SEVEN HOURS EARLIER.She disappeared and took his reasoning along with it. It happened after he mentioned his double, his thoughts were hard to contain, had he done anything wrong? Maria looked like she had seen a ghost, Jackson had never seen that kind of fear in anyone's eyes in a while, it was menacing. It made him remember how his mother had that same look on her face anything they heard the door knob rattle or anytime his father's car pulled into the garage. There was always something to talk about. Something for him to get angry about or something to hit her about, Maria mirrored that look and it shook him, even after she yelled, he couldn't quite get himself together. Andrew must have noticed how disorganized he looked, he had only a minute to pull himself together and chase after her. When he did, she had disappeared. The set wasn't exactly a castle, it was a mansion although wide but he couldn't have swallowed a person up that quickly. Like she was a needle in the haystack, J
ATTENTION!Hellooooo, you probably noticed the decrease in the length of the chapters, aye~Well, I have exams going on and I still try to upload every day. I'm sorry for the inconsistencies in the word count. The good news is...my exams are ending soon and I can't wait to write as much as I want to!Thank you so much for reading! *heart heart*~~Maria thought she could, that it'd be as easy as saying her own name, she already practiced it over and over in her head. 'Your double is my nemesis from Spain,' she'd say, 'he has no good intentions and he is an irresponsible jerk who hit me and saw nothing wrong with it. He also tried to kill my dreams, so please, protect me from all of this. Shelter me.' And he'd pull her into a hug and kiss her forehead. Then he'd swear never to leave her side. It was easy, like ABC but now it felt like saying it backward, there was no right way to go about it and there could be too many mistakes, one mistake meant destabilizing the whole of the proces
You never know what your biggest fears are till they begin to manifest right before your eyes, and you stand there, limp and partially lifeless, hoping to disappear because you rather would than stay and see how painstakingly slow things unravel. She wasn't supposed to be here, not by herself. The hospital was miles away, how was she here and why did she hear only that part of the conversation? Jackson watched his mother crumble against the wall as she repeated the question."What marriage contract?" Slower, gentler now, she winced and placed her hand on her chest like there was too much pain there. His mouth dropped but he couldn't speak. His tongue would not work and neither would his brain, it had come to bite him back, hard and unexpectedly. Jackson forgot about the dishonesty behind his story, he couldn't ever imagine her learning about the truth — at least, not this way. Not this way. Time seemed to have still for them, his eyes flicked to Maria, her dry eyes were beginning to
Jackson had gone with Mrs. Jones to drop her off, and he might not come back, she did hope he didn't, it would be better to talk to her and try clearing the misunderstanding. The truth always found ways to out, but not like this. Not when she was sick, weak, and helpless and the only place she knew to draw strength from turned out to be nonexistent, an imaginary build-up. Maria tried putting herself in Mrs. Jones' position, she'd be torn too, and she would crack, even though their intentions were pure, just as she said, a lie was still a lie. There was no sugarcoating it. Maria relived standing in the middle of the room with Mrs. Jones penetrating gaze grazing her skin, with nothing to say, no explanation. She had stared like an idiot, it was excruciating. Maria had never been so clueless, the only woman whom she had grown to respect in the whole of the universe now presented her, but she was in love with his son. Pathetic. It made no sense, her life wasn't a movie. It made no sense
Tell him. Don't tell him.He needs to know, this is the best time to do it.Do not tell him yet. Maybe you could swerve all of this and push it away when you talk to Andrew.But I should be the one to let him know first if Andrew beat me to it-He wouldn't. See him first then come back and report to Jackson. Can't you see how stressed he looks?He did look stressed, he was hiding his hurt behind his lively facade, he was an expert at that, being uneasy to read. Being happy and composed even when his world withered. Every time she thought to open up to him, something else always happened, something unexpected that sent her stumbling backward, like this one. He was already broken and he was probably trying his best to hold it together. Coming out to dump her trauma on him would do no good, not when he was preparing to meet his mother. Images of Mrs. Jones' reaction the previous night breezed into her mind again, in fast, and violent glimpses, and her hands began to shake. She had mess
Don't fret. Don't show fear, he has nothing on you. All he has are bits and pieces, just speculations. Nothing original. Do not let him get to you.The voice in her has chanted. If he had nothing on her, if all that he said didn't matter, why was she trembling? Why were his supposedly empty threats sending her thoughts to shatter? Why was it gnawing at her stability!?"Sit, mi Amor," he wasn't asking, he pointed to the chair before him. Maria eyed the chair, that voice kept chanting for her to walk out, for her to not lose to him but the part of her that feared the consequences far outweighed the unafraid fragments. She sat. Maria was good at hiding it. If she could hold it together a little more, her facade wouldn't slip. "Let's get down to discussing, shall we?" He smiled, biting his bottom lips as his eyes rummaged her entire body like it were a book he desperately needed to study. His looks were demeaning and awfully uncomfortable, she could feel herself choke up. How much more
Theo would always remain one of the best things that happened to him. After that conversation with him, Jackson felt his fear melt a little, maybe her trust could be redeemable and maybe she'd understand that he only did this to make things easier for her, even though he didn't think it through. Maybe she'd understand that he loved Maria and their relationship was true, everything was true. He felt sorry for her, he had based everything on a lie that nullified Genuity of his emotions. His fear had reduced but the nervousness didn't go away. Jackson entered the living room, that feeling of alienation still hung in the air, just as it had always done. In the corner of the room, she was seated with a book in her hand, she loved books. That was one of the reasons Jackson sometimes read too because it made him feel closer to her. He didn't announce his presence yet, it was comforting watching the little smile sit on her face as she tenderly flipped the pages. It was almost magical—how she
After confronting Andrew today, Maria decided to tell Jackson. No matter how messy the truth came out, she had to make him understand, if Andrew reached him before she did, then everything was at stake, their relationship was at stake. Maria was seated on the couch, shaking her feet and gnawing at her fingernails as she waited for Jackson to be back. The anxiety was overwhelming and her every attempt to make a speech or a sample scenario in her head ended terribly. Was she confident? No.Was she having doubts? Yes, a whole lot of them. It wasn't the right time to table the matter, not with the situation with his mother, he was already disoriented, and as hard as he tried to hide it, she knew. Maria could only hope that things go well with Jackson and his mother, that at least, he'd feel a bit of happiness before she ruined it by mentioning Andrew.It was late evening already and he'd be home soon, he replied after she texted him earlier and gave her an estimated time at which he'd