The room is so warm and uncomfortable, I wrap myself tightly in the blanket and let myself drift to sleep, laid down on the sofa.“Taina” someone taps me, pulling me from my sleep; with my eyes still closed, I answer, “yes”, the person taps me again; I reluctantly open my eyes, feeling a bit annoyed that my sleep was disturbed.As I open my eyes, I take into view, my mom, Tela, my dad and Nek; literally everyone except from Texan. Nek looks at me with a look on his face that I can’t seem to make out, I focus my attention on mom, who’s talking to me.“Are you okay Taina, you’ve been sleeping a lot today” mum says with a concerned look on her face; I sit up as I face everyone as they look at me.“Are you okay Taina” mom asks repeating herself again, “yeah, I’m fine, I’m just a bit tired” I say yawning; I spent my night tossing and turning as I tried my best not to think about Nek’s and I discussion, the more I tried not to think about it, the more I kept thinking about it. I literally s
“Let’s play the games” Tela says, she brings out the board games from the shelf, Tela’s favorite board game is monopoly; I’m very sure that’s she’s going to sugggest monopoly.“Let’s play monopoly” she says, as she picks the monopoly and places it on the table; my parents don’t bother arguing, they have already been through this argument several times. Nek doesn’t look like he minds playing monopoly; “monopoly it is” Tela says smiling.I get up from the sofa, carrying my blanket, “Taina aren’t you going to play games with us” Tela asks, I shake my head, “no, I’m tired; I want to get some sleep, before Nek and I start heading home”, Tela nods her head in understanding, “why don’t you sleep here” Nek says, “it’s warm and comfortable”Without waiting for my response, he gently pulls me towards him, pulling me to his side , “you can lay down and rest your head on my lap to sleep”; everyone is looking at me as they all wait for my response. “Okay” I say, left to me, I would not have agreed
“You can’t tell me what to do!” I scream, letting my emotions take over me, I’m blindsided by my rage. “You act high and mighty, when I tell you something you don’t listen; but when you tell me something you expect me to listen” I scoff as I eye him up and down.Normally I’m not the type to lose control of my emotions, they are usually in check; I can’t remember the last time I got angry. Usually when I’m angry, I just walk away from the situation and come back to it at a later time when I’ve cooled down. *8 hours before*I don’t feel like getting out of bed today; the weather is so cool and my bed feels extra comfy today. Thank God today is Sunday, I can rest after Church. I pull myself out of bed, and walk straight into the bathroom; I brush my teeth and take a nice shower. I don’t like rushing around on Sundays, that’s why I try to get out of bed on time, so that I don’t have to rush. I pull out a pink floral dress that goes all the way to my ankle. I like this gown; it makes me
I grab my things and I walk towards my car; I notice a person resting on my car but I can’t see the person clearly since they’re on the other side of the car and is backing the car. On reaching my car, the person turns fully, completely facing me, the person turns out to be Nek, “hi” I say.I say it in a manner that clearly indicates that i need him to move, in a manner that says what are you doing here. Nek looks at me like he’s trying to understand what’s going on in my mind, he doesn’t say a word; he just keeps looking at me.“Could you please excuse me”, I say as I move closer to the car. He doesn’t act like I say a word, he remains fixated on the car; I remain silent as I look at him; with an annoyed look etched on my face. I know Nek very well, he can be stubborn sometimes; so I know it’s better not to argue with him in this situation, I should let him figure out whatever he’s trying to figure out on his own.“Why didn’t you wait for me to go to church” he asks, finally breaking
“What do you mean” he says, he slouches against the couch; it makes him look indifferent and cold. I can tell that I’m getting him angry, but I also have the right to my personal space, so I push on.“We aren’t the ideal type of couple that does everything together” I say, looking ahead. “ I know we aren’t the ideal couple, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do things together; last week you were the one bothering me to join me to head to church, you wanted to go together. So what has changed?” He asks I remain silent as I have no words to say; I’m tired of explaining myself to everyone, I’m tired of expressing my feelings, I’m just tired. “You have been acting weirdly since the night we spent in your parents house” so he noticed my change in behavior, why didn’t he say anything then.“What do you mean” I ask, playing dumb, “you’ve been off since that evening we spent at your parents home. And it’s weird cause during the day you were so bubbly” he says as he eyes me up and down, as if po
Taina POV I pause as I think about it; “I agree it doesn’t look good on you; and it won’t look good on me, if it were the other way around. I won’t stay late out of the house, but I’ll spend time with anyone I want and how long I want; but I’ll keep to the terms of the contract”Nek remains silent; the look on his face his blank, he looks emotionless; underneath all of this, I can tell he’s pissed but I don’t acknowledge it. “Can I go?” I ask.“Taina” he softly calls my name as if steeling his emotions, “yeah” I say. “Is this because I said I wasn’t going to give our marriage a chance; cause we both initially agreed that this is contractual”I sigh, “I’m not trying to be vindictive; but I think it’s best we both don’t get too involved in each others life. I don’t know about you but it could send mixed signals to me; I could start falling in love with you, when you’re only trying to fulfill your supposed duty”“Let’s just keep it professional” I say tiredly, I just want to be in my ro
I end the call; I’m excited about the outing; I’ll probably invite Cete.I’ll invite Nek too; that’s if he is interested in coming, hopefully he’s not. It’s lunch time and I’m quite hungry; but I don’t want to run into Nek so I try my best to ignore the rumbling in my stomach.Feeling tired I take a quick nap and set an alarm for 5pm; a three hour sleep should be enough to get me being revitalized.***My alarm rings forcing me awake; I decide against continuing my sleep and end the alarm. I pull myself off the bed and walk to the curtains, I draw them open; it’s still bright outside but not as bright as it was in the morning.My stomach rumbles reminding me that I’m hungry; I have no snacks in my room to keep me till night. Unable to hold my hunger I leave my room; I tip toe down the stairs, praying not to alert anyone, and by anyone I mean Nek.I walk into the kitchen; the cook is busy chopping vegetables, I smile at her as I approach her; “good evening” I say, “good evening ma’am”
“Maybe my wife should be more around me; then I can smile more” he says; my heart starts fluttering, “where is she” I say playfully to dull the moment and calm my heart.“She’s right in front of me” he says turning to face me; he reaches out to hold my hands. I try to speak but no words come out, it only comes out as a squeak.“Taina to be honest; I know this marriage wasn’t what you initially wanted. Even apart from the money, I know you could have walked away before the wedding but you still gave it your all. Sometimes I feel like I’m not deserving of you; and I’m sorry for not treating you better” he saysHis eyes are still pinned on mine as he continues to speak, “I’m just learning to let people in; so it’s a bit difficult to let you in. I’m not promising anything concerning our marriage; but I promise you that I’ll be here throughout our marriage. I want to have a relationship with you; I want us to be friends” I feel a bit sad that it’s just friendship; but I also didn’t expect
“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