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• Meant to be   Chapter 21

  "I missed you so much, mom," Maggie sobbed in her mother's embrace. She was finally here, in Chicago."I missed you too. You have no idea," Rebecca whispered, tears were streaming down her face.Maggie moved back a bit, scanning Rebecca up and down. She was sitting on the hospital bed, looking better than she did in so long. Her skin was not as ashy as Maggie remembered it to be, at least she thought so. And her eyes shone brightly."You look good, mom, really good." Maggie's voice was beaming with happiness."I feel good, better than I have in a long time. Especially now, when I have you near." Rebecca sniffled. "Let me look at you!" and after she took a good look at Maggie, she added: "You look rested, and you are shining! Oh, I was so worried for you…" she sniffled again."I told you, mom, there was no need to worry," she said, and before she could say anything else, a discreet cough stopped her. She turned around and saw Jack standing in

• Meant to be   Chapter 20

  Jack was about to leave his office when the phone on his desk rang."Hello, son. It's your father speaking. Your mother is very disappointed with you. Did we have to hear from someone else that you got married?" 'And here it goes…' Jack thought."Well, hello to you too, father. What you heard is right…" he was cut off by his father's strict voice."I am disappointed too, boy. Is this how we thought you?" 'It's exactly what you thought me,' Jack thought but said nothing, "We expect you for lunch this Sunday. Bring that girl so we can meet her." he never waited for Jack's reply, he cut the call when he said what he had to say.Jack sighed. The good mood that held him since early morning was now gone. His father, like always, managed to make him feel like a failure with just a couple of words. It was always like that, ever since he was a kid. Nothing he ever did was good enough in his father's eyes. When he was a child playing around the ho

• Meant to be   Chapter 19

  Maggie woke up early. The sun was not up yet, so she made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast for her and the other adult resident of the house, Jack. Mary will not be coming today, and she was the one to prepare breakfast for them in the past days. Maggie and Jack never had breakfast together, except for her first morning here. She was avoiding him quite literally, but since she discovered he wasn't actually as 'bad' as she thought initially, she decided that she could afford to walk around the house more freely.She made a fresh pot of coffee and a plate filled with her favorite French toast, and she also cut some fruit she found in the fridge. She was just about to sit at the table and start eating when Jack entered. His hair was neatly combed, and he was dressed perfectly, not a single wrinkle on his smart suit. Well, he indeed was a sight to see, and Maggie just realized how much she started to enjoy it.Jack woke up today earlier than usual. He inten

• Meant to be   Chapter 18

  “I used to come here with my friends from school so often that late papa Joey threatened to throw us out forever,” Jack chuckled at the memory, “but he never did. I continued coming here with my friends from college too. When you see the joint from the outside, you would never guess that they make the best pizza in the city.”Maggie was sitting across from him, and she was looking around, careful not to miss a word he said. The restaurant was indeed small and had only a couple of tables all covered with plaid tablecloths, but the atmosphere was perfect, homey and cozy, and the smells coming from the back… they were probably the most delicious and inviting smells she has encountered.They were both dressed casually, and this was the first time for Maggie to see him not wearing his usual white dress-shirt, but dark jeans and simple tee-shirt. She was in a cute, fluttery summer dress that reached just above her knees and strappy sandals.

• Meant to be   Chapter 17

  Most of her days in the villa, Maggie spent in her room, and she went out only when she was hungry. She was enjoying the time she spent alone just resting, reading books she had found downstairs on one of the shelves in the living room. They were there for decoration and were obviously never touched. She talked with her mother every day, and each day she lied to her about how she lived here. They were both looking forward to the transfer and the day they will be able to see each other again.Weird phone calls stopped for a couple of days, long enough for Maggie to brush it off as someone's mistake, but on Tuesday they started again, and it was becoming disturbing since now there was not just silence on the other side but the sound of someone's loud and heavy breathing. She decided to report it if they continue to happen.But after a couple of days, she was starting to get bored. She wasn't the person to sit around and do nothing; she needed something to keep he

• Meant to be   Chapter 16

  It was early Saturday afternoon when Maggie started getting ready for the charity event she was supposed to go to with Jack. After the bath she took, she styled her hair with a cream she found in the bathroom cabinet; it made her hair shiny. Her natural, soft locks were on a good way to recover from the years of neglect. They looked decent now, so she decided to leave her hair free down her back. She removed a few strands from her face with some pins and added a little bit of mascara and eyeliner on her eyes that made her deep blue eyes stand out even more. A blood-red lipstick added to the look, and upon checking herself in the vanity mirror, she was satisfied with what she saw. Maggie never wore too much makeup. She hated the feeling of having a mask on her face, but she did like to accentuate her features a bit, so she found the middle ground.One thing she had to admit… there was a good side to this arrangement she made with Jack. She finally had time for her