MasukALEXA“He asked me to marry him, Noelle!” I yelled into the phone as soon as Mark drove out and Noelle picked up.It was about a few minutes to the New Year.Mark and I had surprisingly spent more hours at the local diner, way more than we had ever spent with each other, and after his proposal, I could barely wait to talk to Noelle.I wasn’t certain she would pick up, but I was too desperate not to try.“What?” Noelle was stunned to her bones. “Who?” Noelle asked even though we both knew who I was referring to.“Mark asked me to marry him a while ago, Noelle,” I blurted out again.I just couldn’t get into the house, so I stopped in the living room to speak with Noelle. Every part of me was acting in a way I couldn’t even understand. I didn’t know how best to explain it.Mark Ronaldo and I were married for five years before our messy divorce, but this was the first time he was actually asking me to marry him…a few hours to the New Year!“Are you serious?” Noelle sounded more stupefied.
MARKSince Alexa wanted to talk about something else, I didn’t have a choice but to oblige her. Thankfully, she wasn’t asking something that might ruin the mood, and hopefully, I would be able to find my way around telling her how I felt.“Well, Reyna helped me make the necessary arrangements,” I told her.The moment I did, I caught something flash in Alexa’s eyes, but I really couldn’t tell what it was because it disappeared almost immediately, but it dawned on me that it probably had to be because Reyna once worked for her and her father.“I am sorry about getting Reyna to work for me,” I cleared my throat and said.The air between us was changing, and I really didn’t want it to, but then again, avoiding it wasn’t the solution to it.“It’s fine,” Alexa said, but I didn’t feel that way.I shook my head.“I don’t think I ever apologized for it,” I said.“What’s there to apologize for? If you didn’t hire her, someone else would have,” Alexa responded.She didn’t sound very pissed off,
MARKWhy in heaven’s name would Mona choose this moment to call?I really should have switched it off, but I didn’t even remember that I had a working cell phone after I saw Alexa walking down that stairs in that dress.Everything else in my head disappeared.And now, she chose this moment to call. I intentionally didn’t speak to Mona at all because I wanted this moment with Alexa to be special.She could have called me during hours of the day, but she didn’t until this very moment. As soon as I ended the call, I ensured that I turned off the phone and kept it in my pocket so that I wouldn’t have to deal with such distractions.Tonight was special.I didn’t want anything or anyone to ruin it.“I am so sorry about that, Alexa. It was someone from work, and I don’t want us to be distracted,” I lied.Gosh, I hated lying to Alexa.She would hate me if she found out about the lie and the big secret I was keeping from her, and I dreaded that as well because more than anyone else, I knew how
ALEXA“Mark,” I said, the words coming out in a gasp of breath.Mark stopped and turned to me worriedly.“Is anything wrong?” Mark asked me. “You don’t like it?” He asked further.He was so worried that I could see it in his eyes.I shook my head.“No, Mark, it’s not that,” I responded.“Then what’s wrong?” I questioned further.Mark was so tender and careful that it warmed my heart. It was as though he was being extremely careful not to hurt me or break my heart.If only he had been like this from the very beginning…“There’s nothing wrong, Mark,” I said, making him confused. “It’s just that this is so beautiful,” I eventually said.And that was because my breath had been taken away.Mark sighed with deep relief knowing now that it wasn’t something he had done wrong.The interior was decorated in a cozy and an older pattern. It reminded me of when I was much younger.Although, unlike Mark, I didn’t get to spend time with any of my grandparents as they passed when I was a kid, but the
ALEXAEverything seemed calm and peaceful between Mark and I, and a part of me wished that it would never end, but I also had to remind myself that there was nothing between us except for the fact that we were expecting a child together.If I wasn’t pregnant, Mark would probably be doing this with Mona.“Alexa,” Mark called, interrupting my thought.“Mm?” I responded, snapping out of my reverie.I had no idea why I was thinking about something like this in a moment like this.“What are you thinking about?” Mark asked me.“Why do you think I was thinking about something?” I asked in return.“You seemed lost in thought for a moment,” Mark responded. “What were you thinking about?” He asked again.And it was just at the tip of my tongue to ask him if he would have been here with me if I wasn’t pregnant and not with Mona. If he was doing all of this because he felt the need to act responsible because the thought was making me see his gestures as obligational.Granted, I knew that I pushed
MARKEven though it seemed as though we were both enjoying the silence, I just wanted to talk to Alexa, so I cleared my throat and tried, hoping that she wouldn’t be upset about talking to me.“Um, do you mind telling me why you seemed somewhat upset when I got to the house?” I asked, gently breaking the silence between us.Something inside of me warned me that I might not like the response, but I had already asked.What if I was the reason Alexa was unhappy or upset?It might ruin the moment completely, just like it did before we went for the doctor’s appointment.“What?” Alexa asked.Her mind had been somewhere else, obviously, because she didn’t hear what I said, and I wondered if this was a chance for me to either stay quiet or repeat the question.“Do you mind telling me why you seemed upset when I got to the house?” I repeated against the warning sign in my head.“How do you mean?” Alexa asked, sounding confused.“You looked upset when you came down the stairs to meet me,” I res
IVY“What for?” I asked her defensively.“What do you mean what for? If you hadn’t gone to his apartment, I doubt they would be here right now,” she complained in disappointment. “Did the cops find you there?” She asked after a second passed between us in silence.“Yes, they did,” I answered plainl
MARK“Who are you?” The detective asked Vector.I was still stunned into speechlessness as I looked at Vector. What the fuck was he doing?“I am Vector, Mark’s friend,” Vector responded.“And he is lying!” Ivy yelled at the top of her voice.Clara’s eyes became filled with tears as she looked at he
IVY “A man was found dead, gruesomely murdered in his apartment. His name is…”“That part of town has always been termed as a safe neighborhood, but tragedy has made residents feel unsafe when a young man has been murdered in cold blood. The cops are still trying to find out what happened, as no o
ALEXA“Should I ask him to come in?” My secretary asked when I delayed in responding.“Yes, please,” I quickly responded.Why wouldn’t I want my dad to come in? I was just shocked to my bones that he was at my store for the very first time. The last time I tried to get through to him was futile, an







