"Oh. My. God!" I couldn't hide the expression of surprise and excitement on my face. Opening the doors to that studio was like stumbling upon paradise. A huge grin was plastered on my face as I surveyed everything around me. That place was amazing!My paintings were harmoniously displayed on every wall of that room under a covering. The panels, the easels, the original paints, the various types of brushes that I never imagined I could touch one day... Everything! Exactly everything that an artist needed was there.If the human ability to feel pleasure fit not only in the sexual sense, but in any scenario of excitement, I would say I was having an orgasm of happiness right there."This is simply incredible, Joshua!" Leaning against the door, with his arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face, Joshua watched me."Every artist needs their space."I froze as soon as I saw Joshua's smile expand."What?" I asked, dumbfounded."It's yours.""What?!" My eyes automatically widened. "You'r
Some months later, after the wedding...After an eternity of hours, we finally arrived at the Seychelles Islands, where we would spend our honeymoon. We decided not to have a religious wedding and to have a simple celebration, just for our closest family and friends. Joshua and I agreed to make the most of our honeymoon, so we went straight to a house a few kilometers from the beach. And honestly, I couldn't feel my legs. It took Joshua's help for me to get off the jet and into the car. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to move.When we arrived at the house, I collapsed onto the enormous wooden sofa on the balcony. I was completely out of it. The trip hadn't lasted long, but for me, it had been an eternity. Joshua had given me some lectures during the car ride, telling me that I should have eaten something before flying, but I wasn't hungry.I unlocked my phone and saw the unread messages I had received during the morning while I still had internet, because the region we were in di
[...] Years later..."You are the most important thing to me."I smiled automatically as I remembered his words. I could keep them in my memory as if they had been spoken the day before. But it had been so long ago...“Grandma. Tell us more about you and Grandpa Scott. We love hearing your story!”“What's interesting about it?” The little boy, standing a little apart from us, interjected. He kept his arms crossed and leaned against the entrance of the room. His expression showed little interest in the subject. “It's just another cliché romance.” He said, shrugging his shoulders and snickering.“Joshua!” The youngest protested. “Grandma Ali and Grandpa Scott's story is not boring!” The short-haired little girl exclaimed. “But you are! Please, Grandma. Continue.” She smiled sweetly.The three little girls snuggled up a little closer in the three armchairs next to me.“The little Joshua is right.” I smiled. “It's a long story of... A cliché romance.” I chuckled softly. “But when it's hea
Some years before...Emeraude was still in love with Joshua, still nurturing the obsession she had felt since the first time she saw him, where she promised herself he would be hers, even though Joshua had gotten involved with another woman after some time. But that was no obstacle for Emeraude. The girl began to create plans to separate them. She set up situations for them to fight, created lies and rumors, and even tried to kill his girlfriend. She was determined to get what she wanted.However, the girl was arrested, where she would pay the price for her obsession. However, thanks to her sister, she only spent a few months in jail, as Madelyn believed there could be a better option for her to heal from her obsession. However, this did not happen, as Emeraude, even in prison, planned how to resume her mission to separate them as soon as she got out.And that was exactly what she did when she got out of prison. She began working on an even more elaborate plan than before. She did her
To tell the truth... I've never stopped to think about what my future would be like exactly, whether I would be working in something cool, building a family, or having a successful career. Not that I was someone without dreams, plans, or goals. What I mean is that, unlike other people who wished to focus exclusively on themselves, I wasn't like that. On the contrary, what I most desired was to be able to give a comfortable life to my mother and my two younger sisters. Since my parents separated, the four of us have gone through great financial difficulties, to the point of having to leave London and move to my mother's home country. I confess that leaving the life I had in England in my adolescence was a very difficult decision for me because starting in a new place completely different from what I was used to was a very strong reality shock. But I had no choice. Either I moved to Brazil or I would have to live with my father, who unfortunately was not a faithful man, even though he ha
"Alice? Alice!" My boss called my name, trying to regain my attention. I looked at him, a bit spacey. My gaze was focused on him, but my thoughts were elsewhere. "Did you hear what I said?" "What?" I was completely distracted. "Huh... Yeah..." I closed my eyes slightly, trying to recall his words. Without success. The only thing I could remember had to do with Mr. Scott's son and nothing else. "Alice?" He frowned, looking at me suspiciously. "Sorry." I lowered my gaze and stared at my well-worn sneakers. I heard a sigh escape Mr. Scott, and my heart started beating faster. At that moment, I expected a scolding from him, the biggest one yet, since I had been very inattentive lately. "My eldest son will be arriving from London today." I quickly moved my head to look at him again. I didn't show any change in my facial expression, as I didn't know how to react. I thought I would receive another scolding from him, and maybe the last one. After processing the context, I became curio
I descend from the upper floor, still in ecstasy. The scene kept replaying in my head. I couldn't measure the level of shame I felt. Why did I have to find him like that, and just at the first time I see him? And to think that I'm having an internal meltdown just from seeing him in a towel, imagine if he had nothing on, I could be having a heart attack now. I close my eyes for a few moments and shake my head, trying to chase away those thoughts. I descend the last steps of the stairs and make my way to the kitchen. I see one of the oldest cooks in the house rummaging through the shopping bags I had placed on the counter. "Betty!" I say her name loudly to startle her. "What are you still doing here?" "Jesus!" she turns automatically, hand on her chest, giving me a dirty look and shaking her head. "One day you'll kill me!" she says and I end up letting out a laugh and going towards her to hug her. Betty was like a mother to me. She had been by my side since I started working in Mr.
Joshua Scott "I... I’ll be back later!" I hear her shout from the other side of the door. I hear footsteps until she reaches the exit of the room, but they suddenly stop. Curious, I leave the bathroom to understand what was happening, but not before making sure my hip was well covered by the towel. Entering the room, I see the blonde looking at me with wide eyes. It was as if she had never seen a man in just a towel in her entire life. "I-I'll clean your room later," she says startlely. Does she work here? Inevitably, I observe her from head to toe, surprised that a woman her age is working in my parents' house. Currently, all employees were older. "Do you work here?" "Yes, for almost five years now." "How did I not know about you?" I end up commenting out loud. But now I understood why I didn't remember her. She came after I left. But still, it was curious that my parents would hire a young woman after what happened... "What do you mean?" She looks at me briefly as she picks