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TWENTY

Author: Cosmix
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-24 23:43:43

Reigna

“Happy birthday to you…happy birthday, dear Reigna…”

The apartment felt colder than usual, even with the heater humming faintly in the background. I sat at the small table in the kitchen, staring at the flickering candle atop a store-bought cake I hadn’t even bothered to cut. The flame wavered, much like my resolve not to cry.

“Happy birthday to me.” Finishing the song that I sang for myself, I blew the candle, my eyes watched as the flames disappeared and smoke replaced the one bright light atop the cake.

Birthdays weren’t supposed to feel this empty.

A sudden knock at the door startled me, shattering the heavy silence. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Rising cautiously, I peered through the peephole, and my breath caught.

“Axle.” I whispered.l

My ex. The man who had shattered me into a million pieces and left me to pick up the shards. He was drenched from the rain, looking oddly out of place yet annoyingly confident, as if he belonged here.

I hesitated before opening the door. “Wha
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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-ONE

    ReignaThe morning felt like a cruel reminder of the night before. Pale sunlight filtered through the blinds, doing little to chase away the heaviness lingering in the air.I pulled my cardigan tighter around me, pacing the small space as I tried to make sense of the thoughts swirling in my head. Carlisle’s words replayed endlessly. Reigna won’t leave unless she’s told. Each time, it cut deeper.A knock on the door startled me. It wasn’t tentative; it was firm and deliberate. My heart leapt painfully in my chest. For a fleeting moment, I thought it was Carlisle.But when I opened the door, it wasn’t him. It was Axle, holding a brown paper bag and looking as unsure of himself as I’d ever seen him.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, the bitterness in my tone making his expression falter.“I—I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. His eyes darted past me to the apartment behind me. “I thought… I don’t know. I thought I’d drop this off and leave.”

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-TWO

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-FOUR

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-FIVE

    Reigna…I was spent.Carlisle leaned back against the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel and the other resting casually on the gearshift. His hair was slightly mussed from a long day, but the tension that usually creased his brow seemed lighter.Currently, as the sun begins to set, we are on our way back to his penthouse, bringing me home to the place where a little boy is waiting for me.“You’re awfully quiet,” he said, glancing sideways at me.I shrugged, fiddling with the hem of my sweater. “It’s… a lot to take in.”His lips twitched into a faint smirk, the kind that made my heart flip in a way I refused to admit. “You’ve been saying that all day.”“Well, it’s true,” I muttered, looking out the window. “You can’t just waltz into my apartment after—after that—and decide I belong in your penthouse again.”Carlisle’s smirk deepened. “I didn’t waltz. I knocked politely.” His tone is a little playful, a sign that we’ve been patching up the distance I pulled. Which I believe drew me cl

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-SIX

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-SEVEN

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-EIGHT

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Latest chapter

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-EIGHT

    ReignaErwin is asleep in his room, but here we are, seated in the penthouse’s bar and occupied by thoughts that none of us has yet to speak of.I stood a few feet away, watching him from behind as he leaned against the bar, his broad shoulders rigid with an unspoken weight. His fingers tightened around the whiskey glass before he brought it to his lips, taking a slow sip.“Carlise? It’s okay, I will listen about…about whatever runs in your mind.” I finally said, breaking the silence.Carlisle didn’t turn around. “Listen?”I let out a frustrated breath, but chose not to retort in his seemingly disinterested tone. “Yes. About what happened earlier. About Axle. About you punching him.”He exhaled sharply, setting his glass down with a little too much force. “It was nothing.”“Nothing?” I stepped closer, my heels clicking softly against the marble floor. “Carlisle, you punched him in front of everyone. You nearly lost your temper. That wasn’t nothing.”He let out a humorless chuckle, swi

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  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-SIX

    Carlisle“Are you sure you’re fine?”Reigna laughed, her soft voice rang as she exited the elevator before me. “Calmd own, Carlisle. I’m just going back to work. You don’t have to ask me that for eighteen times today.” She smiled, reminding me of how repetitive I am.Currently, we are on our way to the company, with her, as much as I hate to, insisted to go there the usual way—her booking a cab, and I follow behind with my car to avoid suspicions from the employees, and for me to keep her safe at the same time.“But you are carrying a lot of things.” I sighed, slowing down my pace to match hers. “Let me just-”“No.” she denied for the nth time, moving her hands away from mine as I tried to get the box she’s carrying. Apparently, she asked her best friend, Venice, to pack a few of her important things to be sent to her, and now she have to bring it back to the company.If only I could just take it from her, but I can’t make her feel I’m bossing her around like a do— “Okay.” I grumbled,

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-FIVE

    Reigna…I was spent.Carlisle leaned back against the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel and the other resting casually on the gearshift. His hair was slightly mussed from a long day, but the tension that usually creased his brow seemed lighter.Currently, as the sun begins to set, we are on our way back to his penthouse, bringing me home to the place where a little boy is waiting for me.“You’re awfully quiet,” he said, glancing sideways at me.I shrugged, fiddling with the hem of my sweater. “It’s… a lot to take in.”His lips twitched into a faint smirk, the kind that made my heart flip in a way I refused to admit. “You’ve been saying that all day.”“Well, it’s true,” I muttered, looking out the window. “You can’t just waltz into my apartment after—after that—and decide I belong in your penthouse again.”Carlisle’s smirk deepened. “I didn’t waltz. I knocked politely.” His tone is a little playful, a sign that we’ve been patching up the distance I pulled. Which I believe drew me cl

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-FOUR

    Reigna[RED WARNING]My barely filled apartment felt so suffocating right now. My things may be at Carlisle’s, but with the tension building between us, everything seemed to hold me on a chokehold.“Reigna-”Cutting him off, I kissed him again, venting my frustrations to my actions as I kept him by his collar, a hand on his tousled hair while his large, calloused, hands, were left with no choice but to respond and hold me close, trapping me just right in his arms as he kissed me back with the intensity which makes my head spin.“Stop pushing me away.” I mumbled after parting away, breathless with my forehead against his. “This is the game you wanted, Carlisle. Let me play.”As I fumbled with his buttons, he stopped my wrists, lacking force. “Not like this, Reigna. You’re just emotional and-”“Daddy.” I breathed as I looked up, I didn’t let him finish and just stepped closer, deliberately pressing more to subtly palm his clothed length. “Please, let me.” Unmasking my desperation to be h

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-THREE

    ReignaThe past few days had blurred together, each one more suffocating than the last. I’d stopped going to work, stopped answering calls. My apartment had become my sanctuary and my prison, the walls closing in as I avoided the world outside. The ache in my chest refused to subside, but at least here, alone, I didn’t have to pretend.I was curled up on the couch, the television humming softly in the background, though I hadn’t been paying attention to it for hours. A knock at the door startled me out of my haze. My heart sank. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and I didn’t want to see anyone either.The knocking grew louder, more insistent.“Reigna! Open the door!”Emma.I froze, gripping the edge of the couch. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the silence of the apartment.“I told you, we should leave.” Another voice joined hers, lower and more frustrated. Axle.My stomach churned. Before I could decide what to do, the door flew open from God knows what kind of trick, and there they we

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-TWO

    CarlisleThe penthouse was eerily silent, save for the distant hum of the city lights below. Erwin’s muffled cries from the other room were a stark contrast to the usual laughter and chatter that filled the space when Reigna was here.“Why isn’t mommy coming home lately?”The emptiness pressed against me like a physical weight. I leaned heavily against the kitchen counter, staring blankly at the remnants of dinner—a shattered bowl on the floor, spaghetti sauce splattered across the pristine white tiles.“Did I do something wrong that mommy wants to leave Erwin behind?”The evening had been a disaster. Every attempt to calm Erwin, to coax him into eating, had been met with resistance. Reigna would have known what to do—she always did. But she wasn’t here, and I was failing.Tonight, like any other nights, his gentle questions turned into loud cries and tantrums.“Mommy!” Erwin’s voice pierced the quiet, sharp and tearful. “I want Mommy!”I turned toward the living room, my patience alre

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY-ONE

    ReignaThe morning felt like a cruel reminder of the night before. Pale sunlight filtered through the blinds, doing little to chase away the heaviness lingering in the air.I pulled my cardigan tighter around me, pacing the small space as I tried to make sense of the thoughts swirling in my head. Carlisle’s words replayed endlessly. Reigna won’t leave unless she’s told. Each time, it cut deeper.A knock on the door startled me. It wasn’t tentative; it was firm and deliberate. My heart leapt painfully in my chest. For a fleeting moment, I thought it was Carlisle.But when I opened the door, it wasn’t him. It was Axle, holding a brown paper bag and looking as unsure of himself as I’d ever seen him.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, the bitterness in my tone making his expression falter.“I—I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. His eyes darted past me to the apartment behind me. “I thought… I don’t know. I thought I’d drop this off and leave.”

  • Seven Minutes in Heaven   TWENTY

    Reigna“Happy birthday to you…happy birthday, dear Reigna…”The apartment felt colder than usual, even with the heater humming faintly in the background. I sat at the small table in the kitchen, staring at the flickering candle atop a store-bought cake I hadn’t even bothered to cut. The flame wavered, much like my resolve not to cry.“Happy birthday to me.” Finishing the song that I sang for myself, I blew the candle, my eyes watched as the flames disappeared and smoke replaced the one bright light atop the cake.Birthdays weren’t supposed to feel this empty.A sudden knock at the door startled me, shattering the heavy silence. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Rising cautiously, I peered through the peephole, and my breath caught.“Axle.” I whispered.lMy ex. The man who had shattered me into a million pieces and left me to pick up the shards. He was drenched from the rain, looking oddly out of place yet annoyingly confident, as if he belonged here.I hesitated before opening the door. “Wha

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