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CHAPTER 48: The Person I Have Become
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The Secret Island CHAPTER 49: Upper Eastside Boy
From the story Celine heard from Joe, she imagined Martin being confined in a rehab or a retreat somewhere, but the place he brought her was somewhere completely different.A residential neighborhood in the Upper Eastside?“Let me talk to the security.” Joe excused himself before taking her to the private elevator. A luxurious condo in a wealthy neighborhood was not the place she expected to be in. But that didn’t stop her from worrying about Martin.Is he alright? How’s his health? Joe said he wasn’t the same man, and Celine was worried something had happened to Martin. The criminal trial she had just heard about really alarmed her the most.At this point, no matter how much she tried to understand the situation through Joe’s story, it would be so much better if Martin could explain it to her himself. The questions that pained her heart still lingered—why hadn’t he come back to see her? Why? Why? Why? There was the question of ‘why’ that kept repeating in her head.Although Joe said
The Secret Island CHAPTER 50: I Am Not Good Enough
The man in front of her still clenched his fists and avoided her gaze. He was making her feel uncomfortable. He made her feel like a burden—being here in his presence felt like an unnecessary burden. It was then Celine felt like an idiot. Perhaps it was all in my head. The man she had been fantasizing about every day—dreaming about reuniting and hugging him tightly—that same man who was sitting in front of her didn’t utter a word. He didn’t even want to look at her. To contemplate our relationship, if there was any, Martin didn’t say anything about how he felt about her. He said he liked her. But he never said the word love. Not even once. In all our interactions, it was her alone that confessed her love for him time and again. It was her who poured out her feelings without knowing his view of her. It was her that forced him to promise. And it was her that said she would wait, although he asked her to let go. Maybe it was all in her head.
The Secret Island CHAPTER 51: My Heart Desires
To Celine, two paths emerged… The two paths were diverged by reasons and emotions. She was overwhelmed by anger and hurt, and all she wanted was to walk away, but that 23-year-old girl, the girl she once was, stopped her two legs from moving. That girl, that besotted young girl—the past her that was deeply in love with Martin—the girl that overlooked reason and dignity—that girl demanded that she stayed. And once Celine weighed her options, she chose to stay and listen to what Martin had to say. They still held each other in silence. Celine waited for Martin to continue saying something, anything. Just now…did he tell her he loved her? Eventually, the man spoke. He spoke out his heart. “Don’t say…that I’ve never loved you. Of course, I do. I’ve loved you since we were together. I love you, knowing I should not love you. Since then, my heart beat faster whenever I hear you talk about your feelings. And although we were not
The Secret Island CHAPTER 52: The Therapist Part 3
“Doc, what did she mean? What do you think she wants me to do?”Today, Martin had an appointment with his therapist. He still saw her weekly. The issues he discussed were usually his fear and worries during the week. The bad memories reemerged once in a while, some weeks more frequent than others, and each set of sessions focused on any issue he wanted to work on. And the topic of discussion today was the matter of the heart.His therapist, Gisele, kept her cool once she knew she had to advise on his love problems. Her expertise was in treating trauma victims, and he had never thought of bringing this personal issue to her, but he didn’t have that many options. In the past few years, he talked to her about all sorts of problems—his nightmares, his panic attacks, issues with his parents, his fears, and now his love life. The reason he could recover and walk around town and go about his day-to-day business was because of her. She had been his rock.The bottom line was that he trusted he
The Secret Island CHAPTER 53: On the Plane
Martin was sitting on the plane that was about to depart from JFK airport. The destination was Heathrow airport. He hadn’t been to London for a while, and this trip was exciting for him. In truth, much of the source of excitement was from his travel companion—sitting beside him was Celine. First, she insisted on flying first class, but he casually mentioned that we could sit closer together if it was business class. And here they were, sitting side by side on the same row. Celine didn’t seem so pleased having him around. Her grimace was evidence, and she kept avoiding his gaze. Her feelings were always obvious—when she was angry, he knew. What was important to him was to get back in her good graces. She announced her intention clear that he had to prove himself. He understood the concept of regaining trust but acting on it takes time. The discussion with his therapist gave him some reflections on the next steps. He would follow her to London. He ask
The Secret Island CHAPTER 54: It’s Complicated
Martin opened the curtain to admire the view of the London skyline. He booked a five stars hotel in the middle of the city. He planned to stay here until he had more idea of the direction of his life. It could be weeks or months. He sighed at his predicament.The sun slowly rose. It was almost autumn, and he couldn’t imagine the UK to be this sunny. A gentle ray of light shone on buildings in the city that were strangers to him. He stared into the distance and reminisced. Everything that happened pained his heart to even think about, but worse yet—he became a person that lived without purpose.This was the first time in his life he had lived without a plan. The complicated past had ended, but his thoughts circled back to his mistakes, always. He started to find it boring; he found his fear boring, his nightmares boring, and he wanted to do everything to get out of it.He did discuss this with his therapist in detail, and nothing came out of it. He came to an understanding that it was
The Secret Island CHAPTER 55: Celine’s Office
Kathy was finding an answer to the difficult situation she had to face. It should be business as usual after her boss was back in the office. She had to guess the mood Celine was in. Kathy had been working with her for the past three years as a personal assistant, and it was her role to be aware of office politics or gossip.The biggest gossip for this whole day was the talk of a certain handsome man at the reception. He sat at the reception for the morning and waited. He talked to her boss when she walked past, although she seemed to ignore him. When Kathy asked whether she should call security to escort the man out, Celine promptly rejected. She gave her no further instruction nor explanation.“If he wanted to wait, just let him. Tell Martin he can stay as long as he wants, but don’t expect me to be accommodating. I have work to do.”And that was what Kathy did. Nothing. Although she suspected that man was the same man she saw in the picture frame. The same picture on Celine’s work
The Secret Island CHAPTER 56: Lunch
“I’ve told you everything, Vera. Now, it’s your turn. What should I do?” Two palms covered her face. Celine nervously asked her best friend. The claim of an urgent meeting outside of the office was a lie. Celine intended to spend a few hours in the afternoon resolving the issues that weighed down her heart by discussing them with Vera. But to say that it was an urgent matter was not a lie. Martin was just sitting there, at the reception, being his usual calm and relaxed persona, reading. That was all he did, reading. But that was enough. He let her personal assistant, staff, and suppliers mistake him for her boyfriend. He was her ex! People should just understand that he was only her ex-boyfriend. She hadn’t forgiven him. We hadn’t gotten back together. He wasn’t her boyfriend. Please, stop calling him her boyfriend! “Well, it seems you can now leave your convent. After living like a nun for a long, finally, your hubby has returned
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- The Secret Island CHAPTER 95: Her Friends
- The Secret Island CHAPTER 94: The Recovery
- The Secret Island CHAPTER 93: The Business Partner
- The Secret Island CHAPTER 92: The Interview
- The Secret Island CHAPTER 91: Our Collective Dreams
- The Secret Island Chapter 90: Cooking Session
- The Secret Island Chapter 89: Casual Supper
- The Secret Island CHAPTER 88: Because You Are, I Am
