by Iaz Grant
"You know, whenever Chris or Harry and I will be out somewhere," Manny begin a conversation, "They always avoided the subject of you. I have always been avoiding the issue about. I don't know why, but it feels like I have the right to choose who I want to evade or not."
"It is because you really do." Gwen gave her small reply without looking at him.
"I don't know anything about you since we graduated. I don't hear anything about your job, your career, you struggles and everything."
"It’s simply because you don't have to know."
"Then why is that, the moment I saw you in the airport after so many years, I feel like I want to hear you speak only to me? Why is it that, when you talked to that blonde stranger in Mexico, I feel like I have been rigged out? Why do you think all of that happened?"
"I think it is because you are feeling guilty. I can see it is that you felt that way because we just faded away."
"Then why did I act this way when I saw you with that agent?"
"Manuel, you are being played by your emotions. You are a married man. You should talk to your wife about things. Try to fetch things up if you are having problems."
"Are you saying that Pricilla and I are not getting along well? You're the one that's being ridiculous now, Gwendolyn. We are fine. Pricilla and I were just fine. We still talk to each other almost about all things around us. Only, it feels like I don't feel it in my heart whenever I was touching her. Do you think I like this kind of feeling when I am with my wife?"
"So, are you telling me that you feel that way towards me?"
"Yes."
The doctor stood up abruptly and shouted, "Don't be ridiculous!" Gwen rubbed her fingers on her forehead before shaking her head. She covered her mouth with the palm of her hand looking down at Manuel.
"See, it is ridiculous, but I don't feel there's something wrong about it. I know, I should be apologizing for my wife now, but I can't. I can tell her so many things, but I can't now."
"Manuel, I can't just let you be like this."
"For Pete's sake, Gwendolyn!" Manny stood up facing Gwen, "Can we stop this Merry-Go-Round conversation about me? Tell me, what do you feel about this? What did you felt when I touch you and hold you when we were in Mexico? Tell me how do you see me during the time when we were holding each other's hand? Tell me!"
"I don't know!" she was shaking as she turned to her heals and face the other side looking at the walls of her office. She placed her hands on her waists and kept on digging breathes inside her, "I don't know what to feel or what to say. It's that night, all that I feel was I wanted to own you like before. All that I want to do was to hold your hands and feel it in mine. Manuel," then she faced him with tears in her eyes, "Can't you see? We are hurting each other again."
"So, you're telling me that I am just making it hard for you? Do you think that I like doing this too? Gwen, I have my wife. I have my daughter and my son! What I just don't know is why I feel like I wanted to be with you!"
"I don't know, but one thing is for sure, Manuel, we can't be together."
"What if I say that I love you? That I'm still in love with you."
She looked straight into his glistened eyes, "You know you're not."
"What if I really do?"
"Don't, don't you dare use that words in this kind of situation Manuel."
"Why? Is it because you feel the same way?" Gwen turned to her back. Manuel chased over her face and said, "Is it because you wanted me the way I want you?" she shook her head and he grabbed her in her forearms to make her looked at him in the eyes, "I can see that you are upset with me, Gwen."
"It is because you are frightening me with your words, Manuel. I don't know why I am listening to you. I should be throwing you up because I know that's what I should do."
"But you're not! You're doing it because you feel the same way about me. You feel that the connection and the attraction between us were still alive and you can't deny its existence."
"You're wrong."
"Why can't we just be true to ourselves and live? I know that you are trying to deny it, but you can't hide it right, Gwen?"
"That's not true!"
"Then tell me what the truth is for you! Tell me!"
Gwen's tears well up and slid down her face when she tried to look at him and say, "I don't know. I don't really know. My heart was hurting now, Manuel. I feel like I was going to die. I am a psychiatrist and you are a professor. We are adults, yet we both don't know what to do. My heart tells me that I should accept you-"
"Then please do," Manuel begged.
She denied his request, "I can't because my mind is telling me something else. I can't be just you're another woman. You have a wife."
Manuel then let her go. He stepped back once and looked at her in the eyes, "I can't take that answer."
"Manuel..."
"I can't just let you go. I know that you feel the same way, Gwendolyn. I know it very well. This weekend, I want you to come in see me. If you really don't feel the same way, you wouldn't come. You will ignore me and I'll forget about you. Still, I will wait for you at the place where we can meet the moon."
Where We Can Meet the Moon
"So, what happened?" David asked Gwen as he was sitting on the office table closer to her friend.
Gwen was on her office chair looking down to the floor, "What do you mean?" she replied without even looking at David.
"I can see that the professor was interested in you. He was glaring at me all the time yesterday."
She lifted her gaze, "What do you mean? He's already a family man."
"It’s not like there's no divorce in this country."
"And it’s not like he'll be willing to lose his family just because of me."
"If he loves you, why not?"
"A man who will love another woman than his wife won't be trustworthy."
"Are you talking to a psychiatrist? Or, are you talking about the experience."
"I have never been married." Gwen then stood up and walked to the long window of her office looking over the street.
"Dr. Gwendolyn Meyer, you can deny all you want, but you can't hide the truth. Something happened to you and that man, aren't you?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and gently embraced herself in it.
"You did it with him?"
Gwen turned to him and gave him a glare; "I don't want to talk about it." she walked to the couch and sat on it.
David followed her with his hands on his hips standing like a real brute, "You slept with a man with a family. And now, you have cold feet. Don't tell me you did it out of curiosity."
"He's my former lover!"
"Okay, fine, he's a former lover. And he's back in your life with the intentions of keeping you."
"I can't just take him away from his children."
"You don't have too. It’s his decision and his wife and whatever they want to do with it."
"I don't wish to be a home wrecker."
David sat on her side, "Just don't settle for being the other woman."
Gwen just shed her tears as David held her in his arms as her friend.
Meanwhile, Manny was packing his bag when his wife Pricilla came inside their bedroom. He just looked at her before he resumed on his actions.
"You're going somewhere?" Pricilla asked gently as she crossed her arms and lightly wrapped herself around it, "Are you going for a trip?"
"It’s for my book. I have seen some Hispanic teenagers during our reunion trip in Mexico. I just want to add something new." Manuel answered without looking at his wife. He entered the bathroom to get some toiletries.
"You haven't mentioned it since you got back."
"I don't have much time to explain things, Pricilla. I'll just call you when I got there."
"You could've told me so I can accompany you. We can bring the kids with us. It will be good for them to-"
"Pricilla," he faced his wife closely, "This isn't just vacation trip o
r anything. Can you please stop worrying about this?" Manny then walked back to his closet and choose some other clothes.
"Does your editor know about this trip?"
"Pricilla, my editor doesn't have anything to do with this journey. All he can do is to read my completed chapters and manuscripts and edit it if he needs too. The subject is clear."
"Why are you going so suddenly? Did you even notify your university about this?"
"I already did. I called one of my friends and he'll file the leave of absence for me."
"So, I am the only one hearing this for the first time."
"Are you implying something?" Manny stopped on what he was doing to face his wife in agony. He then exhaled and held her on the shoulders so they can both sit down on the bed, "I know and I'm sorry. I just want to finish my book with quality. I want to cater my readers the best they were supposed to have."
"I understand. I'm sorry for asking so many questions."
"No, I'm sorry for not telling you ahead." he then kissed his wife on its forehead.
Pricilla swallowed her tears inside and just touched her husband's face, "I'll be waiting for your comeback, Manny."
"I know. And I will be back, I promise you."
Pricilla had smiled before she embraced her husband like it will be the last time she can do it. Manny did the same and showered her with kisses everywhere on her face.
"Take care of the kids, okay?"
"I will."
It was Friday afternoon when Manuel went to Mexico. He left his wife in front of their door waving goodbye to him. Inside the plane, he was sitting beside the window when he looked at his wedding ring. He took it off his finger and whispered 'sorry' as he put it in his wallet.
Once he arrived at the hotel, he just changed his clothes and then went off to a cab. He came to the cliff where he and Gwen went to their reunion. Manuel walked around the short grasses until he reached the tree wherein he held Gwendolyn in his arms. He smiled to himself. He then turned to the night sky but had not seen the moon. The sky was gloomy and the stars were seldom to twinkle.
"He's hiding isn't he?"
The familiar female voice sings a tune in his ears. He turned around and found Gwen standing behind him wearing the same clothes she was wearing during their last night together.
"Gwendolyn."
She smiled faintly, "Seems like I can't just let you wait here all your life."
Manuel immediately walked closer to her to grab her in his arms and kissed her passionately territorial, "I thought I would never going to see you like the moon tonight." he said as their noses are touching each other.
"You're so cunning. You know very well that when I forgave you, I can't say no anymore."
He chuckled and kissed her once more, "I know. And I am willing to take advantage of that just to have you back."
—— The End ——
The Louvre
The Louvre Series: Book 3
Vivia Fleckenstein
Copyright © 2016 by Vivia Fleckenstein
All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Published by Grant Publishing
Prologue
500 Years before the First Tourney
The Ailment
“You cannot marry him, Zanna”, Queen Alora said, cringing in pain.
Zanna remained stubbornly quiet. She knew her grandmother well enough. The woman, who still remained as eerily beautiful as she was when Zanna was brought to The Crystal Palace, stared back at her stubbornly too. It was said by everyone especially those who saw them both for the first time that the resemblance between them was uncanny. They also couldn’t get over the fact that they both had the same voice, gait and smile. That famed smile could get erring subjects to melt into butter without much effort.
In Zanna’s opinion, Queen Alora was the most beautiful creature on the surface of the universe and she couldn’t fathom why they could ever be likened. Why, while she had a big, black mole right on her upper, left eyebrow which annoyed her queen to no end, Queen Alora was frankly spotless that she couldn’t even begin to compare.
That flawless skin and gorgeous body currently lying in the bed in the Silver Room was quite lifeless. The Queen was scarcely able to talk. Using the few breaths she has left, all she talks about is to warn her not to get married to her lover, Brent, who unbeknownst to all, she had sworn a blood oath of marriage with.
Zanna sighed heavily as the woman’s gaze did not waver. Trust the old girl to always beat her at this.
“It will be alright, my queen. Get well first and we can discuss this after that."
The queen started to shake her head causing her frail body to appear more like a rag doll. Zanna fought the tears that threatened. She would not think about the death of this woman, she couldn’t.
Queen Alora suddenly gripped Zanna’s hands with surprising strength. She looked desperately into her eyes, blue eyes as piercing as Zanna remembered.
“Our bloodline will be diluted, royalty will elude us, Sheelah will be ruined," She whispered urgently.
Zanna knew all these already. She had heard it so many times since the strange sickness took over The Queen. It was the daily song and it was gradually becoming a mantra.
Zanna nodded solemnly. She didn’t want to agitate her queen. She was trying her best to keep the woman alive and all the ungrateful darling could think of is the crown. Not that she blamed her, she thought with a deep sigh. The crown was the sole property and identification of the House of Priya of the Land of Sheelah. There was no other ruling house in the land and if anything was to befall the house, everything befalls Sheelah. Right now, something heavy was about to befall the House of Priya and its stink was right in the air.
Sidhes were magnificent creatures, but the royalty of Sheelah were exceptional with the ability to smell the looming death of their species a long distance off. Especially one as bedridden as The Queen was right now. Queen Alora was about to die. And there was nothing Zanna could do about it.
Well, she was trying her best and she wasn’t giving up. Not until she got that darned potion right. Too much was at stake here, too much.
Zanna squeezed the Queen's little hands in hers and nodded her head firmly to show she understood her important words. She understood far better than even The Queen can begin to fathom.
“Rest my queen, I need to get back to my quarters. I have some matters to attend to”, she said imploringly.
She loathed leaving The Queen's side lest something bad happens in her presence. As far as she was concerned, death dare not come sniffing near this woman when she was with her.
The Queen nodded and dropped Zanna’s hand. She rested on the bed and closed her eyes. Zanna soon began to sing a favourite of The Queen in low, hushed tones. Her voice rang out sweetly and sang of how the Sidhes came to earth centuries ago, battle weary, with a single worn out female from The House of Priya bearing the flag. She spoke of how they settled in Sheelah with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, she sang achingly of how The House of Priya built the barren land into the thriving city it was today, she sang of The Queen’s great grandmother who was the first to rule; the song was of their lineage.