Uh oh, sizing up the competition, eh?
“Thank you for bringing me breakfast. You want to take some of it home. I can’t finish all of this.” Regina was trying to dismiss him, so she could get back to relaxing, but he couldn’t take the hint. “Sure,” he nodded. “I heard you ran in the mornings, so I wanted to go with you.” “Are you implying I’m fat?” Regina was on her 2nd pastry and wondered when he was leaving. “It’s the weekend, and I try to rest for the next two days.” “That’s fine with me. We can stay in all day. I bet we have a lot to explore about each other.” He grinned mischievously, like a man with ideas in his head, and all of them required getting naked. “Your idea of a date is not fun,” she mumbled while chewing her food to avoid replying to his sexual innuendo. “It’s okay if you’re not up to it. We can take a walk so you don’t get left behind.” “I see what’s happening. You fed me pastries so you can outrun me.” Owen laughed. “No. I got those because I didn’t know what you ate for breakfast. There’s ham and
Regina swam all the way to the other side, expecting Owen to stay on the sidelines when she got pulled back under the water. She turned around, and Owen pushed her back up to the top. She sputtered water while laughing and threading the water on the deep end to keep afloat. “You’re awful!” “And you are a big tease.” Owen splashed more water on her. They did several more laps before ending up on the lounge chairs, exhausted from all the exercise. After lying in the sun a bit, Regina took out all the pastries Owen brought with him earlier and served more iced tea on the patio table. “I can show you the bathroom if you want to get out of your wet clothes.” “My workout clothes have moisture-wicking qualities. They’re already dry.” “I’ll take a shower later after you finish eating.” “Well, I eat slow. I want to relish the food and enjoy the outdoors.” “I’m not complaining.” “Being at the hospital all day got me cooped up. The only time I saw daylight was when I took a break. I
“My sister is a character, isn’t she?” Owen nodded and waited for Ronnie to say more, anticipating the lecture he knew was coming. “Regina is the youngest member of my family, and my parents gave up hope of ever having a daughter until she came. I was a teenager when she arrived, and she was the most precious thing I’ve ever held in my arms, so you understand why we love her a lot. It is also the reason we get protective.” Ronnie poured himself a mug of coffee and offered Owen one when they walked to the kitchen to sit at the counter. Owen never thought of Regina other than as a blonde bimbo who was out to get him and his brothers, but getting some input from her brother changed his perspective. Now he could see her as a sister with very caring brothers. There were three of them in the pictures, and now he could see how she got her spunk to speak up to him. “I understand,” he answered. “I trust Regina, and if she said nothing happened here today or last night, then I will believe
“Regina?” “Come in.” She knew only one person wanted to see her at the moment, and she was ready to start with the badgering. “Do you like this guy?” “What?” “You invite him to your apartment and let him walk around naked. Do you like this guy?” “I don’t know. He wants to date me, but I’m not sure. Did you scare him off like the others?” Regina peeked from her walk-in closet to see Ronnie’s reaction. He sneered, “If he easily gets intimidated, then he is not for you. You need a stronger man.” “So, does he pass your test?” “I don’t know yet. He seems capable, but that’s only from what I read about him. Is he your type?” “I’m attracted to him because he’s sort of unpredictable. Not your regular, boring, calculated guy. So I guess I’m intrigued.” He smirked. “That might be an outstanding trait or a terrible trait. So make sure you know him before you jump into whatever this is.” Regina took her time changing clothes while they were talking, so Ronnie tried to sit on the bed, bu
Regina closed the door and said, “I’m sorry about my brother. He rarely comes by, so I was surprised as you were when he barged in here today.” “It’s okay. I understand why it pissed Ronnie off. I would too if I found my sister with a naked man walking around our apartment.” “After that ordeal, I think I lost a ton of pounds. I feel hungry again. Do you want to stay and have lunch? I’m whipping up this new recipe. Care to be my guinea pig.” Owen never tasted her cooking before, so he was a bit afraid it wouldn’t be good, and he would end up insulting her. He wanted them to date, so everything had to be smooth. “Are you sure you don’t want to order in? I think you’d be tired after the morning we had.” Regina’s heartbeat felt like it was coming from her ears, as Owen came closer and leaned over her on the sofa. She did not know why she felt a tingling feeling now when she’d been trying to avoid him all day. The conversation with her brother made her look at things differently. It
He shook his head. “I have something else to ask you.” She nodded for him to continue as she took another mouthful of chicken. “Remember that day, uhm…” Owen cleared his throat. “Which one?” “The FMK day?” “Oh geez, don’t tell me you want to ask me about that comment. That was a joke. It was before I got to know you. Can we leave that behind?” Regina covered her face with the napkin she had in her hand. “That’s not what I was going to ask. We can discuss that later.” Owen took the napkin away so he could look at her directly. “You left your notebook at the house that day.” Regina stared at him, and the color drained from her face as realization dawned on her. “You read the notebook?” Owen nodded. “Yeah, it had my mom’s medical and progress information, so I couldn’t help but browse through it.” “Did you see anything else?” Regina felt scared, not because there were drawings of Owen in the notebook, but because of her secret. She had drawn Owen in all states of undress and e
For the next few days, Regina felt a calm settle in the Bennet mansion. Owen was still there in the morning when she arrived, but he was more pleasant when they conversed. He never lingered to criticize her work and came home later to do his workout, so as not to disrupt his mom’s routines.It was a refreshing change for Regina, as she did not need to watch her step whenever she was at work.“Girl, what happened to Mr. Broody?” Marius was giving Mrs. Bennet her massage when he asked the questions.“Mr. Broody? Is he a patient or a doctor?”“Mr. Broody, aka dark cloud hanging over his head all the time.”“Who are you referring to, Marius? Stop speaking in code.”“I thought you said not to mention their names around Mrs. B, in case she listens to our conversations.”“Oh, I forgot about that. What were you asking?”“Did you see him lately? He doesn’t glare at you anymore, and he always looks like he wants to say something to you, but he hesitates.”“Oh, that. Well, I guess we came to an
Regina stood and took a few steps away from Owen and his very enticing lips. It was hard for her to concentrate whenever they kissed. “We fight like cats and dogs. That’s not a healthy relationship.” “Every couple fights.” Owen sat on the chair and crossed his legs. “We just need to talk like we did yesterday,” he said nonchalantly. Regina pursed her lips. She had no argument in dating him. She just felt there was something Owen was not telling her, just like she hadn’t told him about her real identity. Her brother was right, she had to come clean before they dated. “You know nothing about me. What if you end up hating my family?” “Isn’t that what dating is for? To know each other?” He shrugged. “I have to tell you everything.” “You don’t need to right now. We can do this slowly.” Regina was frustrated. She wanted to be honest, but she felt like he was not listening. She wrung her hands, ready to confess, but Owen stood, and she paused to stare as he came closer, making her fo
“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