*Stuart’s POV – the flashback*After an hour of being convinced that Patricia was already asleep, I picked up my phone. I dialled Sandra’s number, “where are you now?” I asked as soon as she answered my call.“I am at the bar of the hotel,” Sandra answered.“Don’t go anywhere,” I said, “wait for me. I’ll pick you up.”“What? Are you out of your mind? You are not supposed to leave your wife on your first night,” she panicked.“She is asleep—““I don’t believe you!”“Please let me see you,” I sounded desperate.“What about Patricia?”“I made sure she fell asleep before making this call. I can freely leave the room without her noticing,” I explained, “we need to talk. We need to talk about us.”“Okay,” I heard her sad sigh again, “I’ll wait for you here.”I immediately left the room and headed to the hotel’s bar. I am determined to fix this mess, but I must ensure that Sandra will be there for me. Her love will make me endure my father’s anger. Sandra is everything to me now.“I didn’t k
*Patricia’s POV – the flashback*My spirits were high as we headed to our hotel suite. I admit that I anticipated something when we reached our hotel suite. I love Stuart, and I can’t wait to feel him tonight. I cannot deny the fact that I am both excited and nervous about our first night together. This will be my first time to share a bed with a guy. I have reserved myself for him, and tonight, I am giving my all to him.Stuart was silent the whole time, but it did not bother me. I do not know what he had in mind, but it doesn’t matter now. All I care for now is how to seduce him to fall in love with me. He has given me a year to do that, and I do not plan to waste any of that time. I heaved a sigh as I reminded myself that I would start seducing him tonight.We entered a nice, romantic honeymoon suite. The lights were dim, and the bed was big with see-through draperies that reached the floor. The aromatic scent of the room, plus the sight of the two wine glasses with wine on a round
*Stuart’s POV – the flashback*I hated myself for giving in to anger and hurting Patricia that way. I may be a jerk, but I also cannot stand to see a woman cry. That is why I had to immediately turn my back on her. I know I scarred her for throwing those hurtful words at her, but she has to hear it. She must realize that she cannot have everything she wants.“I am really sorry, Patricia,” I whispered, “if I could only command my heart to love you instead.”I thought it would be easy to endure one year of waiting for Sandra while being Patricia’s husband. I was wrong. Patricia and I lived in one house, but we stayed in separate rooms. It had to be because Patricia had been determined to seduce me.Every day, she would wear skimpy nighties and sometimes would walk around in her lingerie. I salute myself for being able to take control. She was once a lingerie model. Men fantasize ab
*Patricia’s POV – the flashback*I met with my friends last week and admitted to them about the real status of my marriage with Stuart. They were surprised that after six months, Stuart and I had never consummated our wedding.“You know what,” I remembered Janine commented, “I have read similar situations like yours in romance novels, but don’t worry. All of them have a happy ending. They endured some pains but, in the end, their sufferings paid off. The men in their lives realized that their feelings and they eventually end up together.”“Janine,” I rolled my eyes, “my life is not a romance novel.”“But you can get lessons from reading these books,” she insisted.“Fine,” I said, “then what advice can I get from these romance novels to make Stuart love me?”“Seduce him to bed and make sure you get pregnant,
*Stuart’s POV – the flashback*I went early to work the next day to avoid Patricia. Living with an irresistible temptress is truly difficult. I must stare at Sandra’s picture to remind myself that I should stay composed. Things will be complicated if I will give in to Patricia’s temptations. I do not want us to have any emotional or sexual connection when we divorce. Patricia does not deserve me, and I do not deserve her. Reminding myself of my love for Sandra keeps me sane, and it is the only reason why I gladly welcome each morning.“Sir?” I heard my secretary from the intercom, “Your father is here to visit you, and he is with, uhm, your wife?”I sensed uncertainty in the voice of my secretary. I have not informed the whole company about my wedding to Patricia. To them, I am still a bachelor, so I decided not to confirm nor deny the question of my secretary. I asked her to let my father in.
*Stuart’s POV – the flashback*I headed to my office to get the divorce papers which I prepared last year. I am supposed to file the divorce after I spent a night with Sandra. Still, since she wanted me to stay married to Patricia for a year, I obliged and hid the papers in my office. When I got the papers, I immediately rushed home to ask Patricia to sign the documents.I know Patricia did not expect this, but now is not the time for me to worry about how she will feel about it. I have already sacrificed so much just because Sandra cared too much about how her cousin would feel, but this is now the time for us to think of ourselves. I will never allow anything to stop me from marrying Sandra, not now that Sandra has finally agreed to give me the rest of her life.The house was dark and quiet when I arrived, but I immediately saw Patricia in the middle of the living room.“H-hi,” Patricia nervously smiled at me.
*Patricia's POV – the flashback*Everything was set when we heard of the arrival of Stuart. Just as planned, the whole house was dark while I stood in the middle of the living room for Stuart to first see me when he entered the house. I was very excited to surprise him, but I was wrong. It was he who surprised me more. He handed me the envelope that contained his verdict to our one year of marriage – our divorce papers.I was dumbfounded by his surprise that I totally ignored the presence of our friends, especially when they shouted "surprise" to Stuart."No! You can't do this to me!" I exclaimed."I just did!" he coldly answered."Why?" I panicked, "We were okay yesterday. You even messaged me that you missed me."I really needed clarification about how things turned out to be. We were fine before he left for Paris. He was sweet when he told me he'll be back soon. I could feel his sincerity whenever he called me
*Patricia's POV – the flashback*I let out an exasperated sigh after hearing what my father wanted me to do."No!" I refused."Patricia, we need this," my father pleaded."I can't believe you were asking me to divorce my husband," I said angrily, "you were the one who wanted this, but now you are trying to convince me to agree with the separation! Do you think this is a joke?" I massaged my temples and let out another frustrated sigh before facing my father again, "why are you doing this, Dad? What made you agree to the divorce?"With dropped shoulders, my father confessed, "You're mom is sick, and our company is facing a big financial challenge.""What?" I could not believe what I just heard."You heard it right, my dear. Your mother has stage four lung cancer. I have used all our savings for her treatment," my father admitted."We have millions, Dad. How did we lose all that money for just a short time?