Cara’s POV
“So tell me,” I asked eagerly, as we moved to the lounge. “Who is he? I might’ve seen a subtle exchange between him and Adonis last night, but there was no time to ask.”
“Okay!” She began, matching my energy. “Where do I start?”
“Are you for real? From the top!”
“Chill out…” she laughed. “I already told you how we met, right?”
“Yeah right. I know up to the point where you snatched up the CEO of Maynard Corporations. Girl, you’ve got a knack for finding interesting men. First Luca, now him?” I gave her a pointed look. “Adonis is the first sensible man I’ve ever been with. Before him, I had two. One was in high school, and the other was a spy. Even with a stressful life, I paid all the bills.”
Cecelia turned beet red. “I didn’t snatch up anyone. It just kind of… happened. Remember the day we had our last phone call? When you told me about the baby’s sex, which is a big deal, by the way.” She squealed. “Adonis scored big time! Three at once.”
“I know, but that’s old news; give me my tea!”
Her hands lifted in mock surrender, “Sorry, sorry! So, we made it official then.”
“So, you met Jacob a month ago, but you’ve only been officially together for two weeks?
“Yeah… that day, I was going to have dinner at one luxurious restaurant and hook up with anyone who caught my fancy-
My hyped expression changed to a reprimanding one.
“Don’t judge me.” She wagged a finger dismissively. “A girl’s got to get over a heartbreak somehow. Anyway, halfway into dinner, I couldn’t help but notice this handsome dude sitting alone at the table. He kept poking at his food whilst staring at his phone as he ignored the advances most women threw at him.”
“Most women, including you?” I wiggled my brows.
“No. I was different because, unlike them all, I scored.” She bragged. “So I watched him for a while until I couldn’t anymore.
A gasp flew out from my lips.
“Don’t tell me-
“I approached him.” She grinned.
“Cecelia!”
“What?” She squealed in between fits of laughter. “He looked so pitiful, reminding me of my first night there. I couldn’t just… look away.”
“So you went to him? Girl… you’ve got some nerve.”
“That, and I was drunk; he seemed easy on the eyes, so I thought-hey! We have the selected candidate for the night.”
“What did he say?”
She sat up, adjusting herself, her head raised as she stared me down with disgust, “I never said you could sit.” She said in a voice as deep as possible.
“No way.” I snorted. “You sat? Without his permission?”
“I told you I was drunk.” Cecelia defended. “After that, I stared for a while, not saying a word, until he repeated himself. Then I said, ‘You look like you just got your heart broken. Do you want to have rebound sex? Don’t worry, I won’t report you. It’s consensual. P. S. I also had my heart broken.”
“Hell, you did not!”
She slapped her palms over her face, “I did! I still feel goosebumps whenever I remember, see…” She extended her arm; it’s there.”
“It is…”
We both squealed like high school girls on a gossip marathon, choking on our peals of laughter.
“What happened after?”
“It was like I was a psychic. He was glowering a few minutes before, but at the words ‘heartbroken,’ his eyes widened as he gaped at me. Then finally, he replied, ‘Let’s do it.'”
“Oh my… a manly man, huh?”
“My manly man.” She boasted. “A few minutes later, we were stumbling into his hotel room, hands in our hair, lips in places that should be illegal, tongue battling for dominance…
“Please, don’t make me jealous.” I joked.
“Wait, you haven’t been with Adonis since he awoke?”
“No. Not since Dimitri’s funeral.”
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Since then?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He looks like a man with enough stamina. Is he still recovering from the coma?”
“No…” I snickered. “My husband’s sexual life is more than active. We’ve just been too busy to consider it. Also, I think he’s worried about the babies. A few days ago, we made out, and it was very intense, but he stopped, claiming he had something to do.”
“Why didn’t you call him back?” Cece argued. “You don’t think it’s safe either?”
“It should be if we’re being careful enough. It’s just that… I don’t feel comfortable.” I admitted it.
Amongst the many things I’d been battling with by myself, my pregnancy fears were a part, and this was the greatest. The last time Adonis saw me naked was long before I started to show. Between now and then, there was a massive difference. It made me feel weird; I wasn’t ashamed because I loved my babies, but I also wasn’t okay with it. We’d been using separate bathrooms since we moved to my father’s home, and I was sure he had noticed but refused to say a word about it.
“Oh Cara,” Cecelia sighed, “Did Adonis do or say anything to make you feel this way?”
“No. No, he didn’t. He has been very supportive. It’s a me thing.”
“Forget about it!” She gave my body a full sweep, taking in the baggy t-shirt and shorts I had on. “You’re not looking any different than you were before. Maybe your bump and your cheeks look fuller, other than that! You look perfect.”
“I gained weight.” I deadpanned. “A lot of weight! My ass doesn’t fit my pants anymore. I live, wearing sweats and boxers. Take a look at me.” Dropping word after word.
“Uh… excuse you. Have you seen yourself?” She eyed me. “The only thing I see is the bigger butt and chest. Yes, you’re bigger-
“I said it!”
-but it’s negligible. You honestly do not look that much different. I’ll say you gained the weight in the right places. What was Adonis’s reaction when he saw you for the first time?”
My cheeks flushed as I recalled, “He was dumbstruck.”
“Exactly! My love, you look hot! You’re rocking this pregnancy well. Don’t let anyone or your insecurity get to you!” She waved a finger at me. “Jump that man!”
“Cecelia!”
“What?”
“Poor Adonis’s balls… they must be so blue.”
An embarrassed groan shot out of me, “Get a filter. Take my husband’s balls out of your mouth.”
“My apologies. Just do it fast. I heard you’d be on a six-week break after delivery to help you heal down there.” Her head gestured towards the subject. “Even more if there’s a tear. Do what you have to do, babe.”
Subtly feeling grateful that I had someone to discuss this with, I bit down my lip to hide my smile. “If I agree to do it, would you stop?”
“Yes.” She replied almost immediately.
“Fine. I’ll try tonight. Back to you.”
With one last suspicious squint at me, she nodded. “I’d ask. So about my story, we made out, passed the first base to the second, and by the time we were about to cross to the third, he stopped.”
“Why?”
“I began to cry.”
I frowned confused, “Like actually shed tears and cry?”
“Yeah… water pooling at my eyes, streaming down my face, crying.”
“But… you wanted it, “I stated, unable to understand her reaction.
“Believe me, I was disappointed in my heart.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah! I was about to tap that gorgeous Greek god and it decided to ruin it all. However, Jacob was more confused. He thought he did something wrong.”
“Who wouldn’t? From making out to tears is a big jump.”
“Turns out I was crying about Luca. I was told I said, ‘Kill me, kill me. Oh, Luca, take my heart and stuff it in the dump. If you would have my heart again, do whatever you might with it.”
I tried. Heaven knows I tried my best, but I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling as my face contorted in laughter. I laughed and laughed till I couldn’t no more.
“What are you? Shakespeare?”
She placed a hand on her head in regret,
“I usually spent my evenings on the beach reading Romeo and Juliet. I think it rubbed in on me.” Cecelia told me with a straight face. “That could’ve been overlooked if I didn’t proceed to explain everything to him in my drunken state. I even went as far as threatening to kill myself the next day. Something I would never consider when sober.
He told me I said, ‘When the day breaks and the sun casts its hue over the horizon, I promise to jump off a bridge and die; maybe my heart would find its way to you in the afterlife’… in the freaking afterlife, Cara. Was I crazy? I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since then.”
My chest kept vibrating with laughter as I imagined the scene in my head. “You keep saying he said, You don’t remember saying it?”
“For some reason, I remember everything else but that. It’s like my brain decided to wipe away that particular memory to save me from the shame. I woke up the next morning beside an unconscious, exhausted man on the balcony of the hotel suite because I had tried to put those words into practice. The building was seventy-three stories, for crying out loud.”
“Heartbreak.” I giggled.
“Tell me about it! Long story short, he didn’t care for me, but out of duty, according to him, he ordered me to have dinner with him every night till he was done with his business deal just so he could confirm that I didn’t jump off a bridge. We kind of developed a relationship ever since, and the rest became history.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
“He is Cara. He is.” She replied. “The next time we shared a kiss, do you know what he said to me? He refused to do anything else and told me he wouldn’t touch me till I initiated it. Till I was ready. He makes me feel good about myself,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips as she traced the rim of her coffee cup, her gaze distant as if reliving the moment.
“It’s the reason I can’t drop it all and run back to Luca. He’s worth more than a simple rebound fling. I see my future with him… something I never saw with Luca. It was always one day after the other.”
I shared a look of understanding with her; it was exactly how I felt with Adonis. With how incompatible we were, I still find myself attached to him. We could go on a break for ten years, and he’d still be the one.
99. 9% of me knew that the break card was a ruse. Forget his episode; I would’ve changed my mind the next morning.
He was the air I breathed.
But Luca… My heart clenched again… he wouldn’t take this well. And I could never ask Cecelia to give up her happiness for him. Just because of a fight that wasn’t his, he had lost a lot.
Perhaps, they were never meant to be… I hope he finds someone new as soon as it is all over.
For Cecelia, I prayed Jacob was the one this time. She was older than I was and had dreamt of being married for the longest time. If they were taking their time, it was a good thing. It meant they knew where they were heading to.
“How old is he?”
“Jacob? He’s the same age as me. Thirty.”
Young but not too young. Good.
“And his parents? Have you met them?”
Her expression turned blank. “He… uh… he’s an orphan. He’s actually from around here. Grew up in an orphanage called Bell Flower.”
No way…