BEATRICE:I felt refreshed when I woke up from sleeping. It felt like all the stress from my body disappeared from having a good night’s sleep. Glancing at the side of my table, Grayson was no longer with me. The cold spot told me that he had already gone for a long time. Who was with him right now? Drake? I trained him into staying inside the house while I was still sleeping for safety precautions. Drake must still be here.Thinking about that man made me remember the dream I had last night. In that dream, my ex-husband was kissing me, torridly and full of passion. The shocking part? I returned his kisses with the same intensity as if we were yearning for each other’s body. After the passionate night, he whispered again that he loved me and that time, I just accepted his love. It sounded ridiculous.Why did it have to be him? Why not Josh? Like what the heck. Was I always thinking of him unconsciously to the point that I was dreaming of him? I shivered at the thought.I should b
BEATRICE:I was expecting that Josh would deny it, but he surprised me by saying, "Where did you learn about my wife, Little One?" he whispered softly. "Why are you asking? Is that supposed to be a secret? Are you keeping your wife away because you don't want her to know that you are cheating?"Relax. It’s still early in the morning, Beatrice and you’re already picking a fight with Josh?Well, it was his fault for calling me this early. “Do you really want to know?” “Of course, I want to know. I deserved to know if you wanted to get in a relationship with me.”Long silence passed between us before I heard him saying, "Can we meet so that we will talk about this in person, Little One? This is a long discussion. You can also ask a lot of questions and I promise to answer all of them as truthfully as possible. You deserve my honesty, Little One. So...are you free?"I bit my lower lip. Would knowing the truth be far more important right now?Dang.My son was also waiting for me.It h
BEATRICE:What was there to deny? It was true that Josh and I would be on a date. Will, it was not really a date. But something about uncovering the truth. And I will learn everything later. But Drake was not the type who would listen to my explanation. He would listen more to his feelings than my words. “Do you remember your allegations about him? Of him murdering his own wife? I want to hear it from him. Please don’t say anything anymore, Drake. If you don’t want to babysit Grayson while I meet him, it’s fine. I will just ask someone.”Drake yanked his hair in frustration. “Don’t put my son in some stranger’s care.”“Good. So you’re letting me go now? It will be a quick meeting, Drake. No need to worry. You can ask me about the time or monitor me when I will be going home.” “That’s not the issue right now,” he said, his voice flat.“What is it, then?” I asked, faking innocence. “Come on, Beatrice. Why would you do that? He might deny it. We don’t know if he will tell the truth or
BEATRICE:My ex-husband pulled my hand and kissed it. “Beatrice. Take a chance on me. I beg you.” Then, my eyes widened seeing how he knelt in front of me. A gasp escaped my lips. “What are you doing? Will you stand? What if your son will see you? Have you no sense of shame? You are a CEO of a well-known company and you just kneel like that? What is wrong with you?” I slapped his arms in an attempt to make him stand, but he did not move.“You’re embarrassing me, Drake.”Lifting his head, he smiled at me. “If my son sees me right now, he will see a man who manned up to his mistakes and is willing to bear the consequences of his actions. My son will think that it’s fine to lower yourself down and admit that sometimes, it is our fault, too. That’s the values that I want him to learn from me, Beatrice.”He looked at me with pure agony and humility while kneeling.He looked so sincere.“Please, Beatrice?”I pulled my hand away. “Groveling will not change anything at all, Drake. In the en
BEATRICE:What was happening? Was there something wrong with my eyes right now? "Watch your step, Beatrice. I don't want something to happen to you.""You should kiss each other, Mommy and Daddy," Grayson announced while he was sandwiched between me and Drake. "That's what my friends' Dads and Mommy's do. They kiss before they say goodbye to my friend when they send him to school."My heartbeat went wild.Damn it.It felt like I was in an oven at the warm feeling I felt inside. What was happening again? I asked myself for the nth time.Take a grip on yourself, okay? You did not come here to admire your ex-husband. You came here to visit Christina. Who would likely snapped at you again or worse? She might even drive you away. It was better to expect the worst, especially now.clearing my throat, I said, "We are both shy, Grayson. Maybe later?" I asked while hoping he would forget about this."Later? When is that?" Drake inquired, leaning forward, his face merely centimeters away from
BEATRICE:The woman that she was referring to was me, right? There was no way it was another else. I was the only one whom he hated so much to the point that she was willing to throw all the flowers and basket of fruits that my son had chosen.I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. Glancing at my shoulder, I saw it was none other than Drake. His eyes were on my hands on the doorknob. "Why haven't you entered?" he asked. I heaved a long sigh and forced a smile. "I'm only waiting for the two of you," I lied. Because it was easier to tell a lie than to tell the truth, right? it was too painful right now."Let me open the door for you," he said, and was about to twist the handle when it opened and saw the bodyguard who had picked the flower and basket earlier. His eyes widened upon seeing me, but said nothing at all."Why did he bring the flowers again, Mommy? Aunt Christina doesn't like the flowers I picked for her?""I don't think she does not like it, Grayson. Maybe she's not feeling
BEATRICE:"It's okay to cry in front of me, Beatrice," Drake whispered. Suddenly, his hands wrapped around my shoulders. My first instinct was to slap his hand away, but I was too tired to do that. Emotionally tired. And drained. He patted the top of my shoulders as he continued saying words to calm me. "When the world seems so difficult, when you don't understand it anymore, you can rest in my arms and rest for a while until you're back to fight."Rest. He wanted me to rest with him. Could I do that to someone who left me in the past? How long will you keep on recording his past? It's time to let go of them and start fresh? And give the two suitors a fair chance? Still…it was baffling for me hearing him say comforting words.When did my ex-husband become inspirational? I never heard such reassurance from him when we were married. Still...his words felt comforting, lifting some of the burdens in my heart.He had grown so much over the years…This way it felt like having someone
BEATRICE:Clicking my tongue together, I said, "Will you please stop this childishness? All I wanted was to eat peacefully. You don't have to fight in front of the food. Drake. Don't make everything an issue. I eat whatever I like. And Everette, don't mind him. Focus on Christina's recovery."I wished they would stop this childish fight because this is not helping Christina’s condition. Scooping a spoonful of buttered shrimp, which was my favorite, I added, "What did the doctor say about her condition?"Worry flashed over his face. "Christina said he wanted to recover at our house and that the doctor will just go there if there are some tests that need to be run. The doctor had given us a go signal. But he has to make sure that she's already stable right now."Finishing all the foods on his plate, which Drake clearly disapproved of until now, I said, "How about you? What do you think? Is her condition getting ready?"He put both hands on top of his chin. "Her body might heal, but it