Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Marriage Deal To Remember : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

THIRD PERSON'S POVJames ended the call and pocketed the phone. He didn't notice the hum of printers around him nor the distant conversation floating in his space. Every pulse in his neck throbbed terribly.He was minutes away from seeing her.The drive to the aging building of Yellow Oak Home For The Elderly was slow and uneventful. He got there safely and studied his environment. Vines crawled broken bricks, paint peeled on the walls in wide strokes. The building looked like it would collapse anytime. He could turn back and hope the building would come down overnight the person he was here to see.When he got to the counter, the attendant didn't ask him many questions. He had been the one feeding James about the turns of events.James was searching for his mother. The woman who abandoned him when he was three years old. “Follow me to her room,” the attendant echoed, leading James towards a corridor that stretched like a rubber band under the flickering lights.The air was hot and s

JENSYNI sat across from Lev in the coffee shop that buzzed with customers and the occasional clink of mugs finding their bottom to the saucers. Lev had his elbows on the table, far too relaxed to be sitting in a coffee shop. I smiled at him over the rim of my mug and he returned a smirk. It took a lot of persuading before I came here. I thought his offer to have coffee together was a joke until he called yesterday and reminded me about it. I didn't tell Linden though, not because he wouldn't refuse that I go but because I just wanted to do this one on my own and have him wonder where I went.And as far as I am concerned, I am enjoying every bit of my time with Lev.“I used to write,” I murmured, watching the foam in my drink dissolve, I then used my spoon to shift it to a side and scooped it onto the saucer. Lev had shifted his attention to me now.“In high school. I finished a book, actually.”He lifted his mug to his lips and took a sip. “You mean to say a whole book? What's it a

LINDENI stood in the driveway with my car key swinging in between my middle fingers. My heart was heavy with words I should spill to my father when I saw him. It was the third day after his call and I knew he deserved the wait. This meeting had been rehearsed in my head since the day he called. I had rehearsed everything I would say to keep him off my back. I always had an answer to all of his ridiculous questions. He would ask why Jensyn was not pregnant, why Andrea was this and that, why I didn't do this and that—I had the answers ready.Even though I did, nothing sheltered me from how deeply I loathed what he'd done. Maybe that was why I don't respect him, why I wished he'd just disappear, why I don't place him in a place where sons place their fathers. It's about time we discussed it. It's about time we discussed how I blamed him for the death of my mother—the ghost that floated through my dreams, humming that fucking funeral song in the bathroom and burning herself. Without Ar

JENSYNI turned off the cooker and checked on the toast in the machine. It was slightly burnt at the edges, just the way I knew Linden liked it. I placed it gently on the plates beside the eggs Andrea fried. Linden wouldn't eat much in the morning, but I still woke up at 6am to prepare his breakfast and lunch. He took toast every morning, two running eggs with a bit of salt and black pepper, bacon and hot coffee with milk.Simple meal for a husband.I had started preparing his breakfast about a week ago. The maids were not allowed to do it. They would only help with lunch and dinner, not breakfast.The coffee mug was in my hands when footsteps bounced into the kitchen. Andrea left the kitchen about three minutes ago and she said she wouldn't be back until she was done bathing. I pivoted and saw Linden walking into the kitchen, phone tucked between his shoulder and ear, his hand adjusting his cufflinks on his shirt neck.“Good morning, Jensyn.” He muttered between a short breath and a

JENSYNWillow's laughter rang across the room in that soft and slow manner. It was the type of laugh that came from a place of genuine joy. It struck me that my presence meant a lot to her and I was glad I could give her my time. “I swear,” Willow was saying, rubbing the side of her belly. “If one more person gifts me a yellow onesie, I might scream, because what's all this? They are breaking my heart.”I picked one of the yellow pin-down tops and held it up. It was a beautiful thing to own and I immediately wanted to keep one of them for my baby in future. “Yellow is a neutral colour, Willow,” I said and went on. “Since no one knows the gender of the baby, I think it's only natural that they give you this colour for now.”Her eyes flickered down to her bump. “But I don't like it, I want special things for my baby. Fuck, it's my first!”“If you want something special, we'd have to do the shopping ourselves,” I went on, nudging her with my elbow. “I used to work at this boutique stor