BEATRICE:I shook my head. The chapter of me and Drake’s lives were already closed. I should not let my emotions get over me."I will eat if I get hungry. But not now."He shrugged off his shoulders. "If that's what you wish. Will you wash yourself or will we go now?"Sniffing my clothes, there was no smell on it. Which means I could still use this until we arrived home."We will start going home," I answered. “I will go upstairs and get our bags.”“There is no need for that. I already put them on the car while you were sleeping.”He did that without being told? Who would have thought that Drake had some sense of volunteerism? He was not like this in the past. He never cared if I was still alive or not. “Why did you do that?”He looked at me with a confused expression on his face. “Oh. I did not know that you would be angry about it. My apologies, Beatrice. I should have asked you about it.”It was not like that.But who cares if he misinterpreted my words?“Where is Heather, by the
BEATRICE:My chest felt like there were a ton of rocks inside it. What a freaking bastard. How could he hide that very important thing to me? What if I allowed him to kiss that night? That would make me a mistress! I did not have any plans to compete with any woman at all!What if Christina was not here to tell me about that? What if I was blindly believing all my ex-husband words? "How could you, Drake?" My voice shook at the end due to his betrayal. "Beatrice. Let me explain. I will try to make you understand. That woman…I will tell you the whole story. Please allow me to talk to you."I did not know if I had the heart to listen to him after holding that important information from me. I did not know I was the only one who was left in the dark. When I was suffering, he was in the arms of the woman whom he truly loved. Christina scoffed while my chest felt like it was being ripped into a million pieces. When I was slowly trying to open myself to him, then I had to discover his be
73BEATRICE:I stared at the ceiling, while sleep had been elusive. No matter how many times I tossed in bed, I just could not find the right position to be sleeping now.My body was tired, but it refused to sleep.Until now, I was thinking of Drake's secret.How could he hide it from me? Was it because he was scared that if I found out, I would hide Grayson away from him? After what he did, how could I not do it? If he keeps on lying to me like that, how could I trust him?You don't have to trust him. Make him totally disappear from your life, the evil part of my mind said. That man always causes you pain and headaches. Isn't it the right time for you to remove him from your life? Well, that could be true...But how? No matter how much I think about it, Drake was not the type who would easily let go especially Grayson was at stake. My phone had been ringing nonstop and even if I did not check who it was, I had an idea that it was Drake. Maybe he wanted to explain himself on how the
BEATRICE:Am I turning him down? If that was what it looked it was, maybe I was doing it. I did not know anymore. My heart was tired from everything. If I give Josh a chance, what was my assurance that he will not betray me like what my ex-husband did? "I...I'm sorry if that's what it looked like, Josh. I...don't have the time to entertain men as of the moment. I want to focus on my son, first. I hope you will understand me, Josh." He was a good man, but I did not think I would be able to be fair to him. I was not fully healed on the scars my ex-husband had inflicted. "Is this about your ex-husband?" he whispered. "Perhaps, do you have feelings for him?" My knuckles turned white as I stared at my son's sleeping form. "I never said anything about that, if you're only listening to me." I would be a fool if I continue to cling on those fucking feelings. That man was not worth it at all. "Little One, I don't have to hear those words from you. Your actions said everything. I know a
BEATRICE:"Beatrice. What's wrong?" Drake asked on the other side of the line. "Why did you suddenly go silent?"The hair of my back stood as my heart raced wildly against my ribcage.What if a thief was able to enter the house? "N-Nothing," I retorted, but I was not able to hide the fear in my voice which my ex-husband was able to detect."I don't think it's nothing, Beatrice. Tell me if there's something wrong."Tiptoeing, I silently checked the doors if they were locked. They were as well as the windows of the room."N-Nothing.""I swear, Beatrice. If you don't answer me right now, I will go there and see for myself what's wrong."I craned my neck to check if there were some noises, but found none. Maybe I was only imagining things? What if there was no burglar here? Perhaps I was only paranoid after all the stress that I felt this week?"Beatrice. You're testing my patience.""I...I think someone trespassed the house. But worry not. Maybe I am only imagining it, okay? You don't h
BEATRICE:I may hate my ex-husband right now, but as of the moment, I just wanted him to come here and save me from whoever was trying to enter. My heart was screaming for his presence and not anyone else.What about his woman?I closed my eyes momentarily and opened them again, wanting to forget about that woman. Not now. “Beatrice. I’m going there. You have to hang on, okay?” I could hear his panic on the other side of the line. Who would have thought that the calmest person I knew would panic like this? And who would have thought that his voice would be this soothing which I usually found irritating on some special occasions? I tasted bile on my throat as I waited for the burglar to enter the room while preparing myself for the worst thing to happen. Whatever happens, no matter what will happen to me, I will protect my son."Beatrice. Are you still in there?" he asked, his voice already coated with panic. "Damn it. You have to speak if you don’t want me to tell the driver to ma
BEATRICE: My ex-husband’s voice seemed genuine and his words were able to reach my heart. He leaned his forehead against mine, while breathing deeply. I was not the only one who was shivering. He was too. He was also shaken at the events. Was it true that he did not want us to be in danger? That he did not want us to leave? I wondered if this man was not persistent and did not call me what would happen to me and Grayson? You could call Josh or Christina, the other part of my mind exclaimed. As embarrassing as it may sound, I did not remember Christina or Josh earlier. My mind was screaming my ex-husband's name which I did not understand at all. I did not usually rely on anyone especially after he divorced me, except Christina, but with Drake here, it felt…right. “Nothing will happen to us,” I answered, giving him an assurance. Maybe he also needed an assurance. “I hope so, Beatrice, because if that bastard ever succeeds in hurting both of you, I am willing to stay i
BEATRICE:“This is not a dream,” I whispered and brushed the side of Grayson's cheeks. I wished they were. I wished this would not bring any trauma and would still allow me to sleep peacefully at night beside my son. “When you wake up, your Dad is still here.” With us. The question was, until when? How long will he be with us? Grayson pinched both of my cheeks. “I believe you, Mommy. Good night, Mommy. Good night, Daddy,” he said and closed his eyes leaving me and Drake. A couple of minutes and Grayson was already snoring. Glancing at my side, Drake was staring at the ceiling, wide awake, without any idea what he was thinking at all. Did he like staying here with us? Of course he did. Remember how he rushed here just to save you and Grayson from danger even at this hour? That’s how important we are to him. Don't you think it's high time to give him the benefit of the doubt, Beatrice? It's not that easy. “Do you want me to turn off the light?” Drake asked all of a sudden, when
BEATRICE:I was about to tell Drake, but stopped myself from saying out loud. There was already too much that was running on his mind and I could not afford to add more problems to him. “It was nothing, babe,” I replied and leaned on his shoulders, as he continued to drive the long road. Grayson was in the backseat already knocked out. “Nothing that you should be concerned about.”“Are you sure because you seem bothered after talking to your Mom. How did your conversation go? You know what? I made sure that you and your Mom will have some time to talk.”“Really? That's the reason why you left us at the table?”How considerate of him. How could I not fall for him over again? He was worth it. He was worth everything. “Yeah. Your Mom won't talk if there's some audience around us.”And she was able to say everything she wanted when we were alone. “Tell me the company's situation.”He was silent for a moment, before saying, “No need to worry about it. Let me handle it, doll. I will make
BEATRICE:Something about the board losing their trust on you? I wanted to ask, but no words would come out of my mouth.Why was it so difficult to ask him?“Hey. Are you okay?”Are you okay? Why can’t you tell me the truth? Why do you suffer in silence, Drake? Don’t you believe that I could help you, too? We are all in this together, right? Why don’t you let me join your suffering? I want to help you with it. So please…at least let me join you.“I am. How about you?”He chuckled. “I am fine. How about you?”“You’re acting weird, Beatrice. But to answer your question. Yes. I am fine. I am always fine whenever you are with me. I forgot all my problems because there is you, doll.”“Tell me how much the company meant to you.”“It’s my life,” he answered. “I worked hard for it. That was the result of working too much because of our absence, doll. I promised myself that I would make it successful so that when you returned, I could offer it to you.”"You did well, babe. I am so proud of you
BEATRICE:Seeing my reaction, Mom clicked her tongue together. "Based on your reaction, I assume that your ex-husband did not say anything to you about it.""He...He did not, Mom.""The board of directors agreed that if he did not do something to save the company, they will pull off the remaining of these stocks and what do you think will happen?""Worse case scenario, the company will continue to have losses and would eventually file for bankruptcy.""What about his people? Do you think he is fine with that? He will blame himself for what happened and he's the only one who knows what will happen."I clenched my fist. "Why are you telling me these things, Mom?" She shrugged off her shoulders. "I was surprised that you were able to have a child.""When Drake divorced me, I didn't know that I was already carrying a child during that time.""I won't question that child. He took a lot after you which is fine with me.""What do you want, Mom?""You? What can you do to save your ex-husband
BEATRICE:Mom and Dad. I wanted to rush to their side and hugged them until they found it difficult to breathe, hoping that a tight embrace would fulfill the countless years of not seeing each other. Back then, I was still debating on whether I would see them face to face, but now... I was glad that Drake had pushed me to meet them. My heart felt like it weighed a ton. Dad's eyes simmered with tears, while Mom... I did not know what she was thinking. She wore a poker face. Mom was always like that. Unreadable. My other siblings called her Ice Queen Mother, for showing rare affection towards us. I always scolded them for calling Mom that, but they would only say that it was Mom's fault for being smart like that.I was the one who fulfilled the emotions my siblings craved. I thought it was enough, but it was not. Despite Mom's personality, they still wanted to feel her affection. "Mommy. Who are they?""Your grandparents," I whispered.They finally reached our table."Beatrice,"
BEATRICE:Guilt washed over my chest, knowing the tragedy that fell on Zereka's life. Poor child. I should have known that she had suffered. If I did, I should have been patient with her."Oh, my goodness, Drake. Are you telling the truth?""I'm the only one who knows about it, and I hope you will not tell a single soul, doll. She will kill me for sure. The tough exterior was only a facade, because she did not want others to treat her weakly. Deep inside, she was still thirteen years old I saw crying for her Mom's name. Please be patient with her, doll. I know it's unfair to you...""It's fine." Now that I know that child's background, how could I be a bitch? "I called her a bitch. She might be hating me for that.""You also cannot be blamed.""I want to meet Zereka again and who knows? Maybe we will be friends in the end. How about children? Does she want children? Do you think she will like Grayson?""I saw her staking your social media account and stare at Grayson. So, maybe she li
BEATRICE:“I told him I was going,” I explained. "He invited me at first, saying he will have a better chance than him being alone.""Oh, great. Does Everette know about that?"I shook my head. "He did not know anything. If you tell him right now, that's the only time he will know about the plan.""There's only a slim chance that they will invest in his company and do you know the percentage? Only one percent, Beatrice. After what he did to you, for divorcing you, do you think they will forgive you easily? You two became the talk among your relatives. They keep on asking questions about you and your ex-husband. However, when your Mom snarled and scolded them, they became silent. However, the rumors of your separation did not stop, angering Clara even more. Everette and I were witnesses to that. When you disappear from the family, the rumors become even worse.""More than five years had passed, Maybe she had forgiven what happened?" I hoped she did. And if she did not? I no longer
BEATRICE:“Beatrice? Are you still there?”What a bastard.He knows that Christina had her miscarriage, yet he called her?“Yes, I am here. What is it again?”“Is there no chance that the two will reconcile?”Exhaling, I inquired, “Did you call because he asked you?”“I was about to call you even if he did not call. But he got the right timing. He called me first before I was able to call you.”“Christina, the next time he calls you, don’t answer it.”“Why?" she asked, her voice full of curiosity. "Did something happen between you two that I was not aware of?"I bit the inside of my cheeks, debating if I should tell her or not.She's still not fully recovered, Beatrice. what if she will be sent to the hospital again, because of stress?There was a point, there. "N-No. Nothing happened.""So why are you evading him as if he is bringing the plague?""I-It's because of Drake. I have decided that I will give him a chance."I heard her mutter a few curses in the background. With a faint v
BEATRICE:Relax. Don’t fret. Control yourself, Beatrice. You will not lose your control because of that woman.“Did you hear me? She pulled my hair!”“Why would Beatrice do that, Zereka? She’s not the type to—”She sniffed. “You never listened to me, Drakey. You always believed that I was making a scene. That I am lying to you. How could I do that? I love you so much that I will never ever lie to you,” she declared, cutting off his words before he could even finish it. Rude. Every time she said that she loved her brother, the hair on my arms would always stand. It always felt like it had a double meaning. “Do you know what she called me? A bitch, Drake. I’m only eighteen years old and someone already called me a bitch!”“Beatrice. Is that true?”“What do you want to hear, Drake?” I asked. “Tell me so that I will tell you right away. Don’t waste my time anymore.”“Doll… I’m not saying anything wrong. All I wanted is you to tell me your side. I don't want to take sides as much as pos
BEATRICE:If Drake was here, I would never know why Zereka was here. If Drake was here, she would keep on pretending to be the sweet little sister of his. She could fool anyone with that sweet face of hers. "I'm sorry, but you don't have a say on that, too. We have chosen ourselves to love each other and even if a million people would be against our path, our love will remain strong. That includes you, by the way."It was a cheesy statement. I never thought the time would come when I would say those words, but here it was.She threw back her head and laughed. "Love? Are you freaking kidding me? Don't tell me that kind of bullshit. Love does not exist. Only lust." I was taken aback at her curse. My forehead knotted seeing how she bawled her palms into a fist. "Are you perhaps..." Did she perhaps not experience how to be in love? That she did not know how it felt? That she believed it was all lies? Right. I remembered. This woman was Drake's half-sister. And Drake's family had n