“Babe. I won’t forgive myself if something bad happens to Jimmy’s son Fred. He is such a sweet boy. We can help him. He’s missed so much of school because of staying in the hospital. Please help me help him,” Arlan said, and Mary felt her heart weep.
At that moment, Mary felt like she had chosen the right person. Arlan was so kind, and she started to feel that if something happened to their family, he would do all he could to be able to help, too, just like what he was doing at that moment.
“How soon can he get back the money?” she asked. Mary became concerned as well. She only has much, and I hope it was already enough to help.
“There is a client whom we will be signing a deal with anytime soon. Once the deal is closed, you will have your money back,” Arlan said while looking at her intently and apologetically.
She nodded. “Okay, I hope it goes well,” Mary said before she reached out
Jimmy shook his head, then he insisted, “I don’t know what you were talking about. I never borrowed many from him.”“No! He borrowed money, and he told me it was for Fred’s medication!” Mary was already in tears at that moment.“I know it’s a lot to take in, but what I am telling you is the truth. The earlier you believe it, the better,” Jimmy said softly but seriously while looking at her directly.If Jimmy was honest, she was in trouble.She had borrowed the cash she had sent Arlan promising to refund the amount in two weeks, a deadline that had lapsed. He had to be right. Why would he lie against Arlan?He didn’t stand to gain anything, and he didn’t seem to be joking. He would have told Mary he had just been pulling her leg.Suddenly, Mary started screaming. It wasn’t happening to her. She was feeling angry and betrayed, all because of love.“How did I g
Time in her life ended up having sex with a stranger. She didn’t regret it. Why she? Mary needed to vent some stress, and sex was the best for that. She only consoled herself that she had to live for the moment. She should have known that her entry into this world will bring her both satisfaction and pain. Only time would tell if it was worth it. Everything had happened so fast. One minute Mary was getting introduced to the other poker players, and the next, she was against a wall being fucked by a girl she barely knew. She didn’t regret the sex; it had been long since she had felt that good. She loved her moments with Arlan but what she had just experienced was way beyond what she bargained for. “Oh my,” she told herself on her way home. Jerry was 20 years old. He had been active out of class from a young age, always wanting to get into some mischief. His parents Tim and Frank, had been supportive. Tim and Frank were gay. When they first came
Christabel was glad he was making an effort. Any woman would feel the same way. But there was a part of her that got jealous.Because she knew that at one point, Arlan was also showing effort towards other women, especially Mary.Stop thinking silly stuff. Christabel chastised herself. There was no point thinking about the past. At that moment, they were together, and Arlan loved her more than anyone else.With that in mind, it did not take long for the negative thoughts to be pushed back inside her head. She focused her attention now on Arlan.“How do you feel, baby? Are you enjoying yourself?” Christabel asked sweetly with a bright smile on her face as she handed over a glass of wine towards Arlan.They were on one of the beaches in South Africa, and they were so happy and so much in love. It was like they were on their honeymoon. It was the best place for that.He was grinning when he accepted the wine glass. Arlan made a toas
That he was flesh and blood like the rest of them.With George’s death, Mary’s relationship with the mom only deteriorated further. Nothing was ever right enough for her mum. Regardless of what accomplishment she had made, it was never enough.Because of that, Mary had always assumed Carole didn’t love her and seeing how distant they had further become only reaffirmed her doubts. In truth, Mary was not surprised by it, but it was still something that was hard for her to accept. It still hurts big-time when your family could not accept you, especially when you just lost someone important.Just like that, after their exchange where Carole verbally blamed Mary for George’s death, Mary was done with. Her world collapsed.At that time, she wept like a child, but Carole didn’t bother.Feeling exhausted and giving up on her mother, who did not treat her as her daughter, Mary left home while in college.So many ye
Walter pitted him against a player by the name of Hillary. It was interesting for Mary to see another poker player who was a female and has a very good reputation in the tournament.Hillary had become the runner’s up in the last tournament, so this game was loaded with many tensions. The two guys were good players, but there could only be one winner for the tournament.For some reason, Mary got nervous for Jerry. Well, she knew that he was really good at what he was doing, but a part of her still worried about it.And that moment, Mary realized that she had already treated Jerry as more than just a friend. Well, they did fuck, so he was already more than a friend probably from that point.Sadly her plan to make it just a one-night stand did not turn out as planned. Jerry had already crept into her broken and exhausted heart before she even realized it.Now, she was already aware of it but not sure what to do next. After all, Jerry was still a
Mary didn’t want to be connected with another friend of a friend. Such connections are what got her into trouble in the first place: she was trying to help the friend of her ex-boyfriend.So she needed to learn this time. Even when Jimmy was really in trouble or anyone else was in trouble, she needed to take care of herself first.Mary knew that she needed to harden her heart so that she wouldn’t be in a very compromising position.Never again, she vowed to herself silently. Well, at least, she wouldn’t do it in a drastic way like what happened to her recently.She was sure that she was making the right choice to go to her house and deal with her demons.With that in mind, she drove herself home, and as she had expected, she found yet another note warning her of playing games.I won’t be this kind with you anymore, the note read, and Mary threw it in the trash. Even if she was
“That guy kept talking about you. He’s so hooked,” Vera, Rose’s roommate, said after the bash. If one looked closer, one would notice a glint of jealousy in her eyes as well. If Rose realized this, she would be very surprised. However, Rose was never the type to bother with such things. But Vera’s statement was still baffling. “How do you know that? He didn’t tell you, did he?” Rose asked eventually with unmasked confusion. Vera laughed before she snorted as if the question was a joke to her. “He didn’t have to tell me. He kept asking Greg about you,” Vera said while looking at Rose with a mysterious smile. Greg was Vera’s boyfriend. “Okay,” Rose said nonchalantly. It was her way to tell the other woman that she was not willing to talk about the topic any further. However, Vera was always the nosy type. It was like she gets happy to know a lot of news about someone. The next time Vera talked about Walter was when she wa
Arlan and Christabel were spending the last day of their vacation. Christabel was relaxed, but Arlan was tensed, knowing the mess he had left back in Chicago.He knew he couldn’t let Christabel and stay there longer, even when that was the only that he wanted at that moment.The vacation was the best time of his life. Every minute of it was blissful. If he would have another chance or choice, he would stay there forever.But he could not be selfish with Christabel. What they have was something really special for him. He was never that happy before.So for Christabel, they need to go back.She had work to go back to and a loving family.Her friends were in Chicago. Her life was there. Arlan, on the other hand, didn’t have much left in Chicago. He didn’t even have a job, and he had kept that a secret to Christabel.In fact, he was not sure how to tell him that. Arlan was hoping to set up a business later for them. Or h
She knew she was. She made heads turn, and her presence alone could make even the strongest man weak to his knees. Single men, dating, married, poor or rich all wanted her, but she went for Paul thinking he was the saint he portrayed himself to be.She could have said no, but she was confused. He might change, she thought, but now he wasn’t going to.He proved that over and over again. Dorothy got tired but didn’t know how to break up with him, and she was grateful he was finally gone, although she didn’t like the circumstances surrounding that fact.“Here is your tea,” she said as she placed the cup of tea on the table before Aston in his studio. She took a few sips of hers before placing her cup on the table too. “The weather outside is beautiful today.”“Yes. Yes, it is,” Aston confirmed, although his eyes never left Dorothy. “How about we go somewhere else while this dries?” he suggested.“Sure.”Together with their teas in their hands, they walked out of the studio. Instinctively
Stella observed the interaction between the two, and once again, she knew she had lost Aston to Dorothy because he never looked at her the way he was looking at Dorothy, and that spoke volumes.Stella stood up and straightened out her dress.“I’ll check on you later, Aston, and nice to meet you, Dorothy,” she said with a smile and walked towards Steve.They bid each other farewell, and she left the room.Steve sat down in the chair Stella had just left vacant, crossing his arms over his chest again. He said with a strange emotion in his voice, “You mentioned something about you thinking Paul would change. Has he done something like this before?”Dorothy let out a heavy sigh before replying, “Yes. Yes, he has. Many times.”“Will you be able to testify against him in court?” Aston asked as calmly as he could.“Yes, I will. I think I’ve had enough of him,” she finalized.“Well, I admire your courage, my lady,” Steve commended, further encouraging Dorothy. “By the way, did you meet the pa
‘’We caught this young woman trying to force her way into the ward, and we suspect she might be part of the paparazzi,” the first police officer answered.Steve observed Dorothy noting that she looked familiar then he remembered her. ‘It’s fine, boys. Let her through.The police officers released her arms, and Dorothy threw them a disdainful look, then sent a grateful one Steve’s way.He opened the door for her, and she walked in, thanking Steve with a smile.Steve closed the door with a gentle click and faced Dorothy. “He’s right this way. I’m not supposed to say this, Dorothy, but he’s been expecting you.”Expecting her? Did he want to see her? Did this have something to do with her, or did he just want to see her? She wished it was the latter.Wait, this is Steve, Aston’s best friend and the owner of ‘From Our Hearts’ gallery, but how did he know her?Steve seemed to sense her conflicting thoughts. He sighed and then said, “I can assure you that there’s nothing to fret about, and w
She opened her eyes and brought her fingers up to see them coated with her juices— and Aston hair she had been supposedly pulling happened to be her shower curtain.She just fantasized about Aston pleasuring, but it was better than anything she had ever had with Paul, and the best part —she didn’t regret it.She wanted more of it. She wanted to make it real, so much that she was started to became inpatient and frustrated.The reality of her situation dawned on her when she got out of the shower. She stared at the ring on her finger, and for the first time, she felt trapped.The ring became heavy on her finger, and it began to feel like a heavy burden on her. She slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the drawer bedside of the bed.Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Paul. She closed her eyes to picture Paul in her life as she had always done, but this time, Paul was replaced with Aston.And that moment, it became apparent to her that she w
Dorothy turned around to see Paul standing there, arms folded across his chest and his eyes shooting daggers at Aston, who ignored him, by the way.“So I’ll call you and let you know how it goes, okay?” Aston asked while looking at Dorothy, who nodded excitedly like a kid.Aston smiled and then replied, “Bye Dorothy, and take care of yourself.”“Okay!. Bye Aston, and thanks for visiting. It really means a lot,” Dorothy said, as she walked him to the door.He stopped for a moment and took a look at Paul, who was still standing in the doorway.“And you too, Paul. It was nice to meet you,” she added, and with that, he walked out of their flat without waiting to hear Paul’s grunt of a response.Not wanting Paul to ruin her mood, Dorothy hopped past the grumpy Paul happily to their bedroom, humming a song.The only thing in her head was that her art was going to be at an exhibition– something she never expected to happen.For the rest of the day, Dorothy was in high spirits humming a favor
Dorothy turned around with a smile. “Hello Mr and Mrs Harris. Wonderful weather we have today, yeah?”“Absolutely,” Mrs. Harris chirped while Mr. Harris only nodded.“Let’s go in,” she said to Aston leading the way. “How do you like your tea?” Dorothy asked as they entered her flat, locking the door behind them.“Anything is fine, thank you,” he replied with a smileDorothy walked to the kitchen, and moments later, the sound of a kettle whistling was heard, followed by cabinets opening and closing.Aston took this time to observe the interior decor of the flat. It was an average-sized flat with clean white walls decorated with prints of beautiful paintings.Different artifacts, frames, flower vases, and books sat well arranged on the shelf.Wine-colored drapes framed the windows, and the inner lace curtains remained drawn, allowing the sun rays to enter, casting a golden sheen into the living room. The decor was simple yet beautiful and welcoming.This reminded Aston of the typical co
“Oh, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. And believe me, when I say coming from you means so much more,” she said.“I thought I was doing horribly, so I stopped painting for a while. I only began painting again when I came across your works in a gallery. I was in awe of hyperrealism. It was magnificent, and I knew I wanted to know how to paint like you,” she explained excitedly. “Meeting you here might be the best thing that has happened to me this year.”It was Aston’s turn to feel flattered, and he did ever so much. He had received a lot of compliments, but in a weird way, Dorothy appreciating his art made him feel he did something for someone, and it made him feel good.“I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from this class, and I can give you pointers if you want.”“You know I didn’t exactly enroll for this class. Mrs. Michael is my aunt, and she just allows me to join in and last week was my second time here.”“That makes sense. I didn’t think you paint. I though
For heaven’s sake, he wasn’t some teenager going through hormonal changes, so why couldn’t he stop thinking about Dorothy’s body and, even worse, smiling and blushing at the memory.‘’I guess we can now deduce my idea wasn’t laced with foolishness after all,’ Steve said with the smug look still on his faceAston scoffed, rolling his eyes at him, and said, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I am still not convinced the class will do me any good.”“We’ll see about that, mate. We’ll see.”The whole weekend felt like torture to Aston. He longed to see Dorothy again, and it seemed the weekend was taking too long to end.Everything was confusing to him; what he was feeling about Dorothy and why he was feeling that way didn’t make any sense to him, but he just wanted to see her again.When Monday finally came, Aston could hardly wait till 3 pm when classes started, and by 12 pm, he was already at the building waiting for Dorothy to show up, but she didn’t.Class started, and she was still nowhere
In one swift moment, a bang was heard, and the whole dining table came crashing down, sending a wave of shock throw Dorothy.She had seen this happen so many times, but she could never get used to it. He promised to change.He said he was going to be better, but after two years and nothing had changed.The last time, it was the TV that suffered it, which took a while to replace, and now, the dining table had also felt the impact of Paul’s fist.The table was ruined; dinner was ruined too.“You love being a whore, eh? You love letting different men run their hands all over your body under the guise of art, right?” He barked the vile words pacing the dining room.The words made her feel she had just been prickled with over a hundred pins.“I am not a whore, Paul!. I am not! I love art, and you know it!” She yelled at him.He scoffed before he said, “Oh c’mon. You’re just using art as a cover-up. You enjoy the way these so-called artists of yours touch you.”He then grabbed her shoulder