Do you think these two are moving too fast? Do you agree with Ronnie?
Hailey was confused. People were speaking so fast that she did not understand what was happening. Mandy had left, so she had no one to tell her what to do. Ronnie said he was a doctor, so she followed him when he instructed her to go with Owen so they can head home. She still did not know why she needed to go home with him, but followed the doctor with friendly eyes, anyway. “Mom, I’m sending you home with the driver. I brought my car over so I will see you at our house,” Owen instructed James not to do any side trips and head straight for home. Owen started the car, but at the doors to the lobby, he saw someone familiar, and he wouldn’t have said anything except that he just left Regina alone and did not want anybody else to call on her. Especially not this guy. He grabbed onto the man’s arm before he could even press the intercom for the doorman. “What are you doing here, Arthur? It’s the weekend. What business do you have with Regina?” “What if I’m not here to see her? Did yo
Owen frowned. Kids usually repeat what adults say, so he wondered if Regina had introduced Jason as her boyfriend. “I’m your—” “Uncle Jason is not my boyfriend, sweetie,” Regina said to remedy the situation, but her niece was unconvinced. “He should be your boyfriend because he brought us sweets,” added the one further from Owen, and he was surprised that the girls looked identical. “What did you bring us?” the twin beside Owen asked, but both stared at him pointedly. “He brought us chocolate cake,” Regina replied, saving Owen from their wrath. “Okay, I vote for him,” the girl beside Owen yelled. “And I vote for him. He has dimples,” the one beside Jason replied. “Sorry guys, they’re twins, and their names are Thing 1 and Thing 2.” She giggled after referencing their favorite fantasy movie, Alice in Wonderland. “Auntie Reggieee,” they both whined in unison. “What? Are you embarrassed? They’re not your boyfriends. They don’t care.” The twin six-year-olds looked at their chosen
“Don’t be so dramatic. You didn’t see anything.”“I did, and that will be hard to scrub from my memory. Maybe a few more weeks of babysitting will completely erase it.”“Hah! You wish.” She countered.“I think you should tell these guys to get dressed. My wife is drooling too much.” Regina laughed. Her brother was not wrong.Owen and Jason were eye candy. They looked like they hit the gym regularly as their muscles and abs looked toned, but Owen had more definition.Regina blushed when she remembered they were all over each other the day before, and she had her fingers touching and exploring his body.She had to fan herself before announcing that it was time to shower so they could get dressed and eat dessert before they headed home.Ronnie and Carmen used Regina’s bathroom while she ushered the men to the extra bedrooms to give them their toiletries. “I really appreciate that you stayed when my nieces begged so hard and cried for you to stay.”“How could I say no? I’m a sucker for p
As soon as they all finished eating the cake Owen brought from Jason’s cafe, Ronnie declared it was time to go home. Callia and Reana began to protest and come up with different excuses so they could stay. “Mom, I haven’t finished my drawing yet. Owen was helping me.” “Me too. I want to finish mine with Jason.” Ronnie could see that his daughters had overstayed their welcome. The men looked exhausted from playing with them all day, and it was time to give them back their space. “Ask your dad,” Carmen replied, and Ronnie gave a meaningful glare at his daughters, and they packed up their things quietly. She knew they were afraid of their father, so she used him as an excuse whenever she did not want to give in to their demands. Regina packed up the leftover cake and sent it home with Carmen, as she knew her sister-in-law loved the cake as much as she did. “You should just date the chef, so we have chocolate cake all the time,” Carmen whispered as they said their goodbyes. Regina
Regina ran to her apartment as soon as the elevator opened. She used the deadbolt to lock the door because she felt unnerved about Arthur’s visit. “Who are you hiding from, and why did you lock the door?” Regina grinned to cover her uneasiness. “I did not want to be disturbed by any of my relatives tonight, and the only way to do that was to lock the door.” “And you think that will keep them away?” “I’m not sure, but I am not taking chances,” she said before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. She felt bold. Now that everyone was gone, she wanted to continue what they started in the kitchen the other day, but she still felt Owen holding back. “Did you kiss your other boyfriend goodbye?” he asked, avoiding her kisses by averting his head. “Oh, stop being jealous. I didn’t kiss Jason, but I hugged him.” Owen’s pupils dilated as his nose flared. “When are you going to learn that you are dating me and your relationship with other men needs to end,” he said, pinning h
Near the door, he found a baseball bat and took that with him just in case an intruder was on the premises. Owen waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The patio was partly illuminated by the light from the living room and the kitchen, but since the rest of the house was dark, so were the areas near the bedrooms. Anybody could lurk in the shadows, and Owen was not taking any chances, not when it would put Regina in danger. The sound he heard came from a person or a big animal, and since they were several floors up, an animal couldn’t get up there. Regina wrapped the blanket around her body and switched on the outdoor lights to help Owen see better. In an instant, the whole area was bright as day. Outside, they found three dead birds with their feathers stuck to three different windows. “Did they hit the window and die?” Regina asked. “I told you to stay inside.” Owen was halfway through the courtyard and stopped his search. He returned to where Regina stood, in case she ne
“Hmm…” Regina stretched and found her arms enclosed in Owen’s biceps. The couple had slept with their arms and legs wrapped around each other after Owen tried to soothe her nightmares away. “This is going to be a habit, isn’t it?” Regina burrowed under Owen’s neck, inhaling his musky scent. “What is?” he asked sleepily, tightening his arms and legs around her so Regina felt his arousal digging into her abdomen. “Me waking up with your arms wrapped around me.” “The sofa was not big enough. I did not want to fall.” Regina looked over his shoulder. “There’s a lot of space behind you. Stop crowding me.” Owen groaned and held her tighter with his legs. She closed her eyes and thrust her hips against him when she felt his shaft twitch against her belly. “There are consequences to your actions. You’ll end up in bed all day if you don’t stop that.” “Maybe I shouldn’t go to work, and just spend the day with you?” Regina reached up to align their lips. Owen groaned after he indulged in
Regina came in early that day to see Owen before he left for work. As she pulled into the driveway, Regina got excited to see someone standing outside the mansion, expecting it to be Owen waiting for her. But her face fell when she saw it was Arthur. “Hey Arthur! What are you doing here so early? I thought your work didn’t start until eight.” “Oh, I came to see you and apologize for my behavior last weekend.” “It’s okay. I’m busy most weekends, so it’s hard to schedule anything. You just need to let me know in advance so you don’t wait in front of my apartment.” “Well, you weren’t answering my messages, and I wanted to see you.” “I saw you every day last week, plus waiting outside my apartment gives a terrible impression.” The dog happily barked inside the car and took Regina’s attention as Owen sauntered toward Arthur. “Arthur, I heard you’ve been here every day for the past week. I don’t remember my uncle mentioning you’d be here today.” Owen said, as Regina left Arthur’s side
“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