ANMELDENMONALISA "Jealous?" Jason said, sliding his arm around my waist with the particular smugness of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Aaron's expression didn't change but his eyes did. Just slightly. "Of what exactly?" "Oh don't," I said quickly, already seeing where Jason was taking it. But Jason was already warming up. "Of this," he gestured loosely between us. "Of love. Of what we have. Of the fact that some people in this room are deeply, spiritually, and romantically fulfilled and others are—" "Jason," I said. He looked at me. Relaxed. Almost entertained. "I'm just painting a picture." I stared at him for a moment. Something moved through me — not the explosive kind of anger that makes you raise your voice and say things you regret. No. This was quieter than that. Colder. The kind that starts in your stomach and rises slowly until it settles right behind your eyes. "Put the brush down." He tilted his head slightly, like he was considering whether I was
MONALISA "Jealous?" Jason said, sliding his arm around my waist with the particular smugness of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Aaron's expression didn't change but his eyes did. Just slightly. "Of what exactly?" "Oh don't," I said quickly, already seeing where Jason was taking it. But Jason was already warming up. "Of this," he gestured loosely between us. "Of love. Of what we have. Of the fact that some people in this room are deeply, spiritually, and romantically fulfilled and others are—" "Jason," I said. He looked at me. Relaxed. Almost entertained. "I'm just painting a picture." I stared at him for a moment. Something moved through me — not the explosive kind of anger that makes you raise your voice and say things you regret. No. This was quieter than that. Colder. The kind that starts in your stomach and rises slowly until it settles right behind your eyes. "Put the brush down." He tilted his head slightly, like he was considering whether I was
MONALISA "Aaron?" I blinked. "What are you doing here?" Aaron stood there with that signature grin of his, hands in his pockets, completely at ease. that was the way he always was, like he had never been caught off guard a day in his life. He was Jason best buddy and never like Madea for him so he supported our relationship from the start. More reason I liked him. " Don't worry I will make sure Jason stays with only you." He has assured me one time we hang out together. Him, Jason and I. And till now he had somehow managed to kept to the promise. I turned to Jason, who had the decency to look at least slightly guilty, his eyes sliding away from mine just a second too late. "You knew he was coming?" "I called him," Jason admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. I stared at him for a moment then looked back at Aaron. Something clicked. "How is that possible?" I said, my eyes fixed on Jason. "I have been with you all along.". Jason held my gaze without blinking. "Yes."
MADEAI didn't know what to say.Honestly, I was still trying to figure it out when a scream came from somewhere behind me and we both turned at the same time.For a second — just one — I felt relieved. Which was terrible. But I did.It was a proposal.A guy was on one knee, ring out, hand shaking a little. The girl froze. Then her face just crumbled in the best way. She said yes before he even finished asking, pulling him up off the floor and into her arms. They were laughing and crying at the same time. The whole restaurant started cheering.I watched longer than I meant to.There was something about them — the way they were holding on to each other — that made my chest feel tight in a way I wasn't expecting.And just like that, my mind drifted somewhere else entirely.To Jason.We never had that. No knee on the floor, no ring catching the light, no room full of strangers cheering us on. No fairytale. Not even close. And somehow I had still ended up married to him.I don't know how
MONALISA “It’s nothing,” Jason said when I asked what was wrong. Just like that. Two words. Two tiny words, and a smile that was way too perfect, way too practiced. It could fool anyone who didn’t know him, and for a second, I almost let it fool me too. I wanted to take that excuse, wrap it around the tight, restless feeling in my chest, and just let it go. But I couldn’t. I knew that smile. I knew it like I knew every line on his face, every way his eyes betrayed him. And his eyes… his eyes never lied. “Come on,” he said, reaching for my hand. “Let’s just go as we planned.” I looked at him. Really looked. At his hand, stretched out to me. At the tired set of his jaw. At the face I had driven across the city just to see. Something was wrong. I’d felt it the moment I stepped inside, and now, standing in front of him, I wasn’t guessing anymore. I didn’t know what you were supposed to do when the man you loved looked at you like that—like he wanted you to understand, but also wante
**MADEA** Matt Sebastian. Of all the people. Of all the nights. I sat there and stared at him and felt something shift quietly in my chest — not dramatically, not loudly, just enough to notice. He looked good. Better than good, honestly, which wasn't entirely fair. He had that same stillness about him, that same ease, like he never felt the need to fill a room just because he was in it. Older, yes. More settled into himself. But unmistakably, undeniably him. I had not said that name out loud in years. He had been the boy every girl in school wanted, and somehow — inexplicably — he had wanted me. Not the prettiest. Not the loudest. Me. And then his father's research took the whole family to Africa the summer after we graduated, and that was that. We stood outside school on his last day and I held myself together admirably, right up until the moment he hugged me. Then I didn't hold together at all. That was the last time I saw him. Until right now. In this restaurant. On
MADEA The room fell into a quiet silence. It seemed she was trying to decide if it was a good idea. I sat still, hoping she would say yes. Mrs Beaumont finally spoke, her voice calm but firm as she made her decision. “Well, if that is what she wants, then it is fine.” I smiled and held Jason’s
MADEA “The Forever Love Project,” Mrs. Beaumont said, her voice calm yet firm. I looked at her, confused, muttering softly to myself. My stomach twisted with unease. She noticed and leaned closer, clarifying. “I mean the one I explained earlier,” she said. I nodded slowly, my mind racing. She
MADEA I sat there with Jason’s hand covering mine, and an unexpected flicker danced between us—hope, uncertainty, or a silent warning. I held my breath, waiting for him to speak, but he remained stoic, unreadable. His calm only magnified the storm I sensed beneath the surface. The room seemed t
MADEA “Cassandra, you just got here. Go inside and settle down. We will talk when I get back.” Jason’s tone was calm, detached, as if the tension in the room barely registered with him. A small, involuntary smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it. For a fleeting moment, I let myself belie







