Do we have a potential 2nd ML and FL coming up? ;) Anyway, today's July 4, 2025. I'll be off on weekends and on July 6, it's my birthday, so I'll be celebrating. ^_^ See you Monday, loves~!
The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that I was very warm. And I wasn't in my usual comfy pajamas.I slowly sat up and blinked at myself.What in the actual hell?I was wearing one of those silky, lacy nightgowns Jessy made me buy in a fit of "treat yourself" energy weeks ago. The kind that screamed boudoir photoshoot and not "recovering from a night of questionable decisions."It barely covered my thighs, and the straps were hanging off my shoulder like even the fabric was ashamed of me.My head throbbed. I pressed my palms to my temples.“Am I.. forgetting something? Let me backtrack a little…”Karaoke. Yes, there definitely was karaoke. Javier. Yes, he was there. He rescued me from a gang. Tequila. Yup. I drank it with him when we were singing Karaoke.A game of ketchup. Hmm… I had a dream playing it with Joaquin this time. But did we really play it? How does he know that? I only played it with Javier. Was I dreaming?A kiss?Wait.KISS?I groaned and collapsed back
My head lolled to the side as Joaquin pushed open the bedroom door with one arm, still holding me bridal style like I was some drunk damsel in distress. Except the damsel was slurring, and very much trying to wriggle out of his hold.“I can walk, y’know,” I grumbled, voice muffled against his chest. “Put me down.”“I did that earlier,” he muttered. “You fell. On your face.”“That’s a lie,” I said, poking his collarbone. “You just like touching me.”He groaned under his breath. “You’re impossible when drunk.”He gently set me down on my feet, but I immediately staggered to the side and bumped into the nightstand. “See?” he said flatly.“Shut up.”I waddled to the drawer and pulled out the first nightgown I could find. It was the plain black night gown. I think it was one of the revealing ones Jessy and I bought before, but whatever. My head is spinning enough for me to even think about this.Joaquin stood awkwardly by the door, facing away like I was some virgin bride about to be unveil
"Javier! You better drink that, or I win again!"I pointed a finger at him with all the authority a very drunk woman could muster. My head felt light, and the room was doing little happy spins, but I was still going strong. Javier chuckled across the table, glass in hand, cheeks flushed as he purposely downed another shot."You win again, Venny. You're truly unstoppable.""Darn right, I am." I grinned, swaying slightly as I raised my own glass. "To victory!"I didn't notice the door opening at first. It wasn’t until Mark's guilty voice whispered, "Sir... I'm so sorry, she wouldn't listen," that I looked up with a confused squint.There he was.Joaquin Greyson. My fake fiancé. My very real problem.He looked like a storm in a suit, jaw clenched, arms crossed, Ethan trailing awkwardly behind him and rubbing his forehead with the biggest facepalm I'd ever seen."Haven. What the hell?"I blinked, then grinned lazily. "Heyyyy, it’s my fiancé… don’t worry, Joaco. I'm fiiine.""You and your n
I belted out the last few notes of Hopelessly Devoted to You with an overly dramatic flair, swaying slightly as I gripped the mic stand like I was on stage at some big concert instead of inside a dimly lit private room in a bar.A very exclusive private room, apparently.“Okay, Olivia Newton-John,” Javier chuckled from the couch, a glass of whiskey in his hand. “You’re really committing.”I dropped the mic with a groan and flopped beside him. “I was born for the stage,” I said, then started coughing.He reached over, snatching the remote and connecting his phone to the speaker system. “Alright, star of the night, time to take a break. Hydrate. And maybe eat before you start singing Total Eclipse of the Heart and summon a thunderstorm.”I grinned through my flushed face and took the water he handed me. “Buzzkill.”He smirked. “You’ll thank me later.”A mellow jazz instrumental started playing from the speakers, shifting the mood entirely. I looked around, finally soaking in the ambiance
I had just finished editing another chapter when Joaquin stepped into the study with Ethan.“We’ll be out for a while,” Joaquin said, grabbing the car keys from the tray by the door. “Final check-up with the doctor, then we’ll head to the office to wrap up paperwork for next week.”Ethan gave me a small wave. “We’ll be back later this evening. You okay here?”I nodded, forcing a smile. “Yeah, of course. Go.”I was still shaken after earlier—still haunted by the words I typed with too much of myself poured into them. Joaquin hadn’t said anything since. No strange glances. No awkward pauses. He either didn’t notice… or chose not to bring it up.For that, I was grateful. But it didn’t make it hurt less.“I think I’ll go out for dinner. Just to clear my head,” I added, grabbing my purse.Joaquin turned slightly. “Take Mark with you. Just in case.”“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving them off. “I’ll be fine.”***The Italian restaurant was my little escape. Usually, Jessy and I would be clinking g
The late morning sunlight streamed through the large windows of the study, casting a warm golden hue on the wooden floors.I sat beside Joaquin at the long table, my laptop open, a cup of coffee cooling beside me. Manuscripts were scattered across the table, red markings and post-it notes detailing our intense editing session.We had been working for hours, both immersed in revisions and discussions, the air buzzing with creativity and an unspoken ease that had started to return between us.“There are things I wish I could say out loud—like how his smile lingers longer in my mind than I’d like to admit, or how I sometimes watch him laugh just to feel the warmth of something I can’t hold. But I won’t say it. I can’t. Because he loves someone else, and I refuse to be a burden to a heart already full.”“Hmm… this comes off a bit poetic,” I commented, making a note on it and then giving it to him.“Really?”He read it. Joaquin, with his sleeves rolled up, leaned back and scanned through a