REINA"Hold on, what?" I stood up from my squatting position as I sent my hands to my waist.Is he telling the truth or he's just saying this to guilt trip me? Come to think of it, Ethan has never ever guilt tripped me. If he wanted to corner me, he would do it straightforwardly just the same way he pushed me into working in his company just so he got me back and i must commend him because he did get me."I know it's sounding totally unbelievable but he contacted me first. And not to even make it sound like I'm exaggerating or anything but he kind of threatened me. He somewhat mentioned how I brainwashed you into getting back together with me and how I wasn't healthy for you. He said a lot of things and then we both got into a heated argument. He—" I held my hands up because somehow, I felt like the more he talked, the more i was loosing my mind."I'm sorry, Ethan but I'll have to ask you to stop right there." He nodded slowly and locked eyes with me while my head and brain ran a 50 m
REINAWe spent few hours more on the beach since we both didn't have much to do for the day anyway and Andrew wasn't going to be back until it's 3pm. I made a mental note to confront Bruce on what Ethan had told me."Don't you think it's time we go home? You still have to over the company's files so you would be practically in before you resume work." He suggested and I nodded while we both walked back to the car with hands intertwined."I just remember that I'd be heading the company. My heart just does these drum rolls whenever I remember or think of it. It's not even funny." I placed my hands on my chest to sow the dramatic expression that was flooding me and he chuckled."I've seen you working in your office and you always aced it. See this as a promotion and you'd be able to handle it, besides, I'm always here. You don't have to worry about anything." I smiled broadly and turned to face him."I'm seeing it as a promotion but it's no even helping me at all. The only thing that my
REINAThe rest of the day was spent with Ethan filling me in with the latest design, the one that was at the top of fashion design of the week and I remembered when I was a worker under him and my team struggled to meet design of the week.Beautiful times.Well, it had to end once Andrew was back from school because we had to keep the little champ occupied. Ethan was moe than available for that anyways so I didn't stress much. We all played till it was almost evening when my phone started ringing again."Your phone is beeping." Ethan informed as he passed the over to me without even looking at the caller ID."Who is it?" I asked and he just shrugged as he approached me and handed the phone over.This man is taking this privacy thing too seriously, almost too seriously and I guess we'll have to address that as well."It's Bruce." I said immediately I saw the number and he just shrugged. I hadn't even saved the contact but this was exactly what happened when someone was at the back of
REINA "Can I get a hug?" That was the first thing Bruce told me as he caught sight of me entering the restaurant and approaching him. I would have hugged him on a normal day but I was here to get him understand that threatening Ethan was wrong and besides, I could see some familiar faces inside of the restaurant.Some people that I know I had definitely seen from Ethan's company—my company.I didn't want to be the cause of any uprising rumour or what not so I just chuckled and politely shook my head in negation as he drew out the chair for me."Thank you." I mouthed and sat gracefully while I watched him walk over and seat down too."I'm sorry. I know I'm moving fast in telling you to hug me, it's just that it has been a long time we saw each other. What about Andrew?" I bit my tongue as I tried to get into character while I cleared my throat and intertwined both of my hands giving me a soft glare."You're right, Bruce. You're moving fast, a little too fast for my liking. As for Andr
REINA "You did! You gave me the right when you felt like it was going to be nice to return to him after everything I've done for you. You rejected me now than a hundred times so what? You could return to your ex who didn't care about you huh?" He spat standing up to match my glare and I took two steps backward in shock.The chair screeched against the floor as a sad smile formed on my face."Wow, Bruce. Wow." His gaze softened as it seemed like he just got into realization of what he had done."Reina..." He trailed off and I didn't even wait for him to find his words before I would be able to reply him."Bruce, say nothing please. Thank you so much for clearing my doubts that people change and metamorphose into something that their close friends can not even recognize. You really did a good job at proving me wrong and proving that Ethan was right about." I picked up my bag to leave when he waltzed in front of me and blocked my path."What did I do that is so bad? Tell me." He grunted
REINA"Oh my God." I was shivering as I placed my hands over my mouth to prevent me from shrieking out while shock filled me at the sight of blood running down Bruce face and Ethan crackling his fingers like he had not just launched an attack.I must admit that I have never seen this side of both men, they are so new to me right now."Ethan." I whispered and he turned to me racing a brow."Yes princess." He answered plainly like he hadn't just punched Bruce in the face, I turned to see Bruce trying to scramble to his feet as he took few steps towards Ethan.Bruce folded his hand into his fist while i placed myself in front of them because i was quite sure that if I didn't do that, a huge fight would break out and i didn't want that."Get out of the way, Reina." Bruce warned as he staggered looking murderous with blood dripping from his face down to the floor. A little crowd has gathered and I could hear some people whispering that they would have to call the police if the fight escala
"Andrew?" I dropped my bag in the living room and ran over to his room to check if he was there with the nanny that Ethan hired but they weren't. I know I'm not supposed o be this aggravated but there was no human being in the house and Ethan had said that the nanny was supposed to be with my son in the house. They weren't supposed to go anywhere, they were supposed to be here by the time I returned. I checked the balcony and every other place but they weren't there as well which had my heart wavering as I wondered if something had had happened. I mean, something bad must have happened right? I picked up my phone immediately and began dialing Ethan's number again ,I am so remorseful that I might be disrupting his call with his lawyer but if he doesn't pick up, I might pass out by the time he gets here. And thank goodness, he did pick up. "Ethan, they're not here. There's no one in the house, there's no sign—" I was literally rapping the entire thing I was saying that he had to i
ETHAN "I just called the paramedics to pick you just for the sake of he fact that you're a distant relative and I wouldn't want a taint on my name because of you." I stated as I walked back into the cafe to Bruce and he grunted trying to crawl over to me. I know what he was trying to do. Trying to retaliate in any way he can do he doesn't look stupid, so he doesn't look like he can't protect protect his aura and pride. "Stop trying to do that, boy. You would end up hurting yourself. Do you need a hand to sit?" I questioned and he glared at me. There was no more to be said as everything he would want to say was contained in that glare. "Alright, it's up to you then." Just then, I heard sirens blaring and I knew that it was the paramedics I had called for. "He's bleeding." I simply said when I walked up to them and after we exchanged pleasantries, I left them to do whatever they wanted to. "Take care of yourself, buddy. Next time try to keep your filthy dirty hands off people's
Ethan “ A therapist? We are going to see a therapist, Ethan?” Reina blurted out and I had to calm her down that it's for the better. “Yes. I made that decision and I have already paid for a session. It is a good thing and I think our marriage will get better.” “Oh dear. I'm just scared.” *** Sitting across from Reina in the therapist’s office felt a little weird and I was trying to keep up. This was the first time we had actually met with a therapist about us. The therapist, a calm woman in her mid-50s named Dr. Laura smiled gently at us. “Thank you for coming today. The first step to healing is often the hardest, so I commend you both for being here.” I glanced at Reina, who gave me a small, nervous smile. “We are ready,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Good. Why don’t we start with why you’re here? What made you decide to seek therapy now?” Dr. Laura asked. I looked at Reina, silently asking if she wanted to go first. She nodded and took a deep breath. “I think we h
Reina Evans was at my house again. This time, I was very convinced that he had something off his sleeves. How can someone who I haven't seen in years suddenly show up in the new country where I relocated to? Has he been stalking me all these years? Evans stood at the door, his hands shoved in his pockets, and today he looked so confident in himself. But, I was here to destroy whatever confidence he had. I had hoped I would see the last of him after his first visit, but here he was again, uninvited and unwelcome. “What are you doing here again, Evans? Haven't I told you that I don't want you around me?” I thundered and my pulse was racing. “I needed to talk to you,” he responded calmly, despite my raging anger. “I don’t think we got to finish our conversation the last time.” “There’s nothing left to talk about,” I said, stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind me. I didn’t want Ethan or Andrew overhearing any of this. “Reina, please,” he said, his eyes pleadin
Ethan I didn’t know where I was driving. I just needed to get out of the house. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, my mind racing with thoughts of Reina, Evans, and everything that had gone wrong. Evans. Just hearing his name made my blood boil. The nerve of him to show up out of nowhere, to text me like he was some concerned friend. And Reina, why hadn’t she told me right away? She keeps doing things like this and it pisses me off. She of all people knows that something like this was the cause of our problem sometime ago. I pulled into an empty parking lot and turned off the engine. When I finally walked back into the house hours later, the living room was dimly lit, and Reina was sitting on the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked up as I entered, her eyes red and puffy. “You are back,” she said softly. I didn’t answer, dropping my keys on the table and heading for the kitchen. “Ethan,” she called after me with her voice trembling. I paused, leani
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