"Beautiful morning, everyone!" Dressed in a pair of black jeans beneath an oversized red hoodie, Louisa greeted with outstretched hands upon entering the office earning astonished looks from her employees. No one dared to reply for fear of a misunderstanding of any kind that may lead to being fired. She paused and frowned at silence, "didn't you hear me? I said beautiful morning," she repeated finally getting the attention and stutters she deserved before noisily squeaking her trainers on the marble floor toward the elevator. "Beautiful morning, Nerry." The latter almost choked on saliva at the sight of her boss, "uh...Miss Woods?" She called to make sure. "What? Why does everyone look like they've seen a ghost?" Nerry shook her head. "Hand me your mirror, I probably have some jelly or peanut on my cheek or something." She took a hand mirror from Nerry's shaky hands and examined her face. There was nothing on her face: her teeth were okay, her eyes weren't droopy or hadn't bags be
She had gone through a lot and he was ignorant of it. He didn't take time to know what she was going through, all he had time for was to use her for his selfish pleasure. He felt ashamed of himself. Mason subconsciously cursed himself for being a part of her ordeal. He kept rubbing her arm, listened to her heartbeat until it turned to a familiar melody. "Did you hear him out?" He calmly asked not to trigger any form of negative emotion. "I didn't want to. No justification from him will make sense and less of a wicked man." "Lou, you should've at least let him. He's probably drowning in guilt and trust me, that's the worst feeling ever," he paused to think a bit about himself, "do you realize that if not for that encounter with your mum I would've never known you? Worst still you would not exist." "I prefer to not have existed." "And I do not. There's a reason for everything, you know, and those reasons have to be known to the ignorant for the better. In my opinion, babe, you sho
How was she going to do it? Confront her so-called father. What was she going to say to him? She sighed for the umpteenth time in an hour or so while waiting for Mason and Gianna. When a knock finally kicked her out of her reverie, she jutted for the door almost immediately. Her countenance fell when Marley came in sight. "Hey," she weakly greeted. "Were you expecting someone else?" Marley walked in. "Uh, yeah. A friend." "Okay. That explains the disappointment," he read his watch, "I won't be here for too long. Dad told me what happened." Louisa said nothing. "I just came to see that you're okay." "I'm fine. Thanks." She didn't want to talk too much for she didn't want him to stay longer than ten minutes. "You know I'm always here for you, right?" He assured. Louisa nodded. "You are my one and only annoying little sister no matter what." Louisa laughed as tears flooded her eyes. She rushed to him for a hug and then a little hit on his signature tuxedo-protected chest. "I don'
Mason ordered for another one of the strongest quenchers the lounge had to offer as he sat at the bar waiting for his friend. He had gained a lot of eyes over the minutes especially the bartender who finally couldn't help but comment; "You turned into a punching bag when the night's still young? wonder how it'll get with this quantity of liquor in you." Mason gulped the burning liquid on a go completely ignoring the nosy bartender. Norton was taking too long to show up.He stretched his glass for another fill-up. Soon enough his shoulders began to bob up and down. He was laughing. A peal of bitter yet self-pitiful laughter which luckily was drowned in the almost deafening music. The bartender scrutinized him while filling his glass again. "Man, you're dead wasted," he said, worried. "Rough night?" Mason didn't stop laughing. "Did you get fired? Or perhaps Matrimonial issues or simply girlfriend issues? Break up maybe?" Mason stopped laughing to aim for the bartender's uniform, "R
No morning kisses and cuddling, little to no words uttered during breakfast, an emotionless kiss, and a nonchalant goodbye before departing to work. All that broke Zaphrina to the core. Now she was preparing Bethany's milk, her mind so preoccupied that she mishandled Beth's feeding bottle causing its contents to spill. Right on cue, the little girl began to cry from her room. Zaphrina sighed in exasperation. Nathalie who had been silently watching her was quick to pick up the bottle and assure Zaphrina that she'll take care of the mess and prepare some milk. The young mother thanked her before dashing out of the kitchen. "Here," Nathalie said, handing Zaphrina the milk she had prepared. Bethany was still wailing despite her mother's bobbing efforts to calm her. "Thank you so much, Nathalie," she sat down after receiving the bottle. Her eyes were so tired and feeble that Nathalie feared the young mother will pass out any moment soon. "Thank goodness you made it earlier today. I wou
It's been two days since her world had stopped. Apparently, since the truth had been revealed. She still couldn't believe her mind whenever it set on reminiscing. Sometimes when she slept and woke up, she would pray it was all just a dream but reality will knock her out when she would call on Gianna and receive no reply. The day after the incident, Louisa packed Gianna's little luggage and drove her to her father's where she thought the little girl will be better off until she had her shit together. Occasionally, her head would hurt just thinking too much, and will get an aspirin each time it occurred so much that she had lost count of the number of aspirin ingested. Overdose? She cared less. "Louisa." She heard someone call. The barely recognizable voice echoed in her head. A brutal knock followed. That too echoed, making her head thump unsystematically. Despite all that, Louisa seemed to know the one and only person who could do that since it's been t
Louisa's eyes wandered for a bit. She could not stay mad at Zaphrina for long not only because of her puppy face but also because they had shared a lot of things together and she had a way with words that touched her differently.She should definitely think of becoming a counselor."Marley must have told you about my encounter with Conrad.""Yeah, he did. That was an abrupt appearance from the abyss, wasn't it?""You can say that again," Louisa watched Bethany pull on her mother's breast fisting and unfisting her miniature fingers with her brilliant eyes intently gawking her mum. "I don't know what to do, no, I mean, I don't know how to go about it.""I understand. Relations should not be forced. It's a go-with-the-flow kind of thing, I don't know if you get what I'm trying to say," Louisa nodded, "yeah, so...you can meet up somewhere just like you would do with a business partner. Talk about basic stuff and eventually get into the matter at hand."
Mason took a U-turn to the pharmacy after dropping Zaphrina off. He had a good time talking about everything and anything with her, like the good old days. When he arrived at the pharmacy, the door opened before he could reach for the knob. He came in contact with a face that he had seen before; same salt and pepper bob but contrary to the last time she was in a pair of faded jean baggy jumpsuit, this time she had on a short leather skirt beneath a crop top. She smiled at him with charm and warmth then frowned. "Oh my! What happened to your face?" Mason rubbed his neck not just out of nervousness but also trying to recall the lady's name. "Got into a little fight," he vaguely retorted. "Oh, you didn't seem to be that kind of person some days back." "Don't judge a book by its cover, you know that? For all you know you might be talking to a criminal." He chuckled but the lady didn't seem to find the joke. A sad mask appeared on her b
It was a silent ride to school so far. Neither Petra nor Gianna seemed to be in the mood for a dispute and Louisa was very much happy and okay with that. The last thing she needed was to drive to work with a thumping head as the routine had it which is why she preferred Mason to drive the kids to school. He knew the tricks which never worked when she tried. He wasn't going to be in town until two days and she missed him dearly. Louisa and Mason, a year before their wedding, were lucky enough to purchase three hectares of land in their dream town—Philipstown. They'd taken out time to visit it after their contract in renovating a retired baseball player's home— Joey Duran—was over. They'd fallen in love with the serenity of the little town, its adorable boutiques, and classic restaurants. Louisa had most especially fallen in love with Cold Spring Harbor. It's greenish-blue glimmering water at day and different hues of orange and yellow at dusk due to the reflection of the setting sun.
"Before you all present here, most especially Mr. Frederick Woods, I, Mason Donovan plead to have your blessings and to let go off your daughter, Louisa Ariana Woods to the realm of my love, care, and affection. I do not want to make empty promises but I give you my word that I'll give her all that I've got." He turned to Louisa, took a step back, and gradually went down on a knee."It's been a short, yet a long time since we've known each other, Lou, and during all this time I've learned so many things about you and with you. You might think this is too early but I don't. I have made up my mind," he fished out a blue velvet ring case from his pocket."To spend the rest of my life with you," he opened the box to a shimmery diamond ring. "Louisa," he called. "Will you marry me?"Louisa covered her mouth with a palm as the tears which had built up during his little speech finally rained."Say it!" Doris yelled from the crowd."Yes, say Yes, Lou," Elizabeth added.Soon enough, all the wom
Everything went on successfully. It was indeed true that happiness originated from a peaceful mind, an entourage of sincere positive energy from family, friends, and even strangers. Everyone's face dazzled with smiles and laughter as plates and dishes were passed from one to another. The atmosphere was inundated with chatters about everything and anything.What more could one ask for? Zaphrina was barely thirty seconds into her meal when she noticed Ace's absence. She could swear he was present during grace but now where was he at? "Bread?" Louisa who was sitting beside her asked with a basket of buns. At the latter's sight of worry in Zaphrina's countenance, she asked, "what is it?" Zaphrina vacated her chair. "I'll be back, permit me."It was in the boy's room, after adventuring in the playroom, that the young mother found her boy crying at an idle corner, his head bent to his knees. "Ace, what is wrong, my baby?" She rushed to h
YOUNG BEARDED GANG HQ. "Relax, man," Marley reassured Mason by tapping his shoulder, "you're as stiff as a corpse." The latter hadn't realized that, in fact, he seemed to not have known what was going on as he walked into the company of other bearded gangs of the family with Marley looking all happy-panky and friendly. Like nothing ever transpired.He would've thought so if the plastered cut on his jaw didn't sting so bad. The dude had quite a fist, he had to admit. "Gentlemen, I present to you an aspiring new member of the gang, Mason Donovan." The room which was filled with a dozen and three more men turned dead as fifteen pairs of eyes glued their way.The room was a typical men's garden with a bar growing a variety of liquor, a billiard table, flat-screen TV, beer fridge, and much more his eyes hadn't landed on yet. "What happened to your face, dude?" A tall man resting his feet on a coffee table asked. His low cut, exposing his scalp, made him look younger than his age could
Gianna had fallen asleep in the middle of a story that her father narrated. A kiss and a good night wish crowned the event. Mason strode to Louisa's room afterward, the latter was changing into a tempting shimmering dark red silky nightdress. She flew her hair out of the dress's trapping neckline in a way that was not only alluring but dick-breaking. He stood there staring in awe. "Is she asleep already?" "Uh...yeah." He broke out of his daze and began discarding his clothes. A warm shower and a lower body cover—boxers—entitled him to the bed right next to Louisa. She laid her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and listened to the quietness of the room then to the melody of his heartbeat. "How did your visit go?" He played with her hair. "Great. She's growing strong." "Yeah, I noticed that too. It's a good thing." "What about work, how did it go?" It was rare that they worked on Saturdays and when they did, it usua
The proper introduction of Gianna to Ruth went smoothly, joyfully, and amicably. To Louisa's surprise, Gianna enjoyed the visit to the extent of not wanting to return home. The little girl stuffed herself with Ruth's pastries and sumptuous meals so much that it was almost impossible for her to walk. Louisa at some point had second thoughts on going even though joining the duo was her idea. The fear was due to the first impression she made of herself in front of Ruth a few months back. The twists and turns of life. But luckily for her, the lady was receiving and behaved like nothing out of place ever occurred between them. "She's fast asleep," Mason commented after a glance at the rearview mirror. Louisa swiftly turned. "I'm afraid we'll never hear the end of Grandma Ruth's apple pie."That was all Gianna chanted halfway through their journey before falling asleep. "She reminds me of Ava. She too loves my mum's apple pie." "I
"It still hurts you isn't it?" "Badly." Dylan exhaled. On his way to Lydia's, he had seen Louisa and Mason from a distance cheerfully hopping into Mason's jeep. Credit to his gallantry to make sure she was secured in first.Why did that detail bother him? Because whether he did that or not, she won't come flying in his arms for severe reasons. "Did Louisa tell you...her brother wishes to help?" He had immediately jumped to narrating to his sister about his encounter with Louisa days back after telling her about seeing the happy duo down the street. "Why help?" Lydia lowered her head. Even though Dylan was closer to her than Levine and Max were, she still found him intimidating when talking about certain things with the fear of not knowing how he'll take it. Especially since Corey came into their lives. "To reduce Corey's penalty." She hesitated. "Because that's what you want?" She remained silent for a bit. The only time Dylan ever got mad at her was when she settled for the di
It was very understandable how Dylan reacted to Corey's case. She would do the same if she were in his shoes. Lydia hadn't to worry about him, not now, not in the next life because of the strong support system that existed—family. From a visible distance, Louisa couldn't sight her daughter at the meet-up point and the premises had begun to dry out of human presence. Panic surged.Louisa brusquely fled out of her car into Gianna's classroom where she walked into Mrs. Heather with a stack of papers. "Hello, Miss Woods, how can I be helpful to you?" She adjusted her glasses upper her nose. "I haven't seen Gianna so I was wondering if she was still in class." "Not at all. All the kids flew out as soon as the bell went off," she laughed but stopped when Louisa's face was still insipid. "Uh, have you checked the restrooms? Or perhaps someone from the family must have picked her up." She didn't know or assign anyone to pick Gianna up. Zaphrina was under house arrest, Marley around that t
"You're ridiculous, you're fucking ridiculous, Conrad." "What is it this time?" A woman in black and red ombre hair tossed a phone to the dark red-haired man. "Who is she? You've been texting her since three days ago, isn't it?" Conrad opened his mouth to speak. "You can't lie to me because the proof is right there in your phone, so tell me the truth." The woman yelled. "Come on, Jenny, she's my coworker and nothing more." "You call your coworker sweet names?" Conrad gently approached Jennifer as a zookeeper will do to an escaped Leopard. "I swear, there's nothing going on between her and me. It happens that we call each other sweet names but there's nothing more to it, believe me." He tried to touch her but was yelled at in return, "don't touch me. You're a bloody liar, Conrad." She pushed him to run downstairs. "Jenny," Conrad called behind her, "Je...Jenny, hear me out." "Don't follow me, Conrad, don't talk to me