MARKAfter Alexa left, it was as though she had dropped a bomb. The library was so quiet that if a pin had fallen to the ground, it would have echoed all through Mr. Porshia’s mansion.And it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.In all honesty, it wasn’t just the silence that made me feel uncomfortable; it was Alexa’s confession. Never would I have imagined that anyone would have fallen in love with me that deeply, and I never knew. I began to think of all the times I have flaunted Ivy because I thought that she was the one, and even in Alexa’s presence.And oh, the damn proposal, twice!Alexa must have felt wounded and battered.One thing I had learned growing up, especially when I was in college was the fact that women were quite emotionally weaker than men. More than three times, some girls from college had been found in the bathroom tearing their lungs and bowling their eyes out in tears over a breakup meanwhile the ex-boyfriend was already out there having a lot of fun.I never
ALEXAWhy on earth did I spill that story?“Excuse me, but I would like to use the restroom,” I said, standing up immediately.I was so embarrassed that I could barely spend another second in their presence.“It’s the last door by your right at the end of the hallway,” Mr. Porshia described. “And take all the time you want,” he added as I walked out of the office.Goodness, I had allowed my fondness and connection with Mr. Porshia so into my head that I talked without reservation. If it was just myself and Mr. Porshia, I wouldn’t have felt this way, but it was only after I was done that I remembered that Mark was sitting right there.“And now, I have gone ahead and told him how madly in love I was with him,” I scolded myself.When I got to the restroom, I simply sat on the toilet seat to think about what just happened and what I had done to myself. I wasn’t feeling pressed at all, but I just needed space to get over this embarrassing feeling I was having deep inside my chest. It was s
MARKI really wish that I could have a few seconds of privacy with Alexa to tell her that she didn’t have to cook up lies just to please Mr. Porshia. We could have stuck to my earlier excuse, but thinking about it now, it was already too late for that.“Go ahead, Alexa,” Mr. Porshia urged.A smile broke on Alexa’s face, and in that moment, I became a little eager to hear what she would come up with.“Well, I think I should start from how things were between my dad and I, because that led me to the story you want to hear,” Alexa started.“Oh, I am going to love anything that comes from you, as long as it is the truth,” Mr. Porshia said. Then his facial expression became serious for a second as he said, “I detest lies, and Mark knows about it.”“Yes, I do,” I quickly responded, sounding almost nervous.The truth.I hoped that Alexa heard that too, and if she went on with whatever story she might have formed in her head, Mr. Porshia might find out. There was just something about him tha
MARKThere was just something about Alexa’s demeanor and mood that shifted when we got into Mr. Porshia’s house, and more, when she met the older man.It was as though every anger just melted away, but that wasn’t even my major concern right now.“Now, you both have to tell me how you met and everything in between!”I wasn’t expecting this from Mr. Porshia. Heck, I didn’t even know that the man was family oriented. When I worked for him several years back, he it was more of business for the both of us. I rarely even met his wife, and his kids, who were much younger at that time, were never in the public eyes, so I never really met them.We were close, but it was basically on the business level, so I was really surprised at this request, and the fact that even in his preparation for our arrival, he had concluded that the woman I was coming with was my wife.I never told Mr. Porshia that I got married.As a matter of fact, we hadn’t even talked since I left Toronto and went back to Pari
ALEXAMark sure knew how to infuriate me, but as soon as we drove out of the villa into the city, I almost forgot all about that.“The city is beautiful,” I said as I looked around.It was so beautiful that I couldn’t look away or even pay attention to where we were being taken to. The same man who picked us up from the airport was the man who was driving us while Nerd sat in front with him, leaving Mark and me at the backseat.“It is,” the driver said.“Would you like a tour later?” Mark asked.“Yes, I definitely would!” I responded without even thinking about my response.“I was here all through the time I was in business school, and trust me, I know all the beautiful places there is to see,” Mark said.I was so caught up in the beauty and serenity of what I was seeing that I wasn’t bothered that it was Mark who was speaking to me.“Sounds like a lot of fun already,” I said.The rest of the drive was filled with awe as there was always something beautiful to look at.Not that I hadn
MARKBy the time Alexa and I got downstairs, Alora and her team had prepared a certain kind of special breakfast for us.“It is called the ‘love breakfast,’” she informed Alexa and me.One thing that stood out to me was the coffee. On the top of it was a love shape in brown color, and they did it in two coffee mugs.“Is this part of Mr. Porshia’s plan?” I had to ask.Instead of responding, Alora simply smiled and said, “Enjoy your meal, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Ronaldo.”The moment she said those words, I glanced at Alexa, knowing that she detested being addressed as my wife, and it was quick enough for me to catch her wincing. However, she tried to put up a fake smile after that.Alexa and I sat down to eat and we did so in silence, which was normal because keeping the silence while eating was the normal table etiquette. However, I could still feel some sense of tension between us. It was as though Alexa was impatiently waiting for something to trigger her anger because she didn’t want to b