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
Millie tilted her head, seemingly confused. “Then, what is bias?” Mona freed herself from Thaddeus’ embrace and took the comb and scrunchies away from him. “You’d better explain it properly,” she said. The girl was at the most curious stage in her life. The urge to know more was at its strongest. She opened her eyes every day and tried to answer every question that popped into her mind. Thaddeus patted the girl’s head affectionately. He explained patiently, “Bias means that Daddy only loves Mommy and will only think about her, not anyone else.” Mona’s eyes flickered. She glanced at Thaddeus and found it difficult to believe what he said. After braiding the girl’s hair, Mona carried the girl off the bed and went into the bathroom. The father and daughter conversation continued outside. Mona started up her electric toothbrush and listened to the girl’s meek voice outside the bathroom door. “Daddy, what is pamper?” Thaddeus pondered. He answered, “Pamper is the way I l
Mona patted Bobby’s head and intentionally avoided the question. Bobby looked annoyed. He tidied his hair that his mother had tousled, and grumbled, “Mommy, you messed up my hair!” Mona squinted. She looked at her son’s gelled hair and his handsome jacket. He looked like a tiny fashion model, which surprised her. Knowing something was off, she asked, “You’ve been looking strange lately. Since when do you care so much about your looks?” Bobby shoved two pieces of bread into his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff up. There was a dash of embarrassment on his expression. He answered vaguely, “Nothing in particular. I just want to change my usual image.” He then concentrated on eating his sandwich. Mona did not delve into the question as she knew the boy would not answer her. Pressing on the topic would only annoy him, so it was important to not startle him now. Thaddeus then came down with Millie to have breakfast. Seeing that Bobby had completed his tasks, he patted the boy
Mona recollected her thoughts. She went back to the table to clean up. A while later, the helper came to clean the house. Mona then prepared to leave for the hospital to visit Grandpa Gray. Right before she left, the helper came running with a piece of paper in her hand. “Madam, you have a note in your pants pocket. There’s something written on it. Is it important?” Mona took it. The piece of note had an address of a hospital on it. She had gotten this note from the mysterious man who claimed to be her father’s old friend. He wanted her to search for her mother at this particular hospital in case she found something. “Oh, thank you. I’ll take that.” Mona took the note and stuffed it into her purse before she left the house. She hesitated whether to go or not as she walked out, but when she arrived at the front gate, she decided to go and have a look since there was nothing to lose. She got into a taxi and told the driver the address of the hospital. The taxi brought