The Bad Girl: Chapter 25 - Regrets

She was standing near the window, a cigarette in one hand, and the other hand on her waist. It was almost five in the afternoon. Looking down, she admired the traffic that seemed to fill the streets, like ants scurrying up and down, searching for food and frantically going home.

She looked up to view the afternoon sky. It was lovely. The sun, with its golden rays, was trying to hide from one cloud to another, giving each fluff a beautiful halo. One might say they were playing a game of hide-and-go-seek and the sun would gladly laugh each time a cloud passed over him, giving him a chance to shed his remaining light on the world.

Her office was as organized as can be. Everything was in its proper place. There were no books, files or papers on the table that were not needed. Filing cabinets were all labeled so as to avoid confusion and delay in opening the wrong drawer. Everything was in order.

A soft knock came from the door.

"Come in!" her voice resounded in the room.

The door clicked open and a man dressed in a business suit came inside. She never bothered to look to see the person. She was expecting him.

Smile sat on her chair and the man sat across her, taking his sunglasses off.

She killed her cigarette and inquired, "So what have you got for me?"

"Sherwin Xu has built a house in Convertville two years ago which he doesn't use," the man started. "It's relatively small considering he's a tycoon. Then I found out that it's a replica of the bungalow he shared with his cousin, Matthew Li, while they were studying in Thailand."

The man handed her a brown envelope. Her eyebrow rose as she scanned through the documents.

"Why would Sherwin do that?" she thought aloud. She faced the man and instructed, "Their place, Thailand, find out what it means to him. It must be special for him to replicate the structure."

The man nodded, stood up, and left, leaving Smile Liu to plot her next move.

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Reina Yang looked like hell. Her eye bags were huge, her skin, pale and her hair was an awful sight since most of the strands had come undone and fell to cover her face. Her dress was all crumpled and untidy. She looked like she battled a herd of cows.

Even her office was a total mess. Papers and files were scattered all over her desk. Her drawers were all open. The trashcan was full and so was her ashtray. Coffee cups littered the floor. It did not look like a manager's office at all.

It was a hectic day at Yang TV.

She found out that her trusted employee, Me-An Zheng, embezzled to the amount of five million NT, causing Reina to spend the whole day reviewing the company's internal controls. The tension was thick as everyone was questioned.

It drained her: physically, emotionally and mentally.

She took off her shoes and thought to lie down on the couch. She groaned aloud when she glanced up the clock. It was past 7.

She remembered she had to go home soon and see...see...that man again. She can't even bear herself to mention his name without getting all worked-up!

It has been a week since that remote-control-flying incident happened and it has been that long since she had spoken a word to Sherwin. She was avoiding him. She would only nod to acknowledge his presence or shake her head to decline his offer. She knew it was driving him nuts and she firmly believed he deserved it!

However, it did not stop Sherwin from trying. He had called her on her hand phone too many times to count for the whole week but they were all rejected or went unanswered. She would often laugh at these scenarios or get annoyed at his persistence.

Then it gave her an idea.

She bought a small notebook and recorded how many times he would call and the time of the call. She thought it would be nice too look back to this time when she got older and laugh at how silly and stupid she was to do this thing. And she would remember how she made Sherwin Xu a fool the second time around.

Her headache became more intense and closed her eyes, forcing her body to relax. It didn't work. She stood up and looked for a painkiller in her table drawer and popped it in her mouth.

She went back to the couch and laid down again, putting her right arm on her forehead.

She sighed as she wondered, "What would have happened if he didn't tell anyone about our night together?"

She closed her eyes and the images played so vividly in her mind, like it was just yesterday....

"Yan, is it me or are people sniggering as we pass?" Reina asked.

Chrissie looked around her and could see that people were staring at them and look away when her eyes would fall on them.

"Yup, people are definitely talking about us," Chrissie said nonchalantly.

"Don't mind it, Yang. We've always been talked about...good or bad," she added a matter-of-factly.

Reina looked around her and her uneasiness grew even more, "I don't know...This time it's weird...It's actually creeping me out..."

"Relax, girl, you're just nervous," Chrissie faced her friend and her eyes lightened up. "Better yet... Focus your mind elsewhere... like Delectable Dorky."

In retrospect, Reina thought everyone was weird that day, although she did not have a single clue. It did not take her a long time to figure out why, though. At lunchtime, she was ruined...

"Damn, Rain! I think people are REALLY talking about US..." Chrissie whispered to her friend as she looked around the suddenly quiet caf.

They headed towards a vacant booth but everyone giggled and looked at them in disgust as they passed.

"What I can't figure out is that we never did anything over the weekend," Chrissie was bewildered.

It didn't last long until Reina caught a bit of what they were saying.

"I don't think they're talking about US... they're talking about ME!" she uttered in horror.

Jarring back to present, Reina sat up and covered her ears and shaking her head, trying to block away the noise, the taunts, the mockery. She tried to stop remembering but her mind would not allow her and continued to play the scenes one by one, as clear as it could ever be, and smirking down at her....

"Hey Reina!" Mike called out to her.

Reina turned to his direction and wondered who it was.

At the same time, Matthew pointed at Sherwin and cried, "Lover Boy is here!"

Matt stood up and went behind Mike and they mockingly grinded each other.

The whole place erupted in laughter.

"Omigod! I knew that the Bitch was a virgin! But I didn't know that she'd succumbed to the Drooling Dork! Wasn't she the one who gave him that name?" Diane intentionally said for Chrissie to overhear.

Adding insult to injury, the dethroned queen laughed evilly, "My god! She just ate her words!"

With this, her friends laughed along with her.

"Nooo!!" Reina screamed. "Enough!!"

She breathed heavily and quickly, beads of sweat trickled down the sides of her face to her neck, dampening her dress' neckline. It was like waking from a nightmare, only she was not asleep.

She fell back on the couch and rolled over on her stomach to bury her face on the throw pillow and began to sob softly.

"If only I wasn't so foolishly scared and avoided him that Monday," she said between sobs as her mind replayed that car park scene....

They had just entered ABAC and were nearing the car park when all of a sudden, Reina ducked, and grimaced at the pain.

Chrissie was confused at her friend's behavior. Just then, she saw Sherwin waiting for them. Her mouth opened as if to say "Ah!" and her head nodded in silent understanding.

Pretending not to see Sherwin, she turned left and parked a few feet away from their usual parking place.

"What has gotten into you?!" Chrissie inquired as she got out of the car. "I would have expected a lot from you than just hide," she added, closing the car and crossing her arms.

Reina got out of the car, fixed herself, shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm just not ready to face him yet."

Stopping the broken record of bad memories, Reina cried, "And if only I had the courage to approach him that night..." her voice trailed away as tears gathered in her eyes again recalling her unfortunate past all over again...

"I can do this!" Reina repeated to herself. She let out a loud sigh and walked to Sherwin's house.

She was near Sherwin's bungalow when she saw him go out of the house. She was about to go to him when she noticed his drunken state. So she hid behind the bushes to try to gather more courage.

Her eyes instantly filled with tears and with each minute that passed by, her courage deserted her. Finally, she decided not to go to him. She would wait until he is sober and they could talk peacefully.

She walked back to where her car was parked, mentally chiding herself from not showing up last night and for cowering again tonight.

"Tomorrow. Yes, there's still tomorrow," she convinced herself. "Tomorrow for sure," she promised and drove away....

Her sobs died away minutes ago but she continued to lie on her stomach. Eventually, she rolled to lie flat on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. She inhaled deeply and let the air out slowly.

Lord, she was tired. She had never felt this tired all these years. Being with Sherwin has been tiring.

Everything was exhausting.

Her eyelids were becoming heavier by the second. The medicine was starting to claim her body.

She smiled weakly.

Her conscious mind was slipping away discreetly, making her relaxed. "If only I was true to myself, maybe, everything would have been different," she yawned. "Maybe, Sherwin and I would be together like Chrissie and Matt are now..."

"Maybe, I would have what Chrissie has right now...Maybe..." Those were Reina's last thoughts she floated away to dreamland, a smile on her lips.

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"Damn, Reina! Why won't you answer my calls?" Sherwin cursed as he threw his phone on the couch when Reina did not answer her phone, again.

Sherwin sat on his swiveling chair and frowned, his thumb and forefinger caressing his chin. He was really baffled about what was causing Reina's irritation. He was shocked to see the remote control flying toward him. A week had passed and yet, she still would not talk to him, let alone utter a word when he's around!

He devised a lot of plans to get her to talk, but still, she wouldn't. He even placed himself in danger and pretended to slip on the stairs, just so she would scream. But Reina just covered her mouth, ran outside, and God knows what she did!

He missed hearing her voice. Most importantly, he missed hearing her talk and laugh with him.

"It's difficult to understand women," he thought. "They're much too predictable at being unpredictable."

All of a sudden, his eyes reverted back to his phone on the couch and remembered the reason he called Reina. Not only was he hoping she would answer, but he also wanted to know if she's safe and home.

He picked up his office phone and dialed their house number.

No answer.

He smacked himself on the forehead. Reina would never answer the phone even if she was home. He dialed again, this time, in Reina's office. A guard picked up the phone and told him that she has not gone home yet. He thanked the guard and walked out of his office and decided to pick Reina up.

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Upon reaching Reina's office, Sherwin knocked.

Silence.

He twisted the knob and slowly pushed the door.

It was quiet. Only the humming sound of the air-conditioner could be heard.

"Reina? Are you there?" he asked tentatively.

There was no answer.

He opened the door wider and found Reina's sleeping form.

He smiled in relief.

She was in no danger.

He went near Reina's sleeping form and gazed at her.

"She is tired," he whispered. He kneeled to have a closer look.

"She cried?" he asked, amazed.

"Did I make you cry?" He asked gently and wiped the tear stains from her face.

He stood up and sighed, "I cannot leave her like this. Her body will be sore from sleeping on the couch all night."

So he carried her in his arms and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned on his chest.

He smiled and walked out of the building, surprising everyone they meet.

The people just grinned.

Reaching the car, he placed her carefully on the front seat and secured her body with the seatbelt. Again, he stared at her and traced her face and her lips before getting into the driver's seat and drove home.

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Reina was having a wonderful dream.

She was in a meadow, with green grass and lovely colorful blooming flowers around her, when the skies opened and a streak of light hit the spot beside her. Soon after, a stairs made of clouds appeared, beckoning her to climb.

She climbed the stairs and reaching above; she saw the most magnificent castle one has ever seen! Not far from the stairs, a handsome prince was smiling at her.

The prince walked to her and brought her hand on his lips, saying, "I've been waiting for you, my love."

She smiled shyly and gazed in his eyes.

Slowly, he was bending down to kiss her and as their lips touched, she woke up.

She touched her lips.

The dream felt so real.

She sighed and pulled the covers up. Her eyes flew open and realized she's naked!

She sat up and found Sherwin entering her room, bringing some lotion with him.

She covered her body and demanded, "What are you doing in here?!"

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Sherwin parked the car in the garage and went inside to fix Reina's bed. A few minutes later, he came back, undid Reina's seatbelt and carried her into the house and up to her room.

He then placed her at the center of the bed and took off her shoes and covered her body with a blanket. He walked toward the door and stopped. She looked uncomfortable in her state. He exhaled loudly and turned around and walked back.

Slowly and carefully, he began to peel off her office clothes to make her comfortable.

She was even more beautiful, undressed. Her skin glowed by the lamplight. She looked like a sleeping goddess, so pure and so virginal. He fought the urge to make love to her.

He swallowed hard.

His eyes left her body and settled on her lips. Her cherry lips seemed sweet. Oh, he wanted to taste them. Maybe, just maybe, one kiss would be enough. A kiss that was so subtle so as not to wake her up. So he slowly bent down and pressed his lips above hers, just to have a taste of their sweetness, and pulled away as slowly too.

After taking off her clothes and covering her up with a blanket, he went out and got some foot lotion. He was going to massage her tired feet.

That was when Reina stirred and woke up.

When he went inside, she demanded, "What are you doing in here?!"

Sherwin placed the lotion on the bedside table and pushed her back on the bed.

"Shhh...I'm not going to do anything to you if that's what you think. Lie back," he ordered.

Reina just followed him with her eyes as he took the lotion on the table and went to sit at the foot of the bed.

As if answering her questions, he said, "I took off your clothes to make you feel more comfortable. You look all bundled up with your clothes on."

He squeezed some lotion on his hand and started rubbing her foot.

She moaned.

He smiled.

"Just relax. Sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow," he encouraged.

Soon, the sandman spread his magic dust in the air and Reina fell asleep as instantly as she woke up.

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Reina stretched languidly on the bed as she woke up, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. She smiled happily.

Then she remembered last night, how Sherwin took her home, how he took care of her, how he pleasured her...

She bit her lower lip. She has to make it up to Sherwin. She knows she has been bad the past week, but now is the time to set their differences behind.

She frowned and pouted. But how could she repay him for his thoughtfulness?