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31– Michael

Penulis: Beauty
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-14 20:09:23

I rise, adjusting the cuffs of my shirt as I crush the end of my cigar into the ashtray. Without another word, I step out of the office, Caleb following behind me, and head down the hall toward the underground VIP lounge—the place where real conversations happen. Where the masks come off and the deals get bloody.

The underground lounge is a little quieter than the main club, but there’s still music here, although more tame so we can hear each other speak when talking business rather than screaming at the top of our lungs.

I push open the door and step inside. It’s a haze of smoke, perfume, and poor decisions.

Three men—Jorge, Luis, and Santino—are lounging on the dark velvet couches like kings on thrones. Shirt buttons open. Cigars burning. Their suits wrinkled from how tenaciously the dancers are grinding on them.

They’re laughing so loud and throwing cash into the air like they’ve never received a lap-dance from a naked woman before. Luis slaps a dancer’s thigh while Jorge pops ope
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  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   100– Michael

    People usually describe pain as physical.They couldn’t be more wrong.Pain isn’t always physical.Pain is the voice in my head singing aloud my inadequacies.Pain is standing by this door and listening to my woman explain the extent of her ordeal to her best friend.Pain is not being able to do anything for her.Pain is knowing that my woman lost a part of her that she might not get back.I twist the knob separating the en-suite waiting room and her main room, crossing the room on slow and soft steps.Kate raises her head, blinking away her exhaustion. “Mr. Black?”“Give us a moment, Kate,” my voice is soft, “please…”Nodding Kate stands and exits the room. The loss of her touch makes Ada twist, mumbling, “please… don’t leave me.”I kick off my shoes and climb into bed with her, holding her against my chest while I stroke her hair. “It’s okay, baby,” I whisper. “It’s me… I’m here.”Her body shivers and I hold her closer, kissing her head and whispering words even I cannot hear—or pro

  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   99– Adaline

    It happened within unsuspecting hours.This moment, I was working tirelessly on a new design, making rough sketches of ideas that wouldn’t stop flooding my mind.And the next moment, I was in a hospital, an IV line attached to me.The doctor had smiled, looked me in the eyes and said, “congratulations.”What she was congratulating me for, I didn’t know.But when she went on and on about how healthy the baby was and how I should cut down on the stress if I wanted a smooth pregnancy, I realized I was pregnant.I realized that all this time, I’d gotten so busy I forgot to get my birth control pills. And given how active me and Michael were, it wasn’t surprising.At that moment, I went through all the stages of grief.For me, it was simple—we were not ready.There were things we needed to do by ourselves first before bringing in a life. And yet, there was this nagging happiness that overwhelmed me.I suddenly wanted to be a mother.But I needed to wait. I wanted it to be a surprise for M

  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   98– Michael

    “What was that about?” Ada’s father asks the moment I enter the en-suite waiting room.I look around. “Where’s Kate?”“She’s running a few errands for me,” Jameson answers with a straightface.Nodding, I plop into the couch, throw my head back and shut my eyes. I can feel my skin burning with his eyes as he awaits a response—one I’m unwilling to give. I pry my eyes open as my head lolls to the side. “It’s nothing.”“It’s not nothing.” Jameson says pointedly. “Two days, Michael, and you’ve been a shell of yourself.”“Yes,” I agree, “because my woman is in pain. Because I failed to protect her.”“It’s beyond that.” He counters.I raise a brow. “Is it?”“Michael—”I cut him off with a groan. “I haven’t slept in two days. I need to rest my head.”“She’s crying,” Jamseon says, all of his smugness disappearing, replaced by the desperation of a father who wants to understand his daughter’s pain. “What did you talk about?”I’m silent.A beat. Two. “She was pregnant. Lost it in the attack.”

  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   97– Michael

    Now it’s just us.Me and my woman, in the quiet.This is how it’s meant to be, what I planned for it to be once her event with Alora Mount was concluded—just us, time away from work and people. But I never imagined that we’d be here, encased by white, sterile walls.I sit beside the bed. My hand hovers above hers with hesitation, then lowers. I wrap her cold fingers in mine. “Are you feeling alright?”She offers me a smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”“Why wouldn’t I, baby?” I murmur.Adaline inhales a deep breath. “It’s not your fault, Michael.”I can’t help the chuckle that leaves me.“It couldn’t have been your fault,” her voice is firmer, more assuring. I don’t respond. Holding her hand with one of mine, I cradle her face with the other, smiling softly. “You’re such a fighter, baby.” A breath tumbles out of me. My chest shakes. “Thank you for holding out until I got to you…”Her eyes roll as though she’s holding back tears. When those irises meet mine again, they’re brimmed so m

  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   96– Michael

    Two days later.Adaline is still asleep. And I’ve been standing and pacing for so long my legs are aching.This is the only thing I can do. I won’t be able to function any other way until I’m certain my woman’s eyes are open and stable.The room smells like antiseptic. Lavender strangles the air. It shouldn’t—antiseptic and Lavender should have nothing to do with each other.But Kate placed a diffuser in the corner, as though pretending this place is anything other than what it is: sterile, quiet, and heavy with grief.I’m almost convinced she’s still in denial. Because how can her best friend go from being a successful entrepreneur with a unique brand that’s already causing traffic to lying in bed unconscious…Adaline mumbles again. Just like she’d been doing since today—a string of slurred, soft nonsense.Drool clings to the corner of her mouth, and her eyes shift beneath their lids.I stay standing—hands folded over my heaving chest, eyes intent on her. Kate is curled in a chair

  • To Hate, To Love, And To Wed   95– Michael

    The fluorescent lights in this goddamn hallway are too bright. The walls are too white and too clean it’s almost blinding.The beeping of machines that echo through the hallway is unnerving.The soft chatters ringing in my ears has become irritating.My shoes hit the tile again and again with steady… maybe unsteady thuds as I pace back and forth, worn grooves into the floor in my mind, maybe in reality too. I don’t know. I don’t care.I can’t sit. I can’t breathe. I can’t do a damn thing except move. Forward. Back. Forward. Back.A fucking cycle.The red sign above the emergency theatre blinks, and I swear it hasn’t stopped since they rolled her in.My woman is in there, fighting for her life and all I can do is pace this goddamn overly perfect floors.All I see in my mind is her pained face, her skin stained with her own blood… She was barely breathing.She was…I scrub a hand down my face, tasting salt and metal. My jaw is clenched so tight it feels like it might crack. I catch

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