Chapter 1

After another intense love making, Edward slowly got up from the bed.

Mary Dale is sleeping.

Exhausted after what happened between them.

Edward wore his boxers and walked over to the terrace.

He looked out on the still busy streets of Manila despite the wee hours of the morning.

He heaved a heavy sigh.

He raked his fingers through his hair.

Mary Dale stirred and found Edward not in bed.

She slowly got up and went to where he is.

She draped the blanket over her nakedness.

She slowly approached Edward.

Edward could sense her presence immediately but he did not turn to look at her.

She put her arms around his waist and her chin on his left shoulder.

"Come back to bed. It's cold." she murmured.

He heaved another sigh but stayed silent.

And because they were so attuned to each other, Mary Dale couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong?"

Edward removed her hands from his waist and faced her.

There is no other way.

"It's over Mary Dale."

Mary Dale was filled with dread but still she asked what he meant.

"What do you mean Edward?" she said with a catch in her throat.

"I'm breaking up with you." he said so quietly that she thought she didn't hear anything.

She looked at him trying to discern whether or not he's just pranking her.

"My father wants me to marry Elizabeth and I can't do anything about it!"

He looked so serious while saying it that it left no doubt in Mary Dale's mind that he is indeed breaking up with her.

She nodded slowly and stepped back from him.

She tried so hard to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I see..." was all she could say before turning her back on him.

"No! You don't understand!"

Edward tried to reason with her.

Her reaction is scaring him.

It wasn't what he expected.

Mary Dale gripped the blanket so hard trying to calm herself.

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

She gritted her teeth before facing him.

So when she faced Edward, all he could see is the calmness on her face.

"No, I do understand Edward, very well. It's over." she said with no emotions at all.

Edward tried to reach out and hug her.

She avoided him and reached for her clothes.

"Please talk to me! Say anything! Just don't be this way!" Edward implored.

"What is there left to say?"

"One last question...how long have you known?"

She didn't have to say it, he knows what she is talking about.

"Last week..."

"So, that's why..."

He had known a week before that he had to break up with her because of what his family decided.

But like a coward, he had been prolonging the inevitable by not telling her.

He knew that she sensed that something was bothering him.

They had this connection that was unexplainable in words.

They knew it the first time they met.

Before she entered the bathroom...

"Can you do me one last favor by leaving now? I'm going to take a shower and I hope you're gone by the time I finish."

She kept her back turned while saying this.

Edward couldn't do anything but agree to her request.

"I understand."

She went into the bathroom and softly closed the door.

He bought this place for her as their love nest because he wanted to be with her as much as possible.

It is near his workplace.

He picked up his clothes and got dressed.

He knew that this is the last time that he'll be here.

He took one last look of the room.

He won't be coming back because if he did...

he won't ever want to leave.

And he knows that he can't do that.

He closed the door and left.

Mary Dale was leaning on the door trying to hear if he already left.

When she heard the click of the doorknob that's when her knees started to buckle.

"He's gone!" she said to herself.

She stepped into the shower and let the water run through her whole body.

She kept scrubbing herself vigorously until her skin was already so red.

She feels so dirty remembering all the times that they made love.

"Love? Stop deluding yourself! It was all just plain sex!" she admonished herself.

If he really loved you he wouldn't go and marry someone else irregardless of his so called responsibility to his family.

She remembered Jinnie's words.

Jinnie kept telling her to be careful.

Edward John Barber is a rich man and rich men don't marry women like them.

But like the fool that she was, she fell in love with Edward and gave herself wholeheartedly.

She couldn't understand why no tears were falling from her eyes.

She just felt so numb.

Her skin started to feel tender so she stopped scrubbing.

She rinsed herself and finished showering.

She got out of the bathroom.

She doesn't know what to do next.

But one thing is for sure...

She has to leave this place.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***