Chapter 13

“This is bad. No, this is worse.” Marissa was hitting her forehead with the pillow.

“Stop it, Risa. This is worse than you pacing around.” Ronny groaned.

“Then how the hell am I supposed to react? We have a dance competition coming up in a few weeks, your wedding preparations, plus my twisted ankle.

Everything is so messed up.” She whined and then glared at him.

“It’s not that bad. Everything will go just fine.” He tried to assure her.

“Yeah, right!” She told him sarcastically.

“Cut it out, guys and Marissa, Ronny is right. Enough time is left.” Alex intervened to calm both of them down.

“I can’t believe that I agree with my good-for-nothing brother, but he is right.” Jenny was still holding a grudge and never left a chance to taunt her elder

brother.

Marissa could sense the tension between the siblings.

“Ronny and Alex, make me some sandwiches.” She ordered the boys.

“Why should I?” Ronny shot back.

“Do I look like I am in a position to stand and make food?” She raises her eyebrows.

“Come on, Ronny. Marissa needs rest.” Alex pulled Ronny up and dragged him to the kitchen.

“Even I am hungry; you two better make some good sandwiches. But Ronny, please be safe! Alex tends to make a disaster of even simple things.” She

said loudly.

“Jennifer,” Marissa said with a warning tone.

“What?” To which Jenny gave her a puppy dog look.

“Give Alex a break.”

“After what he did to you and all of us? No, never.” Jenny gruffed.

“Jenny, you know the whole story. You cannot blame him completely.” Marissa stated.

“Marissa, stop defending my brother.”

“I am not defending him. Yes, what he did was wrong, but Alex is a good person. We might have gotten on the wrong foot, but now he is at least trying.

Please don’t be angry with him for my sake. He loves both of you and your sister, and I can see that he hates it when you two don’t talk to him.”

“He deserves it.” Jenny looked away.

“Does he, Jenny? Why should he pay for all the mistakes? Even I was part of the lie where I didn’t tell you people about him being my husband. So, in

this case, you should not talk to me as well. I am as much to blame as him.”

“Marissa, you don’t understand. None of it would have happened if he hadn’t dated Daphne or hadn’t divorced you.” Jenny tried to explain it to her

exasperatedly.

“Jenny, Alex is your brother. The one whom you love with all your heart. I still remember when you were actually dancing from joy when he contacted

you and apologized to you. You gave him a chance. Things that happened to me were before that. He has done nothing wrong now. He is trying to do

things right. You do know that for the past week, he has been staying with me just to take care of me. He never let me out of my bed. I have tried

everything single thing to make him get out of my house, but that stubborn man just wouldn’t listen.”

“But what about the fact that because of him, you suffered so much?”

“Jenny, Alex never tortured me. If it wasn’t for him, then maybe today I might not have been this accomplished. Unknowingly, he helped me a lot. Yes, if

your brother and I were together, then maybe Rob wouldn’t have been part of my life, but to put all the blame on Alex is not fair to him. He was not the

one who kidnapped me or played me.”

“But,”

“No, but Jenny. Put that man out of misery. You are not talking to him for my sake, right? Now go and talk to him for me.”

With a bit of push, Jenny went inside the kitchen to talk to her brother.

“You are a strange man, Alex,” Ronny stated when he was taking things out of the fridge.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked him in confusion.

“First, you spoil your relationship with your sisters. Then you break your best friend’s heart, then you try to mend your relationship with all three of them,

and don’t stop until you make things right. Who the hell are you?” Ronny explained.

“As I have said before, I have made lots of mistakes in the past, but not anymore. I have never backed down from accepting my mistakes. What I did was

wrong, and I want to rectify it. Ronny, I know your concern is Marissa here, as we both know it’s a matter of time until Jenny forgives me. I will not hurt

Marissa. Not giving our marriage a chance was the biggest mistake I have ever made. I need a chance. I want to get to know her, I want to know what I

missed with her, and it wouldn’t be possible until all of you trust me and give me a chance.” Alex confessed.

“Are you telling the truth?” Jenny spoke in the middle, making both the guys turn around.

“Jenny, I am really sorry.” He apologized to her.

“If you hurt her again, I will chop you into pieces and serve them to the dog,” Jenny warned him.

“Before she chops you, I will kill you myself. You better not hurt her, Alex. Marissa doesn’t trust a lot of people in her life, but you have proved yourself

by taking care of her this week.” Ronny gave him a sincere smile.

“I wouldn’t think of it.” Alex smiled back in return and appreciated their trust in him.

“What’s taking you all so long?” Marissa waited for a long time outside, so she decided to check-in.

“Marissa, how many times have I told you just to call me loudly if I am not beside you?” Alex rushed towards her so he could hold her, which would

cause less pressure on her right ankle.

“Too many times to count. I am much better and can walk by myself. You know, if it weren’t for our past history, I would have thought that you were

finding ways to hold me or be beside me as if you loved me or had a crush on me.” Marissa rolled her eyes but frowned when there was a sudden silence.

Ronny and Jenny had a calculating look in their eyes, and, whereas Alex was concerned, it seemed that he was realizing something.

“Guys, I was joking.” This made all three of them come out of their thoughts.

“Let’s make you sit on the couch. The doctor specifically said you need proper rest for a week, and still, a few hours are left for this week to get over.”

Alex gave her a big smile.

“Wipe that smile off your face. It is creepy. I am actually glad that we are no longer married. God, I pity your future wife. If you are concerned about your

friends or family, I don’t know what will happen to your wife and kids. God, please help them.” Marissa joked.

“Well, you can warn my so-called future wife when you meet her.” Alex joked back.

“Marissa is in big trouble,” Ronny whispered in Jenny’s ears.

“Even Alex. These two are bigger idiots than I thought. God surely has a way of doing things. Both of them are being given a second chance. Hopefully,

none of them will ruin it.”

“They won’t.” Ronny pecked her lips.

After another hour or two, both of them left.

Alex sat back on the couch and gave a long sigh.

“Thank you, Marissa.”

“For what?” She asked him in confusion.

“For convincing Jenny.” He stated.

“I just made her look at things clearly. And I should be thanking you for taking care of me and handling my tantrums.” She replied back.

“You are bad at faking tantrums. I knew that you were trying to get me away from you.” He looked at her with a smile.

“Well, it didn’t work out.” She pouted.

Alex was deep in thought and wanted to talk to Marissa about Rob. He still didn’t understand why she forgave him.

“What are you thinking about?” Marissa asked when she saw his thoughtful face.

“You won’t like it.” He stated.

“Try me.” She told him.

“Rob,” he said one word, which made Marissa sigh.

“You just can’t let things go, can you?” She asked him, but not in annoyance.

“Sorry. That’s the way I am.” He apologized.

“You don’t need to be sorry. What about him? You know everything that happened between us.” She asked him.

“Why did you forgive him?” He asked her but did not look at her.

“I am tired of everything, Alex. What will it do to me if I hold a grudge against him, plus he tried to save my life although things didn’t go according to

his plan? His father manipulated him as Daphne manipulated you.” She explained.

“Yes, just like him.”

Marissa knew what Alex was implying.

“Alex, don’t compare yourself with him. You are both two different people. You are a good person. You always took care of me, even when we were

married. You always make sure I am well settled and provided for.”

“You really mean that?” He asked her.

“With all my heart.”

Alex did realize something, and it was that the feeling he was having for Marissa was not his guilt or friendship or crush. It was much more, and he

wasn’t about to let it go in vain.