The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the article had read in the paragraph where it had advised a good girlfriend to cook for her man. And that was exactly what Rhea had done. Well, cook for him to show him just how bad a cook she was.And it had worked! For the first time since the whole episode had started, Adam had suddenly grown disheartened and grumpy instead of his usual infuriating enthusiasm. Rhea had given herself a mental high-five when he had practically fled from the kitchen when she had started on her “poor me” self about how she could not even manage to boil a decent pasta.It had been unbelievably fast and she had never expected her plan to work out so quickly. But it was too early to hope for the best; she would only confirm her theory the next morning when Adam would skip the dreaded morning call. And she could only hope that it never came again.Of course if it happened that way, she would never raise the subject again and they would be back to being good
The drive to the mansion was silent but not awkward. As usual, Zoey and Rhea were chirping happily in the back seat while he was driving them over to his parents. After a long time, his heart was feeling content and he was allowing himself to hope. Hope that there might be something for him which laid buried under Rhea’s demons.Despite himself, he could not help admiring her ideas. Zoey had sent him a copy of the online article and he had spent the afternoon reading the whole thing. Her whimsical behavior was all clear to him now. At the restaurant she had tried the first “Be feminine but not weak” tip and had managed to unsettle him. However, her “low maintenance” tactics had completely turned against her since she had been looking so hot and he had not bothered about a cent. And then her fatal mistake had been her determination to prove him that she could not cook. Which was the third tip of being a good girlfriend according to the article. And this morning she had tried her unhap
Rhea could not sleep a wink as her mind went over and over what had happened the previous night. It was so atypical of the Crightons. Well, she knew them from the day she was born and despite their massive wealth, they were not society people. The Crightons and Coopers rarely attended parties and social events if not for a really good cause.For them, family was everything. That was why Aunt Selena had been so affected when Zach had not shown up. But Slade Palmer had been part of their circle too and for a long time. Rhea could not believe they had chosen her over her father. She had been in that family because of his connections with them and it was weird that they had sided up with her. And Adam had been acting as her hero again.When would he ever learn? He wanted to make her happy she understood that. She felt the same way about him. But it was not love he felt for her; it was only pity. She knew the difference well since pity was the only emotion she was familiar with.Lost in he
The next week flew by as Adam got really busy with his latest work assignment. He had little time to get back home and think about the past events. But he knew that Rhea had moved back to her house along with Zoey and that Zach was still invisible.Nothing had changed between them except the fact that Rhea had seemed to put a pause on her plan. He was still unsure of the reason. Maybe it was because he was unavailable for her antics or maybe it was because it was of the resounding kiss they had shared on Sunday.Adam wanted to believe it was the latter but it was too soon to hope. He’d rather busy himself in work for the time being instead of worrying too much. The more he thought about it, the more restless he became and wanted to do something about his situation. And he feared that he might act in haste and it would turn out to be his fatal mistake. It’s been more than two years that he had thought about his mistakes and what could have been. And it was two years too much.There was
Rhea stood listening to the conversation inside the room and could not budge as shock registered through her. Traitors. That was the first thing which came to her mind. They were all conspiring against her. And she felt rage course through her as she clenched her fists into two rigid balls.Too numb to react, she felt like she was an automatic mode when she turned back from the room and stealthily got out of the house. While she walked down the alley, she refused to think about anything before finding the sanctuary of her home again.When she did in a few seconds and the first thing she did was to bolt the door behind her and leant against the wooden object glad of the dull comfort it was offering. Her body felt limp and she sunk at the bottom unable to bear her own weight as shock still coursed through her. And she finally allowed the earlier events to replay in her head.Bored out of her mind with her own company, she had decided to join them to see what they were up to. Despite the
Adam stopped abruptly as he caught sight of the scene which presented in front of his eyes. Just as he was jogging past Rhea’s doorstep, he saw a couple quite intimately enlaced seeming lost in each other’s embrace. When he got closer he got the shock of his life when he was able to define Rhea’s silhouette.For one second, he stopped short. Why the hell was Rhea standing so intimately close to a stranger? Alarmed, he looked over at Zoey who was trying to signal him frantically. She had her back to them and he could not read her frenzied expression. He was too pissed off to even try.“What’s with you?” he mouthed puzzled and impatient. Thankfully, Zoey was close enough to catch his language.“Good sex,” she was saying over and over again and pointing in their direction in an obvious way. Adam wanted to slap her since she was behaving so crazy in such a complicated situation. Then it clicked.Good sex was the next thing the article had mentioned and instead of showing him that she was
One week had gone by after the fatal confrontation. Rhea had received no phone calls since that day and she convinced herself that she was glad. It was what she had wanted all along. Then she wondered why she was sitting next to the phone and checking more than hundred times whether it was working or not.It was not as if she was wishing for him to call her. She was just surprised he had finally given up on her. When he had promised he would never let her go. Although she deserved it, she knew. She did not know why she was having second thoughts. It was better to keep things as they were; she had managed to destroy everything she had without much help from others.Even Zoey was avoiding her and Rhea no longer knew what to think. It would seem that she had been right to assume that every relationship of hers was borrowed from Adam’s account. She was such a pathetic person that she had to borrow from someone else’s friendship.But it was better that way, she told herself for the umpteen
Adam knew something was amiss. The house next door was too quiet, too gloomy for the past two weeks now and even as he peeked through his window, he could not see the usual porch light on. It was two weeks now since Rhea had managed to hurt him so much that he had decided to stop harassing her.It had been harassment; she had been quite clear about that. But whether it was out of habit or love, Adam just had to make sure she was okay. And the lack of activity from the nearby house was making him worried. Maybe she was out or something?Trying to be discreet, he peered once again out of the window trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Was she sick or something? Should he go and visit? Since she had made it clear that she wanted no more to do with them, nobody had visited her since the face-off. Not even Zoey.Even if he had reassured her that nothing was anyone’s fault and that he was okay, Zoey had been subdued during the past few days responding only when she was addresse