Jayden's POV

It has been a week since I went to work and I have been home resting simply because Isabella insisted that I stay at home for a week.

I know I actually needed the rest but I couldn't pay deaf ears to the piles of work I had to sort out.

With Isabella's help, I got everything done in just a few days while we left the others at work. Anna usually brings the important one home for me and Isabella to work on. Most times, she handles it alone while I watch her do it.

She has been really supportive and I can't believe she hasn't brought up the issue of leaving again since the other day.

When she came back home that night, she was with a smile on her face and I was happy to see her back in the house. I kept on ignoring the voice telling me that Isabella would never come back again.

I am going to resume work tomorrow but I decided to make today worth it for Isabella. I want to appreciate her for staying by my side all through the week, making jokes just to see me laugh, and doing virtually everything for me.

When she asked if I wanted her to feed me, I raised a brow. I am not a baby and even if I was weaker, I won't allow that.

It's hard to stop thinking about Helena, especially about how she smiled down at me. I have no idea what it means and I haven't figured it out yet.

It bothers me sometimes and for two days in a row, I haven't slept at all at night. When Isabella noticed I wasn't sleeping last night, she sat up and we were in silence till it was dawn.

She didn't push it. She didn't ask me what happened. She only sat up and folded her arms around her bosom.

Nights scare me a lot. Ever since she died. When I find it hard to sleep at night, I always ends up having wild imaginations and thinking back to the night Helena died.

But when Isabella sat up last night, that action alone pushed away every fear in me and I began to think about her. How we met and how I got to employ her as my Assistant.

After a while, I concluded within me that I made the right decision by asking her to be my wife for a year. She is the best.

"Where is this place?" Her eyes roam the entire place as I drive in and park the car close to the chalet house.

It is surrounded by lakes and the only road that leads here is one. The sun is setting already and it makes the light from the house glow in the evening darkness.

This is where I come to whenever I feel sick and tired of working my ass off to get the thought of Helena out of my head. This place gives me a sense of comfort and I usually spend a day or two recovering before going back home to my usual daily routine.

I brought Isabella here for a reason.

"Wow!" She mutters her amazement and I smile. I get down from the car and she does the same, looking over the house and turning to face the lake.

I love this place because of the serenity and the nature around here. I feel safer here without anyone to disturb my peace than when I am at home in my mansion.

It is a really small chalet house but it contains a big kitchen where I cook for myself and a bedroom, a spacious living room, a gym house, and a bathroom.

"Come, let's go", I beckon to Isabella who seems intrigued by the sight of everything.

I hear her trudging behind me in silence as I unlock the door and enter. The light is always on and it illuminates the entire space.

"Wow!" Isabella can't hide her amazement as she enters again. There is a tv set, three sofas and two couches. It is simple but nice.

"I love this place, does it belong to you?" Her eyes shine brightly as she asks the question.

"What do you think?" I ask her with a smile.

"Oh, my God!" She gasps and looks around once more.

The first time Isabella entered my mansion, she didn't look this happy and excited about living in a big house like that but being here in a small old chalet house is making her happy.

I knew she would love this place. I love it personally and I wanted to spend my last vacation day here before work will resume fully tomorrow. I didn't want to come alone so I decided to bring her along.

We have become relatively closer and I would say she is my friend now that Gabriel hardly has time for me.

I show her around and after we were done, we enter the kitchen and she loves the place. We go back to the living room and we flop heavily to the sofa in exhaustion.

The drive here took an hour.

I really do not know why there is a TV set here when I have never turned it on before. I always come here to revive my spirit and for the peace and silence here. I never turned the TV on to watch the news or a movie for no reason. I never had a reason to do that.

But now that I am here with a friend, I am tempted to grab the remote control and put it on so it would at least keep her busy but I want us to talk.

"You said you wanted to go to Verona, right?" I ask without looking at her.

She is silent and I gaze up. "Yes? Why do you ask?"

I shrug and fold my arms around my bosom. "Nothing. I just wanted to know if it is something you really want."

"Of course", she laughs heartily. "Who wouldn't want to go over to such a city?"

"Me," I answer and she laughs again, waving her hand at me.

"That can only be possible for people who don't appreciate literature and fiction. Most people go there because of Romeo and Juliet. You love books so I expect you to want to go there. I want to go there because I want to experience that deep love those two characters felt but mind you, I don't intend to die and have my man die too", she chuckles lightly and I watch her.

Her face is glowing in the evening light. I don't know if it's because of how happy she sounds or because of the bright light from the bulb in the living room.

"What is love if they don't die? Their love wouldn't have been appreciated if they survived it", I oppose and she gasps and looks back at me.

"Really?" I nod. She looks thoughtful for a while before saying. "I don't think so. I believe two people who love each other should be given a chance to enjoy the moment together, build a family, find peace, and do a lot of things together before death comes knocking. Till old age."

We both fall silent. Immediately the words are out, she bites her lips and glances away.

Maybe she thinks she is overstepping the boundary again. I remember she said she won't say too much or do anything to hurt me anymore.

She has no idea this has something to do with me. What she said is a reminder of what happened to me. Helena and I didn't spend enough time together to explore that world of love till old age. We didn't even make it to the altar.

I loved her but as fate would have it, death took her away. Romeo and Juliet died but not in my own situation, my own Juliet died while I remained as Romeo.

Maybe if Romeo hadn't died, he would have been miserable just like me. So dying was the possible way to get rid of the loss of a loved one.

I sigh loudly and lean backward.

"I'm sorry, Jayden", she touches my arm and an electric jolt rushes down my spine at the contact.

I stare at her, her face is in a deep frown, and regret flashes across her expression. She is regretting why she brought it up.

I didn't know it would end up this way too. I just wanted to tell her that I would sponsor her Verona trip in October. She deserves it.

"It's fine."

"Are you sure?"

I smile. "Do you want to know?"

She nods but I know she doesn't understand what I am asking.

"Can I talk to you about who Helena is now?" I ask her and her face turns pale white.

She must have figured out that Helena was very important to me and she still is. I don't know if this is the right time to open up to her and tell her everything about my past.

Like she said yesterday, we are friends. She has told me almost everything about her but I haven't said a word about my past to her.

Does that automatically mean she deserves to know about mine too? Am I ready to let go of the hold I have on my past? Am I ready to show Isabella how bad of a man I am? Am I ready to admit that I was responsible for my bride and child's life? Am I ready to admit my mistakes even when there is nothing to be done to rectify that mistake?

She shakes her head without interest. "No!"

"Why? You were curious", I smile, wondering why she doesn't look exciteed now about having her curiosity satisfied.

Maybe I will feel better if I talk about it with someone who doesn't know Helena or didn't know me when it happened. Then I will get ideas from her judgments so I can be a better person.

"You don't have to say anything if you are not ready. I am no longer curious…"

"And that is because of what happened the other day, right? It made you lose interest in wanting to know about me."

"No", she says and tries to stand up but I grab her quickly. "Sit."

It comes out like a command but I can't help it. I really want to do this. It feels like my heart will soon burst out of my chest if I don't let it all out. This is the right time. Since I feel like doing this, then I should.

Isabella is hesitant for a while before she sits back on the sofa and I begin slowly with how I met Helena and how we fell in love until the very day my life turned sour and I became a monster.

****

Finally, he wants to reveal everything about his past without knowing that Isabella has been informed already.

Will he feel better after talking about what has been haunting him? Will this change anything between them?

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