Song recommendation when reading this chapter: “First Time” by Teeks.
Regina woke up that morning and found the other side of her bed empty. She was naked, and the sheets were crumpled around her, so she knew last night was not a dream. She held the sheet to her chest when she heard the knob on her bedroom door turn before it opened. Owen wore a long white robe and pushed a breakfast cart inside her room. “I didn’t know if you wanted to eat yet, but I thought of bringing you breakfast in bed. There are eggs, fruit, croissant, oatmeal—.” Regina released the sheet in relief and plopped down on the bed, thankful that Owen hadn’t abandoned her. After the night they had, she didn’t think he would leave her, but in the back of her mind, she was still afraid he would. “What is it? What’s the matter?” Owen leaned over her and touched her forehead. “I thought you left me again.” She said, while looking at the ceiling. Regina did not want to ruin the mood with her concerns and felt uncomfortable talking about her feelings, especially when their relationship w
Owen would have wanted to cuddle with Regina in bed all day, but he had reservations to make, so their time in France would be well spent and memorable. Even though their hotel was right next door to the Eiffel Tower, and there was a perfectly good restaurant at the hotel, Owen still booked a reservation for lunch at the restaurant on the second floor of the tower. Regina felt like she was in a dream. In two days, Owen fulfilled all her wishes, and it was not only the opera and the expensive restaurants, but holding hands while they walked the streets of Paris, eating gelato, and just kissing her openly in front of other people, made her heart flutter. “Stop being naughty,” Regina whispered as she nipped Owen’s ear. They were sitting by the Medici Fountain, cooling off in the shade, when Owen licked the drippings from her pistachio ice cream off her arm and sucked on her fingers until they were clean. It surprised Regina that she almost dropped the dessert on the floor. They were
While Regina rummaged through her humongous purse to find her phone, François whispered to Owen, ‘Votre ta blonde est-elle attirée par un autre homme?’ “Is your girlfriend attracted to another man?” ‘Non, elle est simplement de nature sociable.’ “No, she is just naturally friendly.” ‘Je mettrais le holà à cette amitié si j’étais toi car Jason pourrait avoir des vues sur elle.’ “I’d put a stop to this friendship if I were you cause Jason might have his sights set on her.” “I am not worried,” Owen declared, to end the conversation. He was not comfortable that another man had sensed that Regina was keen on talking about Jason instead of him. “These are excellent pictures, aren’t they?” Regina showed François the collection of photos Jason uploaded and the chef was impressed. “Oui. I almost kicked him out, but I remembered to keep an open mind or I might lose the restaurant,” he teased Owen, but Regina was oblivious that Owen made a bargain with François to take Jason in as an apprent
After lunch, Francois kissed Regina on both cheeks before saying goodbye. “You are welcome to my restaurant anytime, Miss Regina. Take care of our Owen. His heart breaks easy.” He whispered. “Stop kissing my girlfriend.” Owen pushes Francois playfully. “Do not blink, or I will steal her from you.” “You wish. But she’s loyal to me.” Owen punches his arm. Regina smiled as she wrapped an arm around Owen’s back. “I really like him, so I think I’d keep him,” she said in a possessive tone, but still light enough that it sounded like she was teasing. Owen showed Regina around the building, introduced her to the apartment manager, and brought her to the roof deck. The decoration on the roof was a continuation of the square below them, adding to the appeal of the building. Plants and trees were planted everywhere, giving the roof deck a cooler atmosphere even though they were closer to the sun. “I love how you thought of every aspect of this building. From the lobby, the gift shop, the r
After having such a wonderful weekend, Owen was not prepared to face the problems Arthur was causing at the island hotel. “Gerry, why are you calling me when you know I’m busy? Are you my assistant or not?” “I am, sir. That’s why I know you are not busy right now.” “What are you implying?” “I’m just saying there is nothing on your calendar, so I thought it would be a good time to talk.” “It’s not. I have something to do, so hurry.” “Mr. Johnson is driving me up the wall. He keeps asking when he can go home.” “You’re bothering me with this? He stays until the project is finished. Does he not know that?” “Yes sir, he does, but he said we did not ask him if he was okay with it.” “Did you not tell him about the conditions before we sent him there?” “Uhm… about that, sir. We left in a hurry, so we never discussed the conditions.” “Is that my fault or yours?” “Mine, sir.” “So deal with it, and don’t call me again.” “But, sir--” Gerry tried to argue his point, not realizing Owen
Ever since the trip to Paris, Owen had been openly using the code Regina gave him to gain access to her apartment. She even gave him an extra key card so he could use the elevator late at night without bothering the doormen to escort him to the elevators.The couple had been spending a lot of late nights together since Owen usually got calls from their overseas projects right at the time she was done with work, which meant they could not spend time together until he finished his appointments.“Are you sure it’s okay that we can’t have dinner tonight? I have a last-minute conference call coming from Asia, and I won’t be at your place until later.”Lately, Owen had been ditching having dinner with his brothers to spend more time with Regina. He always used work as an excuse to avoid any interactions or confrontations with his family, so now it served as a good excuse for him to sneak out and see his girlfriend.“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just eat oatmeal for dinner. I think we need to
He called Regina at the end of the day and asked her to come to his office. They had a few minutes before Myles or Yvan came home when they could make out and spend some time together. But this time, Owen decided to be naughty. He did not waste time pulling Regina into his lap and sliding his hand into her pants. Regina moaned her protest when he inserted his finger inside her, but did not stop what he was doing. She let Owen nibble her ear while his fingers were busy stroking her folds. The thought of getting caught added to the excitement, and he had Regina coming in record time, faster than when they were naked together. She was still catching her breath, coming down from the high she felt after reaching her orgasm, when Owen pushed her off his lap and slapped her butt. “Go,” he said, “I’ll be right behind you. Get naked for me.” The last-minute conference call paused their plans. But now that he was home, Owen was eager to continue. -= “Owen, I want you. I touched myself whil
It all started as a game between Regina and Owen. They would sneak around and give each other chaste kisses whenever Owen was around. But then Regina gold bolder, testing how long Owen could hold off before he got turned on. Regina touched his abs mostly or ran her hand against his crotch to arouse him, but he had a powerful will, so he always won. He would catch her wrist and turn her around to push her away from him. He never tried to touch her inappropriately, fearing that someone would see them and misinterpret his actions. Nobody from his mother’s mansion knows about their relationship, and Owen does not want to explain anything to anybody if someone sees them. But the night before, he broke protocol and used his fingers to make her come. So that morning, knowing he would be in the house all day, Regina came in early, locked his office door, and knelt in front of his swivel chair. She massaged his thighs while asking him about mundane things she heard on the radio. Owen could
“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