Regina must have powerful connections above for fate to intervene at such an important moment.
“Raffy! Maggie! And oh my gosh, my little man, Marcus! Look how you’ve grown. I missed you so much. Thank you for all the letters you sent me.”Regina hugged each family member tightly and invited them to her apartment, as she still had packing to do.Over the last few months, she had accumulated more clothes and accessories, as she loved buying trinkets and sale-priced items at the street markets. So it was hard for her to decide what to wear.“Aunt Reggie, I like your other place better because you have a pool.”“I know, babe. I miss having a pool, too. Don’t worry, we’ll learn how to swim again.” Regina shook her head. She knew Marcus was afraid of the water, but didn’t remember teaching him how to swim, so she was confused by her statement.“Your apartment looks better than when we got it,” Maggie commented as she turned on the TV for Marcus.Regina beamed. “Yeah, I decorated a little. Do you like it?”“I do. Maybe you should decorate the condo the same way. Are you bringing home
Regina talked to Maggie and Raffy well into the night, and she mentioned she would be up early the next day since she already volunteered her time to go to the market with the ladies from the nursing home. Raffy and Maggie were still jet lagged and promised to meet her for lunch since it would be too early for them to wake up at the regular time. Regina was busily chatting away while picking her veggies, not realizing Martha had moved on to another vendor with the fruit cart. So when she turned around, Regina bumped into someone, spilling all her groceries on the floor. “Oh no. I’m such a klutz. I’m so sorry.” She got down on her knees and began picking the onions and potatoes from the floor. “Excusez-moi je n’étais pas…prêter attention—” “No. Don’t apologize. It was my fault because I was looking at my phone.” “Oh, you’re American. I suck at speaking the language. I know I’m in France, and I should learn, but my brain acts separately from my tongue.” She laughed, but her breath
“Regina, this is Mr. Bennet, I forgot to tell you he’s having dinner with us, too.” Regina’s heart skipped a beat. Being close to him reminded her of the same blue eyes she dreamed about when she was kissing Jason.“Hi!” was all she could muster.“I’m sorry I did not mean to intrude on your family time.” Owen said.“Oh, it’s no bother. Our fanily is huge, so we are used to entertaining guests.” She looked around awkwardly, unable to look at his piercing blue eyes. Owen was staring at her and she wondered if he was the man she bumped into at the market earlier.“You work for his mom, remember.” Raffy said to jog her memory.“Oh yeah. How is Mrs. Bennet? Did she tell you that she sent me the most beautiful bouquet of red roses and my house smells heavenly.”“ You can call me Owen.” Regina frowned, it was the name that she mentioned while making out with Jason, and it made her curious why she would utter his name while being affectionate with another man ”My mother is fine, and always as
After dinner, Jason invited Regina to join him for a walk, promising to bring her back before midnight, just like Cinderella. Owen clenched his fist when Raffy agreed, but since Regina had no recollection that they were in a relationship, he had to let them go. Regina took Jason’s arm, dreading the talk she knew they were about to have. “I’m sorry about my family arriving unannounced,” Regina said when they were out of earshot. “It’s okay, Raffy is concerned about you, and I am okay with that.” “Yeah, I guess. I’ve failed to call my family, so they sent him to check up on me.” “Regina, how do you know Owen?” “Well, I work for his mom, and that’s all I know.” “You don’t remember any interactions with him?” She briefly closed her eyes. When she sighed, an image of her and Owen appeared in her memories. They were locked in an embrace as they kissed each other under the Eiffel Tower. “No,” she said, with a squeak in her voice. “No?” He asked with disbelief. If Regina recalled t
Jason walked home to clear his mind. It had shocked him to see Owen that night and should have realized sooner that Regina calling out his name during sex was a bad omen.Jason took a drag from his cigarette. He had noticed the hooded figure following him ever since he dropped Regina off, so he cut through the park and waited for his stalker to get to him.He seldom smoked because it was bad for business. The smell of cigarettes on a baker often repelled people, so he only did it after work and when something worried him.“I was wondering when you’d show up.” Jason blew smoke in the man’s direction. Owen took off his hood and stalked toward Jason. He quit smoking in high school after Princess broke up with him since he only did it to appear cool in front of her.“I let her go so she could heal and recover, then come back to me. Why did you swoop in, you fucking ass?” Owen shoved Jason’s chest to start a fight. He wanted to punch Jason so badly, to get rid of the ache he felt in his he
Regina comes out of her bedroom, her head aching. Seeing Raffy preparing breakfast reminded her about what she had done the previous night with Jason. They got caught necking in the hallway, and she knew the conversation with her brother would not be pleasant. It had been years since she’d been scolded for being drunk, so before Raffy could say anything, Regina hugged him from behind and apologized. “Raf, I’m sorry about last night. I was just having fun. Nothing bad happened, and I promise next time Jace and I will take it somewhere private.” Regina felt him stiffen. “--Or not. Will you forgive me? Please? I promise it won’t happen again.” Raffy did not reply, so she rubbed her cheek against his back like a cat. “Raf, please forgive me already? We can’t fight like this anymore. I’m an adult and can do whatever I want.” She sneered at his back and was pulling away when he held onto her arms. “You smell good today, Raf. Is that a new cologne? Did Mags get that for you?” Regina said
“Jace, I have to cancel lunch. Mr. Bennet promised to bring Marcus to the Eiffel Tower, and the kid is insistent we do it today.” Regina called Jason to inform him of the bad news, and it was getting difficult to convince him she knew nothing of Owen’s plans. “No, his parents won’t be here. Raffy and Maggie are going out on a date around the city, which is why I volunteered to watch him.” Regina sighed. She had never encountered Jason to be this difficult before, but she could understand why he was acting this way. Owen made him jealous, and now that she knew he was real, it was hard for him to accept that she called out another man’s name in the throes of passion. So she compromised and invited him to their outing, even though she knew Jason and Owen did not get along. “I’m surprised you do not have any plans at all today. Is your friend okay for you to ditch him today? Well, we’re leaving in an hour, so we’ll see you downstairs, then.” After her phone call, Regina looked around a
“Aunt Reggie, let’s go already. What are we waiting for?” Marcus kicked the curb after asking for the 10th time in the last couple of minutes. Owen was standing a few feet away, talking to someone on the phone. “I’m sorry, there was an accident,” Jason moved to kiss Regina, but Marcus protested. “Let’s go. Stop kissing.” Jason laughed but still did it, anyway. “Aunt Reggie, why does everyone want to kiss you?” “Everyone?” Jason asked, looking at Regina. “Don’t bother with him.” She said to Jason while covering Marcus’ mouth. “He’s a kid. He says all kinds of stuff.” “Are we ready?” Owen just finished his phone call and opened the door for Marcus and Regina. “Uncle Owen, sit beside me,” Marcus requested, so Regina had to sit behind the driver before buckling Marcus in the car seat, thus forcing Jason to sit in the front. “You’re so bossy, you know that?” She said, while tickling his side. “I’m not bossy. Uncle Owen, help.” Marcus giggled as he reached out for Owen to save him.
“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