PAULAI was in the kitchen helping Sergio’s grandmother to bake cupcakes for the kids at the orphanage home when Sergio’s mother came into the kitchen with my crying two-month-old baby in her arms. These two love each other too much. Oh, and it gets worse when the father is here; it is like I do not exist at all.“She no longer wants the milk from the bottle. She wants it straight from its cow. Oh, this child can be cheeky when she wants to,” Sergio’s mother, whom I have gotten used to calling her mama says.I laugh and clean up my hands before I get her. Yes, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom my father named Sofia which was also my late mother’s name. I loved it when my father suggested it, and Sergio had no problem with it. I got to meet my aunt who is my mother’s sister, and we are in contact. As for Belinda, she was found and got arrested for murder. I cannot believe that woman fooled us all and claimed to love me. It is just sad that she was my brothers’ mother.“She is
Waking up to the sounds of a piano playing somewhere in the middle of an ocean has become my normal waking up routine ever since I chose to escape from reality. My fantasy dream has become my new reality because I chose to escape with the man that I fell in love with, no matter how many trials and tribulations we have come across together, I still stood by him against my family, and he did the same with me. It is euphoric how far we’ve come, but we are happy with our path – at least for now.I was twenty-two when I met my husband. It is really funny because I was very angry at him for replacing my bodyguard and at the same time I had a crush on him, but he kept it professional because he never mixed business with pleasure and kept his life very private, but that didn’t last for long when I crawled under his skin. I had a crush on him, and I kept it a secret for a long time before I finally confessed it to him. He wasn’t a man of many words then, and even now, I still don’t know much a
TWO YEARS EARLIERPAULAI come from a wealthy family. My father is a well-known business tycoon, and my mother is just always there by his side. I think that is why I was raised by nannies most of the time, and sometimes my older brothers would take turns looking after me because my parents were always away on business vacations and even when they were here, they were busy with everything else but me. My siblings were fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with them in their era because business was normal, but after I was born, everything seemed to have changed. They are more focused on the family business, bringing in new clients and making more money than actually having family time. I might sound like I am embroidering, but that is the truth.I am the last born of four siblings. I have three older brothers, and I am the last and the only girl. They are all married, and they live in their own homes, and I am still stuck at my parents’ house. I feel like my parents would pop that q
PAULAI am walking out of the fabric store, pushing the cart with all my items inside it while I am on a call with my boyfriend of one and a half year, whom my parents dislike so much. He is a biker, a rockstar bandleader with implausible tattoos all over his body, even on his face. His name is Bruce, but everyone else calls him by his stage name, Dungeon Dragon and he has a criminal record. He got his stage name from prison; that is why my parents hate him.I connect my Airpods to my phone so that I don’t have to hold my phone against my ear while I am walking, pushing my cart to the parking lot.“What happened?” He asks.“Well, I had an argument with my parents,”“Was the argument about me?” Well, most of the arguments I had with my parents were about him and for once today, it is not about him.“Not everything is about you, you know Amour?”He chuckles.“That’s a relief, love. You should have told me that you needed to get out, I would have come and fetched you to like, Netflix and
SERGIOImagine when you are the whole man of the house, you have a girlfriend who is unemployed and all you do is love them, support them mentally and financially, and the least you can expect them to do is to give you at least the same determination, help you wherever they can, but to me, it looks like I am accommodating someone in my life who needs refugee in someone else’s life, and I am that someone. Here I am, in the laundry room as I stuff my laundry in the washing machine, hoping that when I am gone, Cassey will take care of the rest. It is 6 AM and I am already dressed up in my black suit and a black shirt for work. It is my first day as Paula’s bodyguard and I am already feeling exhausted. That girl is just something else, and that comment she made about my car, she really crossed the line there but to be honest, it was something that I laughed about during the drive to her house. It was really nice to laugh with her about it since all we were doing was biting off each other
PAULAFLASHBACK“Hey, babe. I am sorry to call you this late, but my phone ran out of battery. How was your gig?” I asked.“Fine, what do you want, Paula?” He rudely asked. He sounds drunk too.“Uhm, did I call you at your bad time?”“No, Paulita, this is a perfect time, but unfortunately I am busy,”“It’s 2 AM, what are you busy with, Bruce? I just want to talk to you?”“Celebrating, Señorita!” He laughs and starts singing one of his songs. “You could have been here too to join the party, but you chose to ignore me the whole fuckin’ night!” He yells, making the person that he is with giggle. The laugh is off a woman that I don’t recognise. Is he only with a woman, I mean, I know that there is a woman in their band, but she sounds more like a man. Who could this one be?“Who is with you, Bruce, are you with a woman alone?” I ask in a firm tone.“What if I am, baby? As I said, I am quite busy. If there is anything else, call my manager.”He hangs up on me. He was utterly disrespectful
SERGIOI went outside for a smoke, leaving the girls to do what they know best, gossiping. I am standing on the balcony, welcoming the refreshing atmosphere as I look at the city of Madrid. I have been so busy these past few months that I did not let myself explore it since I started living here. It is an amazing place and I think the people here are nice too, well except for Paula. That girl is hell!As if she hears my thoughts, she walks out through the sliding door with puffy eyes and stands next to me, leaning with her elbows on the balustrade, looking ahead of us.“Do you have a cigarette for me?” She asked. I really did not expect that.“I do. Do you smoke?” I asked, taking out a cigarette for her.“What do you think?” She fires the question back at me, placing the cigarette between her lips like a pro.“I think that you are a smoker,” Obviously not! I don’t believe she smokes, but I will act like I believe she is. Oh, her dad is going to kill me.I lit the cigarette and I watch
PAULAI swear everything has consequences. The alcohol I drank last night is out here, playing in my body, reminding me how reckless I was last night. I regret drowning my sorrows in alcohol like I did last night because I feel so sick right now. I am up, sitting on my bed, thinking about what I did to Sergio. Oh, boy; how am I going to face him from now onward? I should have never kissed him, nor let my emotions take control of me.I pull myself out of bed, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my morning face routine. I tie my hair messy, walking out of my bedroom. When I reach the last staircase, I find my whole family having a meeting, as if I am the one that they were waiting for to arrive. When I say my whole, I am including all three brothers I have.Oh, oh… no one looks pleased to see me.“Sit down!” Luka, my eldest brother commands. He knows very well that I am scared of him more than our dad. I am even scared to tell him that my head is spinning from last night.I
PAULAI was in the kitchen helping Sergio’s grandmother to bake cupcakes for the kids at the orphanage home when Sergio’s mother came into the kitchen with my crying two-month-old baby in her arms. These two love each other too much. Oh, and it gets worse when the father is here; it is like I do not exist at all.“She no longer wants the milk from the bottle. She wants it straight from its cow. Oh, this child can be cheeky when she wants to,” Sergio’s mother, whom I have gotten used to calling her mama says.I laugh and clean up my hands before I get her. Yes, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom my father named Sofia which was also my late mother’s name. I loved it when my father suggested it, and Sergio had no problem with it. I got to meet my aunt who is my mother’s sister, and we are in contact. As for Belinda, she was found and got arrested for murder. I cannot believe that woman fooled us all and claimed to love me. It is just sad that she was my brothers’ mother.“She is
SERGIOPaula and I might have gotten married so suddenly, I mean, we never really dated long and the moment I saw her looking so beautiful in her wedding dress that was meant for that bustard called Steve, I knew that I wanted to marry her. I have no regrets whatsoever, but I think I might have rushed to make her mine without thinking it through, and I was also jealous that she was looking so beautiful for another man, which is why this time I want to make things right.I am going to put my pride aside and approach Paula’s father to ask to make things right with him. I want to marry Paula the right way with both our families attending the wedding; no hate, no anger, no drama. All I want is a perfect wedding for my wife, and I want this marriage to be meaningful.Sigh.I do not know if it is me, but this pregnancy is just messing up Paula’s mind. At every chance she gets, she makes sure that she tells me where to get off. Earlier today, I was playing the piano while she was sleeping be
PAULA“What do they say?” I ask, nervously as Sergio walks out of the bathroom holding three pregnancy tests in his hands. I am sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting eagerly for the results.“They all have double red lines, honey – we are pregnant,” He excitedly says, and I put my hands on my burning cheeks.Is this really happening? Is this really happening to me? I am pregnant and carrying a child with the love of my life. I am carrying Sergio’s heir.I am happy that I am experiencing this with him, and we both have mutual feelings about it. He makes it easier for me to accept that I am pregnant. Did I want to have a baby this early? No, but Sergio makes me excited about the idea.“We are going to have a baby,” He puts the pregnancy tests aside and rushes to me before kneeling in front of me and kissing my exposed belly from the cropped bra I am wearing.I place my hands on his head and caress it. This is everything that I have ever dreamed of. This is what I imagined when I said
SERGIO I haven’t had a good sleep the way I did last night in a long time. It is a windy morning, and the waves in the ocean are not failing to hit aggressively against the rocks, but that is nothing to complain about because it is beautiful. I am in the kitchen making breakfast for me and my wife. Things between us are promising, but we are taking it slowly. KIDDING! We are definitely rushing to catch up, I mean, last night we had an amazing love-making session, and before we slept, we talked about our dreams. I asked her if she would ever think about moving to France, and without hesitation, she said a BIG YES. Well, to me it sounded like a rational decision because, to be honest, Paula has been through so much and probably wants to get away for that reason, so I am going to ask her again so that she does get to think about it. While I am busy in the kitchen, Paula walks in, wearing only the t-shirt that I was wearing last night. I walk up to her and stand in front of her. “Goo
PAULATwo days ago, we arrived on the island. My husband is not okay, and every time I ask him what the matter is; he tells me that he almost lost me. He is scared, he is shaken, but I know that it is not me. Something is really triggering him, but all he cares about is my well-being and wants me to get better.I want my husband to get better as well!I am in the bedroom, watching a movie on Netflix called ME TIME. Whoever gave birth to Kevin Hart should be held responsible for my cause of death. I just cannot stop laughing. Why do people hate it so much? If I could, I would give it one hundred stars because it is hilarious.I wish I was not watching it alone. I am lonely, and I miss my husband. He takes the guestroom while I take the main bedroom. I know that I am the one that suggested it but, I kind of want him back. I miss him.I take my phone and scroll to his number and just look at it. I do not know why I always feel scared to call him, but I have no choice because he does not
SERGIOThey say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Right now, I feel like I am given both limes and lemons, and I still don’t know which one is the sourest between them. That is how complicated my life is, and I just have to swallow the bitter taste the lemons and limes leave in my throat.I am at home with my two lovely women who have just added more stress to my stress. I feel like hitting my head against the wall and just dying with everything because I am just surrounded by darkness, and I feel responsible for everything that is happening around me.I look at my son — I mean, Diego. He is peacefully sleeping on my bed after crying so much. He does not deserve what is going on right now, and a child like this does not need to stay in a home that is not happy. I am not happy right now, and I will not heal any time soon. I am crushed, and I will be more crushed when the tests prove that Diego is not my son.I love him so much, and I know that he loves me too. How can he not b
PAULITA As soon as my husband left, I was helped back to my bedroom and to my surprise, I found a bouquet of flowers, red and white roses to be specific, and a toiletry bag. On the bedside table, there is a basket of fruits and goodies. I roll the wheels of the wheelchair towards the bed and pick up the bouquet and inhale them, smile, and pull the card out before I read it. “I know I messed up, and I know that you are mad at me, which you have every right to be by the way, but all I am asking for is a chance to explain everything and be clean to you. What I do not want is to lose you. You are special, my baby girl. I love you so much, and please believe me when I tell you that my intention was not to hurt you; I was just afraid to hurt you and lose you. Please forgive me and come back home to me. I promise I will make things right. Love, Sergio,” To be honest, a lot has been broken, and it is going to take a while before we fix it. I love Sergio so much and to be honest, I want
SERGIOI am probably going insane right now. But who cares? I brought it all to myself and I deserve it. I am like the glue to everything that is happening. Losing my wife and losing my son. It is probably for the best, I mean, they probably don’t deserve me. I was never honest with both women anyway, but that is the only thing I am probably sorry for. What I won’t be sorry for is my job. I had to lie about it in order for me to get justice, and unfortunately, Paula got caught up in it. But no matter how other people may see it, I never used Paula. Firstly, I resisted her when she confessed her feelings to me, and secondly, I genuinely love her, so no one should fucking tell me that I used her to get what I wanted from her. I fucking love that girl!I take the bottle of my whiskey and swig it. I turn up all the volume of the music playing on TV. I am playing instrumental music that helps me think and right now Bitter Sweet Symphony by David Garrett is playing. I am sitting in the midd
PAULAI have had so many visitors coming to check on me, and I am so happy to know that there are people who still cared about me, like my work colleagues, old friends, and Angela. I was hoping to see Carolina walking in, but I guess she will never come.With all the physical pain that I am enduring all over my body, it can never be compared to the one that I am feeling in my heart. I have never felt so disappointed and hurt as I am. I cannot believe I grew up believing that Belinda is my mother. I loved that woman, I admired her style, and she was the reason I studied fashion design because I idolised her and loved the way she dressed. She loved clothes as much as I did. She was so beautiful, and I thought that we both had something in common because she was my mother, but it was all a lie. She was ugly on the inside, and she hated me. It just makes sense now.“What makes sense?”I gasp, looking up at Jade from the wheelchair.“Did I say that out loud?” I ask, shyly dropping my eyes.