Drip, drip, drip. I feel his icy heart melting.
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
Without looking at the message sender, Regina rushed to the lobby. “I am sorry for coming unannounced, but I am glad you came to see me.” “Ms. Regina, I was about to call you.” Jeffrey looked at the man with Regina suspiciously, wondering if he was the man who sent all those flowers. But when he saw the frown on Regina’s face, he knew it was someone else. It was not his business to monitor who came to see her, but in the years he had worked for the building, he came to care for the sweet young lady who always asked about his well-being. So he kept an eye out in case she needed his help. “Thank you, Jeffrey. I came down to see someone else, but he’s here, so we’ll be out in the gardens. Call me when my visitor arrives.” “I will, Ms. Regina.” “I do not want to be rude, Arthur, but why are you here?” “Regina, I didn’t like the way our date ended last time.” “It was not a date, Arthur. I saw you at the mall and agreed to have dinner as a courtesy for the inconvenience I caused you.
The next few days, Regina occupied her time by going to work in the mornings and playing games with Arthur at night. After the flowers, she had not heard from Owen ever since, and she did not want to bother him, so playing video games diverted her attention from worrying so much. Because of Owen’s absence, she did not notice that Arthur would show up at the Bennet mansion and say hi to her in the mornings. Regina did not question why he was there, thinking he had some errand from Mr. Dalton. They would talk about the game for a few minutes until Bella started barking in the car. The dog did not like Arthur, even though Regina did everything to get them closer. Bella would sniff at his hand holding the treats, but she would never take them, snarling at him instead. So Regina kept her in the car while she talked to Arthur. Sometimes it was Myles or Yvan that would cut their conversations short, especially because both men were fond of Bella, and they would come out specifically to
Regina inhaled sharply as Owen moved to the other side of her neck, left bare when she stopped him from his earlier move. She closed her eyes as Owen rubbed his chin on it. “Is it my turn?” she said through her teeth when he stopped She wanted to play hard to get, but it was her fault they haven’t communicated the past few days, and she wanted to make up for it. And since most of the people in the house did not know he was home yet, nobody would barge into his office to find him, so they had the room to themselves. Regina unbuttoned his half-open shirt while kissing his neck. “I missed you, and I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.” Owen did not think he’d miss her. When she said nothing after sending the gifts over, he thought she was too overwhelmed to say anything. He went overboard with the flowers and the size of the teddy bear because he wanted to make up for the time they spent apart and the lack of communication on his end. The vases signified the number of days he would be
That Saturday, Regina had a visitor early in the morning. Jeffrey announced on the intercom that Owen was downstairs to see her, so she answered to send him upstairs. Still in her short silk pjs, she opened the door sleepily, uncaring if Owen saw her without makeup or sleep in her eyes. Owen held his temper in check. He came to apologize, but Regina was already pushing his limit. Regina wore nothing to cover her sleepwear, a silk camisole set that was half decent from the front, but as soon as she turned around, it looked more like lingerie than something she should sleep in. The shorts were cut high on her thighs, covering half her butt cheeks, while the back of her top was held together by pieces of string. He tried to tamp down the stirring inside him, but Regina made it harder when she laid on the couch like a sleeping cat and hugged the long pillow between her thighs. “What do you want?” she asked with a yawn. “I don’t have work today, and you would have sent me a message i
Regina woke up to the sound of soft snoring beside her ear. She thought it was Bella sprawled beside her when she felt her whole body pinned down. She turned her head and remembered Owen asking if he could stay and rest for a bit, but she wondered how they came to sleep side by side. It was something they’d have to talk about later, but at the moment, she smiled and closed her eyes. She did not want to wake him up, knowing he had a very tiring trip, so she just enjoyed the arm he had around her, keeping her warm. When she woke up the second time, she was facing Owen with her legs and arms wrapped around his body. One of his arms acted as her pillow, while the other tangled with the strings on her back. She needed to use the bathroom and did not know how to get up without waking him. But she needn’t worry because, after a few minutes, she felt him stir. He hugged her tighter and rubbed his morning wood against her body. “Owen, you need to wake up. I need to go to the bathroom.” S
“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