Elijah Greene“Calm down, boss. Please calm down. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but let’s not talk about seeing her now, okay?” I spoke to Ronan as if he were a child that I needed to coax with a piece of candy. Ronan Simpson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His assistant truly treated him like a child, huh? I knew I might just start sending out applications for employment in the next minute. “Do you want to find another job, Mr Greene?” The boss’ words caught me unawares, and I even choked on my spit. Didn’t I just jinx myself. As soon as I thought about it, he said it. That’s some sick shit right there. I got a wife to wed soon enough, and I couldn’t bear to lose my job. Not now, not ever. My eyes bulged from the shock, and I couldn’t believe my ears. Wait. I might have gotten something wrong, because I don’t get it. “Did the boss just call me Mr Greene? What the heck? Isn’t this what people usually refer to as telepathy?” I mused silently, allowing my jaws tt
Elena My talks with Valerie were all light conversations about catching up on a lot of old time stuff. I really missed her, and no matter what her brother did, I could never punish Valerie for his misdeeds.Now, all I had to do was to take her word for it and visit Uncle Simpson. According to Valerie, he had been grieving since the day he heard about my diagnosis. It was so bad that they feared his old condition that had been stable all these years might relapse. The main point was that if it relapsed, they couldn’t be so sure that it wouldn’t claim his life this time around. He really took the information too badly..After all, he was already convinced that I stopped contacting him because I died. I could never allow Uncle Simpson to suffer so much and keep grieving for me when I was safe and sound. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to him. Now, my car zoomed into the old mansion of the Simpson family, and the driver prompted me that we were here. Looking a
ElenaThat voice. Uncle Simpson. My body trembled at the closeness, yet the distance between us was equally wide. He stood a few feet away from me, and I could tell that he found it difficult to move his feet. He would have already wondered if this was a dream, or if it was real. “Elena, my child. Is that you? Please, tell me you’re the one. Or do I miss you so much that I’ve started imagining things?” At those words, I felt so bad for Uncle Simpson that I turned around swiftly, showing my face to him.My heart was in my mouth, not because I was scared, but due to the suddenness of everything. I didn’t do anything wrong, after all, hence, I had no reason to beret over anything. The hidden joy buried at the bottom of my heart exploded at the moment I saw Uncle Simpson take a few unsteady steps backward. This proud man… Crying… Uncle Sinpson was crying because he didn’t believe he could ever meet me again in this lifetime. I could feel his pain, because I had the same thought. I pl
Elena“Hubby, aren’t you done yet? I hope you haven’t forgotten about our plans.” This should be my fourth message to Ronan in the last thirty minutes. I’ve been texting him all night, but no reply.Today is our third wedding anniversary, and he was never free to celebrate the first or the second anniversary. My heart swelled with so much joy after persuading hubby non-stop, and he finally agreed. The decoration I made could make anyone a hopeless romantic. I just can’t wait for hubby to get here. The white lace tablecloth, scented candles, and scattered rose petals looked so beautiful, but everything looked out of place since I was the only one at the table. It’s already 10 o'clock , and the cream on the cake was almost melted completely. Even the candles were nearly burned out. “Hubby, where are you?” [Ring!][Ring!!][Ring!!!]Is that Ronan? “Hello, Auntie?"“Elena, dear, happy third anniversary! Time flies so fast, doesn’t it? You’ve been married for three years already, and
Elena I remained in the same sitting position, staring blankly at the divorce agreement. I didn’t even remember how long I’d been in this same spot.“Ronan, when I grow up, will you really marry me?” I was young and naive and allowed the words of the adults to influence me.“Yes. Let’s get married when you grow up.” Ronan replied cheerfully. His face was warm and innocent. He had the brightest of smiles that were only reserved for me. When the sun shone on his white shirt, my young heart wavered, and I knew he was the one for me. I was so little, yet my heart settled on him and never changed after that.Why didn’t I wake up from that childhood fantasy when he started dating Darcy? Why didn’t I wake up when his father had to force him to marry me three years ago?When did everything change?...I walked toward the dressing table, and grabbed the divorce agreement Ronan dropped and began to read.“For Mr. Ronan Simpson to gain his freedom from Ms. Elena Jones, Ms. Jones will be paid an
ElenaWhere am I? A soft bed, white ceiling, the smell of medicine, disinfectants… I’m in a hospital. At least I’m not dead, but I was in my room at dawn. How…“First of all, congratulations, Mrs. Simpson. You’re pregnant.” A young doctor walked into the room, dressed in a white coat, broke the news with a gentleman's smile, looking handsome.“Calm down, ma’am. Just take a deep breath, okay? You’re in the hospital.” “Doctor, you said I’m pregnant? Are you sure you have the right diagnosis? How did I get here?” I can’t believe this. When was the last time Ronan even touched me?“Mrs. Simpson, you passed out in your room last night. Your housekeeper brought you here. He’s waiting outside as we speak.” Oh, so that’s what happened, huh?“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we need to abort the baby. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”...?I just found out about my pregnancy, and now I need to abort the baby to keep me safe. Safe from what? Did I have an ectopic pregnancy? Was that why I didn’t feel
Elena"You should have walked out of our lives peacefully, but no. You wanted to take my husband down with you.” Those words coming from Auntie felt like a slap in the face. Am I so forgettable? Why do I always get rejected by the people I’ve come to trust so much?My father was a military man in the same unit as Uncle Simpson. The two were so close that my father didn’t think twice about saving Uncle Simpson when they went on a very dangerous mission. After that incident, Uncle Simpson felt like he owed his life to him. We were also neighbours, which made our relationship even closer.I grew up considering Aunt Delores my mother. We were incredibly close, even more so than she was with her daughter. I didn’t have a mother while growing up, and for the longest time, it was Dad and I. Mom left when I was only five, and I never heard of her again since then. Now, the person I grew to love as a mother was telling me to get out of her life.Why must Auntie treat me this way just because
Elena“Madam, welcome home.” I just got back to our home, but before I could walk through the front door, the butler rushed toward me and greeted me too enthusiastically for my liking. I didn't know what he was trying to do or say, but I was too exhausted to pay attention to anything else. I felt lightheaded and weak, hence, I only wished to take a warm bath, eat something, and have a shut eye. I need the peace and quiet for my peace of mind right now. “Benson, you're standing in my way. What's happening?” I could hear how faint my voice was. My situation was that bad, and I could pass out at any moment if care wasn't taken. I haven't had a single bite since yesterday's breakfast. “Madam, forgive my impudence, but it's not advisable that you go in right now. In fact, I suggest you sleep outside tonight.”What the heck! Could someone tell me what was happening here? “Benson!” I used all the energy I could muster in calling out to him, and he could tell I was exhausted. More so, I
ElenaThat voice. Uncle Simpson. My body trembled at the closeness, yet the distance between us was equally wide. He stood a few feet away from me, and I could tell that he found it difficult to move his feet. He would have already wondered if this was a dream, or if it was real. “Elena, my child. Is that you? Please, tell me you’re the one. Or do I miss you so much that I’ve started imagining things?” At those words, I felt so bad for Uncle Simpson that I turned around swiftly, showing my face to him.My heart was in my mouth, not because I was scared, but due to the suddenness of everything. I didn’t do anything wrong, after all, hence, I had no reason to beret over anything. The hidden joy buried at the bottom of my heart exploded at the moment I saw Uncle Simpson take a few unsteady steps backward. This proud man… Crying… Uncle Sinpson was crying because he didn’t believe he could ever meet me again in this lifetime. I could feel his pain, because I had the same thought. I pl
Elena My talks with Valerie were all light conversations about catching up on a lot of old time stuff. I really missed her, and no matter what her brother did, I could never punish Valerie for his misdeeds.Now, all I had to do was to take her word for it and visit Uncle Simpson. According to Valerie, he had been grieving since the day he heard about my diagnosis. It was so bad that they feared his old condition that had been stable all these years might relapse. The main point was that if it relapsed, they couldn’t be so sure that it wouldn’t claim his life this time around. He really took the information too badly..After all, he was already convinced that I stopped contacting him because I died. I could never allow Uncle Simpson to suffer so much and keep grieving for me when I was safe and sound. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to him. Now, my car zoomed into the old mansion of the Simpson family, and the driver prompted me that we were here. Looking a
Elijah Greene“Calm down, boss. Please calm down. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but let’s not talk about seeing her now, okay?” I spoke to Ronan as if he were a child that I needed to coax with a piece of candy. Ronan Simpson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His assistant truly treated him like a child, huh? I knew I might just start sending out applications for employment in the next minute. “Do you want to find another job, Mr Greene?” The boss’ words caught me unawares, and I even choked on my spit. Didn’t I just jinx myself. As soon as I thought about it, he said it. That’s some sick shit right there. I got a wife to wed soon enough, and I couldn’t bear to lose my job. Not now, not ever. My eyes bulged from the shock, and I couldn’t believe my ears. Wait. I might have gotten something wrong, because I don’t get it. “Did the boss just call me Mr Greene? What the heck? Isn’t this what people usually refer to as telepathy?” I mused silently, allowing my jaws tt
RonanI had to do a lot to finally get Benson to bring my mobile phone here. I couldn’t believe my own housekeeper paid more attention to my old man than to me, his boss. What’s worse, I couldn’t even threaten to fire him. Since Elena left, the had never been the same. Even after giving him so many months off to spend more time with his family, he still returned sulking. I realized there was nothing I could do to make him return to the old Benson I knew. Since he silently Ames me for Elena’s departure, I had to resort to cheap tricks to get him to release my phone to me. In the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing Elena back in the house. So, with the promise of seeing Elena again, Benson disregarded my father’s instructions and returned my phone. I bet he missed my ex-wife more than I did, huh?“Boas… B…Boss… Boss… You won’t believe this.” Elijah rushed into my room with a flustered look. He was so agitated that I wondered if anyone was chasing. When I looked behind hi
Elena “So, tell me, Val, how did you adopt the culture of bowing? I was really shocked when I saw you do that. That was so unlike you. It was… Simply…”I couldn’t find the words to describe how I felt. I know it was weird, but I felt as though a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders when she did that. I didn’t know I was still so pissed with the Simpsons, until Valerie did what she came here for. When she bowed and apologized for each of them, I was suddenly reminded about all the painful memories I’ve been trying to suppress. At that moment, I realized I was still angry with them, even though I only tried to suppress it all these while.“Overwhelming,” Valerie concluded my words. She sounded so sure of what she said that I didn’t wish to burst her bubbles by telling her that I felt relieved in a strange way when she apologized on behalf of everybody. Not that I had plans of returning to the Simpsons, but her words made me realize that there was another Simpson who really felt for
ElenaHow could Valerie be here? She was supposed to be… Well, somewhere… Just not here. Who even told her I was in this restaurant at this time? When did she come back?“Val, are you the same person I met the last time, or you also changed like the others?” The question was at the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t let it out. I missed Valerie like the sister I never had. I might even say that I allowed Darcy to get so close to me because Valerie was rarely around. Even at the point when I moved into the Simpsons’ old mansion, and we were supposed to be under the same roof, I scarcely met Valerie. While she began to pull my hair, I realized too late that she was the same Valerie I knew from all these years. Just like Uncle Simpson, Valerie didn’t change either. She just stood there staring at me as if I was a statue she had to observe. It was as if she wanted to commit my features to memory. What! W… Why would Balerie be crying? I didn’t do anything to hurt her. How could she be cryin
ValerieI couldn’t believe that the person I spoke to in that office was my proud and usually arrogant elder brother. Love could really bring the mightiest of men to their knees, indeed. Only a person with zero emotional quotient like Ronan would believe he had no feelings for Elena Jones all these years. Who was he kidding, anyway?After leaving my brother’s ward, I decided to solve this pressing issue without telling him about it. How could I remain idle, just because he asked me to? Ronan has always been a proud man who rarely asked other people for help. Even me as his sister never had the chance to do anything for him. Not when we were kids, and not now that we all became adults. However, for the first time in my life, I witnessed my brother break down because of Elena Jones. The sight was eye-opening. It was already annoying that Ronan didn’t appreciate Elena’s love, but he also pushed her away when she needed him the most. She had a terminal illness for crying out loud.I coul
Elena“Malvin, eat your food. You won’t get satisfied by ogling at me, you know. Besides, I already know I’m beautiful. You don’t need to remind me.” I know I sounded shameless right now, but I had nothing else to say to my nosy assistant to get him to stop watching me like I was an animal on display at the zoo. “Well, I know you’re beautiful, Elena, but I would never dare to say it to you.” Malvin never changed. He was still the same guy who wouldn’t even take a second look at anyone who remotely looked like she belonged to another man. Even if you were being chased by another man, it was enough for him to back away and allow the person to have you. Such a spineless young man. Well, I guess it’s true what they say, once bitten, twice shy. At this rate, I would need to start setting up blind dates for Malvin, else, I wouldn’t see him get married in this lifetime. Tsk! The. Again, I couldn’t really blame him, after all.Malvin chased a young lady so dutifully back in college, but
Elena “I left here after the hour hit 2 o’clock. He wasn’t here when I stepped out, so they were absent from our meeting. By extension, Chiq Royale did not honor our agreement to meet for a discussion. Mr Assistant, please tell your boss that we would not cooperate with Chiq Royale anymore. You can excuse us now.” I didn’t even spare one more look at the young man who just stood there, staring at me as if I had two heads. “Mr Greene, you can…” I was about to drive the assistant away when Malvin doused me with so much cold water that I nearly froze from the realization. His words were a true shocker. The traitor… “Elena, please, calm down. You missed him by a few seconds only. Truth be told, he was right on schedule. He didn’t delay in the slightest.” What the heck! Was this guy my assistant or Elijah’s lackey? “What you’re trying to say is that…” I pushed further, daring Maalvin to repeat what he just said. I dared him to attempt defending Elijah Greene, and by extension, his b