Elena was not expecting an answer from Marcus when she asked the question but she was acting hopeful. However, the scowl on Marcus's face indicated the conversation was over and the question would remain unanswered. He got up and packed the plates, "It's getting late. You should head to bed, you've had quite a day.""Marcus—""Thanks for the meal," he said cutting her off and putting the dirty dishes in the sink."Marcus, come on, don't do this.""I shouldn't do the dishes? I didn't take you as someone who contributed to the patriarchy—""You know what I'm talking about. Don't be that Marcus, don't shut me out." She walked closer to him and put a gentle hand on his tense shoulder. Marcus let out a shaky breath, "shutting people out is kind of my thing, sweetheart.""Okay, fine. You don't have to talk about it, just don't be moody Marcus, at least not this weekend." Marcus gave her a small smile then squeezed her hand, "I'll try,""So what's the agenda for tomorrow?""Well it's going
Elena woke up to the sound of a door slamming downstairs. She reached towards the other side of the bed but it was empty. She sat up and frowned, feeling stupid for thinking this morning would be like the last, especially after the night she had with Marcus. She got up and took a quick shower before going downstairs to see what the ruckus was about. Marcus was in the living area, shirtless and only wearing briefs, his phone was pressed against his ear as he yelled profanities at whoever was on the other line.“What do you mean by down by fifty per cent? Do you know how much I've put on the line for this deal to work? You don't get to tell me— No, I will not calm down! Now you listen to me, you tell them about the contract we signed, at least a month's notice, that's what it says, and I can have me lawyer fly down there to refresh their memories— yeah you do that. No, none of that. I'll be back tomorrow. Yes, I know what I'm doing! A month is more than enough time for my backup. I'll
The trip back home was exactly as one would expect — awkward.Marcus had not made a move to talk to Elena and neither had she. She was done with all of it, the mixed signals, shutting her out, everything. She was done with Marcus and she hoped the look on her face was a dead giveaway for that.Marcus could not exactly live with himself after last night. He had slept on the couch after they had gotten home and woke up in the middle of the night to check on Elena only to hear her crying in their room, and it was all his fault.He couldn't apologise, because if he did he would have to tell her about his feelings— all of it— and Eliza might not believe him. That would hurt way more than her slamming the door in his face.When the car came to a slow stop in front of her apartment, Marcus wanted to say something, anything at all that might make Elena hate him less but before he could open his mouth to speak, Elena had gotten out of the car, grabbed her things and then speed walked to her ap
“Gavin?”“Yeah, hey.”“Hey.”Elena looked down at the flowers in his hands, roses. She hated roses but she smiled as he handed it to her. “For you, I thought you might be back.” “Thank you. How did you know I left?”“I came over on Sunday and the nice lady down the hall told me you left.”“Did you just call Mrs. Pick nice?” she asked perplexed. In her entire time of living in this apartment, the old British lady had never flashed a smile in her direction. “I don't know her name but she offered me cookies, seemed pretty nice to me.” Elena looked at Gavin like he was crazy, and he smiled back at her with so much warmth. “So are you going to invite me in or should we talk in your hallway?” “Sorry, it just seems surreal seeing you here,” Elena said as she fumbled with her keys.“We talked a few days ago.” He reminded.“Feels like forever,” “Believe me, it felt like it.”Elena pushed open the door and ushered Gavin in. “How have you been?” She asked as she put the roses in an empty va
“So are you going to talk to her?” Gavin asked as he mixed some pancake batter in a bowl. He was shirtless with only an apron covering his chest and Elena could not help but ogle at him from the stool where she sat, wearing his shirt.It had been a week since Elena agreed to be with Gavin and it had been a dream for sure. He was spontaneous, taking her out on random dates, picking her up from work, buying her ice cream, dropping her off at the hospital and also making her pancakes for breakfast.“Emily?” Elena asked dipping her finger into the batter and getting her hand swapped away by Gavin. “Yes, Emily. Her surgery is in two days, don't you want to settle all of this before she enters that room?”“Trust me, I do. Seeing her these past few days all drugged up has made me realise that she deserves this.”“Then giving her your approval and support could help, it would be a mood lifter with the surgery coming up,”“I guess you're right.” She said with a sigh.“I'm Gavin, I'm always rig
Elena could not shake off the feeling that Marcus was still involved in her life, or at least trying to be. It did not make any sense and it annoyed her. After all this time, she was finally moving on and he pulled that?She got to her apartment building and was heading inside when someone called her name. “Elena!” She turned to see her landlord, Herald.“Herald, hi.”Elena did not have a very good relationship with her landlord, mostly because she was always behind on rent and he never had pity. She always saw him as a grumpy old man who never smiled, but now he was smiling at her.“How have you been?”“I'm good, and you?”“Never been better. Finally got rid of this old place, and for a good price too.”“You sold the building?”“Yes,”“I didn't know it was for sale. How would this affect our rent?” She asked, nervously.“It reduces it. The notice is on your door somebody was feeling generous enough to throw money away and decided to buy this dump. It doesn't matter, I'm five times ri
The next few days felt like a dream. Emily had come back home to their tiny apartment and Elena planned a small welcome back party for her, it was supposed to be a little get-together where she would invite Gavin too and officially introduce him as her boyfriend.“So it's just going to be me, you and Derek right?” Emily asked as she set down plates on their small dining table. She had moved from using a wheelchair to crutches, and in a few days, and with more physical therapy she would be able to walk unaided, Elena could not wait.“Not exactly,” Elena said then set an extra plate, “We have another guest,” “Is it Marcus? I've always wondered what he looked like,” Elena felt her mood change almost immediately. She had not talked to Marcus ever since she called him to yell and he sounded sorry.“Are you okay, El?” “Yes, I'm fine. And no, it's not Marcus. It's Gavin,”“What? I thought you guys were done,” “We were, and it was complicated but Marcus is out of the picture now and Gavin
So far the highlight of the last few weeks of Marcus's life was Elena calling to yell at him. It was the first time he had heard her voice since they ended things or since she ended things with him and he didn't bother to stop her.He was a mess now, he could barely sleep, and he stayed up all night thinking about Elena and what their life would have been like now if he had just confessed his feelings. This woman was shifting his entire focus and she didn't even have to do anything. He started questioning if it was the right choice and whether or not his career should come before her.Elena was messing him up, real bad."Mr. Blaine? Are you listening?" One of his employees asked him and his attention snapped to the people in the board room. He was sleep-deprived and missing the woman of his dreams and yet there he was in a meeting trying to figure out the next course of action to hold the Singaporean deal."Um, yes. Could you please just repeat what you said?" He asked.The man opened
“Emily, I'm home,” Elena said when she opened the door but she was greeted with a very odd sight. Marcus and Emily were seated on the floor, their backs resting on the sofa while devouring a tub of ice cream together, well Marcus was the one devouring the tub, and Emily had an amused look on her face while watching him. What was even more shocking was that Marcus was not in a full suit like he usually was. He had pulled off his jacket and tie, rolled up his sleeves, and with utmost concentration he was eating the ice cream.“What is going on here?” Elena asked, still a bit confused.“Oh, hi El,” Emily greeted, trying to hold her laugh her laugh.“Ow, ow, brain freeze,” Marcus groaned and dropped his spoon so he could cup the sides of his head with his palm.“New record, one minute and fifteen seconds,” Emily said looking down at her phone.“Yes!” “I'm still ahead of you by forty seconds,” Emily gloated causing Marcus to roll his eyes.“Um, can someone explain what is going on here?”
“You want what?!” Isabel screamed at Marcus.“A ring, and my Friday schedule to be cleared,”“You're going to propose? To who?!” “No, I'm going to get married on Friday,” Marcus clarified to a very livid Isabel.“I don't understand you, at all. You've gone crazy!” Isabel yelled at him.“Isabel,” “It's that Elena isn't it? What do you see in her?” She asked and moved closer to him, Marcus took a step back, a little scared of what she might do to him. He had never seen her that mad before.“Isabel—”“No, tell me. Is she prettier? What is it? Smarter? I have been here all this time looking after you and standing up for you, supporting you and what do I get in return?” She continued to yell.“Isabel, I have told you time and time again that nothing can ever happen between us, you are my employee and I can only see you as that. If you have a problem with my life choices you have two options: suck it up and keep it to yourself or resign,” Marcus told her.“Really? You're willing to throw
“What?” Elena asked and moved away from him.“Marry me, Elena. I want to be with you,” Marcus repeated but this only caused Elena to freak out even more.“Marry you?! We broke up after a very complicated relationship and the first thing you suggest is marriage, are you out of your—”“Yes, I am. And it's because of you. For heaven's sake, I can't eat. I can't think, I can't work properly. I can only think about you and how bad it screwed it up, so marry me,” “I— no,” she said. The words coming out quickly.“Well, think about it. I can offer you everything you need, everything you and your sister need.”“I don't need your money!” She yelled.“It's not just money, security, health insurance, a better life. Think about how much you'll be helping your sister here,” he insisted. “I know the bills are much on you, there's too much for you to handle. There's no guarantee you can get a stable life anytime soon and you need that stability,”“So you're offering me marriage just for the benefits
There was no way Elena could pay that fee and still be able to afford her house rent and her feeding for the next few months. She had also promised Emily to spare some money to cover up some of her expenses for the trip. So far things were not going as planned.Elena was snapped out of her thoughts by her ringing phone, she quickly answered it. It was Emily. "Hey, you texted me about a test?" "Yes, I did. I'm at the hospital and the doctor wants to get your cough checked out,""Oh," it was quiet at the other end of a while, "and how much would that cost?" "Emily, the cost doesn't matter. I told you not to worry about expenses," elena said, even though she had no idea where she would conjur up the money from."I know, but I'm still a bit worried. If you want we'll cancel the trip and I'll work and—""No," Elena said, cutting her off. "You have been sick for fat too long, you need to take a break and live out those experiences you couldn't have," "I know, but it should not have to co
"What?" Elena asked, trying to be sure she heard him correctly."I'm sorry, it's just...a lot is going on and I don't think this is right for me," "You're kidding, tell me you're kidding, Gavin." She said seriously, her voice void of emotion."I'm not, I can't keep going on like this with you," he said, not even bothering to look her in the eye while he talked."Like what?" She asked, trying to hold back tears. Gavin didn't reply, he just looked away. "Tell me, Gavin! Like what?!" "This! You have so much going on too, and your sister doesn't even like me—""Where is all of this coming from Gavin? You ghosted me for several days and now you're breaking up with me?!" She yelled, and a few people turned to look at them but she didn't care."Yes, I am. I know it may be hard for you to understand it properly but it's for the best, I mean you're still in love with someone else and I..." he trailed off again.Elena didn't say anything to him she just stared at him. She told him all of this
"Are you okay?" Emily asked Elena. Elena was seated in the living room, hunched over her phone like it was the most important thing in the world to her."Hm, yeah," Elena replied absent-mindedly and went back to her phone."Really? Because you've been in that exact position for the last half hour, what's going on?" Elena asked and sat down next to her on the couch."It's, nothing." "It sure feels like something," "Well, it's not. I was just expecting a call," "From who?" "Emily, drop it," Elena said and stood up."Is it Gavin? Did I scare him off?" Emily asked and followed her."What? No, why would you think that?" "Because you haven't mentioned him in days, are you two arguing?" "No," Elena replied, even if she wasn't sure whether or not they were fighting. Having had not picked up her calls in days. He was busying it and sending texts like 'I'm busy right now, talk later?" That was what he always said but he never made an attempt to talk to her afterwards. After the welcome d
Marcus walked to his car and drove off to the nearest bar that he saw. He ordered a few drinks and proceeded to drown himself in alcohol. He knew that it would not be a good look on his image if he was seen but at the moment he did not care, he kept filling his system with alcohol and proceeded to feel the weight on his shoulders being lifted.His world as he knew it was crumbling and there was nothing he could possibly do about it.He knew that this day would come when his lack of a consistent relationship would make him be judged in his workplace. His father had screamed in his ear several times that he should become responsible and get a wife. For a while, he thought he could do that with Elena. He showed no interest in her but made it clear that he could provide for her needs from the start. He never meant to fall for her, if he did then it would defeat his whole purpose of trying to start a platonic relationship with her just so they could get married.But along the line, his obj
So far the highlight of the last few weeks of Marcus's life was Elena calling to yell at him. It was the first time he had heard her voice since they ended things or since she ended things with him and he didn't bother to stop her.He was a mess now, he could barely sleep, and he stayed up all night thinking about Elena and what their life would have been like now if he had just confessed his feelings. This woman was shifting his entire focus and she didn't even have to do anything. He started questioning if it was the right choice and whether or not his career should come before her.Elena was messing him up, real bad."Mr. Blaine? Are you listening?" One of his employees asked him and his attention snapped to the people in the board room. He was sleep-deprived and missing the woman of his dreams and yet there he was in a meeting trying to figure out the next course of action to hold the Singaporean deal."Um, yes. Could you please just repeat what you said?" He asked.The man opened
The next few days felt like a dream. Emily had come back home to their tiny apartment and Elena planned a small welcome back party for her, it was supposed to be a little get-together where she would invite Gavin too and officially introduce him as her boyfriend.“So it's just going to be me, you and Derek right?” Emily asked as she set down plates on their small dining table. She had moved from using a wheelchair to crutches, and in a few days, and with more physical therapy she would be able to walk unaided, Elena could not wait.“Not exactly,” Elena said then set an extra plate, “We have another guest,” “Is it Marcus? I've always wondered what he looked like,” Elena felt her mood change almost immediately. She had not talked to Marcus ever since she called him to yell and he sounded sorry.“Are you okay, El?” “Yes, I'm fine. And no, it's not Marcus. It's Gavin,”“What? I thought you guys were done,” “We were, and it was complicated but Marcus is out of the picture now and Gavin