REINAI walked back into the living room, my mind racing with thoughts of Bruce's strange behavior. But I pushed it aside, focusing on the task at hand. I had to help Ethan clear his name."Ethan, I've been thinking," I said, my voice firm and determined. "I want to help you debunk these fake claims. We can hold a press conference and get the truth out there."Ethan looked up at me, a mix of surprise and gratitude on his face. "Why are you doing this for me?" he asked, his voice laced with emotion.I shrugged, feeling a sense of conviction. "I just don't think it's right what's happening to you. You deserve a chance to clear your name."Ethan nodded, his eyes welling up with tears. "Thank you, Reina. Thank you for believing me."I felt a pang of empathy for him, but I kept my emotions in check. I wasn't doing this because we were friends or because I had a personal stake in the outcome. I was doing this because it was the right thing to do."Let's get to work," I said, my voice firm.
ETHAN As I followed Reina out of her house, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief. Was this really happening? Was Reina, the woman who had been so distant and cold towards me, actually helping me?I glanced over at her, trying to read her expression. She seemed determined, her jaw set and her eyes fixed on some point ahead."Reina, I don't know how to thank you," I said, trying to sound sincere.She turned to me, a small smile playing on her lips. "You don't have to thank me, Ethan. I'm just doing what's right."I nodded, feeling a sense of gratitude towards her. "I know I don't deserve it, but...thank you."We walked in silence for a few moments, the only sound being the rustling of leaves beneath our feet.As we approached the office building, I could feel my heart racing. This was it. This was the moment of truth.Reina seemed to sense my nervousness, and she placed a reassuring hand on my arm. "It's going to be okay, Ethan. We've got this."I took a deep breath, trying to
Ethan I needed to talk to Reina, to find out why she had kept this secret from me for so long. But hen that wasn't something I had to think much on, she hated me before so it was very understandable. Even at that, I couldn't help but ask. As I burst through the door, her assistant looked up from her desk. "Ethan, what's wrong?" "Where's Reina?" I demanded, my voice shaking with emotion. My assistant nodded, her expression sympathetic. "She's in her office, Ethan. But be careful, she's been crying." I nodded, my heart heavy with foreboding. I made my way to Reina's office, my mind racing with questions. Why had she kept this secret from me? Why had she lied to me all these years? I pushed open the door, and Reina looked up from her desk. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face streaked with tears. "Ethan," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I felt a pang of emotion, seeing her like this. But I pushed it aside, my anger and hurt taking over. "Why, Reina?" I demanded, my
EthanJust as I was pouring my heart out to Reina, begging her to come back to me and start fresh, Bruce walked into the living room, his eyes fixed on us with a mixture of anger and concern."Reina, what's going on here?" he demanded, his voice firm but controlled.Reina stood up, her eyes flashing with defiance. "Bruce, this doesn't concern you," she said, her voice steady.But Bruce was undeterred. "I think it does," he said, his eyes locked on me. "Ethan, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to manipulate Reina into coming back to you."I felt a surge of anger at his words, but I tried to keep my cool. "Bruce, that's not true," I said, my voice calm. "I'm just trying to make things right between us."But Bruce was having none of it. "You've had your chance, Ethan," he said, his voice cold. "You blew it."Reina stepped forward, her eyes flashing with anger. "Bruce, stop," she said, her voice firm. "This is between me and Ethan."But Bruce just kept going. "You're not goin
RAVENNA I walked into the local coffee shop, scanning the room for familiar faces. I had just gotten back into town after a few weeks away, and I was eager to catch up on the latest gossip.As I waited in line, I overheard a few people chatting about Ethan and Reina. My ears perked up - what were they saying? Are they? Is it what I think?"I heard they're back together, apparently , everyone knows that Reina is the best for him. I heard his other wife, Ravenna is practically the bitch." someone said.My heart sank. I knew Ethan's history with Reina, and I couldn't believe he would take her back. Especially after everything she had done to him.I felt a surge of anger and disgust. How could he be so blind?After grabbing my coffee, I decided to head to Ethan's house. I needed to see this for myself, to make sure he wasn't making a huge mistake.As I pulled up to his house, I noticed Reina's car parked outside. My stomach twisted with anxiety.I got out of my car and walked up to the
RAVENNA I stood in the living room, the divorce papers clutched in my hand, my eyes fixed on Ethan's determined face. Reina sat on the couch, a smug look on her face, but I ignored her."You can't be serious, Ethan," I said, my voice shaking with emotion. "You're really going to throw away our marriage, our family, for her?"Ethan's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with anger. "Ravena, I've made up my mind. Please, just sign the papers."I felt a wave of despair wash over me. How could he do this to me? To his father?"No, Ethan," I said, my voice firm. "I won't sign. I won't let you do this."Reina stood up, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Ethan, don't let her manipulate you," she said, her voice dripping with venom.But Ethan didn't move, his eyes fixed on mine. "Ravena, please," he said, his voice softening. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."I laughed, a bitter sound. "Harder than it has to be?" I repeated. "You're the one who's making this hard, Ethan.'Ethan's face har
ETHAN Divorcing Ravenna is one of the best things that had ever happened to me in a long time, excluding the fact that I had just reunited with Reina anyways. That was premium best thing. I stood at the balcony as I stared at the divorce papers in my hands, it was officially sealed and stamped. Nothing tied me down to Ravenna and her family. Just then, my phone began buzzing in my pocket and I fumbled with it before bringing it out. It was a number that hadn't called me in a long while and I chuckled as I pressed the decline button. My day was starting off great and I didn't want anyone to ruin it for me. The phone began ringing again almost at the same time and I rolled my eyes before picking up the call. "Hello." I greeted into the speaker and he didn't want to say anything. I mean, how can you call someone and still expect the person to open the conversation? How does this work in this people's head? "Ethan, how do you feel after divorcing my daughter?" Of course that's what
Ethan's POV "That's important, you know? If her father is calling you then it is definitely important." Her expression changed as she slowly stopped munching on her food and dropped her fork. "He's not important, Reina." I wasn't sure if she was just talking because she was angry that I was still in contact with Ravenna's father but the last thing I wanted was for this woman to get mad at me. "What did he say when he called?" She tilted her head and grabbed a cup of water as she drank it down in one go. Laying the cup on the top of the table, she looked at me expectantly expecting an answer. "He just wanted to know why I divorced his daughter." I stated and her face contorted. "Why would he want to know that? Does he not watch the news to know that it was judged in court? What is even wrong with him? I strongly want to insult him but I'm still trying to play nice because he's an elder." She sighed and shoved the food angrily into her mouth and began twisting her mouth in a
ReinaI was wiping down the kitchen counter when the doorbell rang. Andrew was upstairs, resting after a long day of physical therapy, and Ethan had stepped out to pick up a few things from the store.It was odd for someone to come by unannounced, especially at this hour. I wiped my hands on a towel and I headed for the door to check who was there. I was so curious and at the same time cautious that I checked the security camera three times. When I opened it, my heart stopped. I thought I was dreaming or something. “Evans,” I whispered, gripping the doorframe right. He was standing there, looking exactly as I remembered him. He was quite tall, with those piercing blue eyes and well shaved beards. But seeing him now didn’t fill me with the same warmth it once did. Instead, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been splashed over me.“Reina,” he said, his voice soft but steady. “I hope I’m not intruding.”“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. He w
Ethan “Our anniversary was tomorrow?!” That was my exact reaction when I checked the calendar and I saw that I had long forgotten the date of our anniversary . An idea had come to me while sitting in the car, waiting for Reina to return from the grocery store. Our anniversary was tomorrow, and I wanted to do something special. Something that would remind her of the good times we had shared before everything got complicated.I had been racking my brain all week, trying to come up with the perfect plan. Reina deserved something meaningful, something that was not just flowers and a card. She needed to see how much she meant to me.“Okay, Ethan,” I muttered to myself as I parked in front of the house. “You will get our way around this.”The plan was simple yet heartfelt. I was planning a surprise dinner at the place where we had had our first official date before we got married. It was not the fanciest restaurant, but it held a special place in our hearts. I had reserved a private cor
Reina“I want to support you,” he said. “In everything. Just tell me how.”“I will of course. You have to write me some checks,” I responded and winked at him. I sat there, my coffee cup in hand, still warm but untouched. My mind was racing. So much had happened in the past few days. Andrew’s illness, the fear, the worry and now, with him finally waking up and starting his recovery, things were slowly returning to normal.But there was something else on my mind. It was Ethan. He had changed. In the best way possible. After everything that had happened, after all the mistakes, I hadn’t expected this. I could not help but worry about how he had been surprising me with little gestures. The breakfast in bed, sweet notes hidden in my purse or jacket pocket. He was not perfect, and neither was I, but somehow, it felt like we were slowly finding our way back to each other. We were slowly finding out long lost love. I glanced at the note I found this morning. It was simple, yet the word
Reina“Are you going to work today?” Ethan’s voice broke the silence at breakfast.I glanced up from my plate, startled by his tone. It was not the regular cold or distant tone and it was almost… soft. He had been trying to be different lately especially after Andrew's was back from the hospital and I didn’t know how to feel about it.“I’m not sure,” I replied, poking at my food. “I might work from home.”“Good,” he said. “You have been stressing yourself. You need rest.”I blinked, unsure of how to respond. This was not the Ethan who used to complain about my hours or make sarcastic remarks. I kept quiet and continued eating.When I returned to the bedroom later that morning, something caught my eye. There was a tray on the bed. I could not remember keeping any tray on my bed. I also noticed that there was a cup of tea, a bowl of fruit, and a small note on the bed. The note read:“ You have been carrying too much on yourself lately. Let me take some of the weight. Allow me.”I s
Reina POV“Do you think he’ll wake up today?” Ethan’s voice broke the stillness of the room.The room was quiet as usual and even if a pin dropped to the floor it would be heard. I glanced at Andrew, who was still lying on the hospital bed. He was looking fragile as always and the machines were still giving him the support that he needed. “I have no idea, sweetheart. I wish he could wake up today. It would be a relief. Don't you think so?”I asked and I reached out to brush a strand of hair off his forehead. “I want that to happen too. It would be a miracle.”“He has to wake up,” I said firmly, though my heart trembled with some doubts. I was uncertain about what was happening. “I can feel it. He is going to open those eyes and look at us.”Ethan sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I wish I had your faith.”I turned to him, my eyes narrowing. I was the most pessimistic person but, somehow I had a little faith in me. “You do. You are just scared to admit it.”He stared at me for a
Reina POV The hospital was lit with some fluorescent lights and I was having chills all over my body as I remained there. I was just like a patient who was admitted there. I hated hospitals. Who doesn't, by the way? By this time of the day, the hospital was quiet and the silence was not really comforting. It just kept reminding me that there was a battle Andrew had to fight alone. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this helpless. Sitting in that chair, watching my son fight for his life, knowing there was nothing I could do but wait, it was agony. Ethan was not himself. He was pacing around the room again. “You are going to create a hole in the floor if you don't stop,” I murmured to him. My voice was low and strained. He stopped mid-step, turning to look at me. “I can’t sit still,” he admitted. “Not when he’s in there, fighting for his life.” “I know how you feel Ethan. I feel the same way. ” I said, more to myself than to him. “He has to be strong so that he can com
Reina “Alive?” Sickness was cruel. No one deserves the kind of pain myself and Ethan had passed through since Andrew took I'll and was admitted in the hospital. I sat frozen by Andrew’s hospital bed, staring at his small frame covered in wires and tubes. My son, my sweet boy, was fighting a battle that I could not fight for him, and it was tearing me apart. I wish I could fight this battle for him. I wish I could step in and take all the burdens but, I can't. I can only hope. Again, the same thing the doctors have been saying was that the surgery went well but the critical hours following were crucial. I held up his tiny hand, willing him to wake up, to smile at me, to tell me everything would be okay. But he didn’t say a thing. His pale skin was all I could see and the shallow rise and fall of his chest all felt like a nightmare I could not wake up from. “Reina,” Ethan’s voice broke through the haze. He was standing at the foot of the bed, his hands buried in his pockets,
Ethan Reina looked up at me, her eyes filled with both hope and fear. “We are going to get through this, right?” I nodded, though my throat felt tight. “Of course, yes. We are together. Don't forget. ” And in that moment, I knew we had no choice but to keep fighting for Andrew, for each other, for our family. Finally, we were both with him after waiting for hours. Waiting. That was all we could do before being let in. Wait and hope. The clock on the wall seemed to move slower than usual, its ticking loud and relentless, as if mocking us. I sat in the sterile waiting room, the faint smell of antiseptic in the air. Reina was beside me, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her knuckles were already white but she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes stayed fixed on Andrew and I'm glad we were both seeing him. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would be okay, but how could I when I didn’t even believe it myself? For hours, Andrew has been in there, fighti
Ethan “Mr. and Mrs. Ethan,” the doctor said as he approached us in the waiting room. His voice was calm, but the tightness in his expression betrayed the gravity of the situation. “We have done everything we can to stabilize Andrew, but his condition has deteriorated. He needs surgery immediately.” The words hit me like a truck. My knees almost buckled, but I gripped the edge of the chair to prevent myself from falling. “Surgery immediately?” Reina’s voice cracked as she stood up beside me. “What kind of surgery?” “We need to address the complications caused by the infection. If we don’t operate now…” The doctor hesitated, and his eyes moved between us. “Just say it,” I barked in a sharp voice. I sounded so desperate of course, I just wanted my child to get out of this damn hospital. “If we don’t, his chances of survival are very slim.” The room spun, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Reina let out a soft, choked sob and covered her mouth with her hands. “How soon