I was too shocked to react, then I found myself in front of Jonathan and calling him crying “Johnny? Jon? Are you ok?

Oh, my ghod! Your face is hurt.” I touched his face, yet he was still smiling. I felt someone grabbing my arm. But I hugged Jonathan as much as I could.

Then I heard him “Yena, let’s go!”

I looked at him and shouted “What the f*ck, do you think doing? What have you done with my friend’s beautiful face? Do you know how much his face is worth? You f*ckn assh*le.”

Michael had an angry expression on his face as he said questioningly “Beautiful face? Worth? How is that any of your business? Come with me! Do you enjoy being with this man?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. So, do us all a favor and get the hell away from us!” I shouted harder.

“F*ck Poppy, you’re making it sound worse” Jonathan said and laughed slightly. “Although, I appreciate you calling me beautiful.” He sighed and patted my shoulder.

“Get the hell away from my wife buddy, or I’ll hurt you more” he said, after Jonathan pat my shoulder, Michael became even angrier.

“NO! YOU get away from US! Or I will f*ckn hurt you myself” I was now angry, and could not take his attitude towards Jonathan any longer.

“OK. You two please calm down. Especially you Poppy, you are starting to scare me, you don’t usually get mad this easily. Man, I’m gay, I’m not into your wife”, Jonathan said calmly.

I took a deep breath and looked at Jonathan and said “Sorry”.

“Why do you keep calling her Poppy?” Michael questioned, a little less angry.

“Let’s just say it’s a friend thing, right princess?” Jonathan looked at me smiling.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry. Oh, ghod, your face is brushed”. I found my anger fully gone but guilt crept into me, so I touched Jonathan’s face.

I called a waiter and asked for some ice.

I looked at Michael and Regina and my anger fumed back. “You can either sit there or get the hell out of here.”

The waiter came back with ice. When I observed the restaurant, I found that it was empty. That was kind of weird or a lucky coincidence. At least no one saw the whole interaction. I asked Jonathan to sit while I put the ice on him.

“Babe, does that hurt?” I asked, worried.

“Don’t call him babe” I heard Michael say. I thought “he’s still here?”

“I’m okay princess, don’t worry” he said, then smiled “but can you come nearer?”

I went near him, and he whispered, “If you married our Helio, you wouldn’t have this problem, and who is he with? Is that his sister?”

I looked at them annoyed to find Michael’s eyes on me. I scoffed and said “That’s his mistress let them be”. Jonathan was shocked.

This time he wasn’t whispering anymore. “Yeh, Helio should have been it.”

I didn’t look back to know if both of them were still there, so I don’t know if they had left, but I enjoyed my lunch with Jonathan. We laughed and talked about our fond memories.

“Oh Princess, I forgot to tell you this, but you missed Lily’s first heart break.” I was shocked.

“What?! When? Who? How? I missed too much, didn’t I?” I felt depressed.

“That, you did. But he was a huge ass, you wouldn’t want to meet him either way. I think his name was Shaun? He was some kind of bad boy but a weirdo, who had the audacity to cheat on our Madam Lily. He wasn’t even worth her time. Don’t worry Ange, Jules and I beat him up, but really more Angelo, since he wasn’t some public figure. Although he would probably be dead if you joined us.” He said, laughing. “I would not want to be him with your skills” I started to laugh as well.

“Your right! I already have plans on what to do with him. If you show me who he is, he had better regret it, and it would be so good to drain him dry”. I laughed in an evil way and followed with “Just kidding.”

“Yeah right, we know what you did with those boys at camp, we wouldn’t want to be on your bad side, you scary bitch.” he said.

I checked the time and found it was already 5pm. What? Did we talk for that long? It didn’t feel like much time passed.

I should go home, so I told Jonathan, “Babe, I should be going home”. Since no one reacted, I gathered Michael didn’t stay and went with Regina somewhere, well, whatever.

“OK, old lady. I’ll drive you home”. He smiled and got up. I saw the chairs were empty. He did leave. Good.

When we got into the elevator, Michael went in after us. I looked at him annoyed.

“Well, this is awkward” Jonathan said.

We got to the hotel room floor, Jonathan was in, he went out of the elevator, went to his room and waved goodbye.

We rode the elevator in silence until we got to the parking lot.

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I didn’t feel like going with Michael, so I stood there for a while thinking about what excuse I was going to make.

When I turned around, Michael was nowhere to be seen. I sighed in relief. When I was about to go back to the elevator, I heard a horn and looked back. I saw Michael’s car, with his windows open

“Get In” I heard him say.

I stood there not moving, he glared at me, I glared back at him. He got out of his car and I went in the elevator and pressed the first floor. The elevator closed on him, and I smiled. Assh*le! I gave him the finger before the elevator closed. He didn’t look too pleased.

I went to the front desk and ordered a room.

“One presidential room, please” I said to the lady at the front desk and gave her my card. She gave it back to me and gave me a key card.

I then walked back to the elevator, pressed my room number, went up and stopped on my floor to find my husband already waiting there.

“You tend to forget, mom owns this hotel”, he said to me, annoyed.

I walked past him and went to my room. Before I could close it, he went in. I had no energy to talk to him, then remembered I had forgotten my shopping bags in Jonathan’s car, so I called him.

“Hello babe, my shopping bags. I forgot them in your car, but you don’t need to get them, they are for Jules, Ange and Lily.” I told him over the phone.

“But what about me? You didn’t get me anything, I’ll cry.” He said, sounding pitiful.

“I have something different you would appreciate more. I’ll give it to you when it arrives”, I told him, smiling.

“Alright, I’ll be looking forward to that” he replied excitedly.

“Oh, Babe, can you help me with something? I know you have clothes prepared. Could you bring me a set of pajamas and outdoor clothes? I’m in room 705.” I said.

“Sure, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. My secretary will be there in a moment.” he said excitedly.

“Thanks” I said in a good mood. He then hang up.

I looked at my phone for a personalized watch, found a silver watch that had diamonds. I ordered it for him. Put down my phone and lay down. This man, why does he keep staring at me?

“Can you please get out? Your face is annoying the hell out of me” I said, irritated.

“I don’t want to,” he said with a straight face.

“Whatever, just get out when you get tired of staring, or you could just have gone with Regina and stop annoying me” I replied.

“Is that what you want?” He asked.

“As of now? Yes, since you went with her here, you should have left with her. Both your faces annoys the hell out of me. So, go! I have no patience for anyone today. If I never came back, I wouldn’t have missed so much. 3 years! I wasted 3 years!” I said in frustration.

He came near me, touched my head and left the room. I sighed in relief he was suffocating, although I felt hurt it was that easy for him to leave. Assh*le.

I heard a doorbell and opened it.

To find Jonathan, smiling.

“Oh dear you look red poppy” he said worriedly.

“Am I?” I asked.

He closed my room and carried me in one swift motion. I fell asleep in his comfortable arms, he really does feel like a pillow.

I had a dream again of our group recital 12 years ago. We were so happy we did it perfectly and Lily’s brother came to congratulate us. He looked familiar, but I don’t know where I saw him. It was one of my favorite memories. Our parents then came to us to congratulate us on our very wonderful presentation. We went into a huddle and promised to be together forever.

I woke up in a hospital. I saw Jonathan with the same clothes earlier and Angelo with his messy hair dyed red, light brown eyes with glasses, and his clothes that looked like he had just woke up and left. He looks to be a lot larger than I saw him last, sitting on the sofa on my right and Michael on my left.

“Ange? Why are you here?” I asked, confused.

“I’m sorry he was so furious when he found out. He got worried when he heard you got sick. So he came to see you for himself.” Jonathan explained.

Jonathan then went near and whispered “Babe, please get better, you should separate those two. Ange, has been glaring at him for a while now”. I then looked at Ange. He didn’t change a bit, still as protective of all of us as he always was.

I called “Ange?” he got closer, and I took his hand. “Ange, that’s my husband, please don’t kill him.”

“Don’t worry, killing isn’t my job, that’s yours, I only torture them.” I laughed, and so did Jonathan.

Michael didn’t find it amusing. “Can you let go of my wife now”. Angelo went back to glaring at Michael.

A doctor then went in “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Kerr. You’re having a baby, Mrs. Kerr, you also have a flu, but we can’t give you any medicine, so, we will give you vitamins for the baby and make sure to drink more fluids. Also, please reduce stress. This early into the pregnancy isn’t very safe for babies”

I could not say anything in shock, so did both Jonathan and Angelo, but this time I saw Angelo look at Michael more intensely, like he was going to kill him this time. I don’t want a baby yet. How? We used protection and contraceptives.

“How many weeks?” I was scared and trembling

“3 weeks” the doctor replied.

3 weeks? That time in the greenhouse? There were no contraceptives in the mansion. Sh*t!

I looked at Michael, and he looked so happy, and yet I could not share his happiness. Why is that? I felt my chest tighten, and my head started to ache. I found myself having a hard time breathing.

“Babe, calm down.” I heard Jonathan and looked at him. I also saw that Angelo was very worried.

“Poppy, please come down, breathe slowly”, Angelo said, and took my hand. He asked the doctor to give him a paper bag, and the nurse came and gave him one.

“Breath in, 12345 Breath out 12345, Breath in 12345, Breath out 12345…” we did that for a while before I calmed down.

After I started to calm down, Jonathan became angry and stood up to go to Michael, while Angelo was taking care of me.

“What did you do to her? I was sure she stopped having panic attacks 2 years before she came back here!” Jonathan asked questioningly.

“I don’t know, this has never happened before”, Michael looked confused.

“If I find out you did something to her for her to react like that, I won’t be the only one to hurt you, remember that! You don’t know how long she tried to get over her panic attacks after her parents' death.” I heard Jonathan shouting

So, I called him “Joan”

“Yes, princess? Do you feel better now?”, He asked, and his eyes softened as she walked back to my bed and took my hand.

“Don’t get angry babe, it ages your forehead, You need to look fabulous all the time” I said as I touched his face.

I then touched Angelo’s face and said, “can you both go out. I need to talk to my husband, is that Okay?”

They both nodded but didn’t miss the chance to glare at Michael and went out of the room.

“Michael, come here” I said, and he sat beside me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked.

“I’m sorry, I never had the need to tell you” I replied, feeling guilty.

“Are you going to abort our baby?” He asked, depressed.

“What? Of course not. Do you see me as a monster? We are married, I have no reason to.” I was shocked by what he said.

He sighed with relief.

“Am I allowed to ask who they are?” He asked gently.

I nodded and asked him to call the two men in.

“Well, this is Jonathan who introduced himself to you earlier today and this is Angelo. They are my friends. I met from my summer camp since I was 6, We always went to that camp every year until we were 17, We are the same age. I was at that camp when I heard my parents died, and they were with me the whole time. I lived with them after I left my uncle. They are my family. And guys, this is Michael, my husband, whom you obviously know by now, so I hope you get along”. I introduced them

He asked curiously “there are still some people missing, right?”

I nodded and replied “Anastasia and Julian are at Zetiana.”

I looked at the two who were glaring at Michael. “Guys, it’s really fine, he really didn’t know. He is mostly a good husband.”

“Mostly?” he questioned

“Regina? Don’t start with me.” It was my turn to glare.

He nodded

Michael never left my side for the whole day, and just asked a maid that grandma and mom gave us to bring clothes and food. Jonathan and Angelo were reluctant to leave, but Jonathan had something to do, so he left first.

Before Angelo left, he said “Fine. I will keep your secret for now, but you need to tell them yourself. You know how Lily will react when she finds out. Considering what is happening now.” He looked at my abdomen and continued “My number is already on your phone. Make sure to tell me if anything happens. I’m sure Lily will be devastated, but you really should tell her”. He turned around and left.

I was left with Michael in the room. I thought of different ways to explain it to Lily. I know she will be furious and disappointed about not being told the news, although I don’t feel bad about not ending up with her brother. We only met a few times, so it was an illogical dream. She wouldn’t particularly mind. How am I supposed to tell her I got married, and she is going to be a God mother? Imagining the different scenarios scares the sh*t out of me. I sighed deeply.

Then, after some time, I heard Michael say “What secret was he talking about?” so I looked at his curious face.

“Our marriage” I replied, and he looked stunned.

“And who is this Helio that Jonathan mentioned this afternoon?” he followed with another question.

I didn’t have the heart to answer.

“Tell me.” He said, now glaring at me.

I could not look at him and decided to look at my left hand which was fondling with the blanket. We stayed like that for a while and I could feel him glaring at me. It was getting suffocating.

“I have had a crush on him since I was little. He is Lily’s older brother. I promise I only met him a few times when we were 12”, I replied.

“Was he the reason you wanted to go back as soon as you got here 3 years ago?” he questioned.

“No.” I replied honestly. I then took a deep breath and said “can you reserve the questions for later. I don’t feel too well for all your curiosity right now, nor am I in the mood to entertain you after what you did.”

“What I did?” he looked at me confused.

“Well apart from punching one of my closest friends when he did absolutely nothing. Don’t think I forgot you met Regina earlier, we have talked about this, and seems like you didn’t listen at all, so now can you please just leave me alone”, I replied, glaring at him.

He didn’t leave that night. The next day, I was discharged, and we didn’t talk much after that, nor did he leave my side. Like he was trying to prove something. This Cold War lasted for about a week, except for days when grandma and mom visited the house, after hearing I was pregnant, which made them visit 3 times that week. It was fine by me. I spent time with Percy and just slept in my sanctuary with him. It felt nice, not having someone fight with me all the time, until I got a call from Jonathan.