Elaine. I quickly walked to the nearest cafe that I could find and hesitated at the door. I didn't want to cause a scene and with the tears that kept running down my face, I was sure that I looked like a mess. But it was nighttime and I didn't feel comfortable loitering around by myself so, I decided to seek shelter while I at least tried to collect myself. Entering the cafe, I sat on a free table near the large, glass doors before burying my face in my palms and completely breaking down. I didn't want to cry in front of the customers here; Actually, I didn't want to cry at all but my emotions were so all over the place that keeping myself composed wasn't even an option. My palm was still stinging from the slap that I gave Zack earlier and despite running off, I was glad that he didn't come after me. I didn't turn to look at his face when I said that I didn't want to see him anymore. I was afraid of what kind of face he would make. Would it be one of hurt or utter indifference? I
Elaine. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the wooden ceiling above me. I frowned slightly, not recognizing where I was and I sat up. I rubbed my eyes with a yawn as I remembered what happened last night. I sighed and rushed a hand through my hair in frustration. I felt exhausted. I felt so drained that going to work wasn't even on my agenda. Luckily, the keys were with Ethan and I trusted that he would take good care of the shop. Talking about work, I looked around for my phone and found my purse on top of the nightstand. Getting it, I opened it and pulled out my phone before waking up my screen. It was past nine and I had missed my alarm, which was weird because I could swear that I hadn't heard it. My eyes widened when I found over ten missed calls and texts from my sister. This was followed by even more texts and missed calls from Zack. Completely swiping anything related to Zack off of my screen, I unlocked my phone and began to call Audrey back. She was proba
Elaine."He called you that?" Audrey asked in disbelief and I shook my head."I hit him before the word even came out." I sighed. "I somehow regret it though. I overreacted.""I guess so, but that shows how angry it made you. You also should've explained yourself though.""I know, Zoe told me so too but I wanted him to explain himself first. Cassidy's visit left me so uncomfortable and then he starts behaving all antisocial towards me.""If I were you, I'd totally feel the same."I took a small sip of my hot chocolate. "He didn't even apologize."She gave me a sympathetic look. "Did you even think about the flowers that he brought that day?"I paused and blinked in surprise. "That didn't even cross my mind.""Well, I bet that he felt bad and thought of apologizing.""So you're saying that it's my fault?"She nervously waved her hands about and shook her head. "I'm not. I'm just saying th
Zack. I sighed as I rested my cheek on my fist and looked at the computer screen in front of me. No matter how hard I tried to not think about Elaine, she kept popping up in my head and the guilt, that so mercilessly burdened my heart, became worse. It's been almost a week and I haven't heard from her. All my calls and texts went unanswered and her shop was closed two days after our fight. I wondered what was going on. Did she really not want to see me again? But we had a deal! We couldn't divorce. This was a marriage that had us stuck until death really did do us apart. That fateful night, I went back home. I was angry and confused. I never expected Elaine to hit me but then, I should've been more careful with my words. Everytime I thought of her tears and the sad look in her eyes as she glared at me, my heart ached. I didn't want to see her cry and it felt more painful because I was the cause. I hated being called a coward especially when it came to Cassidy. I couldn't face t
Zack. Elaine looked at me sympathetically as I continued to narrate everything to her. I've never talked about this with anybody. Not even Zoe and Levi. They knew. They saw everything that happened but I never told them how I felt. Despite everybody being worried, I didn't want to talk or hear anything concerning that dark time. My family and friends had good intentions. They wanted me to get better but it just made me feel so angry when they would walk on eggshells around me. But talking about it with Elaine was better than losing her. I would rather walk down this painful road of my past than have her walk away from my life. "I don't think that she even knows how Isaac looks like. Maybe she saw him in our wedding pictures or something. I'm not sure. She's also never contacted me since she gave him to me. I remember her yelling at me in the hospital. Screaming that I ruined her life and career." I glared at the floor. "Isaac was crying the entire time and the hatred that I felt
Elaine.A soft sigh escaped my lips when Zack cupped my breasts in his large hands. Giving them a light squeeze, he pressed his erection against my butt. He kissed down my shoulder and up my neck before finding my lips.I reached back and held his jaw as I opened my mouth to accept his tongue in my mouth. We kissed softly and my body ached for him.I had almost forgotten how good it felt to be held by Zack. His gentle kisses. His rough hands and let's not ignore the hardness in between his legs than never failed to make me want more.Zack broke the kiss and nibbled on my ear. "Hands on the glass, Elaine," he whispered roughly and my core tingled in excitement."Yes, sir," I teased with a smile as I pressed my hands on the glass in front of me.Zack had long closed the water and my skin shivered slightly from the coldness that I was feeling. But then, it wasn't much of a concern since Zack was going to heat me up soon.
Elaine. "Elaine!" Isaac screamed excitedly as he ran into my arms. I laughed and wrapped him in a tight hug before saying, "Wow. You're so energetic today." Zoe brought Isaac back this afternoon and he looked about ready to zoom through the whole house. He was so cute in his winter clothes and I appreciated the tightness of his hug. He moved away from me and nodded. "Christmas is tomorrow," he whispered, as if telling me a secret. "It is and we'll have lots of fun." He looked over my shoulder and his jaw dropped. "Our house looks so nice! Like, like Santa's house but with Dad!" I stood up from the squatting position that I was in earlier and turned to look at the decorations that had Isaac's eyes twinkling. "Audrey did most of it. Also, we didn't put a star on top of the Christmas tree yet." "Why not?" "Because that's your job, Isaac." That's sentence made his joy escalate beyond measure and he looked up at me. "Really!? Can I do it now? I want to do it now. Can I do it no
Zack. Isaac called Elaine Mom. I didn't know what to feel but I was overcome with joy. I didn't think that this day would come. To be honest, I had never even considered him calling her that and if he didn't, it wasn't a big deal to me. It practically didn't matter. Or so I thought. I couldn't suppress the joy in my heart at that moment. Isaac has never called anybody his mother and I bet that he even gave up on that. Being used to me, his Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents, there was no one to fill in that position. But now, Elaine was here. She was obviously touched by it and Audrey wouldn't stop repeating it to her. It was almost as if our family was complete and it made me rethink a few things about her. Hearing that from Isaac lifted my heart and I grinned as I watched him play with a blue toy truck that I got him. He pushed the car against the carpet as he made car sounds and had conversations with the other cars. He was clearly invested in his own world. "You've been out of
Cassidy."Cut!" The director yelled and everyone on set let out a relieved sigh. "Well done. Take a 15 minutes break and let's get back to work."We were shooting a scene for a popular book that was adopted into a television series near central park. It was a hot day and the director was more intense than usual.Walking to my station, my assistant ran to me with an umbrella and she carried it over my head."That shot came out so cool!" She exclaimed. "It's great to see you back in action."I laughed. "Thank you, Sera. Although I would lose my job if I didn't do anything for a long time.""I doubt that. You're a star!""Thank you. Please get me some water before I lose any more energy.""Already got it." She handed a bottle of cool water to me."Thank you," I said as I got it from her and look a long gulp.She gave me a towel and I used it to wipe off the sweat from my neck and foreh
Elaine.I sat in the bathtub with my back leaning on its now warm surface. Zack hadn't said anything since our conversation in the car and I was scared. What was he thinking? How did he feel about what David said?I wasn't proud of the things that I did in the past and now that Zack heard about it, I couldn't help but feel so dirty. It was one thing to be a lowlife and another thing completely when your loved ones find out about it.When I was going to meet David, I thought that I would just drop the money and leave, but to have him try to force himself on me... I was so stupid. I was thankful that I had jeans on but thinking of him touching me sexually made my skin crawl.Of course, we messed around in the past. We were a gang of criminals who went about swindling people. Having no one to trust I had no problem sleeping with him or anyone to blow off some steam. It was just sex. What harm could it bring?That's what I thought then bu
Zack."That's all for today. If you have any additions later on, contact my assistant and she will let me know," I said as I leaned into my chair and stared at the people in front of me.Some nodded and we gathered all of our papers before standing up. Handshakes were exchanged and I smiled to myself as I thought of how this business deal would work in my favour.I walked out of the conference room and made my way to my office. Memories of this morning suddenly rushed into my head and my joy faltered.I didn't want things to turn out the way that they did but it all went out of my hands before I could notice it. The hurt in her voice was still loud in my ears and she failed to look me in the eye. Was I that incompetent to her?My anger rose and I stopped in my steps. I was so irritated! Why couldn't she see that I was worried about her? How could she get angry over me trying to help her? She made me feel like I was troubli
Elaine. The bedroom was silent as Zack and I prepared for work. We had just taken a shower together and Zack was looking for what to wear in the walk-in closet while I stood in front of the mirror and admired my reflection. I was in a really good mood this morning. I wore a black turtleneck that was tucked into some jeans and a gold necklace hung around my neck. My hair was up in a neat bun and I put on some minimal make-up. Because of my job, I couldn't wear accessories on my hands. There were also times when I would have to remove my wedding ring just to be safe. My gaze dropped to my ring and I laughed at myself. I never imagined that I would ever value my marriage this much, especially with the circumstances that brought us together. My thoughts were interrupted by Zack walking into the bedroom. He had a black suit on and his hair was gorgeously ruffled up. He looked as amazing as always, but I could not help but notice that he had something on his mind. He's actually been lo
Zack. I hummed a soft melody as I made my way towards Elaine's shop. She has been acting strange for a while now and despite our late night talk, she was even more out of it this morning. She didn't even talk to me much before leaving for work. But all that was going to end today. I prepared an evening date for us and I restocked her card with cash. I hoped my gifts would lift up her mood and the thank you text I got from her was really cute. I cleared my throat as I stood in front of the door. The last time I was here, I had an argument with Elaine and I was embarrassed by my jealousy towards her employee. I had to trust her. Also, I was much better than him in every aspect so, I let it not worry me. There was nothing to argue about now so, I pushed open the door and stepped in. The interior of this shop never ceased to impress me. I looked at the counter and saw Ethan staring at me. "Welcome, sir," he said nervously when
Elaine.David and I entered a cafe a few blocks down and found seats by the window. Taking our seats, a waiter rushed to our table and took our orders. Another perk about being Zack's wife was that service came fast and easy. I didn't have to wait in line or wait for my turn.I couldn't talk to David in an empty ally or a totally private place because I did not trust him. A part of me felt like there was something up his sleeve and I was not willing to find out what it was. This cafe wasn't too crowded but it had enough people to stop him from doing anything stupid.The waiter came back with our coffees after a few minutes and I began to slowly sip mine. I looked up at David and he just stared at me while not bothering to touch his coffee. This man was threatening me a few minutes ago and now that we are alone he's quiet?"What do you want?" I asked. "Depending on how high your voice is, we are in a private place."He chuckled. "Of co
Elaine.Zack drove a little faster than usual and the cool, evening air filled the car. Judging from the direction of the wind, the front windows were probably opened midway and it felt amazing after being closed up at that woman's wedding.I was itching to see the view since the lights always looked magical in the dark, but this blindfold deprived me of that. I wondered where Zack was taking me. He didn't look like the type of man who did such things and I didn't know what to expect.I could not think of anything bad because of the nervous smile that he had on his face when he asked me to put on the blindfold. But at the same time, I couldn't think of any special occasion currently or any coming up. Whatever it was, I hoped that his mother wasn't there.The car suddenly came to a stop and Zack gave me a soft peck. "We're here," he said and I pouted."That's cheating, Mr. Dobre," I protested and he chuckled."Give me a moment."
Zack.Elaine and I got out of the car as we stared at the beautiful reception building in front of us. I was expecting a lot of paparazzi flashing photos but the security did a good job keeping them out.I did notice a few, more composed, photographers roaming around and I was glad that people didn't come to my face with a camera.Elaine wore a long, peach, off the shoulder dress with a slit reaching the middle of her thigh. Her hair was in a braid and a beautiful diamond pin held her bun together.I was in a black bespoke suit with a peach shirt and black bowtie. Since this was a special occasion, I gelled my hair back and made sure to look my best.Being the gentleman that I was, I skipped the church ceremony and came directly for the after-party. I had more interest in listening to her explanation than her wedding vows.I held the small of Elaine's back and guided her inside. I could tell that she was nervous and I couldn't
Elaine.Soon, we entered a new year and things seemed to have settled down. The festive decorations reduced by the day and shop owners were back to business.Since we were still in the cold season, people were moving around in warm clothes and to me, it still gave a festive vibe. The sidewalks and loans were coated in light dew as people navigated their way through the morning."That's the last of it," Ethan said as he approached me with a box in his hands. "We're ready to open."I looked up from the box that I was sealing up. "That's great but we need to sweep up.""Really?" He looked at the floor to inspect it. "If the small strings bother you so much, I can just pick them up."I laughed. "Are you looking forward to working that much?""My family's been smothering me since we went on holiday so, I'm happy to be out of the house. Besides, I'm treated like a handsome prince here.""I'm happy that you feel th