Regina is so trusting. I just hope this pays off. I was listening to the song Naked(Bedroom Version) by Emerald Osagie when I was writing this chapter.
“Owen?” Regina looked under her bed, in the closet, and in the bathroom, but since he was nowhere in her room, she assumed he had returned to his.Regina was glad nobody seemed to know their bathrooms were connected, so Owen escaped freely without Raffy noticing.“You pushed me off the bed, you brat!” Owen grabbed her by the waist and dragged her to his bedroom. He had been waiting on the other side of the bathroom door to surprise her.Regina laughed as he carried her on his shoulder and dumped her onto his bed. The blackout curtains were drawn closed in his bedroom to block out the sun, so it took time for her eyes to adjust.“I’m sorry, you were dead to the world, and desperate times required desperate measures.” It made her laugh because she had to use her feet to push Owen’s heavy, immovable body off the bed just to wake him. “I didn’t want a lecture from Raf so early in the morning.” She said when she felt Owen lie beside her.“What are you? Five? Still afraid of your brother?”
“So you got away scot-free?” Owen asked, as he slurped on the noodles from the Chinese restaurant. They were having takeout because Regina wanted time alone with him.He had never been in her apartment before. It was a small place, but she never complained about it, and he was glad that she had decorated it the way she wanted, unlike her apartment in the States, which had none of her personality.“Yeah, Raf was acting weird.”“What did he say?”“Nothing. I think something is bothering my brother. I just told him I was going out, and he agreed. Didn’t even ask where I was going.”“And Maggie?”“She was tired from the shopping trip this afternoon.”“And you’re not?”“No, not really. I was excited to see you.” Regina smiled shyly while taking a bite of her orange chicken.“I couldn’t pay attention to work either, in case you wanted to know.”“Owen, I have a question.”“Go ahead.”“Were we friends? Is that why we dated?”“No, I avoided you like the plague because of stupid reasons. Or rat
Regina stood proudly and pulled him off the couch. Owen was initially bothered that Regina would walk around the house naked when they were dating, but now he appreciated she had no reservations when showing off her body to him. It just told him she was comfortable in her skin and felt the same about him. Regina grew her hair during the last three months in France, and Owen thought she looked like a carefree, naked wood nymph luring him into her forest. It felt appropriate because Regina covered the accent wall in her bedroom with a green wallpaper with floral blooms, and the tall leafy plants she had in the corner of her room made it look woodsy. “Regina! I know you’re here. Your phone says—” Jason barged through the door, and his eyes rounded when he saw Owen, half-naked, standing in front of her bedroom door. “Get dressed. I’ll take care of him.” Owen pushed Regina into the room and shut the door. “No—“ she protested, but knew she had to get dressed before she faced Jason. “How
“Regina?” Owen opened the door carefully. He knew his actions might have upset her when he did not find her in the living room. He searched for his shirt on the floor but couldn’t find it. “Regina?” He called out and knocked on the bathroom door. “I’m here,” she called out from the bedroom, and he changed directions. “I’m sorry for causing a scene,” he said as he entered. “I shouldn’t have lost my cool. He makes me so jealous.” Regina sat on the bed facing the wall, her legs folded to the side, and he felt bad that she might be crying. Regina let Owen and Jason air out their differences in the hallway, because she did not care for men fighting over her. Jason had mentioned something about her accident, and she figured it was just something he wanted to say to piss Owen off. Unless they were both hiding something from her. “About what Jason said.” She turned her head sideways to look at him, but he still couldn’t see if she was okay. “I don’t care, Regina. I’m jealous, but we
“Honey, it’s time to leave,” Owen whispered in the dark. She stirred and turned around to hug him, automatically nuzzling his neck when her lips touched his skin. “Don’t want to go. Leave tomorrow.” Regina settled into his arms, content with their position. After making love, Regina used his arm as a pillow, while Owen hugged her from behind. “I can’t stay. Raf will know if we walk in together tomorrow.” “Let’s tell him we’re dating. He won’t care.” “You don’t know the past and he will kill me for taking advantage.” “Tell him I forced you to have sex with me.” Owen smiled. “If only it were that easy. Come on. I’ll sleep in your room tonight, or you can sleep in mine, so we don’t get caught.” “Carry me home. Tell them you found me drunk on the street.” Owen laughed while massaging her limbs, willing her body to wake up. “Come on, so we can go home and snuggle into bed or the bath if you want.” -=- When she arrived at Owen’s place, Regina acted like she was intoxicated. She wav
Unable to sleep that night, Regina attacks the arduous task of packing her clothes. She had amassed so many trinkets and added clothing in the last three months that, by the middle of the night, there were two piles. One to take home and the other to donate to charity. She had packed the bigger antiques she wanted to take home, so at least she had nothing else to worry about.Just when she was fetching her luggage from the storage closet, Owen called to let her know they had arrived home and were on their way to see his mother.Still burning with energy, Regina decided she would sleep after she packed one suitcase. She was emptying the pockets of her luggage when she found a diary and a box she did not recognize. Excited that Owen had left her a gift, she opened the box to find a memory stick. Confused, she opened the diary to see if there were any clues inside.Regina,If you are reading this, it means you are heading home and want to know more about your past. The main reason I wr
“Jason, remember that day we were making out here, in my apartment, and I called Owen’s name?” His mood darkened, and he glared at Regina for reminding him of that day. “I’d rather not.” “Well, I saw him in my dreams when we first kissed. And when I was kissing you again, my mind kept showing me images—” “Enough! That guy disrespected you during your father’s award ceremony, yet you keep forgiving him.” “I know, but—” “He fucked you in the bathroom like a regular whore, and yet you choose him?” “I wanted it to happen, and I do not regret it. If I was uncomfortable about having sex in the bathroom with Owen, then I would have stopped it immediately.” “I doubt it. You’ve always been blinded whenever it came to Owen.” “I know it sounds stupid. But that’s what you do when you’re in love.” “Do you know he dumped you because you had a baby?” Her eyes narrowed as she wondered how Jason knew of their child when her diary said the knowledge about her pregnancy was between her, Raffy,
Regina awoke the next day and bolted upright on the sofa, afraid that something had happened between her and Jason last night.“Shit,” she panicked as she stood and found her computer neatly closed on the coffee table. The box from the pizza was gone, and so were the plates. It was as if she dreamt the whole thing.After placing her clothes in the last luggage, Regina made her way to the nursing home to say goodbye to the women who took her in, and she was surprised to see Jason there, holding her favorite chocolate cake.“It wouldn’t be a proper goodbye if we didn’t have your favorite cake.”Regina felt moved. Even after rejecting him, Jason still made her feel special.“Thanks, Jace. I will never forget this.” She kissed his cheek, and everyone clapped.“He organized this party, so he deserves a kiss on the lips.” Ruthie chided, but Regina declined. Kissing her on the lips instead, making everyone laugh.“Thank you so much, ladies. I had so much fun spending time with you while I wa
“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