Rose fetched me a glass of water from the kitchen and handed it to me. She sat next to me on the couch in our living room. I took a sip from the glass as Rose patiently waited for me to tell her everything. Placing the glass on the coffee table, I shifted my body to face her.
"What do you want to know?" I asked.
When I had come out of Mr. Davis's room, her eyes had widened. She had hugged me immediately and started throwing questions at me. Even though she had sounded worried, I hadn't been ready to answer questions at that time. The only thing I'd said was that I wanted to go home.
"I want to know everything. I can tell that you cried a lot just by looking at your face."
My eyes were puffy. And I hated my nose and face because they would become a pinkish-red whenever I
By the time I was ready to leave work, Rose called me and asked me to get some groceries on my way home as she'd forgotten to do so. John decided to tag along and come over after to see Rose. Since Mike had also finished his work, all three of us left for the store. John and I entered the store while Mike went to park the car.I started grabbing groceries and John left for another section to pick some cookies for Rose. It had been a few minutes and Mike hadn't approached me. I looked around to see if he went to see John first or hadn't even entered the store.As I scanned the area, my gaze fixed on a familiar figure. It took me a few seconds to recognize him. He was my therapist. My heart dropped to my stomach. He was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, which was completely different from the formal clothing I had seen him in during my first session.
Day 1"What should we do now?" Rose sighed. "I really hate when this happens."It was a weekend and Rose wanted to go out. She dragged us for a movie date and was angry to see that one of the tickets was assigned in a separate row from the other three."You three go and sit together. I'll take the seat in the next row," I offered.Rose glared at me. "No. How can I let you sit by yourself?""We won't let that happen," Mike added.Before I could react, John said, "First, let's go inside. The movie is about to start."We entered the theater and noticed that the movie had already started. They had already turned off the ligh
Day 2"Surprise!" Rose and I shouted the moment Mike opened the front door.We both chuckled seeing his reaction. His eyes rounded and he looked more shocked than surprised.Both John and Mike hadn't come back last night for dinner. They'd told us that they were busy working at Mike's house. So, Rose came up with an idea to surprise them this morning. It was actually one of her weird ideas to help me complete my assignment."Aren't you going to invite us inside?" Rose asked Mike.Mike blinked. "Sorry... Come in."He stepped aside, making room for us to enter.As we entered, a messy living room welcomed us. There were empty bot
Suddenly, everything became silent. I could only hear the sound of running water from the tap. Mike froze, staring at the plate in his hands.I had been trying to ask him for the past two days. When I finally did it, he was silent.I couldn't help but study his face. I was trying hard to read his expression but my effort was futile. I wished Kelvin was here to help me read Mike's expression.His hazel eyes slowly met mine, which increased the beating of my heart. I gulped as he dropped the plate in the sink. He washed his hands and turned off the tap before standing in front of me.Mike leaned closer to me and placed his hands on the countertop at the sides of my knees. I felt like I was trapped between his hands. He leaned even closer to my face, staring straight into m
"Hey, wake up." Rose pulled my blanket off my body, the start of her morning routine.I couldn't even remember when I had fallen asleep. My eyes were really itchy and I couldn't open them."It's your last day to ask Mike. Get up!" Rose yelled.I hadn't told her yet because she had looked really tired last night. Besides, I hadn't had a good opportunity to tell her.I sat up and tried to open my eyes again. They were stinging."You don't need to worry about that. I think it's official," I said, rubbing my eyes."Official?" Rose repeated, creasing her eyebrows. "Did you...?"I nodded with a smile, ignoring the pain in my eyes. She jumped
It had been really hectic for the last three days as I worked nearly fifteen hours each day. It wasn't just me—the entire company worked hard to finish the new project. Our deadline was Friday.I learned from Mike that there was a slight disturbance with the investors. He didn't tell me much, but I was sure that something was going on.Anyhow, we managed to finish the work before the deadline. Mike just emailed them. He thanked every employee for their immense effort.People hardly went home, just to change their clothes. Rose didn't like sleeping alone in the house while John and I were stuck at the office.When it came to sleeping, most of the employees slept on their desks while I slept on the couch in Mike's office. I didn't know whether Mike slept
I knew I could tell him anything, but... it wasn't easy. I wished it was easy to talk about. Avoiding his gaze, I placed the glass on the coffee table."I don't want to talk about it." My voice was low, barely a whisper.For the next few seconds, silence filled the room. Guilt started to cloud my heart for hiding the truth from him."I'm sorry..." I apologized. My gaze was still fixed on the table.Mike held my arm gently, making me finally look at him. He leaned back against the couch and pulled me into his arms. Confused, I raised my chin to look into his eyes as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders."It's okay." His hand reached my head and started caressing my hair as he added, "You can talk to me when you feel like it.
A loud sound startled me awake. I opened my eyes and couldn’t find Mike in the room. Sun rays beamed through the windows. A yawn escaped from my lips. The sounds continued, so I got down from the bed to check.Walking out of the room, I reached for the stairs but stopped when my gaze fell on Mike and John. They were carrying a large box in the living room. "What are you guys doing?" I asked, climbing down the stairs.Their heads snapped up in my direction. "I told you that you were going to wake her up," Mike growled at John."Oh, please! You’re the one who dropped the box," John retorted back.I reached the bottom of the stairs and approached them."Shut up! It's because
And that's a wrap. I enjoyed writing Love Beyond The Past a lot. Even though it's my first book, I learned a lot from it. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you to each and every one who read my book and enjoyed it. It means a lot. Really means a lot. Leave your feedback because I would love to hear your thoughts about the book. Few things I really want to know: 1. What's your favorite scene of the book? 2. Who is your favorite character? 3. What's your favorite twist of the book? Share your thoughts in comments. Lots of love. Have a great day. ;)) Your's friendly author, Priyanka Reddy
Noise. Probably shuffling. Whatever the sound it was, it made me open my eyes. I turned to see Mike scrambling over the files."Sorry for waking you up," Mike apologized, staring at me. "I was looking for foreign investor's file." His gaze shifted to a bunch of files that were lying on the nightstand.I rose to a sitting position. "Found it," he said to himself.When he took the file and started walking towards the door, I stopped him. "Wait! I'll come with you."Mike turned around to look at me. Before he could ask, I said, "I want to come to the office and start working again.""No, you need rest," he protested."I don't need to rest anymore. I'm healed now." He sigh
Ninety Days of RecoveryI got discharged from the hospital after two weeks. Once we reached home, Mike instructed me to rest then left for an important meeting.After a short nap, I found Rose sitting on the bed next to me."Do you want to eat something?" she asked. It was as if she had been waiting for me to wake up so she could feed me. But I wasn't hungry so I shook my head. When I sat up from the bed, she added, "The doctor told me that you need to rest more, at least for three months.""Three months?" I frowned, staring at her in disbelief."Yes." Her tone said it all. I had no choice in this matter."I want to throttle Richard for piercing that knife into my chest," I hissed.
"Have you guys decided on the wedding date yet?" Rose asked through a video call.Rose and John were still in Paris enjoying their honeymoon. She was sitting on the bed with John, who was right next to her. I was leaning against the couch in our living room."Yes, it's on July 27th." I smiled. Warmth filled me at the thought of getting married to Mike. My excitement was at its peak and I wished Rose would come back soon so we could do our happy giggling dance."Wait," John said. "Is Mike okay with that day?"I nodded, rolling my lips to stop my smile."What's wrong with that day?" Rose asked, glancing at John."It's Mike's birthday." I shrugged. She shifted her gaze from John to h
FOUR MONTHS LATER"Here, take it." Mike stretched his hand with a shopping bag towards me as he walked into our room. He had gotten off work early and had come home to me."What's this?" I asked."Your dress. We're going on a date."After spending two weeks in the hospital, I had finally been discharged. But it's taken me ninety days to recover completely. In those ninety days, a lot had happened. Mike had moved in with me to take care of me and only left my side when he had to attend important meetings.John had finally proposed to Rose within those ninety days, too. They had gotten married recently and had gone to Paris for their honeymoon. I had moved in with Mike the night after Rose and John's wedding.
As Kelvin and Rose listened to me carefully, I explained to them how I'd faced my nightmares when I'd been unconscious after Richard had stabbed me. Rose was silent and stared at me but Kelvin's gaze fixed on the floor. He looked like he was thinking intensely about something.After a few seconds, Kelvin looked up at me and said, "That's good.""Good?" Rose turned her face to look at him."Yes, it's good that she faced them. I think that it'll be easier for her to recover from her nightmares now.""I think so, too. Now that Richard is in jail, I can finally move on and leave my past behind," I said, relaxing my shoulders."Yeah." Kelvin nodded with a smile."Ooh!" Rose squealed wi
Mike turned back to John, who was staring at Rose."John?" Mike snapped his fingers in front of John's face to get his attention."Huh?" John looked back at Mike."Take Rose and leave, buddy.""I—""It's okay, Mike," Rose interrupted John. "I'll stay here. He doesn't want to take me."Frowning at Rose, John shot back, "Did I say that I didn't want to take you?""You were about to say it, right?" she argued."And what makes you think like that?" he snapped."You." Her eyes welled up with tears. "You ignored all of my calls and now that you'
Mike sat on the bed without any response. His right hand cupped my left cheek and he started caressing it with his thumb."Mike." I said his name again to hear his voice but he kept staring at me without uttering a word.After a few seconds, the corner of his lips lifted into a smile."I want to hear it again." He finally spoke but I didn't understand what he meant. I stared at him with a blank face. The confusion must've been evident on my face, for he added, "I haven't heard my name from your lips since you broke up with me. I didn't think I would hear it again."Tears pricked my eyes. He must have gone through so much. I hated myself for doing it to him. I never meant to hurt him. I thought I was saving him from me and my past. I didn't think I was hurting him by push
When our eyes met, he gave me a smile—the same warm smile he used to give when my mom was alive. I didn't smile back. Damn! I couldn't even force a smile. Moreover, I didn't want to.As he walked closer to me, the wrinkles on his forehead and the bags under his tired eyes became clearer. He had aged a little bit and tiredness on his face said that he wasn't taking care of himself. Other than that, he looked the same as he had three years ago.He stopped next to my bed and called my name. "Jessica..." His voice was filled with the same affection but I didn't feel the same way. "How are you?"I didn't reply. I couldn't. Not after what he had done to me. How did we end up like this? We used to share a special bond. He use