My shoulders tense and my mind blanks as I think about Juris and the quality time she has just spent with Nek.“Not really, I just went out” I say, giving him that bit of information without bothering to tell him about my location. “Alright” I hear him mutter to myself, “so where are you? Do you need to pick me up?” He asks.“There’s no need, I’m fine” I say, quietly. I can feel him nod to himself before speaking up, “so when would you be back?” He asks.“Not today” I quietly mutter, but loud enough to hear me. “You aren’t coming back home today?” He states, “yeah, I’ll be back on Monday. I’ll see you at work Monday morning”I hear him take a deep breath as he struggles to remain composed, “please come back home now”. I mentally roll my eyes, “I’ll see you at the office on Monday. Goodbye” I say, ending the call before returning to the sitting room.Hema is sprawled against the couch as he watches tv, “way to make yourself comfortable, there’s literally no room for me” I say in a sarc
I walk into the office with my head held high, the whispering has reduced but I can tell people are still gossiping about me. I press the button to the 14th floor as I step inside the elevator.“I hope today will be a lot better” I mutter to myself as I step out of the elevator. I head straight to Nek’s office as it’s usually my ritual to greet Nek every morning before heading to my office and to check on the things he needs for the day.“Good morning Nek” I say, letting myself in after knocking once. “Good morning” he replies, with a smile on his lips. “Is there anything you need?” I ask, keeping it professional.His smile slowly eases away, “I’ll let you know if I need anything” he says. I nod, “okay, I’ll be in my office if you need me”. “Have you sent my work schedule for the day?” he asks. He knows that I normally send it after arriving at work but I guess it’s just an excuse to talk to me, “I’ll send it the moment I get to my office”.I walk out of his office and head straight
“So why did you call me into your office?” I ask, switching the conversation. He sighs at my stubbornness, “I need us to look at this business proposal together”.“But I usually do that alone, I can handle it on my own”. He nods, “I know but this proposal is for a very important client”. I raise my eyebrows at him, I’ve done many proposals for different levels for client’s so I'm experienced in all, but I remain quiet.“Okay sure” I say, giving in. Nek and I spend the entire afternoon working on the proposal until it fits Nek’s standard.“I’ll send it to the client” I say, rising to my feet. He grasps my hand and pulls me into his laps, “let’s have lunch together” he says, with a smile on his lips.I playfully roll my eyes at him, I can’t help but give into him, he’s just too charming. “Alright, but don’t try anything funny”. He raises his hand in the air, “not on Mrs Taina Bellos watch, but I can get a kiss” he says, placing a kiss on my lips. “I’ve missed you” he says, looking into
I head home alone since Nek informed me that he'll be working late today and that he’ll be going to meet Juris for dinner from the office.The ride home is silent and it feels like the driver is constantly staring at me, like he knows what’s going on between Nek and I. But I can’t be so sure, I’ve been feeling paranoid about everyone and everything.To be honest, I really wish I was at Tela's house, I enjoyed myself so much when I stayed over there for three days. Hema was a strong shoulder to lean on, he didn’t ask too much questions, he just stayed by my side.“Thank you” I say, getting down from the car and heading straight into the house. The smell of peppered meat wafts through my nose but I push the thought of eating the way as I’m in no mood to eat.“Good evening” Andrea greets with a smile on my lips. “Good evening” I say smiling back at her, I hand her my bags, “please could you drop this in my office”.She nods and makes her way upstairs. I head straight to the room shared b
I feel very insulted, like someone just slapped me. “Live here!”, he nods, “just for some time”. I look at him squarely in the eye, “ you want your ex girlfriend to live with your wife, do you hear how that sounds to me”“It makes me feel disrespected” I say, my voice low, only loud enough for his ears to catch. I walk nearer to him, closing the distance between us, “I guess I don’t have a say, it’s really not my choice. After all it’s your house” I say, pinning my gaze on him.He nods in response. I turn to leave the room but I turn back, moving closer to him, “you know what they say. First friends then lovers” I whisper into his ears before finally leaving the room.The moment I step out if the room, my legs buckle, the strength I had received to face them immediately leaves me and I feel instantly weak. Andrea rushes over to me as I drop to the floor, I wave her away, “don’t bother, I’m fine”.Fully understanding, she nods and leaves the area, not wanting to disturb me. I pull out
*ring* *ring*I sleepily search for my phone, following the sound of the noise. My hands land on the table by my bedside, “hello” I answer, not looking at the caller ID as my eyes are shut closed.“Where are you” Nek says, anger apparent in his voice. I immediately sit up, his voice immediately washing away every ounce of sleepiness I felt. “Am I late for work” I say, pulling the phone away from my ears as I check the time.*5am*“Why are you calling me at this time” I say, slightly annoyed that my sleep was disrupted. “Where are you” he repeats, ignoring my question.Memories of yesterday flood my mind and my lips form into a hard line, “I’d like to keep my location private” I respond, knowing fully well that would annoy him further.“I’m not playing games Taina, where are you?” He asks, “if that’s all you’re going to ask, then can I kindly end the call. I need to get more sleep, as I have work in the morning”.I hear him sigh, “alright, we will talk later in the morning at the offic
“Why are you awake at this time?” I say in shock at the sight of Hema seated at the dining table. He gives me a lazy smile, “for your information, I wake up quite early” he answers playfully.“And I wanted to drive you to work,” he says, pulling out the chair beside him. “Why? Aren’t you busy with other things?” I ask as I take a seat beside him, not wanting to inconvenience him with my presence.He smiles, “don’t even think that way. You’re not inconveniencing me with your stay here, I like you being here. Even though it’s for a short period, I like you living with me, it’s fun!” He says, before popping a piece of pancake in his mouth. I playfully roll my eyes at him, “thank you”. The lady that I met earlier this morning, hands me a plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup, “thank you” I say, happily, my heart feeling suddenly lighter.“Let’s go, I don’t want to be late for work” I say, dropping my fork as I chew the last bite of my pancake. I intertwines our hands and pull him towar
Juris acts shocked and she slumps against the chair. “I was only saying my mind” she says, trying her best to act all innocent. I drop my hand and smoothen my dress, before I turn to face Nek.From the way he’s avoiding meeting my gaze, I can tell that he knows that I’m more than upset, I’m furious. I almost did something that I thought I’d never do in a million years.If Nek hadn’t stopped me, I’d have slapped Juris across her face not caring what the consequences would be. My eyes flick to Juris, I can tell she’s inwardly rejoicing at the fact that Nek supported her, coupled with the fact that she now knows that Nek and I’s marriage is a contract marriage.“Taina” Nek says, calling out my name and forcing my attention to him. “Yes” I answer, firmly. All I want to do, is to return to my office and not see either of them throughout the day. I just want to go back to Hema’s apartment.“Could you lock the door behind you?” He asks. I roll my eyes, “what, you don’t want another uninvited
“Taina” Nek says softly, waking me up. “Yeah” I say, sleepily rubbing my eyes.“We have arrived at our parents' place” he says. “Oh” I say, sitting up, taking into view my environment. “It’s been a while since I was here” I say, coming down from the car.He smiles, “don’t worry, we’ll see them more often” he says, holding my hands with Taek on his other side.The maid opens the door, at the sound of the doorbell. A huge smile on her face at the sight of us, “they are at the lounging room” she says, before stepping away from the door.“Thank you” we say, walking past her and towards the lounging room. “Hi everyone” I say, waving as I walk into the room. I take time to respectfully greet my parents and Nek’s parents before returning to Nek’s side.Everyone has an enthusiastic look on their face as their eyes rover on me, I’m guessing they haven’t heard the reason why they’re there.“Who are the parents of this cute little boy” mom says, as she takes Taek from Nek.I smile, “it’s ours”
The months that went by were fun, full of love and laughter. Nek showed up everyday without missing a single day, bearing flowers and gifts each time he came.He was always with Taek, almost as if he was trying to make up for lost time, which is completely understandable.Taek’s clocked one and Nek threw a massive birthday party for him, inviting my friends in Yuhic. I had wished that my family and friends in Yula would be able to make it but Nek explained that it wouldn't be a nice way to reveal the existence of our child, they’d be happy for us but also hurt and confused. So we decided to wait until we returned to Yula.Nek proposed to me at the end of the party, signifying that it’s a new start in our marriage and I gladly accepted as he’s the only man I want to be married to.Three months later“Are we going straight to your parents' place?” I ask, with Taek in my arms as we alight the plane. Nek takes Taek from me, noticing that I look uneasy, “are you okay?” He asks.I nod, “I’m
I smile, “I love you too but you have to work for it. I forgiven you but I need to know that I can trust you. I need to know that the situation with Juris will never repeat itself again whether with Juris or with any other lady”.He nods, “I understand and I promise to put in the work”I smile, “you have to”. He nods, “can I ask a question?” He asks, looking a bit uneasy. I nod, “you can ask me anything”. He smiles, “who’s the guy that I met at the Excellence, is he your boyfriend?”I chuckle, “you mean David. David isn’t my boyfriend, he’s just a very good friend and besides, I wouldn’t let you kiss me if I had a boyfriend that’ll be cheating. And in the same manner, I can’t have a boyfriend if I’m married to you, if I do so, that’d be cheating”A look of relief washes over his face, “wait.. so that means… that means” he says, gently holding me by the shoulders.“What?” I ask, looking into his eyes. “Does that mean the child is mine, the little boy I greeted is our son” he asks, a s
After a while, he stands to his feet and walks to his desk, pulling out a pile of tissue from its box. He gently dabs his eyes and blows his nose into the tissue, backing away from me so I can’t see him.The room remains silent, only the sound of his sobs filling the room. My heart goes out to him as I watch him cry, I want to walk over to him and embrace him in a hug telling him it’s okay and that I’ve forgiven him, but my legs don’t move as I remain fixed to my seat while I watch him dab his eyes.“I’m sorry” he chuckles, returning to the seat, “I guess it’s just pent up emotions for the past one year”. I smile, “it’s fine”.He shakes his head, “no it’s not, I chose my ex over our marriage, our relationship, our family. I literally embarrassed you in front of the staff and others by not upholding your honour”.He sniffles, “for the past nine months, I’ve been planning to see you. I wanted to apologise for my mistakes”“Two months with Juris revealed who she truly is, she is a gold d
I walk into The Excellence, taking the first stairs, turning right; my heels clicking behind me. How I knew his office was not really a big deal, to others maybe, but to me no.I had taken a chance, The Excellence in Yuhic is built almost exactly like the one in Yula with few structural changes to fit in with the culture in Yuhic.I based off my judgment on that information, the worst that could go wrong is that I got lost and if that happened, I’d just call for help.My actions bring my movements to a halt as I stop at a door, there’s no plaque specifying what the room is, just like the one in Yula. Unlike the others which have a Plaque attached to this door, this one doesn’t. Nek didn’t want people to know he had an office here or that he was around, he said it caused too many unnecessary visits. And to be honest, I completely agree with the concept.I take a deep breath, pulling myself together before knocking on the door.“Please come in” I hear a voice on the other side of the r
“Dear Taina BellosTrust this email meets you well. I’m writing to you, because I need to see you and sort out some facts that tie me to my past. I’d personally go over to your home, but we are not as close as we used to and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t like that. I’d love it if we could meet at the Excellence hotel, in my office this evening at 4pm. My secretary will guide you at my arrival.P.S. I know it’s old fashioned to send you an email, but I don’t have your new number and I figured you’d still be using your old email.Warm RegardsNek Bellos”My heart flutters as I read the email. I've read the message over four times but every time I see the name Bellos attached to my name, I just can’t help but feel butterflies.The first thing I did after receiving the email, was to save it to my computer; just in case he rethinks his actions and retracts the mail.“Dear Taina Bellos” I mutter under my breath, reading the email once again. The feeling of giddiness overwhelming me as I re
Taina’s POVI’ve been a nervous wreck for the past few days, I’ve anxiously been waiting for Nek’s call or from his secretary. Not that I wanted to receive a call, I assumed he’d want to know if the child is his, after all Taek bears a striking resemblance to Nek.I haven't had a single call, not even a text message. My heart feels less constricted and I can finally stop thinking about my next line of defence. I feel relieved but deep down in my heart, I’m a little anxious and worried that Nek could ask about Taek in the future. But I can’t live my life in worry, so I’ve decided to let things pan out; but one thing is sure, I’m not returning to The Excellence, especially not with Taek.“Good morning Taina” Isabella says, walking into the kitchen. “Good morning Isabella, how was your weekend?” I ask, a smile on my face as I embrace her in a hug.She smiles, “it was good, but I wish I didn’t miss the dinner at the Excellence with you all”. I nod, “well luckily, we’ll be doing it again
Nek’s POV“Good evening sir” Clinton says, walking into my office, who is the manager of The Excellence located in Yuhic.“Good evening Clinton, how may I help you?” I ask, closing my laptop, and focusing my full attention on him. “Sorry to disturb you sir, but I wanted to inform you that your wife, Mrs Taina Bellos is currently at the restaurant”.My eyes instantly light up, “wife?” I ask, standing to my feet. He nods, “yes, your wife. She actually came some time ago”.I slowly nod, “and how do you know this person is actually my wife?” I ask, resting against my desk. “I’ve seen pictures of her in newspapers and in tabloids, so I could tell straight away that she was Mrs Bellos” he says.I smile, “alright, thank you for informing me. I’ll be downstairs in some minutes time” I say, fully believing that he knows Taina. He nods, “you’re welcome sir, I’ll be going now” he says, walking out of the office.My mind races as I think of Taina, my wife; the one that holds my heart. I slump int
I gently shut the door to my room, with Taek sleeping soundly inside. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting for so long” I say, walking into the lounge room.David smiles, “I don’t mind, is he sleeping now?” He asks. I nod, “he’s sleeping soundly, the crying in the car must have worn him out”.He nods, “to be honest I’ve never seen Taek cry like that, he’s usually a quiet baby so I was shocked to see him cry so loudly”. I nod, thinking the same thing; could it be that being separated from his father upset him.“He probably was just tired, making him extra cranky. And the broccoli situation didn’t help matters” I chuckle, in an attempt to calm the mood.He smiles, “maybe”.“So what do you want to know, you can ask me anything?” I say, sitting on the sofa. David nods, he looks deep in thought, almost like he is carefully constructing his questions.“Is Nek really your husband?” He asks, breaking the silence. I nod, “he is, he has no reason to lie about that. Nek is my husband and he’s Taek