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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
Caught 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
Caught 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
Caught 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
Caught 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
Caught In-between 93
ESTEFAN'S POVMy confused gaze followed Rhea as she opened the door and walked out. My brain was trying to process what she meant by that sentence. Does she still think I don't care about her? Everything I have been doing was to prove how much I love and care about her, so why hasn't she figured that out yet?I was about to go after her when Leah held my hand to stop me. "When are you planning to tell her?" "Soon." I glared at her. Every time I looked at her, I get pissed off. She was the main source of my problem but the only thing I was grateful for was the fact that Rhea came into my life through her and was ready to lose Rhea because of her."The longer you take, the harder it will get for you to tell her. She should find out the truth from you than finding out from another source." "I know." I yanked my hand from her and walked out of the room. As I stepped out, I gazed down the passageway, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rhea but she was no longer there. Believing she went to j
Caught In-between 94
RHEA'S POVBeads of sweat formed on my forehead as the car moved closer to the school building. My mind was split between jumping out of the car and going to the interview but when Estefan placed his hand on mine, my wrecking nerve slowly calmed down. He stopped the car in front of Maryland Art and Creativity school and turned to me with his hand still on mine. "You have gone through a lot to get here and you are now in the final stage, there's no point giving up now. I will be by your side the entire time, so I want you to walk in there and do the interview with your head up high, okay?" "Okay." I nodded. He stepped out of the car and came to open the door for me. I climbed down from the car and gazed up at the tall creamed-coloured concrete building in front of me. Taking my hand in his, we strode through the main entrance where some corporately dressed group of people were waiting for us. "Welcome, Your Highness." They bowed their head in unison. Estefan nodded at them while I
Caught In-between 95
ESTEFAN'S POVPride swelled in my chest as I watched Rhea talking in front of the camera without skipping or shaking in fear. The fact that I played a major part in her achievement made me happier than I had ever been.As I watched her, all the regret of not pursuing my dream as a writer melted away because Rhea already achieved that dream for both of us.The main reason I wanted to become a writer was because of the fame that comes with it when one gets recognised by the right people. That decision was made because of my relationship with Leah. She loved fame and popularity, and I didn't want to be out of her league. Another reason was to take my mom out of the miserable life she was living. She suffered a lot and received insults from the family she worked for which made me want to be successful at all costs and bring her out of that life. But my entire dream came crashing down when the two people I was striving so hard for left me on the same day. It was a tragic day that was emb
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