NELINA
I was having difficulty sleeping at night as I couldn't get Royce out of my head. The touch of his hand and his soft lips brushing my skin became so apparent to me like he was in my bed. I longed to have him near me, to love and care for me. I wondered if he was thinking about me while lying on his bed.
The flash thought of Roxie came into my head, especially when she appeared behind Royce on the beach. The real score between them was unclear to Roxie, while Royce insisted that they were done two years ago. The thought of Maddox and Roxie kept me up all night. I don't want to be entangled with an unfinished relationship.
The following day I woke in my bed with Royce still in my thoughts. I hugged my soft pillow imagining it was Royce's warm body, until I remembered I had to attend an event.
<NELINAI wouldn't get tired of visiting this place to eat. I said to myself when we walked into my favorite, or should I say our favorite Italian restaurant. Amazingly, we shared the same sentiment in this place. How odd is that to people not related to each other?His granny and my brother left us almost simultaneously, and this place reminds us so much of them. Thoughts after thoughts came to mind. I've visited Boloca Felize many times, but I didn't recall seeing Royce; he is not a familiar face to me. I would love to believe that there's a suitable time for everything. The right time to meet the right person.Is he the right person? Some parts of me argued in my head."Welcome, Mr. Park, Ms.
NELINA"That's very unwelcoming Nelly, it's not like we had a good time before," he said, a disgusting smirk spread on his lips.When I first met Royce, I was annoyed with his wicked smirk, but with this man, I felt disgusted."Did we? I don't remember," my voice firmed as I stood up beside Royce.Royce looked at me in confusion but didn't say a word. His narrowed eyebrows and wary eyes were enough statements that he wanted to know what was going on. Royce grabbed my hand entwining with his, a smile escaped on the corner of his lips. I took it as an assurance that everything would be fine. He squeezed my moist hand with my sweat."Sweet..." Dennis said in his low tone voice as if to tease us, and then he t
NELINA"Yes, you are," an old man appeared on the door. He was probably in his 60's."Dennis, don't degrade your family's reputation. This is such a disgraceful act. And also, we have plenty of valued customers tonight. I can't let you ruin our restaurant's reputation." The old man reprimanded Dennis. He then nodded to the security guards to dismiss them.The security started to drag Dennis again."You can't do this to me, old man.""Of course I can. If you don't want your father to know about this, you better obey." The old man said; his voice didn't trail off.Dennis froze at the mention of his father, he was taken aback and obediently followed the secu
ROYCEI continuously massage my temple while pacing back and forth in my living room, waiting for the call to be picked up. Nelina wouldn't admit it, but I saw it in her eyes. She was terrified; her anxiety attacked again even though she did her best to hide it from me."Hello, Mr. Park." Finally, a well-modulated voice came from the other line."Yes, Jay, thanks for picking up. I know it's late, but I badly need your help," I said as I sat on the couch. Almost midnight when I took a glance at my wristwatch. It took two hours before I finally decided to call for professional help."I am sending you a detailed format that I need for a certain person. Please give me all the details when I come home from Manila. I'll be leaving tomorrow, so hopefully, af
ROYCE The food was excellent, unlike what Nelina has pointed out that she's not a good cook. Probably my sense of taste is biased when it comes to her that the food is savored good. Although, I think it tastes delicious because Nelina might have gotten it from her mom, who's a great cook. Whichever might be, I enjoyed having my breakfast cooked by the one I love. "Hey," Nelina gently elbowed me, which interrupted my thoughts. "Yes." "Have you scheduled an appointment with the doctor today?" "Yes, we have to be there at 11am to check Sir Arthur and discuss the options we have for your dad's speedy recovery." "That's even be
NELINA The conversation with Royce in the hospital keeps replaying in my head. Royce seems really happy helping my family that I could not help but be curious about his own family. His parents, he said, left him when he was little. It must have been hard for him. The thought of it crushed my heart. All this time, it was all about me about my anxiety, my family, and my job. He always made time for me. I forcefully shut my eyes and suppressed the guilt inside. I should be reciprocating all the love he gave me; I don't want him to feel that way, not seeing his worth. My nails raked on the bed I sat on. I felt like I'd put too much burden on Royce's shoulder. If not for his looks, I wouldn't believe that he is a 30-year-old man. Royce was way more mature in dealing with things more than any other man I know i
ROYCEAt precisely 1 PM, the team was complete. Nelly and I were the last ones to arrive at the Racing Track. Rico, Santi, Leo, and Andi were already in their racer suits. Well prepared for our scheduled Sunday drag racing practice. "Guys, you know my girlfriend, right?" I said as we joined in the group patiently waiting for us. Nelly's hand entwined with mine."How could we forget?" Rico was quick to answer."Hi, Nelly," Andi and Leo said in unison and raised a hand in greetings."Hi, guys," Nelly responded as she pressed her lips in a thin line. She's still a little shy around my friends."Sweet..." I heard Santi. His voice had a trace of tease as he prolonged the word, a sinister smirk pla
ROYCEA few minutes had passed, but Nelly never said a word following Roxie's encounter. I brought her to my quarter to calm down. My eyes stuck at her innocent face as she sat opposite me. Her face down as she squeezed her hands. Nelly's chest rose and fell, which is quite different from ordinary; I could hear her breathing because of the silence that dominated between us.Even if she hasn't uttered a word, I know that she's having an inner argument. The last thing I want her to think is questioning her worth just because Roxie belittled her."Do you wanna say something? Ask me anything."I broke the silence. Only by then, Nelly lifted her head, her sight landed on mine. She straightened her body, her back on the cushion. All the while, never leaving my eyes that