บททั้งหมดของ The Things We Don't Say: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

“Good morning,” I chirped, strolling into the living room and grabbing an apple from the table. But I did a double-take when I realized how normal it all looked. Mom was sitting by the table, stirring a cup of coffee.Only Dad was absent. “Mom!” I didn’t know how much I missed her or how much I was worried until I saw her right there. “Oh my God! How are you? Where did you spend the night? I was so worried about you last night. You didn’t tell us where you were going and…”“Slow down, Marcus.” She dropped the spoon and stretched her arms wide open. I rushed into them, breathing her familiar scent. “I missed you, Mom.”“I missed you too, baby.” She pulled away slowly, taking me in. “Marcus, what happened to your face?”“Erm…Nothing, Mom. It was just…”“You better think carefully about the next words that come out of your mouth, because you cannot lie to me. What happened?”“Mom….”“Gary!”My brother appeared in another minute, scratching his red eyes. He looked unfocused, looking aro

Lunch was loud, and it had nothing to do with chatter. It was loudly deafening. Heather had been on her phone for the last thirty minutes since we arrived at JAR, and honestly, I didn’t mind it. What I did mind was that I was here at all, rather than doing what I really wanted to do.“So why did you want to have lunch?” I questioned, bringing the glass of water to my lips.I could have refused, but the internet was already going wild with the last issue with Harper, and my parents, via the pr officer they employed, explained that the best thing I could do for both families was to appear in public with Heather to let them know we were fine.Heather and I were far from fine. We hadn't been fine for years now, when she slept with my cousin, Joshua. But for the longest time, I wasn't going to fight my parents' decision for me getting married to her for the sake of both families.Now, I couldn't see that happening, and I had no idea what changed. Or maybe I did, and every part of me wasn't

For some reason, I was back at the office, and I was pacing. My sleeves rolled up, jacket discarded and fingers in my hair, it felt like I was spiralling. And I hadn’t felt this way in years. Not since I found Heather and Joshua together.“Okay…” Nita drawled the moment she walked into my office with a folder in her hand. “I was just going to drop this off, but … I got a few minutes if you want.”“Drop the folder over there on the table,” I murmured, turning away from her and looking out the window. I was on the 75th floor of the Arthur Group’s building, yet it felt like something was weighing me down.I needed to do something to get this out of my system. I hated the feeling.“Okay,” Nita said again, quietly this time. I heard her slide the folder on the table, heard her walk to the door. But I knew the second she stopped.“You look really stressed, Sir.” I had only known Nita for a couple of hours, yet it felt really strange hearing her address me formally. Right from the get-go, sh

I was sprawled on my bed in the room, staring up at the ceiling and wondering when the day got out of my own control. I would admit that I felt a little bit bad after that apology from Jordan. And then he went right ahead to screw it all up by asking me to stay away from JAR.Was that his way of telling me that I was doing a tad too much? Because if that was it, I would stay away from him. I was fine long enough with just James and Anna in my life. And honestly, it was so simple.But now, I didn’t even know what I was doing anymore.The shrill of my phone next to me interrupted my train of thought.“Hey, girl,” I sighed, picking up the call and throwing myself back in bed. “Landed already?”“Landed ages ago,” she answered. It was silent on the other side. “Though, I am judging by how you sound that my getting back to school was not top three on your list of priorities today. What happened?”“Nothing,” I murmured. “I should have checked in on you. You didn’t even say goodbye after you

Nita was at the entrance of the closet in another second, leaning against the doorframe. She’d loosened the bow of her blouse, and now, it hung loosely on her chest. Her skirt was ridden up, but she didn’t exactly seem intent on sorting that out.“Done using the bathroom?” I muttered, looking away."Yeah," she whispered. "It is a lovely bathroom. I almost contemplated staying there forever. But that would mean your housekeepers would have to clean it with me in there, and I don't know how to feel about that."I chuckled, pulling out my belt. “I can get someone to take you home.”“I want you to take me home.”I looked at her. “Nita…”"They weren't lying," she whispered, her fingers punching at the wood of the doorframe. "You have such a great body; you would put the Greek gods to shame.""The Greek gods didn't have to slave away in the gym." I tried to lighten up the situation, ruffling my hair with my fingertips. I turned back to look at her. She hadn't moved an inch. "I'm going to ha