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