Whoa! Arthur became aggressive in just a few seconds. Stay away from him Regina.
Regina sped away, realizing Owen’s shoes were still in Arthur’s possession. The only thing she came for so she could keep her job, and now who knows what would happen?The next day, she was not surprised when Arthur came by to drop off the package, but seeing him got her defenses up.“Why are you here, Arthur?” Regina rudely asked as she let Bella out of her car, not caring that the dog growled at him ferociously.“I’m sorry about last night. Here, I brought the shoes because I knew they were important to you.” Bella snapped at the package as Arthur came closer.“You can keep them. I’ll talk to Mr. Bennet and ask for more time. They’re just shoes. I can get them anywhere.”“Regina, please,” Arthur held her hand to stop her, letting go quickly when the dog reached for his arm. “I got ahead of myself and was overcome with my feelings. I apologize for not stopping when you asked.”“I don’t know, Arthur. I need to think about it.”The clouds were getting darker, and it was threatening to r
The whole morning, Yvan played with Bella and walked with his mom while she did her morning routine. It was as if the model had nothing else to do with his time but hang out with the dog.“Aren’t you supposed to be out doing a photo shoot or posting your outfit of the day on social media?”They just finished lunch, and Marius had just joined them. The physical therapist elbowed Regina and scolded her with his eyes while pulling her back so he could hiss at her.“Don’t make him leave. This is the first time I’ve exchanged more words with him than hi and bye.”Regina rolled her eyes. “You’re responsible when he gets pesky.”When Marius and Regina returned to the garden, mother and son were munching on chocolates from a box.“Where did you get those chocolates? You’re going to ruin your mother’s appetite and give her indigestion.”“Mom brought it out of her room. And I’m not telling her no when she looked so happy about it.”“You should. It’s your responsibility to help your mother live l
The next few days had been quiet. Most of the Bennet boys were out of town and busy with their jobs, so Regina had some reprieve from their antics, but Bella stared out the windows a lot, looking for them.The house became quiet, and it was easy to see why Mrs. Bennet’s health declined when her best friend passed away. Without her husband or children to keep her company, her memory just wilted away.With the family back home and the health care workers arriving daily, the house and Mrs. Bennet felt alive again.“Good night Mrs. Bennet. I will come back on Monday.”“Enjoy your weekend, Mandy. Say hello to your brothers.”It was Friday, and Regina was going out to dinner with Raffy and his wife that night, so she needed to hurry.She was looking forward to dining with them since it had been a while since she saw the couple, and they were going to Regina’s favorite steak restaurant.“I have been dreaming about the steak here all night, and I cannot wait to have dessert. Since you’re buyin
Regina began to lose her patience. “Mr. Bennet, can you please let me go?” “No, tell me you’re going to end this tonight.” Owen blocked her every move, and the more she pushed, the more he backed her into the corner. “I’m not doing anything wrong.” “Yes, you are, Regina. You are sleeping with a married man.” “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sleeping? First, I’m dating, and now I’m sleeping with him?” She felt angrier about being misjudged. “I can tell you this is further from the truth. I am not sleeping with Raffy, and we are not cheating on Maggie.” It pissed him off some more that they were on a first-name basis, and she had a nickname for the doctor. “No? Then just promise me you’ll end this now.” “There is nothing to end.” “End it.” He glared, but she was too stubborn to explain their situation or yield to his demand. “And if I don’t?” She taunted him, goading him into getting angrier. “I’ll give you another reason.” “Good luck with that because—” Owen gave her a warm, breathless
That same night, as Regina paced around her bedroom, she heard the intercom ring from the lobby. ‘It must be them. Shit! Should I ignore them? They’re probably here to scold me.’ “Ms. Regina,” Jeffrey, the doorman, phoned to tell her she had a guest. “Yes, Jeffrey?” “There’s a Mr. Owen Bennet here to see you.” ‘Of course, it’s not Raffy. They wouldn’t have announced their arrival. They’d just come up.’ “Ms. Regina? Should I send him away?” He asked when she failed to acknowledge him. “Send him up.” “Are you sure? It’s kind of late, and you’ve never invited anyone upstairs before.” He whispered into the phone. “Thank you for your concern, Jeffrey. I’m too tired today, and I have to talk to this guy privately.” “But Ms. Regina—” “It’s okay, Jeffrey. He hates me like the plague, so I doubt he’ll do anything,” she argued. Jeffrey looked at Owen with scrutiny. He doubted the gentleman hated Ms. Regina, as he carried the most beautiful flowers Jeffrey had ever seen. It looked
“Okay, I made sure Mr. tall, dark, and handsome is nowhere to be found. I even braved to check his office to make sure.” Marius looked around and made sure none of the household staff were within hearing range either. He opened and closed doors as they readied Mrs. Bennet for her afternoon exercise. “Who are you talking about, Mandy?” “Whatever it is you’re asking, my answer is no.” Regina glared at Marius. “No? But I haven’t asked my question yet.” “What is the question, dear? Ask me. I know a lot of things.” “I know what it is, and the answer is still no.” “What are you saying no to, Mandy? That man on the couch with you?” Regina caught Mrs. Bennet and her not-so-subtle wink, but she was thankful Marius was intent on asking his question and missed a very juicy gossip. Regina signaled, zipping her lips, and Mrs. Bennet nodded before giggling. “So my question was, could anyone ever resist his charms? Then I would have followed with, could you?” “And since you answered no—“
A few weeks ago, Mrs. Bailey woke up with enough energy and motivation to do the usual things she did around the house, so she requested Regina to accompany her shopping. During her heyday, she was a fashion icon. Paparazzi would follow her around to find out her latest attire, what she loved to eat, and who among the designers she favored. She had an expert eye for spotting potential newcomers, so designers always sent her stuff to try, but Hailey always loved being out in the mall. It excited her to see clothes on mannequins and bags displayed on the shelves, calling for her to take them home. Like Regina, she had an obsession with purses, and because she had a disposable income, she just bought everything she fancied. “Regina, do you have the latest Dior purse?” Regina was checking out the fragrances to distract herself from looking at the purses. It was not in her budget to buy one right now when she just splurged on the Gucci purse she had on her arm. “It’s painful to l
“Welcome to Tesoro Cafe. How can I help you?” A female server cheerily greeted Owen as soon as he approached the counter. “I want to talk to the owner of this cafe.” “Hi, I’m Jason, and I own this cafe. How can I help you?” Jason replied, though just one look at Owen told him looking for the owner early in the morning would end in a disaster. “I believe you are a friend of Regina’s.” “Who are you?” Jason’s defenses were up at the mention of her name. “I want you to wrap up all her favorite breakfast items immediately.” “You cannot buy her affection with pastries. She’s much classier than that.” “You bribe her with favors and these sweet things all the time. That’s why she’s here every day, isn’t she?” Owen smirked. “That’s none of your business.” Jason’s eyes narrowed. “It is my business because she is important to me.” “If she was so important, why did you let your mother order all those things and leave Regina with the bill?” “What? I thought my mom took care of those. Re
“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