“Seriously? Can you really do that?”
He is bent on annoying the hell out of me. Why did my father have to sire such an annoying jerk for heaven’s sake? Even if he had to bring in a bastard in this world, couldn’t he just sire a cool kid like me? Bitter sigh!
“You want to try me?” I challenge, sounding as grave as I can ever be.
He stares at me for a moment. From one corner of my face to the last one. I don’t even know what he thinks he is doing by caging me like this and ogling me this way. Maybe another way to annoy me.
“Get in!” He finally speaks, and I jump right into the car, discharging the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
I settle in, and he plays the gentleman role and closes the door for me. As if he can ever be what he is pretending to be. Jerk!
He parks his belongings in the car and walks into the car, slamming behind the wheel roughly as if he has no mercy for my poor car.
“Be gentle to my baby, please, will you?!” I say this as I put on my safety belt.
“I don’t know how to be gentle. Unless you are ready to teach me?”
The way he asks that, are we on the same page here? “Just drive, jerk! I left a lot of important things hanging back in the office, and I need to get them all done by the end of this day. And I have some preparation to oversee for my wedding,” I state when I fail to understand his expression.
“As you wish, B. But you will have to forget everything for today. You are all mine until I say otherwise.”
Excuse him! Is this guy sane? No, did he smoke something on the plane that got him high or something? What the heck is he talking about?
“What the hell do you mean?” I ask.
“We are going somewhere very important, then we proceed home for my welcome party,” he states.
I see! He learned to be a controlling dick in the states, and he thinks I am the best option to experiment on? The jerk has been back for a few minutes now, and he is already controlling me like I am his puppet. Who does he think he is? Who told him that I give a fuck about his welcome or go-away freaking party?
“I see you learned to be a controlling jerk in the state, but don’t you fool yourself by trying that shit with me, Joe! I have a cake sampling, which I canceled because of you. I messed up my schedule so much by coming to pick you up. Just don’t make plans for me. Both the wedding preparations and office work are driving me nuts. Don’t just add more to it.” I state.
“And him? What is he doing about this whole wedding sh*t?” He asks, burying his eyes into mine.
My breath caught in my throat, my eyes shooting deadly arrows at him. Unfortunately, as deadly as I think the arrows are, he seems resistant to their wrath.
A wedding what? How the heck dare he call my wedding a shit? And just why does he sound like he knows we are crashing with Leon about this wedding?
I furrow my brows, and he hunches his head down, perhaps after realizing that all that shit he just puked was absolutely uncalled for. It was an insult that I will not forgive him in the near future. How can he call something that is God-ordained shit, really?
He then lifts his head, boring his sinful eyes into mine.
There is no remorse in them, but they portray these shades that I can't quite decipher. But it's not guilt. It's something else. "Sorry. We will just check something out real quick, and then you can go back to your schedule," he explains, and without caring whether I will agree to this madness or not, he steps on the gas pedal and pulls off like a beast after a prey!
I hug my belt tight, hoping that we reach the unknown destination safe and sound because the way this beast is dodging cars on this busy road is terrifying!
20 minutes later,
We pull up. I peel my eyes and discharge the breath I was holding. Cruising my eyes around, I realize we are at a certain Luxe hotel that seems to be in a secluded, if not deserted, area. The only thing that gives me hope that this weird beast has not kidnapped me to go on a vendetta against me for all the horrible treatments I gave him is seeing cars packed around and people walking in and out of the seemingly luxurious hotel.
The door on my side opens. He is bent on playing a fake gentleman. All the same, I jump out, careful not to bump into him. He is bleeding a strong and confusing aura that is terrorizing every bit of my feminine being.
"What are we doing here?" I ask after clearing my dry throat myriad times.
He gives me a stare that draws me into more haze. He is acting so weird. I stare back, challenging his dominant eyes. "You might kill me after this, but you will thank me in the future."
I'm glad he finally broke the stare challenge, but why use riddles? Just what is he talking about? I shake my head to let him know that I don't get even a slight whiff of his parable. In response, he grabs my hand, not in a way that can be termed gentle, but nothing hurts either, and the sparks I am getting from this touch are dominating any form of roughness.
In a minute, we are standing before the counter lady, our hands still interlocked, his perplexing words hanging like a cloud in my head, and the oblivion of this mystery shaking me to the core.
I wait for him to speak, perhaps place an order, or ask for a table, but all I get to read is another weird sign exchange between him and the lady. Whatever their gestures meant, I didn't have time to ask, as again, I am being pulled forward.
My heartbeat increases with every step we take and every stair we climb. My moves are fueled by the desire and fear of the unknown as I blindly march beside Joe. He seems well aware of what he is doing and the destination, and I am in utter darkness. I should ask more questions, but something so strong is crashing that idea, propelling me to just wait and see.
Finally, our steps halt at a certain door. My heart skips several beats.
A room? Why is this guy taking me into a room?
My uneven breathing, fused with the trembling, does not allow me to speak, so he does it for me. "I am sorry, but I had no choice, B."
More confusion! He sounds like this is a matter of life and death. Just what is behind this closed door, huh?
"What do you mean?" I gasp between heavy, lagged breaths.
He takes another step to the door, and he gives two signs that I don't understand: a tight squeeze on my hand and a gentle nod of the head, as if assuring me something, or better yet, warning me about something.
But what? Which is which?
In my bewilderment, or is it simply as a result of how Joe's eyes were holding mine, I didn't realize the door opening until some erotic voices and sinful moans and breathing snapped me.My eyes shoot through the slightly open door and into the small room. They brush through the pieces of discarded clothes and shoes on the floor as they trace the bed where the salacious blusters are coming from.Unfortunately for me, it is not just my ears that are getting irritated, but my eyes turn sore after seeing the most abominable scene playing before my eyes. From the rhythmic dance of their lower parts of the body as they meet each other halfway on pleasure to their heavy breaths and deep meets of satisfaction.I see utter darkness for a moment.I would have asked Joe why he brought me to watch porn of all the things in the world, but that question twirled around the tip of my tongue after hearkening to a very familiar voice."Ooh, baby! This is why I prefer you a million times more than that
The smug on his ugly face tops this whole saga. It's like he was anticipating seeing me torn by this. He is relishing doing this to me. But why, after every damn thing I have done for this useless fool? How dare he repay me in this manner? What did I do to deserve this?"Come on, Bella! I know you are dying inside, and you want to kill me right now, so come on! I will do you the favor of answering all of your damn questions! I at the very least owe you that."At the very least, huh?This dog owes me everything he has. Everything he is made of. How dare he?Joe's fists clench into tight balls, and he actually charged at this moron, but I stand in the middle, blocking him. He hisses some curses, shutting his eyes tight for a moment.His eyes are red, smoking fire as he peels them. "This man needs to know who he just messed with, B! Just let me teach him how to be a man!" Joe pleads, his lips trembling as he speaks. They always shake like this when he is pissed to the core. "Ooh, I see
The place is loud, with a mix of loud buzz and the noise of people drinking their joy out. Happy souls full of life having the hang of the night. While I am drinking my heartaches away. I wished every sip that I took since I got here would take a piece of my broken heart back. Or at least ease this unbearable pain in my heart. But hours later, since I started drinking this bitter shit, the pain is still there.Love is a bitch! Love is a scam! I hate love. I curse love! Love does exist.How could you do so much for the love and this pain, betrayal, and humiliation in return? I invested in that a fortune. I spent on him much more than I have spent on myself in my thirty years of existence. I loved him when he was nothing, and when he became something, I loved him even much more. But he screwed me up this much? He messed me up. He shamelessly and heartlessly took all that I did for us for granted. He was just enjoying the lander to his easy success, while I thought we were building our f
“I care so much to share!” I hiss between gritted teeth, my scornful gaze scorching his tipsy eyes. “You have meddled too much, and I don’t like it. Leave my table!”He smirks as if he thinks I mean the exact opposite of what I am saying. “I can be a better remedy than alcohol and loneliness.” I lean back at the utter shock of the shamelessness of this ugly jerk. Mr. Know-it-all. Mr.…” Excuse me?” I squint my eyes, a hiccup emitting at the end of my question.I think I need to get the hell out of this place. I drank much more than I should have. My belly is churning, giving a stringent warning to more alcohol.I begin pulling myself up at an intoxicated, swaggerific pace, but I am pinned down before I even make it to my feet. The heck! The moron leans in, burning my face with his intoxicated eyes. They have nothing special in them, or maybe the betrayal that I just suffered has turned me into a cold fish.His hand remains wrapped around my waist as he speaks, “I know how to detect a
A striking white color greets my vision the second I peel my eyes. I feel like total crap, worn out, with a very bad taste in my mouth and a churning belly on top of a blinding headache.“What the heck happened?” I murmur through the pain, my eyes shutting on their own to the striking headache.I pull myself up and lean back on the bed as I sit up. I take my hands to my temples, massaging them slowly to soothe the pain.“You are such a spoiler! You know?”I stop on the remedy I was working on to soothe my pains and peel my eyes to take in the figure that I had not noticed.“Janie?” I force words through the pain, looking at her not-so-welcoming features parked at the edge of the bed. “What am I doing here?” I drag the last word as the memories of the last moments before I blacked out start playing in my head.The betrayal. The heartbreak. The way I ran off into a bar. The excessive drinking, which was so unlike me. The unwanted conversation with the stranger. The bashing. The blackout
She smirks—that sarcastic smirk that cuts deep to my lungs—as she crosses her arms on her chest, squaring her shoulders. “You did not just manage to put Joe’s life in danger, but you managed to get him sick and worried. That is why he called me to watch over you while he tries to make sure that you at least do not become a murderer and rot in jail!”Something is not right here. Why is she acting like this? Why is she so cold to me? The Janie that I know would be sympathizing with me in this situation. She would be the one shaking and asking me what we should do. But this cold woman before me right now, I don’t recognize her at all.“And I just realized that I made the greatest mistake of my life by calling you here, Janie!”Both of us knock at the door. Joe’s cold expression greets us as he marches inside, his surgical coat still on. “Joe!” I run to him, hugging him tight.He wraps his hands around me, encompassing me into solace. For a moment, all the bitterness I had for him fades,
My father and his wife, Joe’s mother, walk in. The drips of cold chills fall in the room with every single step they take toward us. No words are spoken. If I am good at guessing, I would say that this denotes danger. Bad vibes. The coldness I am sampling from my father is almost making my spine numb. But then, if I could not have guessed that the man that I gave my all to was nothing but a scam, even now, I may be wrong.Joe’s hand tightens around my waist. Even as he hugs his mother, who seems too cold for a loving mother who is supposed to be welcoming her only child after ten years apart, Joe does not let go of me. He keeps closer. Closer than even his own mother.The hug takes merely a second, and they break apart. All this while, my father’s gaze has been scanning me with an expression that I still can’t quite decipher, leaving me unsettled. I snuggle with Joe after he is free from the hug. At the moment, he seems to share something in common with me. The awkwardness of the mome
I look at this man, and I realize just what a big fool I have been all this while. Why didn’t I see these layers of his skin that are just showing off now? How could I have been so blind? Why did I not sense any of these sides that he is showing now?Breaking his trust, really? Was I the one he found in bed riding another man? The nerve he has, huh! What is he even going on about? What made him leave his horny bimbo and come here? To laugh at my predicaments? If that was so, why isn’t he showing just how enthralled he is right now seeing me in this situation? Why is he trying to pin the blame for what he caused on me?Why?I yanked my hand from Joe, and he was not quick enough to stop me. I take a step closer to this son of a moron, wearing my crown of bravery. “You have the audacity to talk about trust, you shameless bastard? Do you have any idea what that word means?" I hiss, my poisonous gaze dripping with contempt.His icy features do not melt. On the contrary, they grow more cold
“Rule number one,” I start after a long moment of pure stare. “It is high time we embrace ourselves as who we really are—siblings! From this moment on, you are my brother, and I will address you as such!”He laughs my statement off, "But you have never seen me as your brother from the beginning.”“Well, things have changed now. We should try to relate like the half-siblings that we are to clear this confusion,” I state.“Do you know how ridiculous you sound?”Well, no, I don’t! The only ridiculous thing here is this affection that is building in us because it is forbidden. “What is ridiculous is you telling people that you left your perfect life in Cuba to come and fall head over heels for your half-sister!” I scream from the top of my voice, hoping and wishing that he gets my point and quits making this so difficult for me. “What sort of catastrophe do you think that statement alone would cause?”“It is not in our hands to tune our hearts to the direction that we want it to go. Our h
The mornings are known to bring about new hope and new beginnings. They mark a new start to forget what happened the previous day and usher in something new and better. With the rising of the sun, a new hope and a new faith are born. And that's what this morning means to me.I have been hurt, confused, and wrongly judged. I messed up too. I have done enough justice by crying my sorrows out. But that was until last night. This beautiful morning, I open a new chapter in which all wrongs would be rewritten. This is the day I start correcting all my wrongs and setting the record straight. This is where I draw the line of hiding as if I were anything close to the criminal that they have labeled me, and go out there and clear my name. This is where I start setting things straight.I take another sizable sip of the steaming hot lemon coffee, and I savor the bracing taste of it as it washes my throat down. This is a sweet remedy indeed. It's so soothing. So refreshing. So re-energizing."Good
I suck?Well, I guess I do. Pretty much, indeed. Because if I didn’t, why would I be hurting from words that I formulated for him? I suck so much, and that explains why I have been entertaining these feelings for him. I suck so much, that is why even a disgusting nobody like Leon dumbed me like I was a piece of rotten shit. Yes, I stink pretty much, and that must be the reason why even my only best friend has abandoned me at a time when I need her the most.And ooh, wow! I had to hear that directly from him! And it had to fucking hurt this much? Curse him! Screw him!I scour away the tears furiously; unfortunately, there is no remedy to the loud throbs of pain from my heart. It hurts. It stings so much that I wonder why it has to hurt like this.It is Joe, for fucks sake! He never saw anything good in me. He never saw anything good about me. This is the real Joe that I knew ten years ago. The Joe I was wondering where he went. This is him slapping the shit to my face without caring ho
Forget about the last two annoying words. Is he trying to be insultive or something? Who exactly is he to judge me?“Listen, Joe!” I start boldly, fuming inwardly with disapproval at the choice of his words. “If you are here, it is because you want to. So mind your business while I mind mine. I will handle my shit the way I want and at my own pace. Fuck off my case already!”His right eyebrows raise up, forming a very admirable curve above his eye that gives his face a sinfully adorable look. Were it not for his annoying smugness that is choking my demons, I would have gotten lost in taking in his features.“And, what is funny?” I quiz, crinkling my brows at his unsettling reaction.“It is funny how you lie, B!” he states confidently, taking some slow, deliberate steps forward, while I am drawn into awe.I am lying. About why he is here, or about me wanting him to mind his fucking business, or is it about me saying that I can handle my shit? Which is which exactly?“Not another step!”
If there has been a time in my entire life that I was confused, it is now. Nothing that is happening is ringing a bell to me at all. Not how I could have fallen for that mother fucker and how not-pleasant I could not see beneath his mask. Not how a heartbreak was capable of almost turning Mr. into a murderer. How did Joe come into the picture and become my beacon of hope and solace? That is a puzzle I don’t know how I will crack. The sudden change of mood and the rift between me and Janie? I still don’t get a shit about that. I have been checking my phone since several days ago.Today, when the rays of the morning sun stroked me up from my not pleasant slumber, I checked again. And still, not a single call from Jane. Not a text. Not even a ‘how are you coping up’ knowing what I am facing. And that is definitely not her. I had sworn to just deal with this mess and not call, but I had to swallow that pride toady. So, I called two times, but she ignored my calls for the very first time s
But his composure is challenging all my contradicting thoughts; the way his beguiling deep stare is unbreaking from me even when I am trying everything to break it speaks volumes. It is like he wants our eyes to remain locked. Like he is trying to explain something through eye contact. Like…like…ooh my! What is going on here?I look away, but only for a minute, because I am snapped back by his presence as he perches himself beside me, leaving zero distance between us. And again, our eyes don’t even struggle to find each other. They engange in this deep stare, diving into the deepest depths to excavate the secrets behind what is happening.But what is even there to unearth? There shouldn’t be anything. But everything is challenging my believe in all aspects. The mere fact that we shouldn’t be this close yet we are and the mere fact that we shouldn’t be staring at each other like yet we can’t seem to want to break this spell are enough reasons that there is something that was born by hi
My race is weirdly racing as I stare at other people in my life. I am trying so hard to piece together the pieces of the chaotic puzzle that my life has become and trying to mull over why he is still here and so calm. Why does his return feel like a mystery? It was a somehow sweet mystery because I would still be swimming in the dark of the betrayal playing right under my nose.The room seems to close with every single second that passes by, and yet, I can't seem to read anything about his father. The questions still hang like heavy clouds in my head.“You are staring. Is anything the matter?” Joe breaks the silence after a long moment of pure stare and lull, staring back as he tries to gauge my facial idioms.Why would I not be staring with mental confusion like this? This is all so puzzling. Even why he is helping me is so obstinate to what I would have anticipated. How he remains unagitated and cool like a cucumber in this quagmire is yet another mystery that I need to understand.
“I am sorry,” he says with utmost sincerity—the very first time I am sensing sincerity in him. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. But look, believe me, you are giving that jerk more pleasure if you continue like this. Please, eat. For your own sake. You need enough strength to be able to stand up on your feet again. Because I know Belladine Montana does not stay on the ground. This is not you, and this is not beyond you, B.”He is right. I am not someone who is easily weighed down by things like this. But then, this is too much. I have never been in such a dilema. I have never been this cornered. I have never been in such a deep sh*t. I feel like I am really drowning. I know I should rise above all this. I know I must. I know I will. But where do I start? My name is all covered in mud. Stained. Covered is lust. Where do I begin cleaning?“Dad is worried about you.”I snap out of my engrossed thoughts at Joe’s words. Dad? “He is?” I ask, curiosity rising in me with every secon
I curl up in bed, enveloping myself in the warmth of the duvet as I breathe in the cold air of the harsh reality pressing me from all sides of this life. I stare blankly at the wall; you would think that my mind is barren of any thoughts. But on the contrary, my head is a chaotic whirlwind of a thousand thoughts crashing against each other.The shame. The immense despair. And the deep regrets of even things that I had no control over that led me to this situation. These past three days have been nothing short of a blur, a dense nightmare that will take a whole lot of time for me to wake up from.I have cried until my eyes feel like dry pools now. I have banged my head with questions that I still have not found answers to.Joe strolls in with a tray of something that smells so mouthwatering, but only for people who have appetites, and I am not included. I lost my appetite three days ago. I am hungry, but I am afraid this suffocating situation will make me puke everything I put into my