Gerald was the second child in our home, and he had never married. Some of us thought that he might be gay. We did tease him about it or tried to confirm it from him, but he just smiled most of the time.
Well, it was not like it would be a bid deal if he was gay, we were just mostly curious about his preference, and perhaps we did not want him to be alone and wanted to help him look for the right partner later on.
So yeah, many years passed by without any confirmation from him. Now, at 45, he was yet to introduce even a girlfriend to any of us. He was so committed to his work that we often joked that his wife was his work.
“There’s no running away from this,” Josephina said, and her tone sounded so lost as if she had already given up the situation before even trying.
“There is. Watch me,” I answered as I disconnected the call.
I put my phone on silent and didn’t answer any of her other calls. She called Marietes
“I’m her only child. I have to be there. I have to see how her things are taken care of,” Lucy had told John, but he had responded that Sierra’s belonging wasn’t important anymore since she was dead.I really did not know how Lucy felt at that moment when John said that. Losing a family member was always hard to accept. It was something that one could not act so normal about regardless of you were close to the deceased one or not. That was also the thing with John.I could only listen silently to what happened. Lucy had defiantly gone for the funeral, but upon her return, John had given her silent treatment for two weeks, spending time at work and not caring about the meals she had prepared.“I should have walked out then. I mean, Sierra was his mother-in-law, and if that wasn’t important to him, he should have at least known that it meant the world to me. He didn’t even care an oz. And I dumbly thought it wa
“I have seen women like you come and go. It’s just a pity you’re older and acting like a young adult. He won’t marry you. He’ll want someone younger like me who will give him children. Do not fool yourself. You can have his money but not his love. Such a gold-digger,’” Josephine said while looking at me coldly as if I am the lowest of the low.I was so hurt by their words that I couldn’t control my feelings. I am not the most outstanding woman out there, but I am not selling myself at least and I raise my child as the best as I could. It felt so wrong to hear that to someone who barely knew me.It felt so wrong to be looked down upon by someone who knew nothing. I would like to retort, defend myself but I also thought that it was useless. It was useless to talk to someone who did not even give me a chance for the mere fact that she knew nothing about me.Before I realized, I already found myself weeping I their pre
LUCYThree months after my resignation from Ryan’s office, I started feeling regretful for the rash decision I had made. Still, I was convincing myself that I did a right decision. Why not? Even if I earn good, if I am not comfortable then why stay?A part of me thought that I over reacted. The more I thought about what happened the more, I feel that I could have responded and taken things in a much more mature perspective. Also, I could have taken it in a way that my logic was more active than me acting emotional.Sierra had occasionally warned me that my downfall would be me making rash decisions when I was annoyed or overjoyed. Well I was not annoyed, I was devastated. It felt so wrong to be treated that way. And that was the only that I think was making me feel better.I would rather lose my job than be treated like shit every single day. Not that that woman would be in the office every day, but still it was better to avoid furt
It was so damn hard to be treated that way and still feel happy. It was actually surprising that she did not cry her eyes out or yell from frustration. She was just sad and silent for day. She still do all the things that she needed to do and that really made me thing that she was really a strong woman.Perhaps, it was best that that man would not return. We could just continue our lives. After all, time heals and that will be the case with my mom too.“If he loves you, he will come back,” I had told her, yet I didn’t even believe it myself.“No, dear. Some of us are just never meant to get married,” she answered sadly. She had become a shadow of her former self, and I felt really bad for her.“Don’t say that.”“Why not? Your father… never appeared on our wedding day. He has never even bothered to look for you or for me, yet I thought we were bound together. Now, history is once again rep
He didn’t talk about it with me again because he decided he had to lash out at his father, who hadn’t provided him with anything since the divorce.I was from the cafeteria I previously worked in, trying once again to get my job back when I got a call from John. He was annoyed, and I innocently thought that it was because Marietes had still refused to talk to him.“What is it this time?” I said, disinterested. I had received another bad news, and I wasn’t ready for more.“Paul called me.”“Oh, and why did he do that?”“To ask for my help. Apparently, you dropped out of school and can’t even pay any of your bills. This isn’t the time for your petty excuses because I am here to pass you a warning. If you do not get a job within a week, I will file for child custody. God knows I am more financially stable to take care of Paul than you ever will be in a million years.”
“Not really. I will be in my room in case you need me,” he said with a wave of his hand before he left the living room.I don’t know whom I had expected on the door, but it wasn’t Michelle. I just frowned and stood frozen, unsure how to deal with this visitor.Who knows how long we are in that situation, but in the end, I just looked at her for so long, confused as to why she had paid me a visit. We looked at each other awkwardly, and she was the one who broke the ice.“Hello Lucy, can we talk? Can I come in?” She asked so softly that I could barely hear it.“What?” I asked with displeasure. I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at her. I wanted to make things difficult for her, but I was never a person who could do uncomfortable things to others. I could only pretend not to hear her words.“Hello Lucy, can we talk? Can I come in?” She asked again, this time louder and with a f
“This petition is filed by my client John Peters against Miss Lucy Mcdonald, formally known as Mrs. Lucy Peters. My client seeks to file for custody for their 16-year-old child since the mother has proven incapable of taking care of the child,” said the attorney whose name I hadn’t even heard.I was so nervous at that moment. I was afraid that one of his words would make me lose the cause. I have my lawyer but I was still nervous as hell. It was surprising that I did not even pass out.After all, this lawyer was against me. His words were all accusations, I believe they were, but I was still having a hard time when he speaks.The lawyer presented evidence that I wasn’t a competent mother saying Paul wasn’t in school and he rarely ate unless his father sent money.Michelle had been true to her words and even hired for me a lawyer. She briefed the lawyer on what had been going on, and he accepted my case. When the prosecutor ha
She hadn’t taken time to know Nick; perhaps she was blinded by his beauty. He was handsome, and he knew it. He would leave the house and report to his office, where he worked as a therapist and would stay there for hours.He spoke to troubled young children who had been sexually assaulted, and maybe the fact that he was a therapist was the reason Josephine blindly trusted him.One day, two years into their marriage, Josephine was in a taxi going back home after taking Thomas for a clinic checkup when the taxi stopped in the middle of the highway because of a commotion that was on the streets. The mob was shouting,’ kill him. Kill him. He doesn’t deserve to live, and Josephine had thought that it was a thief whose forty days were over, but it had been her husband.It turns out that a parent had taken her daughter for counseling at Nick’s place and found him inappropriately touching the girl who was moving away.“What the hell
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