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
Caelan and Owen met at the bar where Regina’s friends held her going away party. The place was enormous enough for them to hide in plain sight while watching over her.Owen met Caelan when he studied in France. During the weekends, they would play soccer, and having just left the British Royal Army, he had no job prospects. It was the summer break, and Owen had not gone home, so he needed to earn money.They heard that the apartment Owen was occupying was hiring hands to renovate unusable units, so together with François, they applied and were immediately employed. They bonded over their crappy job during the day and beer after work hours.Seeing the potential of the building prompted Owen to buy the place later, when the owner sold it so he could retire. Owen appointed Caelan as the manager and caretaker of the property, making it easy for them to watch over Regina.“What’s the status, my friend?” Owen asked as he sat beside Caelan in a booth at the backmost area of the bar, in full
“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