“Does this mean we can’t see as usual?” He asked lowering his voice. “What do you mean Landry?” I asked, pretending not to know exactly what he meant. He looked at me with a mix of frustration and longing. He knew I was pretending, but he didn't want to push me too hard. He wanted to respect my boundaries, even if they hurt him. "I mean, you know what I mean, Jane. We've been seeing each other for months now, and I thought we had something special. But ever since your whole memory loss thing, you've been avoiding me. You barely answer my calls, you cancel our plans, you act like we're strangers in public. How long can we keep this up?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I love you, Jane. I don't care what your husband thinks. He can't control your life. You're a Stone, a descendant and successor of the Stone’s family empire. Why can't you just tell him the truth?"I shook my head and clenched my fists. “No, I can’t just tell him the truth. Landry, don’t you get it?” “Th
“Good morning, baby,” I greeted him warmly as I walked into his room carrying a tray of delicious breakfast. He looked up at me, yawning and stretching on his bed. He rubbed his eyes a little bit before focusing on me and the food. “Oh wow, good morning, darling,” he replied, his voice still groggy from sleep.He started feeling his sheets nervously, as if he was afraid of what he might find underneath. He glanced at me with a puzzled expression and asked, “Baby, did you bring me here?” He sounded unsure and confused. I looked at him with a reassuring smile and said, “Yes, of course. You were so intoxicated last night that I had to take you home.”“Oh, wow,” he muttered, looking around the room as if he didn’t recognize it. He ran his fingers through his hair while I set the tray on his bedside table. I leaned in and kissed his forehead gently. “Don’t worry, you are fine, OK? Remember that I’m your wife and I took very good care of you. You were just too drunk to drive or to remember a
I knocked on the door of Sheba’s apartment, holding a bouquet of roses in my hand. I hoped that my sister would be happy to see me, especially after what we had gone through. I had been trying to reach Sheba for days, but she never answered her phone or replied to my messages. I was worried sick about her.Sheba opened the door and I gasped. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her hair was messy and unkempt, and her clothes were wrinkled and stained. She looked like she hadn’t slept or eaten in days.“Jane?” Sheba said in a weak voice.“Hi, sis,” I said, forcing a smile. “I brought you some flowers.”I handed the roses to Sheba, who took them without enthusiasm.“Thank you,” she said, but she didn’t smile.“Can I come in?” I asked.“Sure,” she said, stepping aside.I entered the apartment and looked around. It was a mess. There were dishes piled up in the sink, clothes scattered on the floor, and papers strewn on the table. The air was stale and stuffy.“W
I parked the car in the driveway and turned to Sheba, who was sitting in the passenger seat. She looked tired and sad, her eyes red from crying. She had a suitcase and a backpack with her, all the belongings she had managed to take from her former home.“Are you ready?” I asked her softly.She nodded and gave me a weak smile. “Thank you, sis. You’re the best.”I hugged her and said, “Don’t mention it. You’re my sister and I love you. Come on, let’s go inside.”We got out of the car and carried her stuff to the door. I unlocked it and opened it, letting Sheba go in first. She looked around the spacious living room, admiring the furniture and the decorations.“Wow, this is beautiful. It looks very different from the last time I was here,” she said.“Thank you. It’s all thanks to my husband. He has a great taste.” I led her to the guest room, where I had prepared a bed and some fresh towels for her. I helped her unpack her things and made sure she was comfortable.“I’ll leave you to res
She sighed and said, “What happened? I heard you and your husband arguing. It sounded like hell up there.”“Oh, Sheba, don’t be a killjoy now!” I said, raising my hands in the air as I walked over to the bed and sat next to her. “It’s nothing, really.”She rolled her eyes and said, “Jane! Don’t lie to me. You know you can tell me anything.”“Okay, okay, fine!” I said, giving in to her curiosity. “Rick has agreed to let you stay here.” I continued.“Okay, great! But you guys had to argue about it?” She asked.“Never mind that, Sheba.” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “It’s not important.”“Have you settled in? I have plans for us tonight.” I said, changing the subject.She nodded and said, “Yeah! I should be good to go. And I think I need a new phone because Vincent won’t stop blowing up my phone with calls.” She said, showing me her screen with dozens of missed calls from her husband.“Don’t worry, my sister. Soon, we’ll kick these men out of our lives and live our best lives, ok
So finally we’re done with the massage and we went to the part of the spa where they did manicure and pedicure. As we sat down, they offered us a glass of wine to sip and I looked at my sister and she looked back at me and we both laughed. We didn’t know why we were laughing though, but we were very happy and very relaxed at where we were. The spa was cozy and elegant, with soothing music playing in the background and a pleasant aroma of lavender in the air.They started on our pedicure and it was really, really refreshing and relaxing, especially when I dipped my leg into that warm water and she was really careful with my feet. She gently scrubbed away the dead skin, massaged my calves, and applied a shiny polish on my nails.“Sister, this is so relaxing and refreshing. I’m so glad we came on this outing,” I said to her and she smiled.“Of course, Jane, I’m the best at planning stuff. Have you forgotten that?” she said, and I laughed.“Oh no, I haven’t forgotten,” I said.So while we
She looked at me with a hint of suspicion and annoyance, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips. I was sure she didn’t like me asking about her husband. I mean, what kind of woman would anyway?She tried to act casual and friendly, but I could tell she was lying. She shifted in her seat, crossed her legs, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.“Oh, my husband is fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “He’s just very busy with his work and his projects. He travels a lot, you know. He’s always in different countries and cities. He’s very successful and popular.”She paused, then added, “And he loves me very much. He’s very loyal and faithful to me. He would never cheat on me or hurt me. He’s the best husband ever.”She looked at me with a smug and superior expression, as if she was trying to rub it in my face.But I knew better. I knew she was insecure and unhappy. I knew she was desperate, afraid, and jealous.I knew she was lying to herself and to me.I decided to play along with her
Sheba and I had just finished our dinner and we were ready to hit the club. My phone started ringing. “I wonder who it is,” I said to her as I checked the caller ID. It was Landry, my date for the night. “Hello, Landry, how are you doing?” I said, putting him on speaker.“I’m good. Where are you ladies at?” He asked. His voice was deep and smooth, like honey.“Well, guess what? We’re headed for the club,” I said, smiling at Sheba. She cooed and winked at me. We were having so much fun and I had never seen her that happy or that lively in a very long time. So I was happy that she was happy.“Alright, we’ll see you ladies there. We’re already here by the way,” He said. “And remember, I told you I was going to bring my brother, my twin brother actually.”“Oh yeah, you did tell me,” I said, trying to sound casual. Sheba was also very excited to meet him, but she pretended to be cool about it. She gave me a look that said, “What the hell are you doing?” and I laughed. “Don’t worry, sister.
“Well! Now, we’re going to have to make a new round of chicken,” I said, groaning angrily while he chuckled and pointed toward the store room.“At least we have a whole island of them,” he joked and I nodded, slightly feeling guilty about wasting food.I had grown up to know that wasting food was not an option and here I was, abusing the gift of abundance. I needed to retrace my steps.“Why don’t we just order takeout?” I suggested and he pondered a while over it before he shrugged and looked me in the eyes.“What?” I asked and he shrugged. “Well, why do you want takeout?” He asked and I rolled my eyes. He was literally impossible.“Don’t give me that look! I just want to know why. I can cook the food if that is what it’s about,” he pressured but I was already having a headache as he kept going on and on.“I didn't know men talk a lot,” I spat and he looked at me with a surprised expression.“Okay, I’m only talking this much because I want you to be comfortable with me. I don’t want
“Oh, I see. Well, it is hard for a guy to pass by you and not stare at you with his eyes or even make a passing comment. But that’s not what we’re trying to talk about here,” he said, noticing my uncomfortable look. “I’m sorry, okay? I just want to keep letting you know how beautiful you are and how lucky I feel to have you over. How lucky I feel that both of us are sharing the same house at the moment. How lucky I feel that I’m helping you with whatever it is that you need, okay? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable near me. I want you to feel very comfortable because it’s going to be a long ride in the long run. But I need to remind you once in a while how crazy you drive me,” he said and I blushed again.“Okay, I’ve heard you. I’ve heard everything you said. Now, I guess it’s time to go and have dinner. Maybe. I’m starving,” I said to him as he nodded in agreement. “Of course, yeah, dinner. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed since I stayed with you. You make time go
“Alright then, we can drive there right now,” David said with a mischievous grin. I looked outside and saw that it was already getting dark. I just wanted to smile and relax and wait, because obviously he couldn’t penetrate that safe. And I made sure that it was a high-quality safe that I laid my hands on while I was at UNI. You know, that woman who first gave me those original documents? She also gave me that safe. Nobody could crack it open, not even the best programmer in the world. It couldn’t even be blown up by a bomb. It was just a safe, just the way it was. So I was less bothered about that, but what I was a little bit bothered about was the fact that he would go in there and probably start taking all the furniture and all his clothes and all that.“Don’t worry, there’s no rush. Revenge, especially the sweet ones, take time. We’re going to go tomorrow. It’s already getting late. We should make something to eat and go to bed,” I said to him with a smile. He smiled back
“Jane, Jane, relax.” David said, as he rushed towards me. He tried to hold my shoulders, because I looked like I was going crazy. Like I was going mad. And he was probably very afraid at that point, because I was acting batshit crazy. That I was going to injure myself or him. So he held me firmly in his arms and made me look at his eyes. His caring eyes.I said to him, with tears in my eyes, “All the assets, everything I worked my ass off for, everything is gone. I have searched everywhere. I have checked everything. Maybe I misplaced it. But no. Henry has betrayed me.” I said in the most heartbreaking voice you could ever imagine.I was so heartbroken, because I never would have done the same to Henry. But why did he do this to me? He had stolen from me. And I would not stop until I had stolen back from him.“I always knew Henry was shady for that thing he did. Of course, it had nothing to do with getting married to you or you being a terrible person to get married to. There were alw
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said, with a very nervous chuckle, as I tucked my hair behind my ears and faced forward, avoiding his gaze. But deep down, I knew he was right about what he was saying. I was just very afraid to admit the truth. He asked again, “Jane, look at me. We need all the information we can get if we’re going to get to the bottom of this. You don’t have to be afraid to release any information. You don’t have to be reluctant to do that, OK? I’m here, standing by your side. I’m always by your side and I will forever be by your side. Right now, we need all the information we can get. You’re the only one who can give us that information. Do you understand, Jane?” He asked, looking at me intently. I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed by emotions. I didn’t know how to feel at that point, because he was right. I knew so many things that could have made Henry make this decision of his. Or whatever it was. I knew quite a few things about why he may have lef
“OK, so I have some detective friends who could also help out in your case, but I need your consent with everything. I promise you it’s not an affiliation with anybody, not your ex-husband, not your fiancé. You know I just really want to help, just in case you need backup. Is that OK with you?” He asked, his voice gentle and reassuring.I looked at him, feeling a surge of gratitude and affection.His eyes met mine, and I saw a flicker of something else in them. Something warm and tender, something that made my heart skip a beat.I almost wanted to jump up and hug him, but I had to comport myself because I was a lady. Oh, fuck it, I thought, and jumped up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.“What was that for?” He asked, sounding surprised but pleased.I smiled shyly and pulled away slightly. “Well, you care about me more than anyone else cared about me ever since I lost my child. So I think you deserve more than that.” I said softly.He took my ja
“Why don’t you call them to know what’s up?” He asked, looking at me with concern. I shook my head.“No, no, no, no. We already spoke about this. We discussed it. It’s OK. They will have to be the one to call me after the mission is complete. I can’t call them now. It would be destroying something in the mission.” I said, biting my lip nervously. I was already tapping my feet fast on the ground and grinding my teeth anxiously. Just remembering everything already brought a knot to my stomach and a lump to my throat. And I guess he noticed, because he reached out to my hands and took them in his. He rubbed them gently and gave me a reassuring smile.“It’s OK. I’m sure you’re going to get the text soon. But I need to ask you some questions. I don’t know if it will be OK for you to answer them for me.” He said and I looked at him. I hesitated a little bit, because I didn’t say I was going to trust anyone with the information that I had. But I was willing to give him a small chance. May
“Oh, not so fast, David,” I said, holding up my hand. “Not so fast. You have to take it easy with all this flattery. I’m very quick to fall in love, haven’t you noticed that?” I teased him and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. His smile matched his eyes, bright and warm. It was one of the most brilliant features about him. Was I falling in love again? I had just promised myself that I wouldn’t fall in love so quickly, but I couldn’t help it. This man was amazing. So good looking… Even more good looking than Henry and Rick combined. And I had a very high affinity for very good looking men. And to be honest, at that point, I didn’t really care. I just felt that I should live life and just be who I wanted to be, when I wanted to be, and how I wanted to be.“Oh, I have noticed,” he said, leaning closer to me. “We did have quite the chemistry there when I first walked into the room. When I got coffee with you, you know… I felt it. It was kind of obvious. But I didn’t think anyth
I felt dizzy for a while because I was so confused. I was usually the one who said I love you first in all my relationships. I was usually the one who made the first move, probably because of my desperation. I hoped so much that this man wouldn’t see through my desperation, that he wouldn’t see how desperate I was to find somebody to love. But obviously, I was wrong because he saw it. Why would a man be telling me that he loved me on the very first day we met? And given the circumstances surrounding it, it was a big lie, at least in my ears. What did he mean by love at first sight?“Jane, Jane, did you hear what I said?” David’s voice woke me up from my little mini trance right there. I didn’t even realize that I had drifted off from the normal conversation that we were having. But in truth, I didn’t know what to reply to that because obviously, I didn’t love him. But I did have a little bit of liking for him. And if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few months, it’