I'M HERE FOR YOU

The next stage was anger. Damn, Roderick had been mad, real mad. So mad he had taken it out on the servants. Though he had apologized and compensated them, he still felt bad and ashamed when he saw them. It had taken about three months to move on from that.

The next stage he went through was depression. During that time, his world had been so dark. Like a black and white movie. He had been sad, just broken, nothing else. He had been that way for six months.

Acceptance was his last stage. He accepted that Camilla wasn't the one if she willing break him. No, if she did....did what she did knowing it would break him. So much he would be unfixable.

He looked at Elena who had her head lowered and ordered the servants to change the dish. After eating, Elena was about to get up to leave when Roderick stopped her.

"We need to talk Elena", he said and she immediately froze. She sighed quietly and turned to face him.

With one look, Roderick dismissed the servants. Then he turned to her, his gaze softening and he started to speak, "Elena, I'm so sorry for this morning. I shouldn't have shouted, it's just that....'sigh' I have a few unpleasant memories of crying women. I can't stand them. I really am sorry for shouting. And I also want to tell you that I am here for you. Look, I can't love you, it's impossible but I just want to tell you that I will be here for you just like friends are there for each other."

Elena looked at him listlessly. She looked dead, like a beautiful empty shell. Roderick held her gaze until she finally gave up.

"Mr. Whitlock–", Elena was interrupted before she could even get to the point.

"I'm your husband sweetheart. That address is too formal for a married couple. Roderick is fine if you can't use endearments", Roderick said with his brow raised.

"Roderick, I don't expect anything from you. We are only married on paper after all. I was quite shocked when you told me told me about the honeymoon. You don't need to apologized for your actions either. I should have stopped when you told me to. And I won't deny that you being nice made me feel better but I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. I don't know about love but after this experience I'm not very enthusiastic about it", Elena said with a smile.

Roderick stared at her for a while before suddenly standing up. He walked up to her and unexpectedly planted a feathery kiss on her forehead. Elena's eyes circled wide in shock as she felt electricity course through her entire body, warming her, bringing her back to life.

Emotions swirled in their eyes as their body warmed due to the physical contact they shared.

"You are a strong woman, Elena", Roderick almost whispered nevertheless Elena still heard him. He ruffled her long her before walking away.

For a while, Elena just sat there silently, trying to calm her racing heart. As she calmed her racing heart, the servants came back to clean up. The servant she was familiar with–Nola, came up to her and Elena stood up and smiled at her.

"You look happy today Madam", Nola said with her chocolate brown eyes sparkling beautifully.

"Do I?.... Thank you", Elena said softly.

"What for, Madam?" Nola asked.

"For caring", Elena said before spinning on her heel and walking back to her room.

When Elena finally disappeared from Nola's view, Nola's stunned expression changed and she smiled as she whispered, "You're welcome".

In Elena's room, Elena turned on the television and jumped onto the bed in delight. She just about to press the Netflix button on her remote when something popped up on her screen, making her paused. She looked at it and selected it.

Savannah Brownwood, one of the best journalists in the country was interviewing Cameron Whitlock, one of the youngest successful businessmen in the country. The moment Elena saw Cameron's face, she felt a pang of pain in her heart.

Nonetheless, it was better than before. She wondered why it seemed less painful now when just a while ago, her heart ached terribly from just remembering something about him. Suddenly, Roderick's voice resounded in ears and the words he said came back to her, 'I am here for you'.

Elena's lips curled into a smile and she put her hand over her heart. 'Maybe it's because I know he will be there for me', she thought and watched the news.

Dialogue.

Savannah Brownwood: "Mr. Whitlock, we want to confirm if after your brother's wedding you became richer."

Cameron Whitlock: "Well that's actually true".

Savannah: "And why is that?"

Cameron: "After his wedding, my brother seemed to have became more generous and ended up giving me most of his inheritance."

Savannah: "There is a rumour going around that formerly known as Elena Santiago, currently known as Elena Whitlock was your fiance before being your brother's wife and your sister-in-law."

Cameron: "That's just ridiculous. That isn't even plausible."

End of dialogue.

Elena couldn't help but shake her head with a bitter laugh. She really couldn't believe she fell in love with such a jerk. She turned off the television because she had completely lost the interest to watch anything.

Instead, she took a pencil, paper and eraser and started to sketch. An hour passed as a simple sketch developed into a beautiful design of a dress. As she looked at the design, a smile of satisfaction formed on her rosy pink lips.

******

Meanwhile, in the east wing, Roderick sighed as horrible memories came flooding back to him. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were filled with nothing but coldness. He stopped all the memories from coming back by blocking out all emotions he felt.

Then her face flashed in his mind. Elena. He couldn't help but smile. He really did mean it when he said she was a strong woman.