This man has got to be insane, dear lord. My head throbbed—the air had gotten thinner and I found myself struggling to take in more air. I really did not recall most of the things I said to him earlier but I know I had made a fool of myself, and now he had every intention of rubbing it in. “Why so tense, querida?” he asked, his voice smooth, teasing. I exhaled sharply. “I wonder why. Perhaps if you back off a little bit, I won’t be.” Pedro smiled a silly kind of smile, his gaze dragging over me like a slow burn. “Nice dress,” he murmured, looking down at my hands. “You have not even seen it on me yet” I muffled. I didn’t acknowledge the comment, I felt it was backhanded. It was the first piece of clothing I had grabbed from the closet—a simple black dress with thin straps—and I wasn’t about to let him turn it into something else or make it seem like I intended to wear it for his satisfaction or to please him. I would have appreciated it if he kept his compliments to himsel
It was midday by the time they finally stepped out of the arrival gates, the surrounding outside wet, as it had rained earlier. Inside was cold The airport was busy with travellers moving here and there, airport staff and patrols roaming around, and the air smelt of jet fuel. Tessa barely noticed any of this, she just wanted to get home and get some sleep too. She was exhausted. Six hours of delay, followed by a long-haul flight, had drained every ounce of patience from her body. Her back ached, her feet throbbed in her heels, and the bright sun glaring down on the tarmac only made her crankier.She could count how many times she blanked out or assumed her brain had stopped working. It was difficult to keep her eyes open for a few minutes because her eyes were burning so much. Pedro, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected. Not a single wrinkle on his brown shirt, not a trace of exhaustion in his sharp stares or the way he shot glances at any lady he found attractive. He w
AUTHOR’S POVTessa sat stiffly in the car as it rolled to a smooth stop in front of the Lorenzo mansion. She first muttered ‘Thank You Jesus’ under her breath. Her stomach rumbled, and her bladder was full but despite that, she felt empty, absolutely empty.The jet lag was hitting her so hard, her entire body aching from the long flight, the internal clocks in her body were ticking off an alarm signalling she needed to shut down and rest a bit, but she barely had a moment to process her exhaustion before she caught sight of the people waiting at the grand entrance.What the hell is going on now? She asked.A line of guards, perfectly aligned, stood in silence, their black uniforms dashingly smart and intimidating, they were like giant towers, all with bald heads. Beside them, the house staff—maids in immaculate pink uniforms, their heads slightly bowed—as though they awaited orders.While they were in the car, the chauffeur exited first, walking around to open the passenger door. Don
AUTHOR’S POV Don Pedro led the way and Tessa followed in sheepishly, stepping aside as he slammed the door short. “Which way is the bathroom?” she asked impatiently. “That way” he pointed. Tessa barely had time to admire the braggadociousness of Don Pedro’s master suite before the call of nature hit her with a reverberating kind of urgency. The long flight, the delay at the airport, and the insufferable formalities with his aunt had left her holding it in for way too long and she only just realised her bladder would burst open if she did not ease herself. Now, as they stepped into the room, all she wanted was to relieve herself and catch her breath, she had been still for too long. Pedro was right beside her, loosening his belt as he made a beeline for the bathroom. Tessa’s eyes widened in alarm. “This way” he motioned. “Wait, wait, wait! I need to go first,” she announced, already moving toward the bathroom door. Pedro stopped in his tracks, turned to her, and raised a br
DON PEDRO’S POV Inside the club’s main hall, the president of the Golf club, a dignified gentleman in just a pair t-shirt and shorts, cleared his throat and began the roll call. “Don Pedro?” he called. “Don Rodolfo?” “Sir Princeton?” “Miss Medlin?” “Sir Renato” “Sir Vince” “Don Nathan” and continued to mention others, each name was met with a firm “Present!” from the assembled members. I offered a short nod as my name was pronounced. “Thank you all for coming on time,” the president continued, his was laid back and formal. “I do apologise for my lateness this evening; I assure you it will not become a habit.” He paused to laugh, a few others joined, I did not. “Now, the purpose of today’s meeting is to finalise the arrangements for the upcoming Monterrey Golf Club International Tournament. This event will, I believe, bring about significant development in our region, and we must ensure that all aspects of our proposal are watertight in terms of collaborations, sponsorships and
I straightened, trying to maintain my composure. “Medlin, this is not the right environment,” I replied briskly. “You’re about to be married to Rodolfo, and here, at a club meeting, such matters are best left unspoken.” Her eyes were devilishly lusting, undeterred. “Married or not, you always had a way of drawing me in. I insist we talk, moreover, your dick is saying otherwise.” Before I could protest further, the noise of the club’s lively chatter filtered through the corridor. Reluctantly, I stepped aside, gesturing for her to follow me into one of the private rooms. We entered a well furnished office looking room off the corridor, the room was quiet with the blinds covering the large windows. I closed the door, leaning against it as I tried to regain a semblance of control. “Medlin, listen,” I began, my voice was even but firm. “This isn’t the time or place. We have obligations—especially with the tournament coming up and everything else to be sorted for Monterrey.” She
AUTHORS POVIt was on days like this that she missed Sergio. It was as if the long travelling hours had dried up the blood flowing through different parts of her body.Sergio would have given her a therapeutic body massage to ease the tension coursing through her, but then the thought of him as she sat alone in the bedroom—angered her. He had no place in her thoughts.She would rather think of her job instead, she thought to herself, surrounded by stacks of unattended work files.She missed the life she had before Pedro, before the wedding and more so, before the so‐called cursed honeymoon on the Virgin Atlantic Island. The soft rustle of papers as she schemed through them, and the steady ticking clock filled the quiet atmosphere as she worked through the backlog, trying in vain to regain some sense of normality, but it did not work one bit, there was just so much work to do.Her mind, however, was not on the files. She searched her mind for what could be missing as she remained re
AUTHOR’S POV Dame Rossa had gone downstairs by the time Regina came out of Don Pedro’s room. She was making her way to the staircase when she spotted Franco in the hallway. Without wasting a second, she caught up to him and grabbed his arm. “Franco, we need to talk—now,” she said hurriedly Franco tried to pull away, glancing nervously over his shoulder. “Regina, please, not here. Someone might see us,” he protested, his voice several notes lower and urgent. Before he could finish his sentence, Regina yanked him into a small, empty room off the main corridor, it was the store room. The door closed behind them with a soft lock. T The air in the room was cool and still, although it smelt like old newspapers and decaying books, nobody had been in there for days if not weeks. “Why do you always make me chase you like this?” Regina demanded, her voice mid-high as frustration and something that bordered on desperation trailed it. “How do you mean?” “My call’s you fool, you
AUTHOR’S POV Tessa sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as she counted in her head, how much time she had so she could go check on Regina. The silence in her room was too loud. The shadows cast by the bedside lamp stretched across the walls like silent watchers, the shadow reflection of other objects the room looked like they were whispering loudly, echoing the weight in her chest. Her mind kept replaying George’s words from earlier at the supermarket, and every time, they struck a nerve she’d tried so hard to numb. Her ringed finger throbbed with guilt. The blood diamond sparkled none the less. For a second she wondered who she was, questioned who she had become over the last few months that seemed to drag on forever. She used to be fierce and quick minded, how did she become so soggy? Could it be Aunt Norah’s absence? She thought. So what would become of me if she was actually no more? Become any mans puppet? Talk more of a man like pedro? Her pho
AUTHORS POVThe atmosphere inside Regina's room changed from the moment Dame Rossa stepped inside; it was almost suffocating. And for seconds that slipped into minutes, Regina tried all she could to hold herself together. The ancient of days clock ticked away loudly in the background; for Regina, it was a painful reminder that time was slipping through her fingers and she needed to tell Pablo her truth.Dame Rossa sat beside Regina, her eyes darted around the room, softened with concern."My dear," she said, reaching out to pat Regina’s hand gently, "Pablo told me you have not been taking his calls."Regina blinked, feeling a strange chill wash over her. Had she?It struck her then — the last few days and hours had been a haze. The pain, the shame, and the constant battle with herself had consumed her so much that she hadn’t noticed the persistent beeping of her phone. She had unknowingly, absentmindedly ignored him."I'm so sorry," Regina whispered, looking down at her lap, ashamed.
AUTHORS POVTessa walked briskly through the long corridor; she didn't even wait for Pedro despite the fact that he had told her to wait. She just wanted to get to Regina as fast as she could. Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she approached Regina’s room, like a gloomy pendant hung over her neck. She paused for a brief moment at the door, took a deep breath, then quietly turned the knob and stepped inside.The room was dimly lit, the curtains drawn shut. Regina was curled up in one corner of her bed, her small frame almost swallowed by the large, plush duvet. She looked so fragile, so unlike her usual lively self, that Tessa’s heart clenched painfully. The evil men do to women, she said in her mind.Tessa closed the door softly behind her and approached the bed. “Regina…” she called gently, sitting at the edge of the mattress. “Have you eaten anything today? Or at least had some vegetables? You need to keep yourself nourished, for your sake and the baby’s.”Regina stirred, her fac
AUTHORS POV Tessa hurried back from the supermarket, clutching her handbag tightly, it had begin to drizzle in trickles. She was glad to have made it back it time just as the rain began to fall in small drops. Her mind was still reeling from the conversation with George, but she forced herself to stay composed. She had barely stepped onto the steps of the office building when she spotted Pedro standing just outside the glass doors, deep in conversation with three well-dressed men. Her jaws dropped. They were all laughing, their expensive suits seemed unruffled under the soft evening breeze the rain brought with its fall. Tessa paused for a heartbeat, considering slipping around the side entrance to avoid them. But Pedro’s sharp eyes had already caught her. “Ah, here she is,” Pedro said with a proud smile, beckoning her over. Tessa swallowed her nerves and walked towards them, she hated the noise her heels made against the floor while she walked. As she got closer, she caught snipp
AUTHORS POVTessa was sorting through a pile of boring paperwork on her desk when her phone started vibrating loudly against her table and honestly, she didn’t want any more business related calls. It had been a long day and she just wanted to wrap up and leave, Camila and Jamie had already left together and Pedro had asked her to stay back so they can go together. After the phone had rung twice, She glanced at the screen and froze.It was Regina.She answered immediately. “Regina?”On the other end of the line, Regina was crying so hard that Tessa could barely make out her words.“You didn’t reply my message,” Regina sobbed, voice breaking in between hiccups. “I sent you a message and you didn’t reply… you left me all alone.”Tessa’s chest tightened with guilt. She pressed the phone closer to her ear, standing up from her chair.“I’m so sorry, Regina,” she said gently. “I wasn’t near my phone. I didn’t mean to ignore you, I swear.”Regina’s breathing was ragged, her words tumbling ou
AUTHORS POV Regina sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers twisted tightly in her lap. The late afternoon light streamed through the curtains, casting a golden glow over her room, but she felt none of its warmth as nervousness and anxiety painfully seeped through her. Her heart pounded heavily against her ribs. She had rehearsed this conversation a hundred times in her head, but now that Franco was standing in front of her, smirking lazily as if he already knew what she was about to say, the words tangled on her tongue. She took a deep breath and forced herself to meet his eyes. “You have been silent since you called me here, it leaves me wondering what’s going on in your mind” he said dryly, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m pregnant,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. For a moment, Franco said nothing. His face held no facial expressions, and Regina clung to a shred of hope that he might reach for her, smile, tell her it would all be alright. Instead,
AUTHORS POV The return to the office after lunch was a slow, dragging affair. The sun beat down on the building, the air was sticky, and the workers moved with a sluggishness that mirrored Tessa’s heavy steps as they made a beeline for their respective duty post. Shortly after Jamie leaves for his desk, Tessa and Camila had barely settled at their desks when a sharp knock sounded on the glass door of their section. It was Andrew, one of Don Pedro’s personal messengers, standing stiffly with a small notepad in his hand. “Camila,” he said, his voice very formal. “The boss wants to see you. Right away.” Camila, who was just booting up her computer, slightly frowned and looked at Tessa. Tessa’s heart skipped oddly. “Why?” Tessa asked before she could stop herself. Andrew shrugged. “No idea. He just said to bring her.” Camila gave Tessa a reassuring little smile, smoothed her blouse, and stood up. “It’s probably work-related,” she muttered. “No big deal.” But Tessa’s stomach twist
AUTHORS POVThe café was buzzing that warm Thursday afternoon, if not for anything but for the fact that Tessa loved the positive atmosphere the environment afforded her; she didn't want to go back to the office or back to the Lorenzo mansion. The clatter of cutlery and soft murmur of voice chatters weaving into a comforting background noise were the only things that reminded her that she wasn't in her comfort zone. Tessa sat at the table by the window with Camila and Jamie, a half-eaten sandwich limp in her hand. The sun outside painted the streets golden, but inside her head, it was cloudy and grey.Jamie leaned across the table, flashing his boyish grin. "Thanks again for the food the other night, Tessa. That food was something else. You didn’t have to, but I'm grateful."Tessa stared through him as if he wasn’t there, her gaze locked somewhere beyond the walls of the café. She didn't blink, didn’t smile, didn’t even twitch.Jamie frowned slightly, exchanging a quick look with Cami
AUTHORS POV The house was unusually quiet when Tessa returned from the shopping mall. She was tempted to kick off her shoes by the door, except for the fact that she was not in the comfort of the room she shared with Pedro. She sighed as the scent of grilled meat and garlic hit her nose, straying from the dining. Her body ached, and all she really wanted was a hot bath and to be left alone. But the silence in the air felt heavy—like something was waiting. She walked into the dining area and found Don Pedro seated at the head of the long glass table. The only sound in the room came from the clinking of his fork against the china plate. The light above him made his presence look even more imposing than usual. He looked up at her, chewing slowly, watching her. “You’re late,” he said flatly, setting his cutlery down. “Join me for dinner.” Tessa forced a polite smile. “I’m not hungry. It’s been a long day. I’d rather go upstairs and rest.” Pedro’s jaw twitched as though he wanted to s