EVERETTE:Beatrice looked at me as if I had grown horns. “Did I hear it right?” She pointed to herself. “You want me to approve the divorce?”I nodded. “How could you suggest that?”Putting my hand on my neck, I massaged it while I groaned inwardly seeing the reaction from her. I wouldn't blame her. “You hear it right. I don't want you to suffer anymore. You're not happy in your husband's arms. So what’s the point of staying in that relationship? No offense, Beatrice but I wanted you to be happy. That’s all.”The guests started pouring in and sat far from us. If they approached us, Beatrice and I needed to look for some private place to continue what we had started. She grabbed the plastic cup and squeezed it tight until it crumpled under her hand. I flinched and asked if I said the right words. Bea also had a temper when she no longer could not hold herself.She slammed the plastic cup on the counter. The other watched us. “Don’t you know divorce is a serious matter in our famil
EVERETTE:I could not hear what they were talking about. Christina's shoulders were relaxed and comfortable as she continued talking to Vince as if they were long-lost friends. Vince had this knack to make the women fall for him in a snap of a finger. What if Christina will fall for his charms?I shook my head.That was not going to happen. She said she loved me. Feelings fade, Everette. Especially if you're not doing anything. "Mister. You're blocking my way," said a child with goggles on top of her head. She looked at me with pure curiosity in her eyes. I was brought back to the present. "Oh. Sorry." I stepped aside, allowing her to run to the next side of the pool. As if reminded of something, she stopped. "Oh. My sister wants your number, Mister. May I have it?" she asked. Scanning the surroundings, I saw a brunette woman wearing a purple two-piece suit and waved at me. She had a body to die for, but she did not interest me at all. I preferred chubby women. Seeing who I
CHRISTY:“Miss Christina,” Vince called.I stopped in my tracks and glanced at him. The man was all smiles as if something good had happened to him. He was alone. Everette was nowhere to be found. Disappointment flashed for a moment before I forced myself to make it disappear. I knew it. He was not the type who would wait especially for me. He was not even patient when I would be okay. That's what you get for marrying a man who did not even love you at all, Christina.Why was I expecting too much from him? Everette was clear on his feelings. He did not love me at all. If I expected too much from him, it was no longer his fault but mine. He easily gave up on me. Maybe he did not find me worthy to be waited upon.What do you expect? He had no feelings for you, a part of my mind declared. It was true and the fucking truth hurts.“You’re sweating a lot, Miss Christina.” Vince was better than Everette. He was kind to someone whom he did not even know. He offered me his towel again.
CHRISTY:I met men like Vince. They were the stubborn type and above all, the flirt. They thought they could easily wrap the women around their fingers just because they were handsome.Too bad. I was no longer the type who would jump at every opportunity after seeing a hot man. “You want me?” I asked, raising one eyebrow. "You're dreaming. You cannot have me. You won't have me at all." But if I was single, I would definitely have a taste of him. Let's see if he was as delicious as he looked. "I want to know you more, Miss Christina. I want to know why my cousin who loved Eden married you."I folded my arms in front of my chest. "Don't you think it's obvious?""That he loves you?""No." Why would he love me when he made clear that it was Eden until now? “I think it's quite obvious who he loves as of the moment. No one would love a fat woman like me.”“There's nothing wrong with your body, Miss Christina,” he insisted as if I would change my mind. “Everette married you. It meant he
CHRISTY:Beatrice’s strength left her and fell onto the bed. “Do you think marriage is not a serious matter? Do you think we could easily divorce our husband just because we already got tired of our significant others?""I do understand where you are coming from, Beatrice. I understand you're pressured because of family tradition, but Everette and I have already talked about this. I will ask him to sign the divorce papers when we disembark.""Did you ask Everette if he is fine with it?""He was not fine." he was not because of his inheritance and being disowned by his family. Nothing more. If only he was not fine because he liked me, maybe...just maybe I won't force this divorce. I loved my husband with all my heart, but what could I do if he could not return my feelings? Letting go was the best thing to do. "He will be fine since he loved Eden. Eden will help him.""You're kidding.""I am not, Beatrice. You can ask your brother about it.""Poor Everette."Of course, sympathy would be
CHRISTY:I mentally shook my head, at my foolish thoughts. I must have always thought of him so that I could see him even if he was not here. I meant why would Everette come here?Did I miss my husband so much that I was imagining this already? Damn it. I need to order more beer to forget him. I had to remember that I was the one who insisted on our divorce so I should not act as if I was desperate to have him. If only he would love me, which he won't be doing any moment from now. Making him fall for me was something that I would never succeed in. There was Eden. There was also his mother Clara who deeply hated me to the core. That the only thing that was lacking was to curse me. Even if it was indeed Everette, which I knew he wouldn't be, I had no say in that. His family owned this cruise ship and I was nothing but one of the guests. Why could he not when he also enjoyed places like this? He was not some kind of man who was allergic to meeting men. Or maybe he was back at our
CHRISTY:The impact did not come. When I opened my eyes, I saw my husband, stopping the man's hand while his body was trembling with anger. Everette? When did he come here? Did he know I was here? "Don't lay a hand on my wife," he said, emphasizing all the words and crushing the man’s fist. The latter cried in pain while uttering an ear-splitting curse towards my husband.“Fuck you!” he spat. My heart hammered against my ribcage. “Everette. Stop it,” I ordered. He was not the type to fight someone. He was one of the calmest men I ever met. And I no longer understand why he was doing this. Was he not scared of this huge man? Was Everette a match to the man wearing a black T-shirt? The latter was huge and I did not know if my husband knew some self-defense. "You want me to stop? Never!” To the bastard, he growled, “You don't call her fat or any woman fat."The other two accomplices were on standby, waiting for the huge fight that was about to happen. Three against one? I did not
CHRISTY:Vincent winked at me.“I know you, do, Miss Christina. You’re worried for your husband.” I was worried for my husband whom I didn't even see right now. My husband, who just disappeared like a smoke?I folded my arms in front of my chest as the music continued. Some of the bouncers were cleaning our mess. Which I was thankful for.“I’m not worried about him,” I denied, but Vincent was not buying it. “You're looking for him. Do you want me to tell you where he has been?”I was certain I hadn't noticed him going out. “I'm not interested. He can go wherever he wants. I'm not forcing him to stay by my side.”“You're always looking for him. You're eyes…you cannot deny it, Miss Christina,” he added, with a knowing smile. “Think whatever you want.” My vision suddenly blurred as if the effect of alcohol was already starting to sink into my system.I momentarily stopped and shook my head. I only had a few drinks and this was already the result? I would not get drunk like that. Wha
CHRISTY:Then Everette's eyes snapped open.I held my breath as I stared at his beautiful eyes."Kitten...""You're awake. Are you done pretending that you were asleep?" I asked softly, already tired of fighting with him. A year of hiding from him only made my love for him grow even stronger.My heart yearned for him, and seeing him after a year, I felt like I had become whole again.He sat while I snatched my hand away and put it on my lap."You still love me," he commented."I did not say anything like that," I denied, averting my gaze. "Yes, you did. I heard you say one, Kitten.""It was only your dream, Everette. You did sleep, right? You were dreaming earlier."Touching my chin, he forced me to look at him. My toes curled. Yes. I still loved this man. A year of not seeing him made me want to jump at him and kiss him like crazy and have lots and lots of sex as if to make up for the lost time. My hands yearned to touch his face and traced the outline of his cheeks. Everette le
CHRISTY: When you least expected someone, you would meet that someone. I thought my husband had already gone home like what Poppy had said. Did Poppy lie to me or was it only because my husband waited for me to step out? "Kitten...It's you." He looked at my face and down to my body and back to my face again. "I was right. You are only at the bakery shop. W-Why did you have to lie?" he asked, his voice trembling. His hair was already long and his mustache and stubbles had grown so much as if he was a completely different person. Despite that, he was still beautiful. The very person whom I managed to love. "I'm not. Y-You're mistaken, Mr." I pretended to fan myself. "You're drunk, Mister." "I only drank two canned beers, Kitten." He sauntered towards me, but I stepped back. "What are you doping? Like I said, I am not who you think I am." His expression turned glassy. "Kitten, please. Tell me what I did to punish you like this. What did I do wrong, Kitten? Why did you leave me
CHRISTY:"He is gone," Poppy announced after talking to my husband. I hid in the kitchen as Poppy struggled to look for some alibis and lied to my husband. I was glad I was able to watch the CCTV camera and found him approaching. If not, he would know I was here, working in Poppy's bakery shop. If Everette will find out that I was only here for the whole year, he might be mad at Poppy. The woman had no fault. In fact, she was kind enough to give me a job where I wanted it. Everette…he looked like a hermit who just came out from his hiding place. He had a rugged expression on his face, but he was still handsome.How long has it been since I last saw him face to face? More than a year already and I just wanted to run into his arms."Thank you, Poppy. You're the best," I said weakly. “Thank you for having my back.”She looked at me with a stern look. “I was not happy with what you did, okay? I was only forced to do it because I loved you. But Christy…how long will you keep on punishin
EVERETTE: It had been an nth time since I stared at my wife’s picture when we had our cruise ship. It was a candid picture of her while we both sat on the sand. A year of missing her. My wife was gone just like what I dreamed. When I entered the house, when I returned back from working on the company, her clothes were still there, but she never returned. At first, I was scared that she was kidnapped again, but there were witnesses of her going somewhere else alone. She was not kidnapped. The truth was, she was only looking for a perfect opportunity where she could go and run away. It had been what? One fucking years of her absence. No calls. No text. Not even anything. Until now, I blame myself for what happened. Maybe…if I did not work late, I would still be able to stop her from disappearing. “Why don’t you give up, Everette?” Vincent said. “If you did not find her, it only meant that she did not want to be found.” We were in the house. I asked him to come and he did witho
CHRISTY: I want the world to swallow me now. What a very perfect timing. Beatrice being able to witness me slapping her husband. I would understand if she would hate me after this. She loved her husband so much that salpping him will be the reason why he would throw a fit. I did not know how to console Beatrice or how would I be able to face her and explain what she just heard and what she had witnessed. Did I regret going to their cabin? I did not. All I was thinking was this woman who looked like she could not even hurt a fly. "Beatrice..." I mumbled. Approach her. She deserved to know what her husband said. Are you sure? The other part of my mind said. If the truth would hurt her so much, was it worth it? Left with no choice, I sauntered towards her. "How long had you been listening?" I asked directly, no loger beating around the bush. If she hated me after this, all I had to do was accept everything adn move on. There was so much bigger things that needed my attention.
CHRISTY:I did it! I was able to slap Drake! I was able to avenge Beatrice!It was not so me to hurt anyone, but after slapping Drake, I felt this weird sense of fulfillment coming from the inside of my chest. Instead of getting guilty, all I felt was the sense of fulfillment of avenging Beatrice. My palms were itching to slap him again, but once was enough. As long as I was able to send him the message that not everyone liked him was already enough.Drake glared at me, watching the imprints of my hands on his palm. It hurt even for a moment and he would no longer be able to forget me. Staring down at me, he asked, "What the fuck was that for? As far as my memories are concerned, you and I had no proper conversation. What did I do to earn a slap from you? Be thankful that you're a woman or else," he trailed off.“So what if I am a woman?” I asked. I scoffed. "You have to ask me those questions? Are you that dense?" I asked. He stared at me for a long time, his face bright red wi
CHRISTY:Beatrice looked at me as if I had grown horns. I was a bitch for suggesting it to her, but what could I do? I was not the type who would just stare at a woman who was hurting because of a man.Yeah. I know. It was the suggestion that she was totally unexpected. Or maybe she already expected it, but she could not do anything about it. Perhaps I was not the only one who had told her to divorce her husband. "Y-You want me to divorce my husband?" she asked in disbelief, using the same words I had suggested. "Do you even hear yourself?" she asked. “Divorce? How could you say that!”"I heard myself loud and clear," I said nonchalantly. “It’s time to let go of that jerk.”Tears swelled in her eyes.Beatrice always had a waterworks, and I did not like any of that. A woman’s tears were like a stab wound on me. I kneeled in front of her and said, "It's time to let go of the man who did not even love you. Do you understand? Stop hurting yourself because you deserve someone who would s
CHRISTY:"I knew women like you. You will grab every possible opportunity," she spat. “Seeing you annoys me even more. You reminded me of your Mom.”“Mom and I are two different beings, Mom,” I said politely, even if my heart was already bleeding too much. And I could not blame Clara. Mom showed her worse side. “As long as my husband won’t believe that I will cheat on him, I am fine with whatever you say, Mom.”Clara’s hand shook in anger. She was dying to hurt me. To slap me once again. “Christy is right, Mom. The only thing that you can do is accept this marriage.” Everette kissed me on my hair. Clar did not like it a bit. “Mom, let us have peace. Christy admitted it was a mistake that she left me in the altar. But don’t you think it’s already too long since that happened? Let’s move on, Mom. Please?” Everette was about to touch his Mom’s hand, but Clara slapped his hand away and looked at me with disgust.“You’re a witch. You bewitched my son!” She was about to slap me, but Everet
CHRISTY:Panic kicked in as I struggled to break free. No matter how much I attempted to shout, my voice was muffled. The person holding me won't budge at all. I kicked in. I thrashed. I shouted, but no words would come out.Everette! Please help me!What the heck was happening?"Stop squirming or I will hurt you for real," he threatened. “Do you think I will hesitate hurting a woman?”I stopped, sensing this bastard won’t hesitate to hurt me at all. My body went cold. It was the man whom Everette had fought with. Vincent was right. Sooner or later, he would come to get me. I should have listened to Vincent when he said I should be careful. Everette’s enemies would resurface. Did I listen? I did not. As he dragged me deeper into the darkness, I was losing even more hope that someone would be able to help me.It was safe to let him think that he was able to get my trust. Hot tears welled in my eyes as I thought of Everette. Would I die not being able to see my husband? If I knew