Stranded Love

Standing before me was the man of my dreams—no, he’s the man who made all of my dreams into reality. Jenn Rowell’s hazel brown orbs dilated when they dropped on my jade green ones, although they went back to their normal sizes as he recovered from the shock. On his side was a woman, and the towel around her waist barely held on to her chest and armpits. I stood frozen at the scenario in front of me, as if my feet had grown claws and ice on the marble floor.

“J-Jenn,” I uttered the name of my boyfriend in a vulnerable tone, despite the woman’s presence in front of my eyes. “W-What’s the meaning of this?” I hate to admit it, but my voice quivered along with the tears under my eyes’ hidden depths. On prompt, I look up to the ceiling to make my tears go back down before returning my gaze to the two inhumane people.

It has always been like this, and yes, I have stooped so low for my goals and acting career. What can I possibly do? Jenn is a billionaire and was predicted to be the next chairman of the Roswell Group, thus, I have to suck this all up once again to dig some gold on this man. Even if it seemed so pathetic, people sometimes have to run deep in order to float back; proud, high, and wealthy.

People assume that being an actor or actress is a piece of cake and pretty much well-off, without actually knowing to what extent we do to stay untouched in this industry.

As soon as my eyes darted to my boyfriend, who’s currently shirtless, he moved to me near his bedroom door and trapped me in the corner using both of his arms. Jenn’s lips parted, and in his deep monotone voice, he mumbled, “Do you have an issue with what you just witnessed, Matilda?”

“Yes,” I urged to speak and yet, no words have ever escaped my mouth. Instead, a response on the contrary succeeded thereafter. “N-No. I have nothing to say. It’s not a problem... at all.” It sounded out truly pitiful, ear-splitting even. After a few seconds of total silence, Jenn nodded his head before he sauntered back to his bed, to where his new mistress—toy girlfriend—was lying on without any guilt on her expression.

Unbelievable! Despicable humans!

“What are you standing there for? Are you waiting for winter to come or something?” Jenn questioned, and indifference lies within his deep baritone. “Why don’t you take a short walk, Matilda. You looked dazed despite you knowing that this is what I usually do.” However, I didn’t provide an answer to his utterance, even though I’ve actually wished to scream my frustrations in front of him and punch that arrogant face of his. Asshole!

“How far will you go, Matilda?” I mentally asked for myself.

How far will I sink deep just to aim high?

I swallowed the lump of my throat, and with no second thoughts, I turned my back at both of them. My feet ambled from the mansion’s halls to the verandas, but it hasn’t even dwindled the chaos of my thoughts a bit. Thus, I marched to the huge door and approached the gate with giant strides. My step quickened more when the image from earlier came across my mind, and I didn’t mind as to where my feet would even take me.

However, the only thing I’m able to do was overthink everything. I don’t have the courage to go against the Roswell Group’s youngest heir, who’s most likely to take the chairman’s position soon in the near future. Mauro Vann Roswell, the Roswell Group’s current chairman, had two sons, namely Alistair Roswell as eldest; and Jenn Roswell as the youngest. Since the eldest heir seemed to have no interest in taking charge of the family’s business line, rumors said that the youngest will lead instead. A different story also circulated in town, saying that the oldest was perhaps either a leader of some kind of gang or gay, but none were proven.

Besides, I couldn’t judge Alistair because he will be my brother-in-law when the perfect time comes. Even though we’re barely acquaintances, calling him names also means judging myself like what others do.

My thoughts halted when I saw the bridge nearby the far-end road intersection, and on the spur of the moment, I sprinted all the way to the bridge, losing myself and sanity in each step that I took. Until I finally stepped on the bridge’s deck, the brisk wind slapped my face with serenity and calmness, as though it attempted to erase the scene earlier. “Mom!” I shouted to no one in particular but mere air. Not long after, the tears that I've always been resisting since the last minutes have thrived to flow like rivers on my cheeks.

It may sound taboo to the others, but my mother died because of suicide, jumping off the bridge which is similar to where I am at this moment. It left me nothing since I never had seen my father, then the event made me fall to the children's orphanage’s care. None other than the nuns dared to approach me long ago, until I summoned all of my courage to audition in an agency for potential actors and actresses.

“Mother, Jenn has done it again. You can see it from there, right? Well, he cheated on me... again... what should I do? I’m tired of all of this, aside from my career, Mom. It's hopeless,” a growling sob escaped my mouth, but I continued to let out my frustrations since it’s the only thing I could do. “It will cost everything that I have if ever I’ll make a wrong decision,” I added in a whisper-like manner, and my voice then cracked, despite pulling off a firm expression.

Endless cries left me. “I missed you, Mom. I really do. I wished you had taken me with you before.”

Another stream of tears burst out from my eyes as they trickled down, tracing my facial features, from the nose then to the jaw, before the tears lastly kissed the ground. After minutes of stillness, a low baritone reached straight into my ears out of the blue, which then triggered me to steal a quick glimpse of the person from behind.

“Who are you talking to?”

As soon as I saw Alistair’s perplexed guise, the eldest son of the Roswell’s Group, two eyes of mine went back to the ocean’s blue water underneath the bridge. “How did he know that I’m here? Perhaps, did he follow me?” Several queries crossed my thoughts, however, all I’ve done was to wipe off the stain of tears on my face before glancing over to him. On the other hand, Alistair’s confused look altered into a serious one, and after a short while, his chestnut brown eyes with dark gray tints around its edge locked gaze with mine.

“Are you planning to jump off?” he asked me in the darkest tone of which his lips could ever pull.

“Pardon me, Mr. Roswell, but this doesn’t have anything to do with you,” I countered back with a soft voice, but soon added, “You know nothing about this, Sire. Just leave me be and pretend like you haven’t seen me here. Please. It’s not as if you've ever cared about what I did or do.”

Before I could turn back my attention to the cold, serene, and turquoise waters, Alistair held my face in between his palms to remain my eyes on his own ones. Afterwards, he whispered, and his minty breath brushed off my face. “Why can’t you look at me in the eyes for at least thirty seconds, woman? Are you being like this because of my younger brother once again? No matter how often Jenn cheats on you with any random chicks, why wouldn’t you do anything to keep your pride and dignity?!”

Both of my eyes broadened at Alistair’s sudden outburst, “What are you talking about, Sir? How did you know that my boyfriend was cheating on me? Also, what does it have to do with you?” I maintained myself calm in spite of his prior statement that had struck deep into my heart. “Jenn loves me,” I murmured with my voice trembling.

No lies. It was love, at first.

“You call that love?!” Alistair gasped in utmost disbelief, “Have you lost your mind?! My brother shamelessly cheated in front of you earlier, and what? You’ll call it love and jump off the bridge if you don’t feel like living, is that it?” After he rambled those words out of his lips, his chest violently moved up and down as he intended to catch up with his breath. Nonetheless, he said further, “How could you be so pathetic?”

“Now, you’ve crossed the line, Sir,” I started, and it felt like my nose was flaring at the tension between us like a red bull. Not to mention the fact that we’re on the bridge! I could just push him off to make him leave me alone. Yet, I kept talking, “How dare you insult me when you don’t know what I’ve been through? If I had felt the pain of betrayal, what could you possibly do, then? Besides, we weren’t that close enough to make you spit all of those cruel words to me. You have no right to yell at me, too!”

Literally, he blurted out of the blue. “I love you! Yes, I have no right to tell you this, but at least have respect for yourself. I don’t want to see the woman I like crying for my own brother’s actions.” As if time had stopped, and the world became silent, I stood like an old statue in front of him. Alistair breathed a sharp exhale before he murmured, “I took care of my brother’s scandals before they’d get complicated, also. However, like what goes around in magazines and tabloids, I had no intention of taking the position after the chairman, thus I will secure my brother’s image instead. So, you should think about it before the both of you will cause a great scandal which may be the end of your career as well.”

“Unbelievable,” I hissed, “Are you low-key telling me to break up with your brother?”

“If that’s how it sounds like, then let it be that way,” he answered in a determined voice.

“Thank you,” I trailed off, “But I also have to keep my profile as an actress, Sir. It would be a shame if I’d quit right now that I’ve come too far. It may sound like a good digger, or rather as an opportunist bitch, but it was all that I wanted and dreamt of. I would go to great lengths just to reach the top. Also, a good connection is of great impact in this industry that I have been working on, so don’t bother.”

I paused for a while before lifting my head up, staring straight towards the man in front of both of my jade eyes. Not long after, a blunt lie left my lips, “I love what I’m doing–” However, even before I could finish a sentence, the oldest heir of Roswell’s Group, Alistair, cut me off without any hesitation.

“You may be idolized by the public and entitled as the best actress in the field of media, but your own lies won’t be concealed further as easily as you wished, lady.”

In an instant, I lifted a single brow in his direction despite him being a superior when it comes to hierarchy. “I am sorry, Sir. I may be easily broken, but the pieces are bound to break together in one piece, still. As for the lies, I didn’t intend to hide them.”

Once again, I attempted to leave, but Alistair’s grip on my wrist tightened. “Cut off your ties with my brother. Break up with him and start anew. It may have looked like the end, but endings are the starting points of others. Surely, there’s someone who’s more than willing to stay with you through thick and thin. Consider me.”

“Don’t tell me those wise words, Sir. It wouldn’t change my mind,” I spat.

“I’ll do whatever you’d like me to,” he insisted, and Alistair’s orbs raised to stare at me. “I love you, Matilda, and there’s nothing wrong with keeping the woman that I love away from all of those heartaches, isn’t there? My eyes were on you since the day you first dated my brother and yet, you haven’t bestowed a single glance at me until this moment.”

Alistair? Alistair, the eldest heir of Roswell Group, is deeply in love with me?

“I see, so you’re head over heels for me, Sire.” I plastered one playful smirk on the side of my lips; unlike the miserable guise which I have sported the earlier minutes. “However, the price is not as easy as you imagined.”

He instantly retorted, “Name it. Anything that will please you.”

“Well, then...” I trailed off, “Why don’t you consider getting the sole successor title for the Roswell’s Group. Do you still want to do it? After all of what you’ve done to keep your brother’s image clean?”

Alistair acted as if he was taken aback, as what I have predicted. I’m then about to scoff at his reaction, although his sudden response snapped me out of the hook. He parted his lips as he spoke, “Watch me. If that’s your wish, then your wish is my command."