“Okay…” Master Fontaine was rendered speechless. He then turned to Mona and the kids playing happily at the mini playground. A heart-warming smile appeared on his face. “Thaddeus, do you know why I insisted on bringing the kids back to Oakfield with me?” Thaddeus wiped his mouth after finishing Mona’s leftovers. He glanced at his grandfather and said, “Because you are a proud man, and you want to look good in front of the extended family by telling them you have a pair of great-grandchildren?” Master Fontaine chuckled. “You’re so short-sighted. While that’s one of the reasons, I actually did it for you.” Thaddeus was surprised. “What do you mean?” Master Fontaine said after a heavy sigh, “I’m taking the kids away because I’m trying to create space for the two of you. There are many things a couple can not say when the kids are around. I hope you and Mona can make things right while the kids are with me. It’s important for a husband and wife to have good communication.”
Thaddeus waited outside the door before Mona came back with a locked safety box. “We’ll talk outside.” Mona took the safety box to the living room and sat down on the couch; Thaddeus sat down opposite her. He was anticipating what Mona would do next. Mona keyed in the password. Click! The lock opened. She took a bank check worth ten million out of the box. It was the alimony Thaddeus gave her when they had the divorce, which was one of the many compensation she got. “Take this. It should be enough to buy the house from you.” Mona pushed the bank check to Thaddeus. Thaddeus glanced at it. He could still see his signature and stamp on it, which made him laugh. “You’re using the money I gave you to buy a house I gave you?” “What’s the problem with that?” Mona sat up straight and said confidently, “The money is rightfully mine. I can use it to buy the house, or however I see fit. There’s no problem with that.” “Yeah. Whatever you said.” Thaddeus laid his hands open.
Mona ran out of strength. When she was carried out of the study room, she had a glance at the clock on the wall. It had been three hours! The man was like a beast, ravaging her tirelessly for three hours straight! The man looked down at Mona’s pale and petite face. He felt guilty for making her this weak. He asked softly, “Are you okay? Do you want me to get some medicine for you? You can take them after washing up.” Mona clenched her teeth tightly. She really wanted to slap him, but she was too exhausted to. She did not even have the strength to speak. So she simply shut her eyes to voice her dissatisfaction. Thaddeus sighed. He said with utmost affection and helplessly, “You adorable little thing.” As a grown man, he had urges, especially since he never had s*x with other women after their divorce. It had been torturous until now. His sanity broke in front of Mona tonight, and he knew he would never fall for any other woman for the rest of his life. The man kissed the
The storekeeper nodded and went to take what he asked for. A while later, she returned with two boxes of morning-after pills. “We have two brands. Which one do you want?” Thaddeus glanced at the names on the boxes, but his brows furrowed. “I’m not looking for morning-after pills.” The storekeeper was confused. “You said pills for women after s*x. This is it. If not, what else do you want?” Thaddeus said with a blank look, “Painkillers. Those that can ease swelling.” The storekeeper was surprised. If it were not for the dim lighting, Thaddeus would have seen the blush on her face. “Oh, I got it. Hold on.” The storekeeper came back with a tube of cream. She was too embarrassed to look Thaddeus in the eye. She said softly, “Will this work?” Thaddeus looked through the contents before he nodded and paid for it. He then drove back to the house. He changed into the house slippers but did not bother to take off his jacket and quickly strode back to Mona’s room. The bathr
Mona pulled the blanket over her face. “Go away. I want to sleep.” Thaddeus put the cream beside the bed. He then pocketed his hands but did not leave. He stood by the bed and stared at the woman hiding under the blanket who refused to talk to him. “Mona Ortega,” the man called her full name in a rather strict tone. His tone calmed the woman down. She was all ears to what he had to say. “I’m sorry.” His apology sounded soft. So soft that Mona thought she had heard him wrongly. It quickly disappeared into the air as if he had not spoken a word. The man wore a stiff expression. His eyes narrowed, fixating on the bulging blanket. “Mona, listen closely. I’m apologizing to you with my deepest sincerity. I’m sorry for what I have done in the past to hurt you and ruin our relationship. I’m sorry.” The man finally raised his voice loud enough to blast every word into her ears, even though she was under the blanket. The atmosphere in the room became strangely quiet. Thadde
Mona glared fiercely at Thaddeus. He was right. In the past, she was never affected by whatever he did. No matter how many headlines his name was on or scandals he had with women, she was never really attached to him emotionally. Hence, the flat reaction. Now, she did not even know what caused her to react to everything he did. She was so bothered by his deceptive and elusive side. Even though she knew he must have a solid reason behind it and was capable enough to make the best arrangement for everything, she could not accept him for being dishonest with her. After a broken marriage, the trust between them shattered like a mirror. How could she trust him anymore? Liking each other was easy, but building trust was difficult. It was even more so when trying to repair broken trust. “Thaddeus, you don’t understand. You always see things from your perspective, high up in that kingdom of yours. You always look at me from a condescending angle, and that sincerity and guilt of y
Stunned, Mona’s eyes widened at the man. What did he just call her? Precious? How cringy! It sounded amusing when something so cringy came out of the man’s mouth. She looked at the man on his knees and said, “Get up.” Thaddeus asked, “Why? Are you feeling better already?” Mona bit her lip in frustration. She sat down on the carpet and looked into his eyes.“You’re not mad?” “As I said, if it makes you feel better, I’ll do anything,” Thaddeus said as his eyes fixated on her delicate face, trying to capture every expression on her. To be honest, the man did everything he could think of to make the woman feel better. The slap was actually his last resort. If he still could not make her feel better, he was out of ideas. “Yeah. I feel better,” Mona looked down at the hand she used to slap Thaddeus. Slapping Thaddeus in the face might be the proudest achievement in her life.“Great. Now get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”Thaddeus got up and carried Mona onto th
Mona exercised her arm to exert dominance. Slapping the man earlier granted her a boost of confidence. Thaddeus smiled. He nodded as he tried to hold his laughter back. “Yes, madam.” “Sleep!” Mona covered her mouth and yawned. Then, she returned to the bed, crashed onto her pillow, and fell asleep. Thaddeus could hear her breathing calming down. Through the moon’s brilliance, he looked at the woman’s back, and a strange feeling aroused in his heart. If he could stop time, this would be the perfect moment for him to do so. He could watch her sleep, accompany her, and protect her without her resistance. The moon shed its brilliance into his eyes, adding a glint of glimmer to that deep gaze. She was the only woman for him, and he swore never to hurt her again. …The alarm clock rang at 7 am sharp. Mona instinctively reached out to turn the alarm off but instead touched something that felt like human skin. She opened her eyes. To her surprise, she and Thaddeus were h