They took the stairs down, as there were no elevators in the building. And as they passed the second floor, Amy said. "There is a strip club on this floor and room for private dances."Mary was appalled by the words; she couldn’t believe that Jack would hire strippers. But then he had tried to pimp her out the first time they met, so it wasn’t all that shocking.Then a thought flashed through her mind, and her eyes widened as she imagined it. "Excuse me,""Yea?" Amy turned to look at her briefly."Does that mean we are also going to be working as strippers?" Mary asked, because if it were so, she was going to have to table your resignation letter now."Hahaha. Your face." Amy gestured to her face as she burst into laughter. But Mary's frown only deepened, not finding it amusing. "No, we don’t strip. Jack has girls working in the strip club. But if you are interested, he can always move you there."Mary shook her head. She doesn’t think she could do that. "No, I think I am okay with th
They finished the food and sat down on the bed as they waited for it to digest."Won't you be penalized for skipping work to stay here?" Mary asked because she didn’t want Amy to get into trouble because of her."No need to worry your pretty head over that. Jack gave me permission to take the day off. Besides, there is still something we have yet to do." Amy smiled, the little dimple on her left cheek showing, and Mary returned the smile."What?""We have to go shopping." Amy announced with excitement. She loved shopping, but Mary didn’t share this particular hobby."Shopping? With whose money?" Mary's mind began to race. Had Jack seen Lincoln give her the money and wanted her to spend it on clothes? Mary was planning to keep it for future emergencies."Where did you sound so shocked? Jack gave me cash so I could take you shopping." Amy explained as she shifted into the bed."Why? There is no need for that; I already have clothes." Mary argued, trying to look for ways she could reduce
Amy was right, because by the time they got downstairs, the restaurant was already closing, and there were just a very few people there, finishing up their meal.They help with the general cleanup, arranging the chairs and stacking them on the tables so it will be easier to organize the next day.They finished the job in no time, as there were a lot of hands helping them, and they gathered at the counter. Damon was sharing the leftovers with anyone he cared for, and Amy was able to snag a burger for herself and Mary."Do you want to go to the bar?" Amy suggested again, trying to persuade her friend. She wanted to check if the hot guy she had been eyeing was there, but to her disappointment, Mary shook her head. She wasn’t going there anytime soon."But how do customers enter the bar if we block access here?" Mary asked if she noticed they were locking the front door."There is another door outside that leads straight to the bar, and they will use that to enter." Amy explained, and Mar
Nicholas woke up from his slumber shitfaced and hungover as hell. Not to mention the splitting headache that was hitting his forehead. Thankfully, there was usually a bottle of aspirin on the nightstand for days like this, and there was also a bottle of water.He had taken to the habit during his bachelor days, when he woke up almost every day with a splitting headache.Nicholas opened the cap and threw two tablets into his mouth, chasing them down with water. He collapsed in his bed, lying on his pillow, as he felt the drug doing its work. And in two minutes, his head stopped feeling like it didn’t belong to his body.He turned on his side, his hands searching the bed for his phone, till he found the cold electronics, and he picked up. "Shit." Nicholas cursed as he looked at the time. It was past 10 a.m., and he should have been in the office by 9.He unlocked his phone, squinting as the bright light attached him. There were different notifications from a lot of people, but he only o
Nicholas returned to his office after the quizzing session with his father. He had thought his father wanted to tell him something important, but he just wanted to see him.He would have to set his father up with someone so he could stop snooping around his business. It has been years since his mother died, and his father hasn’t moved on yet.Nicholas was able to finish up his workload for the day even before the closing hours, and he decided to head home. It was the first time in a while that he was going home early.If it were before, he would have headed for Cameron’s house, and together they would go to a club or have fun somewhere. Or he would go to his beach house and relax.He had been avoiding his wife for so long, but now he was actually craving her food, and of course he wanted to see her and maybe apologize for all his wrongdoings."I will be going home now, Charlotte." He told his secretary before he left for home.The automatic gate slide open for Nicholas to enter, and h
Mary has slowly acquainted herself with the job. It wasn’t all that hard work, seeing as she came from a convent where they had to do basic things themselves.The pay was also biweekly, but she wasn’t going to get any pay for this month since it all went to her accommodation, feeding, and clothing.But she wasn’t worried.Mary hadn’t gone out since she had been there; she had always been at home, and if she wasn’t at work, she would be at home. Besides, her feeding and clothing were covered by Jack, so she had no true need for money now. And she still had the money Lincoln gave her, so she wasn’t all that worried.Lincoln had surprised her that day, he had given money to a stranger he barely knew. Mary hadn’t seen him around since that day to thank him properly.Work has been great too. Mary adapted to the environment within a week. And due to her personality, people were drawn to her like moths to a flame.She had a charming smile and was very friendly, and she was always ready to at
Amy stilled for a moment, thinking her roommate was playing a fast one with her. "Mary, you can stand up now." She shook her roommate awake, but there was no response. "Mary, this is not funny. You have to wake up now." But there was no response from her roommate, and that was when she decided it was beyond her power.Amy sucked in as much air as she could, and she released an ear-piercing scream. "Someone help us." She continued screaming while she tried to find a way to wake her friend up.She was hysterical, shaking Mary in a rather rough manner in a bid to wake her up. "Someone, help us." Amy screamed again, louder than she had ever attempted before.There was a shuffling of feet, coming closer as they approached the changing room, and they banged on the door. "Can you stop screaming like you were getting kidnapped, Amy? This is a restaurant incase you are not aware and we still have customers in the restaurant, and they were complaining about your noise." Lily cautioned Amy as sh
Amy had been inside with Mary, sitting down with her head on the bed. The doctors have cleared her friend; she just needs to wake up.But what the doctors had told her was still lingering in her mind. She couldn’t even fathom it. But Mary had told her that...There was no need to sweat it; she was just going to wait for her to wake up and confront her. But for now, she was just going to wait.Amy had dozed off on the chair when she heard a shuffling on the bed, and she was awake."Where am I?" Mary murmured, her voice hoarse and dry. She broke into a series of dried coughs, and Amy rushed to get her the bottle of water on the table.She directed the straw to Mary’s mouth, and she began to suck greedily on it before she was forced to remove her mouth and ended up coughing."Take it easy." Amy said, tapping her back. "Welcome back to the living." Amy said as she enveloped her friend in a hug. She was just happy to be alive and awake. Any other rants can come later."What happened to me?
Mary didn’t end up getting a divorce.No matter how she tried, Nicholas refused to sign the papers. But they got separated.She had moved out of the mansion to get her own accommodations in a bid to find herself. She had gotten a new apartment away from the hustle and bustle of New York City.She was willing to start afresh, and she hoped that the new environment would help.His friends have been against it, especially Helena, seeing she had moved there in search of her and was given a job by Nicholas.But Mary had reassured her that there was no need for all that. Helena had no issue with Nicholas, so there was no need to try to quit her job.But Mary had refused Nicholas help; I mean, there was no need to when she had his credit card and did whatever she wanted with it.But she had chosen to spend it wisely.She had gotten a job as a model for a small clothing line that deals with curvy ladies, and Mary liked every bit of it. She got free clothes every now and then, so it was an adde
The next day, Mary was no better; no matter how much Nicholas had tried to seek an audience with her, she always found a way to escape. Gone are the days when she was the one begging for his attention.She didn’t have such time; instead, she had taken to exploring—a harmless one, though.It began when Nicholas had come back from work rather early, unlike his usual self, and he found a strange lady sitting in his living room and his son playing around the house.Nicholas was alarmed, and he entered quietly in order not to startle the lady while his hands reached for his phone to call 911."Oh, you are back. Good evening, Mr. Harrington. I will be taking my leave now." The lady stood up to go, but Nicholas prevented her."Who are you, and why are you in my house?" Nicholas asked; he still had the police on speed dial and was ready to call them if necessary."I am the babysitter your wife hired. Here." She stood up and handed him something that seemed to be a card. Nicholas eyed the card
"Oh fuck." Mary cursed as she saw the doctor approaching her. The only time she decided to unwind and let loose was when he decided to be here.She sighed, lifting her eyes to the sky; only there was a ceiling preventing her. Why was the universe out to get her?"Well hello? Mary, is it?""Oh hi. Lewis." Mary greeted him cheerfully, still slightly tipsy from all the drinks. "Fancy seeing you here?"Lewis chuckled, finding her assuming. "I should be asking you that. I live here, and I am familiar with some people here. You are the one that is sort of a stranger here.""Yea. I live.." She gestured outside the door and frowned. Where exactly did she live again?"Let me pour you a drink." The bartender said to Lewis, already reaching for a bottle of wine on the shelf."There is no need for that. I am not staying long." He refused the drink."Oh, that is alright. You can pour me his share; I would take it." Mary offered and swerved to grab the glass. But a firm hand stopped her."I don’t t
Mary stormed to her room, bolting the door as she got in and headed straight for the sofa. She dumped herself on it and continued eating from her bowl of fruit, but she was seething inside.The audacity he had. How dare he come back home after so long? The only thing he could say was, "Hey, I got your message."Mary was seething in her seat. Has he always been this nonchalant and uncaring, or has she just been ignoring it all this time? She couldn’t help but wonder.Well, it didn’t matter what the answer was because it ends today. She was done being the doormat he could just toss aside. Starting today, it was a new Mary.She stilled as she heard footsteps coming close to her door, and her ears perked as they listened for movements. But the footsteps stopped just in front of her door, and there was silence.The footsteps resumed, but this time away from her, and Mary sighed in frustration.He was such a coward.If she could have her way, she would have spent the rest of her day in her
The surgery was successful, and they removed her appendix, but Mary was required to stay in the hospital for monitoring for another day. It was to be for two days, but she had refused, threatening to leave on the same day, so they came to a compromise, and it was for an extra day.She had been away from her son for so long—the first of a kind—and she was starting to get worried. She could imagine he would be crying his tiny lungs out, and she couldn't bear to think of that.She had woken up from the surgery with a foggy head and tenderness in her abdomen, and as usual, she was alone. She didn’t bother checking up on her phone for any messages from Nicholas because it was already obvious he didn’t care.He had yet to reply to her message from two days ago, so there was no way he would be here.With nothing to do, her mind began to wander to different places, but most especially to Nicholas, or rather, her unfortunate relationship with Nicholas.After minutes of deliberating about the a
The kind doctor, whose name Mary hadn’t bothered to learn, had taken an interest in her, and he had been helping her run the hospital stuff.He was lucky enough to be able to fix an operation for her with the surgeon the next day, so she had to be hospitalized.Mary spent most of the day sleeping in; the drug they had given her was making her feel drowsy, so she didn’t know when time passed by.But the young doctor had taken it upon himself to look into her case, especially when he found out she had no one with her.He had taken it upon himself to always check in on her when he wasn’t so busy, making sure she was well covered and the pillow was comfortable for her, and Mary appreciated the gestures.Her head had been fuzzy from all the drugs they had been pumping into her, and she was slippy in and out of consciousness.She had woken up later in the evening to see her phone swimming in a sea of messages and calls. All from Amy. Mary didn’t hesitate to call her, and she waited as the c
The mini-get-together ended on a high note, and it was safe to say that the three had become best friends, and Mary couldn’t be happier.It was easy since Helena and Amy had similar characteristics and were able to get along easily. She was happy that she had two females she could rely on, and Cole had two aunties who loved him dearly and would spoil him rotten.Everything was slowly looking up for her; even her academics have been going well. It wasn't as easy as it felt, but with time it had gotten easier for her, and she dare say she was enjoying the classes.But one thing was still stagnant. She and Nicholas were yet to make any headway.In fact, it had become so bad that she couldn’t remember the last time she and her husband saw eye-to-eye. It was Cole who had been keeping her company; otherwise, the house would become too suffocating for her.At least she had Netflix, and there was always food around, so she used that to comfort herself.Mary has been feeling some pain in her s
While Helena may not be living with them, the girls were still communicating as Helena was able to get a new phone and they had gotten really close.Mary had been the happiest since Amy came back, and she was happy to have her friend close by. Everything seems to be looking up for her.It was just to introduce her friends to each other that was left. Amy had no idea how Helena looked, and neither did Helena. Although Mary has mentioned them to each other, she has been planning how to bring them closer so it would be a sisterhood.It was the weekend, and that means Nicholas was out of town for a meeting. I mean, when is he never out? Mary barely sees him nowadays, so she arranged the meeting at her house.She was preparing the meal that they were going to have, all while praying that they liked each other. It would make her life easier if it were so. At least Cole would have two aunts, and he could be taking turns passing the night at their house.She had put the last batch of muffins
Helena is here.The words were something Mary thought she would never hear, and it was as if they weren’t true, but her childhood friend turned sister was in the living room, sitting and waiting for her, and Mary didn’t know how to act."Get your act together, Mary; it is just Helena." She said to herself as she stood in front of the mirror.It had all begun when Cameron called her that one Helena was in his home and wanted to see her. She hadn’t believed it at first and thought he was playing a fast one on her, so she had asked him to bring her over.And it turned out he wasn’t lying. Helena was actually heard.But she saw them as they were getting out of the car, and she panicked and ran to her bedroom."It will be fine. It is just Helena." She said to the reflection of the mirror, and she heard Cole huff as if in agreement with her.She went towards her son, who was attempting to stand on his own, and she picked him up. He let out a cry, angry that he was disturbed. But Mary ruffl