KATE stayed awake for a couple of hours, waiting for her husband to come back. But Jan did not return to the masters’ bedroom that night. She just thought that he slept in another room. His mansion was big enough; there were a lot of rooms for just the two of them.
It was already dawn when she woke up to the creaking sound of the closet. She knew it was him, but she did not leave the bed nor talk to him. Kate pretended to be asleep. She did not open her eyes even though she felt the cushion move.
“I know your awake, Katherine,” said Jan.
Her body shivered with just the sound of his voice. It was as if his voice had hands touching her.
Damn it…
Perhaps it was the after-effect of what happened between them last night.
Kate opened her eyes when she felt his hand caressing her side. She looked at him straight in the eyes and immediately got lost in them. She could not help but wonder… why were his eyes ha
“JAN, can we talk?” Kate said as soon as his mother went up the stairs.“Sure.”He tugged her to the study room.She heaved a deep sigh and made sure that the door was locked before turning in Jan’s direction.“I don’t like what you told your mother. She already doesn’t like me as your wife, and now….” Kate breathed exasperatedly. “You made me feel like… I’m one of your… whatever you call those women.”He raised a brow.“I’m sorry if I have offended you.” He cleared his throat and sauntered toward the swivel chair. “I don’t know what to tell her to drive her away because I don’t usually do that, you know.”“I… I’ll try to adjust,” she told him.“Well… that’s good.” Jan sat and clasped his hands. “Maybe you and Mom will learn to like each ot
“WHERE the hell have you been, Katherine?” Jan grasped her arm the moment he saw her inside the elevator. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere—” He seemed to notice her hand was hiding something on her chest, so he pulled her hand away. His eyes widened when he saw the cigarette burn at the top of her breast. “What happened?” Jan’s tone changed; it was gentler with a hint of worry.“I… I—”“Who did this to you?” he said through greeted teeth. He fixed his coat around her shoulder and ushered her out of the elevator.“Jan, w-where are we going?” she asked when she noticed that they were already heading out of the hotel.“Where do you think? Of course, I’ll get you to the hospital to get you treated.”He threw his key to the valet when they finally got out. After a few moments, the car arrived.“Hop in,” he orde
WITH her eyes still closed, Kate’s hands searched the other side of the bed and found out that her husband was not there anymore. She heaved a deep sigh and sat up. It was always like that; she would wake up without him beside her and sleep first at night because he was always busy with paperwork and business calls. She wondered if he was able to get a decent sleep, or if he ever ate on time… or when could he have time to perform that marital duty that they should have done a long time ago. It was kind of disappointing that they did not even have this thing called honeymoon. Kate shook her head when that thought crossed her mind. What was she thinking? Her fantasies would not come to life if their marriage was just nothing but a piece of paper. Could it be that he has a problem with…? But no… Jan touched her one night, and his mother said he had slept with lots of women. Then why would he not do the same thing with her? She was his lawfully wedded wife, after
JAN did not let go of her until they reached the administrator’s office. It was as if it was his way of marking his territory. That could have been so sweet if only their marriage was normal.A middle-aged woman greeted them when they got in.“Jan, I’m so happy to see you,” the woman said and smiled. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. When was it again?”“Oh, it was three years ago when I was the speaker.”“Oh, right! The graduation.” The woman turned in Kate’s direction afterwards. “So… I presume this beautiful lady here with you is the one you’re talking about.”“Yes. This is my wife, Katherine,” Jan introduced her.“Hi,” she nodded shyly.“Katherine, this is Mrs. De Luna. She is the university administrator and my aunt to my mother’s side of the family.”“Oh&hellip
NANA Talia, standing in the foyer, rushed to her as soon as she got out of the car. She hugged her tightly and cried. “I was so worried about you. Thank God, you’re home now.” Her nanny sniffled as she caressed her back. Kate heaved a sigh and hugged her nanny back. Now she really felt bad about what happened, and she promised herself not to make the same mistake… ever again. “I-I’m so sorry, Nana.” Her nanny moved away a bit and cupped her face. “This isn’t you, Kate. Tell me, what happened?” She scratched the side of her neck and glanced at Jan, who was just standing a few steps away from them, silent. “Remember my friend Natalie?” she said afterward. “I met her again… at my new school. She happened to transfer there as well. And you know her, right? She’s a party girl, and… uhm… she brought me to this resto-bar to celebrate our mini-reunion,” Kate explained a little louder so Jan could hear what she said. Nana Talia
“DID you apologize to him?” Nana Talia asked when she brought the tray back to the kitchen.Kate knew her nanny was not being nosy; she was just concerned about her. Ever since she was a kid, Nana Talia and her mother always reminded her to apologize whenever she was wrong. Yes, she was wrong last night. It was just that… well… it was a little complicated when it involved Jan.“Hm. We’re good now,” she said, beaming.Nana Talia grasped her arms and caressed them up and down.“Maybe this relationship of yours isn’t as normal as others, but you could at least treat each other as friends. What do you think?”Being friends isn’t bad, but Kate was hoping that it could be something more.“Excuse me, Madam,” said Luisa when she arrived at the kitchen.“Yes?” She turned to face her.“Sir Fernan is here, Madam,” Luisa informed her and
KATE raised her head when she saw her friend Natalie sitting across her chair. She was inside the library, finishing her activities so she could catch up for the prelims.“So. Rob wants to recruit you to be their—”“Natalie…” She heaved a sigh. “I told you I’m not in for a gig right now.”She wanted to focus on her studies, and as much as possible, she did not want to upset Jan.“What is wrong with that? It’s during the night, and it’s not even every night so—”“Jan would not allow me,” she told her friend.“Did you tell him? Did he say no?” Natalie arched a brow. “Come on, Katie! I bet you haven’t even tried asking him.”“Fine. I’m not… interested. I just came with you last time because I want us to bond after years of not seeing each other.” Kate ran her fingers through her hair and
“JONA, can you send me a copy of your notes?” Kate asked her friend as they walked through the hallway. They just got out of the faculty office. “I just remember that I have no notes for this coming prelim exam.”“Oh, sure. Just text me your email address, and I will send it to you right away.” She beamed at her. “Anyway, I have to leave first.” Jona kissed her on the cheek. “`Bye, lovely. See you tomorrow.”“What? Where are you going? I thought you would come with me to the library to return the books?”“I’m meeting someone. He texted me just now,” her friend said, waving her phone in front of her face.“Traitor,” she said, laughing.Kate headed to the library and returned the books. After that, she went straight home. She had been doing that school-home routine since she and Jan had a fight that day she went out with Natalie. It was her fault, an