TALK OVER COFFEE

NELINA

Marica and I looked at Royce and Leo with our mouths falling open. Their reactions were unexpected. We laughed in unison, seeing how worried Royce and Leo were; both of them stared at us in confusion.

"Is this a game? Girls, why are you crying?" Royce asked. He seemed relaxed by then.

"No, baby, it’s just a sudden burst of emotion after sharing some of our recent experiences. You know, about my family and the incident today." I didn’t mention Marica’s family matter as I thought she wouldn’t like discussing it in the hospital.

"Can we have our coffee now?" Marica asked excitedly.

"Sure," Leo said as he handed Marica’s coffee, next was mine. Both of them were seated on the sofa while I stayed by Marica's side, sipping my coffee.

The hospital room was spacious enough to have a sofa set, and dining area beside it. It appeared neat and elegant with the white paint, modern and luxurious interior.

"God, it’s so good. This helps me relax."

"Seriously, besty?"

"Yeah, it does help me calm," Marica repeated.

"Well, I’m not a coffee person but this coffee that I’m having is good enough for me."

"Glad you both liked the coffee. Our efforts have paid off," Leo said, eyeing me and Marica in the rim of his coffee mug.

"By the way, guys keep us updated with the whereabouts of the case here. If you need more help, let us know. Leo, I think you need personal bodyguards here for you and Marica's safety."

"I'll handle the bodyguards, and regarding the case, I think Marica's legal team got it," Leo answered.

"Yeah, we got it. My secretary is with me on this as well. She already called my attorney and he will be here first thing in the morning. I hope all the x-ray and lab results will be cleared tomorrow. I never liked staying long in the hospital. It's boring."

"Besty, I will be back tomorrow to replace Leo so that we can have a good talk to avoid you getting bored here."

"Sure, I’ll be waiting. You're an angel," Marica said as she winked at me.

"Bro, were you and Nelly out when I called? It didn't take you long to arrive after I called. This hospital is far from Nelly's condo," Leo asked, facing Royce.

"Yeah, mom and dad invited us for dinner. They know about what Marica is going through so they offered to help her. Tomorrow we will talk about the case together with the legal team. My parents' job put pressure on Sunny corporations executives to drop their chairman."

"How do your parents plan to do that?"

"Probably by making the chairman useless, halting some of their projects, and pulling some of the investors from them. There are ways I can think of, my parents know the best move. I put my trust in them."

"Great, your parents can surely do that, they are a lot more powerful than Sunny corporations' executives. I couldn't wait to see them losing in court," Marica chimed in. "Nelly, victory is on our side girl."

"I know, it's overwhelming having all the help that we needed."

"Baby, you and your family deserve all the help."

I responded with just a smile, confession was in the forefront of my head. The thing I hid in the past wasn't that big but I can't afford to keep a secret from Royce. I was about to open my mouth and confess when Leo chimed in.

"Bro, does it mean you and your parents are on good terms now?"

I saw the pain in Royce's eyes but he hid it with a smile. "Kind of, it's been a long time. I realized I needed to move on and forget the past."

"Baby, I have a confession to make. I once visited your mom's house for lunch and your dad was there too. I'm sorry I hadn't told you soon enough as they requested not to. They asked me if I could help them reconcile with you."

They were all mute in my confession. I thought Royce was mad but he smiled at me. "You did your job, you are one of the reasons I reconciled with them. Thanks for existing in my life. Come here," Royce said the latter with his hands reaching out, waiting for me to come near him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as soon as I was in Royce's arms.

"You don't have to say sorry. You only did it because you want to help. Baby, I'm sorry you are caught in my mess with my parents."

"No. This is nothing compared to what you did to me."

"Quiet, enough with your sorry." Royce kissed me and then he hugged me tightly.

"Don't worry guys, we're gonna pretend we're not seeing anything here. Although this is such a serious attack on us singles, you know," Marica said, trying to sound miserable.

"Marica shouldn't feel that way when Leo is here with us. Why don't you two snuggle each other?" I said, looking at Marica and Leo back and forth.

Leo smiled sinisterly while Marica was trying to hold her lips from smiling. She obviously like what I said but was hesitant to admit it. Their eyes says the same when they looked at each other.

Royce's laughter broke the silence in the room. "Enough with this cuteness. Nelly, they can deal with their thing when the two of us are out in this room," he said.

"Alright then."

Marica was able to breathe freely as she sipped on her coffee again. "Guys, to continue with the topic. I can’t wait to meet Lexxi, Arya, and Mia in the court while their dad is on trial. It would be a good site to see," she said like a villain.

I chuckled. "Seriously? In your current condition, do you still have the time to think about it?"

"Can you blame me? These people put you and your family in hell for over 2 years now. It’s payback time, Nelly."

"Well, this time, we’ll make sure they can't run away from it. Justice will be served for my family."

"Yes, claim it. This is the downfall of those bitches. It won’t end well with their financial status. I wonder what Lexxi, Mia, and Arya look like when they're begging on the streets."

"That’s probably not gonna happen, Marica. They surely have their ways to get out of poverty. Those girls are pretty smart."

Marica burst out laughing, she almost spilled her coffee. "I already have a few things in mind, those girls might end up as entertainers, escorts, or trophy wives. Not surprising at all. I’m sure they can keep up with the job description."

I shook my head, seeing how amused Marica was. He clearly enjoys being a villain for some time.

We had a long talk until it was time to go. At nearly midnight, Royce and I said our goodbyes, hugs, and kisses and went out of the room. Our four bodyguards are waiting outside. I noticed they were holding a mug of coffee as well. I assumed it was Royce who bought it for them. I thought it was a kind gesture as some people wouldn't mind doing it for their bodyguards.

It was a little bit of a long trip from the hospital to our condo but it was never boring with Royce beside me. Royce and I were in my condo's lobby when I got a call.

"Who's calling?" Royce asked.

"It's an unknown number," I answered looking at the screen of my phone. "I'm scared. The last time I got an unknown call, it was from Roxie."

"Don't be, I'm here. Take that call," Royce said as he bobbed his head.

I swiped the screen as I heaved a deep breath. "Hello, who is this?" I chose to put it on speaker mode.

"You don't wanna know, you don't have to. But I know you, I know you so well, Nelly," said the man in a deep voice.

"Who is this?" I asked, my voice wobbly. I was terrified but Royce's hand on my back felt reassuring.

"You and your family haven't been good to us for the past few days. What happened today was my last warning. You don't wanna find out what I can do when I'm angry."

"Who..." I was about to ask him again when the call was cut. We may not know him personally but the message was loud and clear.