Based on the level of drugs in Regina’s blood tests and the amount of time she had been with Arthur, they injected her with so much benzodiazepine that was harmful to any human being. A few more doses could have led to her death.As the days went by, Regina began to exhibit withdrawal symptoms. Her temperature fluctuated so much that the nurses did not know if she needed ice packs to keep the heat down or more blankets to keep her warm.Tremors wracked her body so often that someone needed to watch her monitors every time it made a beeping sound. In her sickened state, Regina often called out for Owen, but he never came.Although he pledged to be there for Regina, Owen had to break his promise yet again. It was because at another part of the hospital, in the room they called the Intensive Care Unit, Owen was fighting to stay alive after his doctor administered surgery to stop his brain from hemorrhaging.Leaving the hospital earlier than was necessary after Arthur bashed him in the h
Owen looked at Raffy to ask if he could tell Regina about his accident, and Raffy nodded his assent. They discussed this issue before and agreed they should not mention Arthur’s name as his perpetrator until she recalled his involvement. Owen was concerned that Regina would think he was lying to her again, but her brothers had a point. He just needed to omit his name to stop triggering any horrible memory. Regina had already mentioned Arthur’s name, but recalled nothing. “I couldn’t come because I was in the hospital the entire time. Someone hit my head multiple times with a hard object as I got into my car that night. It caused me to be in a coma.” He heard Regina gasp and caught her scared reaction, but he kept going. “I fought back, but he had the upper hand when he surprised me with the first blow. I got lucky because someone called out and stopped the masked figure from doing more damage. They called an ambulance, but I was too far gone to give them any information.” “Why wou
As soon as Regina’s family heard she woke up, they came flocking to her private room at the hospital, bearing all sorts of gifts. They brought her favorite flowers, her favorite pastries, and lots of food to feed her visitors. She was tired as the last of them got shooed out of the room when Raffy needed to do another check-up. She appreciated their well-meaning gestures, but it was the main reason she lived alone. It was to escape the coddling from her mother. Regina was waiting for her mother and father to scold her every time they were left alone, but her parents uttered nothing about her disappearance and her condition. Her mother would constantly tear up, but would always pretend nothing happened as she straightened Regina’s bedding and touched her daughter’s hair lovingly. After Stephen scolded her siblings for leaving the hospital without telling anybody where they were, they all agreed not to mention anything about the incident to Regina. They were to act as if she had gott
Jason shyly knocked at the door of the hospital, afraid that he was intruding on Regina’s solitude. She was wrapped in a shawl with a book in her hand, but she was gazing out the window.“Oh, Jason. What are you doing here?” She looked at her outfit, conscious that Jason found her in a vulnerable state, wearing her pajamas, her face red. Had he come a few minutes early, then he would have found her throwing up her lunch.“A friend of yours called the cafe and told me you were here. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”Regina smiled. “You’re so sweet. Thanks.” She shook her head, avoiding his remark. She remembered kissing him back the last time they saw each other, and she did not know what that meant.“I wanted to cheer you up, so I brought you some of your favorites.”“Tell me you brought me a chocolate slice.”“I did better. I brought you the entire cake.” He said, revealing the bag he carried with his other hand. “I thought that if you had guests, maybe they’d want some
“I know who you are.” Owen had visited the prisoner known as Jacob Shipman. He wanted to uncover the truth about why he would harm Regina. They speculated Jacob took revenge on Regina when she rejected him, but Owen felt there was something else behind Jacob’s seduction. Bulletproof glass separated the two individuals, but Owen could feel Jacob’s hatred behind the glass. Nobody was allowed to visit Jacob, but Owen got special authorization from the chief of police.“You know nothing, Owen Bennet. You think you’re smart, but you’re just as stupid as everyone else,” Jacob taunted.“Your name is not Arthur Johnson, but Jacob Shipman. You stole the identity of a dead man.”Jacob ignored his statement. “I know everybody thinks she’s the most perfect individual. Ginny is genuinely nice and cares for others, but she rejected me and chose you. I knew it would eventually happen. I told him he was grasping at straws. He could never be with Regina, but he was insistent. He kept saying Regina wa
But we were best friends, so where he goes, I follow. I borrowed enough money to get a ticket and see him. He had been so lonely, so I stayed. He couldn’t stop telling me about Ginny and how they kissed. Everything was so perfect about her. I was so sick and tired of their story I could recite it in my sleep. His parents told him he could not return home until he got a diploma, so he studied like his butt was on fire. It took him three years to finish a four-year course. He took the maximum classes every term with no regard for his health, just to get back home immediately. Ginny was in her second year of medical school, and he could not wait to see her again. Our friends had been spying for us and told us Ginny never had a boyfriend during her time in school, motivating Arthur to get his diploma earlier. “Ginny is really meant for me. It was written in the stars,” he would say. But before he could graduate, he had to take his finals. Day and night he studied for this test, and he
A month later, after Regina was released from the hospital, she begged her father to allow her to go back to work. She had been living with them since her release from the hospital and was getting bored doing nothing. She tried to go out for a run, and they stopped her, giving her some excuse about her condition, even though she knew they were afraid Arthur had an accomplice. Her brothers unhooked the video consoles from her condo and installed them in her childhood bedroom, bringing all her favorite games. She was grateful, but after playing the games continuously for a couple of weeks, she got bored. Her parents did not force Regina to socialize with her siblings, spend time with her friends, or do anything else other than the things she wanted. They were just happy she was okay. But she was not happy, because Regina was used to giving out help, not needing help. She liked the fact that her patients looked to her for comfort when they were in pain, albeit temporarily at times. S
After breakfast, Regina met one of her favorite characters while she worked for Mrs. Bennet. Bella, the golden retriever, got dropped off at the Bennet mansion for her daily visit, and she learned that when she was away, they continued the arrangement with Mrs. Bennet because Bella whined and ate the family’s furniture when she did not see her second family. Regina laughed when she learned about this because it seemed that after several months of being with the Bennet family. Bella was more their dog than the actual family who adopted her. Bella wagged her tail excitedly at Regina and wouldn’t stop licking her face, happy that she had returned. Marius was a wealth of information, telling Regina what happened during her absence. Mrs. Bennet’s alter-ego, Hailey, gave the new nurse all sorts of trouble when she appeared. She acted up more than usual, making it known she was not happy about Regina’s replacement. Most of the time, Hailey acted like a bratty teenager grounded from seein
“Regina, are you okay?” Arthur’s softer voice asked from the other side, and she looked up as she wiped her tears away. “I need to tell you something before he comes back. I drugged you the entire time you were with Jacob because he wanted you to cry and scream when he raped you, but he wouldn’t touch a sleeping body. He said it felt like he was fucking the dead. So I made you sleep.” “You what?” “I drugged you, so he couldn’t do anything to you. All the things he told you were lies. None of them happened.” “You did that for me?” she asked, confused about whom to believe. Was this version of Arthur telling the truth, or was it also another lie? “I couldn’t bear the thought that I stood by and watched while he harmed you.” “Why?” “I always loved you, Regina. I always will,” Arthur said before his face changed again. “That stupid shit. What did he tell you?” Armed with the knowledge that nothing happened between them, Regina stood to taunt Jacob. She wanted to get to the bottom o
“I wanted to see.”“And there’s a reason I told you no.”“Babe…”“That guy left me for dead, Regina. Would you like to see a picture of that?”“Yes. I want to understand why a man with a face so kind could be so horrible.”“I will show you the footage from the precinct and how they found out Arthur’s mental illness.” Owen sighed, knowing that keeping the truth from Regina would just give her more reason to sneak around. “Then will you come to bed and forget about this?” She nodded as Owen retrieved a file from his computer and showed her a video of Arthur arguing with himself at the precinct. He was fighting with himself as if there were two people instead of one, and Regina felt unnerved. “The doctors said Jacob was too traumatized by Arthur’s loss that he erased the fact that he was dead. In his grief, he developed the Arthur persona, who was kind and smart, just like the actual person. It was a form of coping mechanism.”“Where is he now?”“In the psychiatric hospital inside the
“YOU KILLED ARTHUR! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE HAPPY!” It said before images began appearing on the screen. Regina was frozen and horrified because of the text, she was trying to figure out what the images were but Owen closed the lid before she did.“Don’t touch the computer. It was just a virus. I have a friend who can clean this for you.“Who would send such a horrific message? And what is that message about Arthur? Is he dead?”“Yes, no. It’s a long story. Don’t worry about it.” He said as he moved the laptop to his desk.“Don’t lie to me, Owen.” Regina stood up to face him. “We said no secrets. What was that about? And why is there a naked woman on my screen?”“Did you have an affair and not tell me, because gods help me, I am not taking this crap from you.”“No babe, I wouldn’t do that to you. You have to sit while I tell you what that was about.”“I can’t sit. My blood is boiling right now.”“Okay, let’s go to the kitchen, get a glass of water for both of us while I collect my tho
“Dad, thank you for giving me the extended leave. France has inspired me a lot with my artistic side. Did you see my paintings?”“Yeah, I have a few of them put up in the hospital and around the house already. Is that what you want to do now? Paint?”“Oh no, that’s just my side hobby. I was inspired by the nursing home in France and wanted to build a non-profit nursing home as a branch of our hospital.”“That sounds like a good idea. I think someone suggested that before and we just didn’t have time to look into it. Talk to the project manager so we can get this started. Which wing do you want it in?”“Well, that’s the thing. I want it to be separate from the hospital, in a more scenic setting so we can usher the old people to rest peacefully. I don’t want them to feel like they’re in the hospital all the time.”“Are you willing to put in work for this project? This will be a lot of work, starting with finding available properties. You can’t just quit mid-way because it’s too hard.”R
“What are you telling them?”“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I have everything in control.” He said confidently as they walked to his mother’s room.“Mom? Are you awake?” Owen asked. Myles was reading her a book Regina sent from France, and the scenes were getting steamy, so he was glad that his mother’s attention got diverted to the guests. “Look who’s here?”He stepped aside, and Regina softly exclaimed, “Surprise!”Mrs. Bennet stared at Regina, wondering who she was, and then it clicked. “Mandy? Oh, I’m glad you’ve come. I’ve missed you so.” She grew emotional as Regina sat on the bed and hugged her.“So did I Mrs. Bennet. I am glad to see that you are better.” Regina touched her forehead to get the temperature and her wrist to check how fast her pulse rate was.“Oh, it was nothing. They just worry too much. Now I’m in the hospital when all I want to do is see that dog.” Bella had been constant in her life, and like Regina, not having seen her for a few days, threw everything out o
News of Owen’s mystery woman spread throughout the nation as pictures of the couple were shared across every website on the internet. “Owen, what are we going to do? Can we hire someone to delete the pictures?” Regina asked as the car sped away. He smirked, “No.” “No? But your reputation?” “I’m a single man in a relationship with a beautiful woman, so I don’t care about the pictures.” “But the paparazzi, they’ll know.” “We’re not hiding our relationship, my love. Unless you want to.” “I don’t.” “I know you don’t want your face in the media, so we won’t tell them who you are. Let them find out on their own.” “I don’t care if they find out. I’m through hiding. It didn’t do me any good, anyway. I kept lying to people I really liked. I just hope they could forgive me,” she said, leaning back into the seat, more relaxed. “Well then, that’s settled,” Owen smiled and leaned over to nuzzle her ear. “You know they’ll be at my apartment waiting. What do you say we go to yours and lock
Regina asked how they all knew each other, and the three men regaled her with stories of when they met while re-constructing the apartment she was staying in.“So I have a question. If Owen owns the complex, then why do I have a small apartment?”Caelan and François both laughed and teased Owen.“Well, I didn’t want you to get suspicious about paying such a small price for an enormous apartment, so we gave you the smallest unit. It was Caelan’s place.”“Aww…” Regina looked at Caelan, “You gave it up for me? I’m sorry if I brought in mismatched furniture in there.”“Don’t feel sorry for him. He got a bigger apartment out of the deal, so he’s happy about that.” Owen butted in, and Regina laughed.“I don’t mind how you decorated the place. I like it and will keep most of the furniture,” Caelan replied.“So I heard Owen hired you to follow me around and disrupt my dates with Jason. Is that true?”“Well—I—He—Yes, it’s true,” Caelan could not defend himself, so he admitted the truth.“So th
The sun was peeking through the horizon by the time the couple fell asleep, satiated and full of love. Neither wanted to sleep lest everything was just a dream. Regina woke up first, staring at the sleeping man beside her, waiting for him to awaken. “What are you doing?” Owen asked, his voice husky from sleep.She blushed that she got caught running her finger down his chest, tracing the lines of his abdomen. “Waking you. Did it work?”“It did.” He grabbed her waist, pulling her toward him. He hooked his legs around hers and kissed her neck. “I missed you so much that when you stopped sending me messages, it made me go crazy.”“I’m sorry. I was so ashamed about what happened that I did not know how to handle the situation. How could I not know anything about my body?”“There were a lot of things happening during that time. Stop blaming yourself. We’re here now, where we should be. Just don’t shut me out again.”“I promise I won’t.” Owen nibbled her neck, and her body came alive. “W
“I had a baby—”“I know.”Regina scrunched her brows in shock. “But I never told you. The diary said you didn’t know.”“The baby was ours,” he said, holding her gaze. If her mouth wasn’t hanging open before, it was now.“How—”“How did I know? I have the same tracker app you do, and they were synched together so I could watch your cycle. I wanted to know when it would be safe because we were having unprotected sex. We needed to take extra precautions to prevent having an accident.”“But we still did.”“It doesn’t make a difference. I still love you.” “You knew, and you didn’t tell me?”“I was waiting for you to share your troubles, so I gave you the space you needed, but you just distanced yourself from me. I didn’t want to nag you because you’ve been through so much already. So I waited.”“The diary said I couldn’t tell you because I felt guilty.”“I know.”“But I didn’t tell you…”“You said it in the letter that you sent me.”“The letter that you keep talking about?”“Yes, do you w