One day, Damian asked me to hang out at his place. I went to his house, and the first thing I noticed was how huge his house was. I knew that he lived in an elite part of the city, but I didn’t realize it would be this massive. There was a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a grand piano and all. I wasn’t the type to be easily impressed by wealth, but his house was quite impressive.
A maid ushered me to the living room but told me that Damian wasn’t there. So, I sat down in the living room and chatted him up. Damian apologized for not being here, his business affair took longer than he anticipated, but he told me that he would come back as soon as possible. He asked me to wait if I wanted to.
I sat there, contemplating whether to stay or go home when I heard quick footsteps approaching me, and Rai appeared. From what I could see, he had just finished showering. His hair was wet, and his shirt was unbuttoned. Oh, and he wore glasses, adding to his sexiness. I was a sucker for guys wearing glasses. I didn’t think that someone could get any sexier, but oh boy, was he the sexiest man I had ever seen. I couldn't get tired of looking at him.
“Ahhh.. Damian is not here at the moment, Princess.” He informed me.
“Yeah, the maid told me. I’ve already chatted him up. He said he’ll come back soon. It’s ok, though. You are here.” I said, smiling at the vision of Rai looking sexier by the minute.
Since I gave him my number, we became pretty close, so it was now easier and more comfortable being around him.
He hesitated but then asked, “Princess, would you like to come to my room? I’ve been meaning to ask you some questions, but I don’t want anyone to listen.”
“You are not going to ravish me, are you, Rai?” I asked, teasing him.
His jaw dropped, and he blushed.
“You are going to ravish me?” I gasped and feigned shock.
Rai’s whole face became even redder, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to say something that never came out of his mouth. I laughed at him. It was fun to tease Rai since he would become awkward and cute whenever I teased him.
“Sure, Rai. Lead the way.” I told him, grinning, once I felt it was enough for me to tease him. I wouldn’t want him to feel uncomfortable around me because I teased him too much.
He blushed once again but led me to his room on the second floor. Once we reached his room, he opened the door for me. I stepped in and saw that his room was huge. There were sofas, a huge tv, a desk, and huge wardrobes, and his bed was huge. This was just a guest bedroom, and it was this big? I shook my head in disbelief.
He asked me to sit, so I just plopped down on his bed. That was when the interrogation began.
He asked me about my marriage and whether I was already divorced. I told him no, but we were separated, and my husband already had someone new.
He asked the reasons I was divorcing. I told him that my ex-husband was lazy and always asked me for money. He even asked me to ask my mom for money when I told him I didn’t have any. He never wanted to converse with me, and he didn’t even want to touch me. He was not interested in me sexually. He preferred to play games and watch movies on his laptop. Two months into our marriage, I asked him for divorce since he couldn’t give me anything, not even affection. He seldom kissed or hugged me. I guessed he just wanted my money. I cried every night because of it. I felt like I didn’t have a husband at all.
Rai was shocked by all the information that I had provided.
“He did all that? Princess, you deserve someone who can show you how much he loves you. Not a guy who feels indifferent and just wants your money.” Rai said softly while taking my hands.
“Well, I didn’t know all that before marrying him. He changed after we were married. And maybe I was the cause of all that.” I sighed.
“What do you mean, Princess? Everyone deserves to be loved. You are not an exception.” He said softly as he stroked my hand with his thumb.
I hesitated. Should I tell him about my condition? What if he changed after knowing? Most people wouldn’t be able to accept me if I told them, even my friends. I lost nearly all my friends after being diagnosed with bipolar. Most would just judge me for having a mental illness. They didn’t understand when I suddenly shut myself off from them. Even my family couldn’t accept it.
“I have bipolar, Rai.” At last, I told him. I wanted to know how he would react if he were just like most men I knew. It was better for him to know now rather than later.
“Bipolar? As in extreme mood swing?” He asked. His thumb stopped stroking my hand.
“Yes, Rai,” I whispered and looked at our hands, not daring to look at him, scared of looking at his expression. What if he was disgusted?
“What happened, Princess? I mean, what triggered it? And how long have you known?” He asked as he touched my chin and tilted my head gently so I could look at him. As I was looking at him, his thumb started caressing my cheek.
Looking at him, his gaze warmth, as if he was looking into my soul, I told him everything. Things I’d never told anyone at all, not even my family. He sat there listening quietly while I told him about my demon. One of my ex-boyfriends used to abuse me physically and emotionally and let his friends have their ways with me. At that point, he stood up and slammed his fist against his wardrobe. I jumped at the sudden noise. I was shocked and scared. His demeanor changed. He was furious.
“How could someone do that to you?! What kind of monsters dared do that kind of stuff to my Princess?! If they are here right now, I will kill them myself.” His voice was full of fury.
I was scared of this side of him that I didn’t realize he had called me his princess. He tried to touch me, but I flinched. He took a few deep breaths and changed to the Rai that I knew - the warm, soft and gentle Rai. He kneeled in front of me and caressed my cheek.
“Please don't be afraid of me, Princess.” He whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear.
He then sat down next to me and hugged me. His hug was the opposite of him. It wasn’t soft and gentle, but one that was quite forceful and tight, while telling me that he would protect me from then on and that he was sorry I had to experience all those horrible things.
“You must be terrified to have gone through all those horrible things alone, Princess.” He stroked my hair.
Maybe because I’d never really cried about it, or maybe because looking at Rai being Rai, his gaze so tender, his hug was like none I had ever felt, that I began crying. All the while, Rai just held me without saying anything. He wiped away my tears; he kissed away my tears. The gentler he was, the more tears rolled down my eyes.
Since then, my relationship with Rai blossomed. We texted less, but we talked more on the phone. He became more open, he laughed more, and he changed. I changed too. I trusted him with stories that I had never dreamt of sharing with anyone and every feeling I was experiencing. Even when I had fights with my mom or sister and felt like killing myself, I always called Rai. He would always calm me down and talk me out of harming myself. Having bipolar had really changed me. There was no in-between, only manic or depressive, and Rai was able to handle me when even my own mom could not.
Starting from that day, I spent nearly every day with them, sometimes staying over at Damian’s place, in one of the guests’ bedrooms. During the day, we went to the mall or some restaurants together, the three of us or just Rai and I. Strangely, I’d never gone out with Damian, just the two of us alone, without Rai, though I had never really thought about it too much.
I still remember our first kiss and the first time we made love. It was around two months after we met. As usual, Damian wasn’t home, so I spent my time in Rai’s room, watching tv. Rai loved to hold me. He told me we were like two pieces of puzzles that fitted perfectly together, and he loved to caress my face. He also loved to tuck my hair behind my ear - that was his signature move. I loved being spoiled with affection by Rai. That was when he asked me, “Princess, can I kiss you?” I was stunned by his question. No one had ever asked my permission to kiss me. He was the first. I somehow managed to look into his eyes and whispered, “Yes”. Gone was the Rai that was gentle. He pulled my head back suddenly and kissed me deeply like there was no tomorrow. It was raw, passionate. I couldn’t breathe due to his kiss. He groaned and said, “Gosh, I’ve been wanting to kiss you for as long as I can remember, Princess.” His lips left mine just to utter those words before possessing mine again
“Rai?” Damian’s voice asked from behind the door. I held my breath, not knowing what to do. Should I answer? Should I open the door? Should I keep quiet? Did he know? Did he hear us? Would Rai want Damian to know about us? “Rai?” Damian’s voice sounded again, accompanied by another knock on the door. I decided to stay quiet, hoping that he would go away. It would be embarrassing to be caught by Damian. I sighed with relief as I heard his footsteps receding away from the door. “Oh, no,” I mumbled as I exhaled. I wanted to stay with Rai, but I was parched from all the moaning, and there were no water bottles in the room. What should I do? I groaned at the thought of having to face Damian after having sex with Rai. I quickly kissed Rai, and tried to find my dress, and groaned again as I remembered that Rai had ripped it off. I searched for something to wear and ended up wearing one of Rai’s shirts. I didn’t bother searching for a bottom since the shirt was long enough to cover my na
Since then, I spent every night at Damian's place, sleeping in Rai's room. Our relationship became deeper. It wasn't always about making love. Oh, trust me, our lovemaking was always intense. True, we did it every night, morning, and sometimes afternoon too, but it was beyond that. We spent many nights talking about deep stuff; it bonded us in ways beyond any relationships I'd ever had. We really gave our souls to each other. *** One night, after one of our many lovemaking, Rai asked me to go downstairs with him. He led me to the grand piano and sat me down beside him. "Rai, you can play the piano?" I asked, though not surprised at the thought. "He was the best in his class." I could hear Damian's voice from behind us. I turned around and realized that Damian was sitting on the sofa, watching tv, his back toward us. "That good, huh?" I teased Rai. He smiled softly and started playing a song that I recognized. It was 'I Do' by 98 Degrees. He was pretty good; I thought to myself un
But nothing would always be lovey-dovey, wouldn't it? I remember that it was around ten days before the party. I wanted to surprise Rai by giving him a present. As a girl, I needed advice from a guy on what to give Rai. So, I decided to entrust the task to my cousin, Frank, since Damian was unavailable. Frank was younger than me, just like Rai and Damian. He had that boyish charm, drawing everyone to his friendliness. Some would say that he was handsome but never compared his handsomeness to Rai or Damian. They were all attractive, just different types of handsomeness. I was very close to Frank; he was like a younger brother to me. Although, since he was way taller than me, and seeing how close we were, some people who didn’t know we were cousins might think that he was my boyfriend. Frank liked to put his arm around me whenever we walked together, and he always made me laugh, just like Damian. So on that day, we were w
I looked at my wrist. It was bruised. I didn’t know that my wrist was bruised, but since Damian mentioned it, I could feel that my wrist was tender. I didn’t want to say anything, afraid that it would somehow strain their relationship. “That bastard!I will punch him for hurting you. That’s not a way to treat a lady.” He said angrily, standing up so fast to go to Rai. I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him down, preventing him from going to Rai. “Don’t. Just let it be. Please stay here with me for a while longer. I don’t want to be alone right now.” I pleaded. Damian asked if I was sure. I told him yes. After some time, Damian told me it was time to leave the room. “You’ve been here for four hours, Kat. And Rai should have calmed down by now. I actually brought Frank to meet Rai to clear the misunderstanding. He should’ve known the truth by now. F
One night while tending to my wrists, Damian asked about my bipolar. I told him that one of my ex-boyfriends was abusive, but I didn’t tell him that I was, well, gang-raped. I had only told Rai about it. I didn’t want others to know, not even my family. Damian froze when he heard that I had been abused for months by my ex-boyfriend. “That bastard.” Anger filled his voice. He was so angry that he unconsciously squeezed my injured wrist. “Umm.. Damian. You are squeezing my wrist.” I winced. He snapped back to reality and apologized. “Kat, it’s been more than a week. Don’t you think that it’s time for you guys to talk? Rai is even more of a wreck than you. It’s unsettling to see him like that, and you like this.” He said while finishing the bandage on my wrist. “Do you think I should, Damian?” I asked quietly. “Kat, you guys love each other so much. So, yeah, I think you should.” Damian put his arm around me.
The next morning, I woke up feeling better. Rai was not in the room, so I went downstairs to search for him. I saw him sitting on the sofa with Damian. His shirt was unbuttoned, and Damian was touching his chest. I wondered what they were doing. “Morning, what are you guys doing?” I asked. “Apparently, someone stabbed himself with a letter opener last night,” said Damian. Suddenly I remembered what happened yesterday. I quickly moved to Damian’s side to see the wound. “Oh my God, a letter opener can do that?” I asked, horrified, looking at the small but gaping wound. “If he used enough force, then yeah. The wound is not deep, but I think he’ll still need stitches. I’ll go to the hospital with him.” Said Damian. “No, I’ll go with him,” I told them quickly. I looked at Rai and said pleadingly, “Please, let me go with you.” “Can you drive by yourself, Rai?” Damian asked. Rai nodded, and I went along with him. *** We arrived at the hospital, and the nurse asked what had happened
The next morning, everyone was busy. Rai was on the phone most of the time, and Damian was nowhere to be found. I decided to go home for a while to take some clothes. I returned to Damian’s place just in time to prepare for the party. I was placed in one of the guests’ rooms. The maid had put all of the required stuff in the room. My dress, shoes, earrings, clutch, and a sexy boudoir-type black-with-a-hint-of-gold mask. Was this going to be a masquerade party? I thought as I sat in front of the dressing table so the make-up artist could start her work. It took me nearly five hours to get ready. The make-up artist put gold, bronze, and black eyeshadows on my eyes with cat-eye eyeliner. Even though I was Indonesian-Chinese, I have huge eyes, so she chose cat-eye make-up with smokey eyes. My big eyes now looked sharper. I had a very thin upper lip; whenever I smiled, my upper lip became a very thin line, so she decided to overdraw my lips to make my lips loo