“Shock, confusion, disbelief”, a torturous mix of emotions rush through me. The murmuring continues, spiking to full volume as everyone turn their eyes towards me waiting for my reaction. Where before they fixed me with shifting gazes, pretending to be busy with something once my eyes met theirs, they now stared at me openly. Open, unmoving gazes fixed on me like hungry wolves waiting to pounce. Obviously, the conversation had been going on for a while. I scoff wondering what brought about the ridiculous thinking in the first place. Even if Simon got me a million dollars worth of jewelry, it won’t even touch my hands in the first place talk less of finding its way to my neck. ‘It’s not your business where she got the necklace, it’s like you’ve all got nothing better to do’ Adam glares at all the unflinching, unmoving gazes. ‘There’, I snap out of my confused daze, I place a palm and Adam’s arm. ‘It’s true, I saw you on Monday clutching it in your hand when you left hi
Simon's POV You could almost hear my teeth grind from the hard set to my jaw as I walked back to my office. ‘The gal of that woman, privately dissing me even among a group of people' My mind goes back to her eyes on me as the sarcastic words rolled out of her mouth. Her eyes, watching me, expecting a reaction and gloating when she got what she wanted. I chided myself for reacting at that exact moment, I just successfully confirmed the underlying meaning in her words. I get to my office and run my hands through my hair, pacing about the office in slow strides. My mind travels to the cause of the problem in the first place. ‘Why, at this time, why did she leave me open to humiliation by the hand of this annoying woman' Taking out my phone from where it was stuffed in my pocket, I raise I to eye level, staring at the screen for any message from Sarah. I look to our chats, check my messages, emails but I’m met with the same crushing disappointment that I had always be
Tina’s POV.The walk to Adam’s office was not as nerve racking as it always had been, I was in high spirits.Even the ding of the elevator was musical, I was still basked in the triumph of a few minutes ago.Considering the sarcastic statement I threw Simon’s way, I expected a withering look before he left but small victories are also welcome.The fact that I was able to get that amused smile off his face was blissful enough.Thank goodness I had gotten that part when Bella talked about the gossip tabloids she had read about Simon. She called it ‘knowing your enemy’ but I had put it off as her enjoying gossip.Now I was thankful at the chance I had at actually knowing my enemy.She had constantly talked about Simon’s declining love life that it was hard for it to not have stuck.I’m almost at Simon’s door when I see Adam walk out, fuming.Anger rolled of him in waves as he his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.He glares at the door like he was trying to burn a hole through it.
The walk back to my department was considerably more torturous than the walk from it. New resolve solidified, there was only the problem of learning how to become a block of ice. It shouldn’t be that had, considering the fact that I had perfected the art of smiling through pain in my childhood. I just hard to shift unflinching smile to a straight face. My head reels just from thinking back to him dismissing me without do much as a glance. ‘This is much harder than I thought, I wonder how he does it' My mind stops it's unsteady movement when it comes to rest on Mr. Wright. The middle aged man treated me well unlike Simon. He had helped me get through my few months of marriage with his boss, much to his chagrin. He couldn’t fathom what his something of a father figure saw in me. He never openly criticized the way Simon treated me, but he helped me get by, like instructing the maids on my food preferences after asking me, or telling the maids to keep me company when Simon left me i
The door clicks shut and I sigh in relief as the embarrassment died down, i turn to Ajax with a stern look, he was already hoping to the bathroom for a shower.‘Come here' he shakes his head no and was about to rush into the bathroom still fully clothed when I grab him.‘Ahhhhh’ his shrieks as his little feet get suspended in the air and I bring him to the sofa.‘No, Ajax, let’s have a serious conversation’ he looks at me with that smug smile on his face.‘I wanted to get you a husband' he pouts and I refuse to be fazed by his somber look.‘I didn't tell you I wanted a husband, did I' I stare into his black orbs that had a striking familiarity to Simon's.I had expected to be taken aback or be angry anytime I stared into something so similar to eyes I hated, but instead I was happyWhen I saw the eyes in the sockets of a face that was chubby, frown lines not yet etched into his forehead or cheeks I felt relief.At least Ajax had not inherited the fathomless depths that seemed to suck
Relief wakes with me the next morning as I remember dealing with Adam’s suspected feelings. Although I was a little harsh with my words, it was better than ignoring unrequited feelings and letting them blossom into something more fearsome. He looked somber after our conversation so I made sure to ask him if he still wanted to accompany me to pick Ajax up. He looked at me with incredulity ‘don’t be ridiculous, why won’t I be comfortable, we are still friends right’. His words were contradictory to how he looked considering the fact that he looked continuously somber throughout us picking Ajax up and going home. He was even oblivious to Ajax’s attempts at matchmaking. My little darling, he was unrelentless in his mission at freeing me from loneliness as he had so adamantly stated the night before as I was tucking him into bed. Back to the subject of Adam, despite that he seemed none to happy with my declaration; at least I had made it clear that nothing was happening betwe
What’s with this guy and his ability to turn my insides with anger, set my nerve endings on fire, with so little words? I bristle at his words and punch the air in anger, grabbing and wringing someone’s invisible neck. ‘So he was capable of acknowledging that fact’ I huff and stand up. ‘I thought he treated our past with no more than a cold- shoulder’ ‘He could acknowledge that I was once a part of SM and keep a straight face while doing it’ I pace about his office in a march and I notice the scent of his cologne lingering in the air. The musky scent, tinged with notes of pinewood and just a dash of mint was part alluring and part overpowering. The scent takes me back to that fateful night, the night when Simon broke character for the first time in our marriage. The alluring scent was tainted with the strong smell of alcohol but I didn’t refuse him when he stumbled into my room or when his hands went to the strings of my nightgown crashing his beer stained lips on mine in
My mind reeled back and forth as I take the elevator down, ‘How could Adam do this,’ I didn’t understand where his rage came from, ‘This rage that consumes everything in it’s path and blinds his eyes to friendship, to those that are for him and actually care about him' My thought goes back to his words about the necklace, ‘I mean, what was the point in defending me in front of others when he didn’t actually believe me. I think back to how quickly he jumped in to defend me when the accusation came forth and I had still being speechless in shock. My reeling thoughts were actually a way to distract me from his last words that hit too close to home. I had been acutely aware of the absence of positive feelings of Simon for me, yet I held on to my feelings for him all throughout our marriage, I help on hoping that there would suddenly be a change, a turning point where he would suddenly begin to like me. The fact that Adam mentioned that was uncomfortable to say the least. ‘But tha
Air got sucked from my lungs, like I just received a strike to the gut,‘No', I shake my head as my grip on my phone tightens,‘That can’t be true', my head keeps turning from left to right in unbelief as the click of the call ending sounded.I take the phone off my ear, bring it to the front of my face,‘That can’t be possible’, my brain felt waterlogged, my ears clogged as the noise of school children fades out.The only sound around was my heart, beating like the tick of a clock, resounding in my ears, echoing in my head,‘No', I shake my head again and call his school teacher,‘She’s probably mistaken’,‘There was no way he could be with Simon', My fingers shake against my screen as I scroll through my contacts,The first call goes to voicemail, ‘Pick up for Christ sake’, I swear under my breathe, dialing her number again,‘Could it be Adam?’‘But he would never refer to himself as Ajax’s father’, my mind swirls as the phone rings on, no sign of it being picked up.
By the time it was lunch my head was on a spin, on a whirlpool of frustration, I sat still, my hands folded in my lap,but my heart was on fire, my mouth burned like I was chewing on hot gum.The heat bled onto my palms, drawing sweat, that I wiped repeatedly against ash-gray pants, ‘At this point, I will never be able to tell him', I mused as I stared at the dark streaks my hands created, the creases from repeatedly fisting it's fabric in my hands.‘If only he didn’t smile those face splitting smiles whenever our eyes met’‘If only he didn’t look at me with such affection in his eyes'‘Maybe it would be easier to tell him if I wasn’t risk….’,‘Where should we eat today’, my musings get interrupted and I look up at him.We’d been so absorbed with each other the last week yet anytime my eyes met those ones shining with affection, a wave of unfamiliarity courses through me, a war between elation and fear ensues.‘Let’s just order in', I hide my surprise, the battle raging in
Time moved slowly, sluggishly, like my heart,It's sound, a turbid rhythm in my chest, like wading in mud water, dragging my head through varying degrees of shock,Of all things I anticipated, expected, planned for, this was the least of them.I didn't even think it possible, it was not a scenario I saw happening, My eyes watch, sluggishly, same as my heart at the teardrop that track Ajax's cheek trailing onto his lap.‘He's dad, isn’t he?’, he says it again, and my head rears back in a whiplash.The fact that he repeated it, a statement this time, proved the extent of the situation, it was a testament to how much of a mess I was in.‘Why is he not here with us?'‘Did he do something bad?', ‘Is dad a bad man?’, with each question, his voice raises, bordering on hysterics, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.‘Why don’t you want me to meet him?', he asks again, yet my mind travels, trying to pinpoint what could have given it away,I had been very careful to never mention the
For a moment I considered coming clean, telling him the truth of a son he never knew about, but the fear in my heart was stronger,So I chew slowly, bidding my time to formulate something believable, something that wouldn’t allow the serious expression his face had taken into something darker.I tried to formulate something that would allow me to keep this warm bubble we had built around ourselves,A bubble I was not keen on letting go off so soon.My head was a mess, strung between telling the truth and fumbling for lies,I had thought I was over this, relief had filled me when I found that he didn’t hear Ajax’s name fro Lisa's lips.I finish chewing and keep the smile on my face, deciding on the easy way out,‘He’s no one you should be bothered about', it was hard, dismissing my son as someone unimportant, yet it was easier than risking him taking Ajax away from me.I hoped it would be enough for him, my reassurance would be enough to quell questions he was suddenly keen on
Relief floods my insides and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in as the bell jangled, signifying their exit.‘I’ll be back in a minute', standing up, I head to the table they just left, clearing the pile of coloring books and crayons.Head chef had been so nice, allowing Ajax and Lisa in the restaurant for as long as they liked, but it won’t be fair to hog a table after they were gone, so I clear them up heading to the back room and placing them with Bella's things.I catch a glance of Cathy’s befuddled expression as I enter, knowing she would have pelted me with questions if she wasn’t attending to a customer.Stepping out, she’s done and I take a deep breath waiting for the maelstrom to begin.‘That’s Simon Valero right, theee Simon Valero', she draws closer to me and I stare, patiently nodding as she fires,‘Only son and child of Alicia Valero?, heir to SM group Simon Valero?’, her voice pitches with the last question and I finally use my words.‘Yeees', ‘To
‘You know you have to stop looking at the door whenever a customer walks in, you’re no longer a waitress', the sound of Bella's voice trickles to me, sounding at the back of my mind,Her statement was inconsequential in comparison with the drop of my heart to the pit of my stomach, the look of horror making a home on my face‘You're a…..’, she trails off as she follows my line of sight to the source of my predicament,‘Uh oh!’, she exclaims,Simon had walked in and was currently looking about the restaurant, a relaxed air about himI drop my head between my hands, hiding behind my hair, hoping he hadn’t seen me.‘That’s very fruitless, he has seen you already', I glance up again and my eyes meet eyes that lights up immediately they meet mine.‘What in the world is he doing here?’, I whisper yell, asking Bella and she shrugs,I quickly smoothen out my face, wipe horror off it as I face a smiling Simon sashaying towards me.My eyes turn towards the corner where Ajax and Lisa we
My eyes blur, my view of the clouds rolling by dimming,‘Simon!!’, I cry out his name, my abdomen and butt clenching as my orgasm trickles down my thighs, dripping unto the sheets beneath me when he finishes,He comes up to place a kiss on my lips and I taste my juices on his mouth.He drops beside me pulling me to him and for a while I could do nothing, only be pliant as he entwines our limbs together, I could only work on evening my breathing past the feeling of satiety engulfing me.Simon drags my head to his chest, wrapping his hands around me and I descend from the clouds to the feeling of Simon stroking my hair repeatedly.‘That was…’, I trail off, searching for the right word to use as I look up to see Simon smiling at me‘That was amazing', my voice pitches as I finally decide on the word and I rest my head on his chest again,‘I know', pride fills his tone, voice cocky,‘No need to gloat about it', I slap his chest as I speak, lifting myself up with my other hand, t
Then it stops, again, the chords dying out when those hands, those slender fingers turn in a different direction from me,The furnace raging seconds earlier dies out when his hands get folded across the back of his head and he lays down.That smirk is still on his lips as he lies, adjusting himself downward to make sure his head stays on the white blanket,Disappointment courses through me, annoying coolness replacing the fire in my veins.My lips purses, a pout taking over from disappointment, then I even it out immediately, my earlier boldness dying out.‘The sun would hurt your eyes', I blurt out, trying to hide my disappointment, trying to turn his mind elsewhere,He must have noticed it because a smile lifts his face and fills his eyes,He unfolds one hand and he pats whiteness beside him, not minding my statement, inviting me to join him on the ground.He motions with his eyes, patting the blanket beside him and it suddenly looked so enticing,Despite the fact that the
Simon returns empty handed and by then my stomach had protested loudly over and over, ‘Where’s the food’, I attack him as he enters not even waiting for him to speak. ‘It’s in the living room', my mouth rounds as he replies me with a slight smile on his face, He stoops down and picks up his pants and my eyes stay on him as he slides black fabric up thick thighs, his leg tenses as he raises each one, my eyes zeroing in on the bunched up muscles on each thigh. Adjusting it around his waist, he slides up the zipper, gaze turning to me and my face burns, embarrassment taking over, hoping he didn’t catch me ogling him, ‘If we stay here, we won’t be doing much eating', his eyes rake across my frame slowly as he zips up, from my legs upward stopping at my eyes, hungry look in them. I swallow and focus on the hunger in my stomach heading for the door, I stop at the door when I see him walk towards the bed, pulling the covers from it and folding it into his hands, ‘What are you