen back into my burning chest."Calm down." Estefan got into the car and gave me an open bottle of water. "Drink this." Lifting the bottle to my mouth, I didn't stop until I drank half of the water. My breathing became regular but tears continued to roll down my cheeks. He pulled me into his chest and rubbed my back. "It's okay. I'm right here." "Can we not do this again? Please." I looked up at him with my tear-streaked face. "Rhea..." He started but I cut him off."Please, I don't thi
Last Updated : 2023-03-15Caught In-between 91
ESTEFAN'S POVThe next day, I made sure to increase the number of attendants walking around the palace halls and also stopped Rhea from spending the whole day in her room. When we went down for breakfast, Rhea almost ran back to her room when she noticed the number of attendants serving us. They used to be three but I increased it to six, making it more than the usual number she was comfortable with. "Relax, I'm right here." I held her from behind. "Just imagine it's the usual number of people that used to be here." She did the breathing exercise before nodding. I took her hand and she tightened her hold as we walked into the dining room. We are our breakfast and everyone else acted like nothing changed in the setting. Esteban engaged Rhea in some interesting conversations which made her easily take her mind off what was going on. She finished her breakfast without freaking out which was a sign of improvement.The process went on for a week and I increased the number of attendant
Last Updated : 2023-03-17Caught In-between 92
RHEA'S POVIf someone told me before that I would be able to walk amid a crowd without freaking out, I would have called them crazy and laughed in their face. But thanks to Estefan for making something I had deemed impossible in my life possible. Estefan and I had been spending most of our time strolling out of the palace building and I had to admit that it was an amazing experience for me. Just to be clear, I still haven't gotten over my fear completely. I was at the stage where I could go out in the crowd with someone who I trust next to me. I knew the time would come when I would have to face it alone because Estefan won't always be by my side. When the time comes, I would make sure I would be strong enough to overcome it."The plane is ready, let's go," Estefan said as he walked into the room. My interview in London was to take place the following day, so Estefan and I were getting ready to leave. He had informed Kimberly beforehand that he would be on the set with me which she
Last Updated : 2023-03-19
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Caught In-between EPILOGUE
ESTEFAN'S POV “Estefan,” Rhea yelled from inside the room and I glanced at Mrs Dutchman who was standing with me in the kitchen, before leaving the pan on the burning stove and running to the room.“What's wrong?” I stepped into the room to see Rhea standing with her legs apart in front of the closet. “My water broke.” Her eyes widened as she stared at the water on the ground.“Okay, no need to panic,” I said but I was the one panicking because I had no idea what to do.“She'll go into labour soon, we need to get her to the hospital.” Mrs Dutchman walked past me who was standing at the entrance, looking confused. I shook my head and got myself together before moving close to Rhea. She placed one hand on her huge baby bump while I held the other hand and supported her back with my other arm as we walked out of the room.“Fuck!” She cried out and squeezed the hand that she was holding. “That hurts.” “I'm so sorry.” I caressed her back as she kept walking.“We need to hurry up, the
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LEAH'S POV “Asher, there's something I want to talk to you about,” I started as I sat next to him on the couch while he was busy typing away on his laptop. A few days ago, Asher brought up the topic of our wedding. He wanted to talk to my parents so that we could finalize the wedding date and start preparing for it. Like I told Rhea, I wanted to discuss the issue of not having babies yet before we proceeded. “Okay, but check this out first.” He placed his laptop on the table so that I could see what he was doing he was looking at.I raised my eyebrows when I saw that it was a picture of a house, a beautiful house at that. “What do you think about it?” He asked.“It's a beautiful house and I love the design too.” I nodded.“Would you love to live there someday?” He continued. My face scrunched in confusion. “Why are you asking me that?” He scratched the back of his head. “I'm thinking of buying the house for us. I don't want us to live in this apartment when we get married.” “
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RHEA'S POV ONE WEEK LATER.“Do you think we should go with the Spiderman theme for the nursery?” I asked as we drove to the hospital because Esteban was getting discharged.“Why would you want to use a Spiderman theme for a baby girl?” Estefan looked up from his phone with raised eyebrows.“It's not a girl, it's a boy. I know that because I'm the one carrying the child.” I folded my hands. “It's called mother's instinct.” “It doesn't work that way.” “It does.” I countered. “Why don't we ask Mom when we get to the hospital?” “Fine.” He averted his eyes from me and focused on his phone.The car stopped in the hospital parking lot. We stepped out and made our way inside, heading straight to Esteban’s room.Esteban was heading out of the room with Mom and Esmeralda when we got there. “I told you not to waste your time coming.” He rolled his eyes at us.He had insisted that we didn't make his discharge a big deal and just meet him in the palace later. But Estefan and I being the adaman
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ESTEFAN'S POV That morning, the doctor confirmed that my father had slipped into a coma and had no idea when he would be awake. Some of the court members visited the hospital to confirm it before they decided to proceed with their plans of making Prince Eugenio the ruling king.Princess Antonella contacted the officer and he told us the arrest warrant would be issued soon.I made Esmeralda and Mom stay in the hospital with Rhea and Esteban while I went to the appointment ceremony with Princess Antonella and her husband. We were sitting in the front row reserved for the member of the Royal family and the court members proceeded with the ceremony when everyone else was present.My feet bounced and I kept looking at the entrance of the palace Grand Hall, waiting for the police to walk in. “What's taking them so long?” Princess Antonella asked as Prince Eugenio was invited to the podium.“I have no idea.” “They have to arrest him before the ceremony is over or else he will be untouch
Caught In-between 148
ESTEFAN'S POV Esmeralda and I were standing in the hospital reception when medics rushed my father who was lying unconscious on the stretcher into the hospital. My heart stopped when I saw the blood all over his white shirt. “Mom, where is Esteban?” Esmeralda ran toward Mom who was following Dad's stretcher with tears rolling down her cheeks.Before she could reply, Esteban's stretcher was rolled in by the medics. He was still conscious and groaning in pain. “Esteban, hang in there. You're going to be fine.” I followed the nurses as they pushed him toward the emergency room.“Please, make sure Dad is okay.” He groaned in pain as he spoke.“Dad will be fine, just worry about yourself.” I stopped as they went into the emergency room.Mom broke down in Esmeralda's arm and they sank to the ground while I watched them, trying so hard to control my tears. We sat outside the waiting room, watching nurses going in and out. “Where is Estevan?” Princess Antonella shouted and she ran towa
Caught In-between 147
ESTEFAN'S POV“Go back there and check for the CCTV camera,” I ordered the bodyguards. “We need to find the people who left her there.” My bodyguards reported that they found Rhea lying in an alley. If I could get footage of the person who left her there and get him arrested, we might be able to get him to mention Prince Eugenio's name and add it to the list of his crimes. “Yes, Your Highness.” They bowed and left the room.Esmeralda walked into the hospital room with Mrs Dutchman who was holding a basket of food. I made her go back to the palace last night, even though she insisted on staying. I should have expected that she would be early the next morning. “Your Highness, I brought you some food.” Mrs Dutchman placed the basket on a small table and dragged me to sit on the chair in front of it. “I'm very sure you didn't get anything last night. Her Highness would get mad at you if she found out you have been starving yourself.” She was right. I didn't get anything to eat the wh
Caught In-between 146
ESTEFAN'S POV I drove like a maniac to the palace and rushed into the living room where everyone was sitting. “Where is she?” I asked, breathing heavily. My father stood up with a dejected look on his face. “Prince Eugenio has her, and he won't release her unless I announce him to the Crown Prince.” My heart dropped at the mention of Prince Eugenio's name, and my shoulders slumped in defeat. After everything I did to save my family’s legacy, everything was going to go down the drain because I couldn't protect Rhea. If only I had chosen to let that maid go and follow Rhea to the hospital. I pulled on my hair before I picked up a vase beside me and smashed it against the wall. “Fuck!” I yelled. “Estefan, calm down.” Esteban rushed to hold me. “How can I calm down? I don't know what that bastard is doing to her. She must be scared all by herself.” I cried as I spoke. “I should have gone with her to the hospital. This is all my fault.” Esteban wrapped his hands aroun
Caught In-between 145
ESTEFAN'S POV “Thanks for your help.” I walked toward the elevator with my bodyguards behind me. I took one of the regular elevators to the second floor. As if luck was on my side, the elevator stopped to reveal the kitchen maid holding two suitcases with her mother behind her. Her eyes widened upon seeing me, and she turned to make a run for it, but she stopped in her tracks when her eyes landed on her mother. I smirked, knowing she couldn't leave her mother behind to save herself. “Help them get in,” I ordered my bodyguards, and they stepped out of the elevator to usher them in. Gabriela shook in fear as she and her mother stood behind me in the elevator. The door closed, and I held the elevator before turning to her. “What's going on? Why isn't the elevator moving?” Her mother raised an alarm, looking at me and my bodyguards in fear. Gabriela kept her head down in fear, tugging on her mother's skirt. “What is it? Why are you quiet?” She turned to her daughter, e
Caught In-between 144
ESTEFAN'S POV “You have a phone call,” Rhea brought my phone to me in the bathroom. She answered it and put it on speaker since I couldn't answer it in the shower. “Good morning, Your Highness, its Doctor Enzo,” the caller said. “The DNA results are ready, you can come pick them up.” “Thank you, doctor,” I replied and he hung up. Rhea left the bathroom and I finished up before joining her in the room. She sat on the bed, typing away on her laptop while I got dressed.“I have an appointment with my obstetrician today, do you think you can come along?” She asked as she closed the laptop. “What time?” I stood in front of the mirror and buttoned my shirt. “11:30, can you make it?” She stood up to help me with my tie that I still haven't gotten the hang of. “I'm not sure, but I'll try.” I wrapped my hands around her.I had to get the test results and explain everything to my father before the meeting which I was informed was scheduled for 2pm.“If anything comes up and I can't make
