Paramour

KATE halted from pacing back and forth and looked at the dress her Aunt Bernice brought before leaving her again. It really looked expensive, which bothered her. How come her aunt, who treated her like a servant for years, bought her such an expensive dress? There was something wrong with it; Kate could feel the ominous vibe since they left home for the banquet. “Kate!” Her aunt’s voice roared at the back of the closed door of her suite, followed by three loud consecutive bangs. “Katherine, open the damn door!” Sighing, she strode towards the door and opened it. Aunt Bernice gave her a once-over before poking her hard on the forehead. “Didn’t I tell you to get dressed? Why are you still dressed in a robe?” “A-auntie… I-I…” She shut her eyes tightly and cussed to herself. She could not even say what she wanted to say. Kate was afraid that if the wrong words escaped from her mouth, her aunt would hit her. Aunt Bernice grasped both of her

KATE’s mouth suddenly became watery as she stared at the food on the table. She never thought she would have the chance again to taste such delicious cuisines. All thanks to Jan, who ordered food after hearing her stomach rumbled. “Dig in,” Jan told her and left the table with his phone on his ear again. He was such a busy man, Kate mused. Jan kept receiving and making calls. Some were work-related, but most calls were from reporters. She did not expect that the video scandal would be that big in just a few hours. She heaved a sigh and picked up the utensils. There was nothing she could do about the scandal. What she was worried about was her Aunt Bernice. Now that she had a scandal with Jan, who happened to be the son of a well-known family, it was obvious that it would also affect her. But unlike Jan, she knew that the damage on her part would not be as big as his. Kate sliced a generous size of the steak and popped it into her mouth. Then she took

JAN left her to the master’s bedroom after unpacking his luggage. He got an important call from she did not know who. Kate did not bother to ask. She knew she had no right to stick her nose on his affairs, especially when their marriage was nothing but on papers. But then, Jan demanded that they consummate it so his mother would not suspect. Was she ready for that? Kate did not know.She heaved a sigh and started unpacking her luggage. Kate could not help but grimace as she took the clothes out of the suitcase one by one. She did not own a single thing inside that suitcase, so she did not know if she could really call them her own.“Jan bought all of these. We’re married,” she told herself for consolation.With her clothes in her hands, Kate sauntered to the walk-in closet.Jan told her that she could use half of it. But now that she saw it, she doubted she could use the half because his clothes took up almost three-fourths of the

“JAN, can we talk?” Kate said as soon as his mother went up the stairs.“Sure.”He tugged her to the study room.She heaved a deep sigh and made sure that the door was locked before turning in Jan’s direction.“I don’t like what you told your mother. She already doesn’t like me as your wife, and now….” Kate breathed exasperatedly. “You made me feel like… I’m one of your… whatever you call those women.”He raised a brow.“I’m sorry if I have offended you.” He cleared his throat and sauntered toward the swivel chair. “I don’t know what to tell her to drive her away because I don’t usually do that, you know.”“I… I’ll try to adjust,” she told him.“Well… that’s good.” Jan sat and clasped his hands. “Maybe you and Mom will learn to like each ot

WITH her eyes still closed, Kate’s hands searched the other side of the bed and found out that her husband was not there anymore. She heaved a deep sigh and sat up. It was always like that; she would wake up without him beside her and sleep first at night because he was always busy with paperwork and business calls. She wondered if he was able to get a decent sleep, or if he ever ate on time… or when could he have time to perform that marital duty that they should have done a long time ago. It was kind of disappointing that they did not even have this thing called honeymoon. Kate shook her head when that thought crossed her mind. What was she thinking? Her fantasies would not come to life if their marriage was just nothing but a piece of paper. Could it be that he has a problem with…? But no… Jan touched her one night, and his mother said he had slept with lots of women. Then why would he not do the same thing with her? She was his lawfully wedded wife, after