One day, Damian asked me to hang out at his place. I went to his house, and the first thing I noticed was how huge his house was. I knew that he lived in an elite part of the city, but I didn’t realize it would be this massive. There was a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a grand piano and all. I wasn’t the type to be easily impressed by wealth, but his house was quite impressive.
A maid ushered me to the living room but told me that Damian wasn’t there. So, I sat down in the living room and chatted him up. Damian apologized for not being here, his business affair took longer than he anticipated, but he told me that he would come back as soon as possible. He asked me to wait if I wanted to.
I sat there, contemplating whether to stay or go home when I heard quick footsteps approaching me, and Rai appeared. From what I could see, he had just finished showering. His hair was wet, and his shirt was unbuttoned. Oh, and he wore glasses, adding to his sexiness. I was a sucker for guys wearing glasses. I didn’t think that someone could get any sexier, but oh boy, was he the sexiest man I had ever seen. I couldn't get tired of looking at him.
“Ahhh.. Damian is not here at the moment, Princess.” He informed me.
“Yeah, the maid told me. I’ve already chatted him up. He said he’ll come back soon. It’s ok, though. You are here.” I said, smiling at the vision of Rai looking sexier by the minute.
Since I gave him my number, we became pretty close, so it was now easier and more comfortable being around him.
He hesitated but then asked, “Princess, would you like to come to my room? I’ve been meaning to ask you some questions, but I don’t want anyone to listen.”
“You are not going to ravish me, are you, Rai?” I asked, teasing him.
His jaw dropped, and he blushed.
“You are going to ravish me?” I gasped and feigned shock.
Rai’s whole face became even redder, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to say something that never came out of his mouth. I laughed at him. It was fun to tease Rai since he would become awkward and cute whenever I teased him.
“Sure, Rai. Lead the way.” I told him, grinning, once I felt it was enough for me to tease him. I wouldn’t want him to feel uncomfortable around me because I teased him too much.
He blushed once again but led me to his room on the second floor. Once we reached his room, he opened the door for me. I stepped in and saw that his room was huge. There were sofas, a huge tv, a desk, and huge wardrobes, and his bed was huge. This was just a guest bedroom, and it was this big? I shook my head in disbelief.
He asked me to sit, so I just plopped down on his bed. That was when the interrogation began.
He asked me about my marriage and whether I was already divorced. I told him no, but we were separated, and my husband already had someone new.
He asked the reasons I was divorcing. I told him that my ex-husband was lazy and always asked me for money. He even asked me to ask my mom for money when I told him I didn’t have any. He never wanted to converse with me, and he didn’t even want to touch me. He was not interested in me sexually. He preferred to play games and watch movies on his laptop. Two months into our marriage, I asked him for divorce since he couldn’t give me anything, not even affection. He seldom kissed or hugged me. I guessed he just wanted my money. I cried every night because of it. I felt like I didn’t have a husband at all.
Rai was shocked by all the information that I had provided.
“He did all that? Princess, you deserve someone who can show you how much he loves you. Not a guy who feels indifferent and just wants your money.” Rai said softly while taking my hands.
“Well, I didn’t know all that before marrying him. He changed after we were married. And maybe I was the cause of all that.” I sighed.
“What do you mean, Princess? Everyone deserves to be loved. You are not an exception.” He said softly as he stroked my hand with his thumb.
I hesitated. Should I tell him about my condition? What if he changed after knowing? Most people wouldn’t be able to accept me if I told them, even my friends. I lost nearly all my friends after being diagnosed with bipolar. Most would just judge me for having a mental illness. They didn’t understand when I suddenly shut myself off from them. Even my family couldn’t accept it.
“I have bipolar, Rai.” At last, I told him. I wanted to know how he would react if he were just like most men I knew. It was better for him to know now rather than later.
“Bipolar? As in extreme mood swing?” He asked. His thumb stopped stroking my hand.
“Yes, Rai,” I whispered and looked at our hands, not daring to look at him, scared of looking at his expression. What if he was disgusted?
“What happened, Princess? I mean, what triggered it? And how long have you known?” He asked as he touched my chin and tilted my head gently so I could look at him. As I was looking at him, his thumb started caressing my cheek.
Looking at him, his gaze warmth, as if he was looking into my soul, I told him everything. Things I’d never told anyone at all, not even my family. He sat there listening quietly while I told him about my demon. One of my ex-boyfriends used to abuse me physically and emotionally and let his friends have their ways with me. At that point, he stood up and slammed his fist against his wardrobe. I jumped at the sudden noise. I was shocked and scared. His demeanor changed. He was furious.
“How could someone do that to you?! What kind of monsters dared do that kind of stuff to my Princess?! If they are here right now, I will kill them myself.” His voice was full of fury.
I was scared of this side of him that I didn’t realize he had called me his princess. He tried to touch me, but I flinched. He took a few deep breaths and changed to the Rai that I knew - the warm, soft and gentle Rai. He kneeled in front of me and caressed my cheek.
“Please don't be afraid of me, Princess.” He whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear.
He then sat down next to me and hugged me. His hug was the opposite of him. It wasn’t soft and gentle, but one that was quite forceful and tight, while telling me that he would protect me from then on and that he was sorry I had to experience all those horrible things.
“You must be terrified to have gone through all those horrible things alone, Princess.” He stroked my hair.
Maybe because I’d never really cried about it, or maybe because looking at Rai being Rai, his gaze so tender, his hug was like none I had ever felt, that I began crying. All the while, Rai just held me without saying anything. He wiped away my tears; he kissed away my tears. The gentler he was, the more tears rolled down my eyes.
Since then, my relationship with Rai blossomed. We texted less, but we talked more on the phone. He became more open, he laughed more, and he changed. I changed too. I trusted him with stories that I had never dreamt of sharing with anyone and every feeling I was experiencing. Even when I had fights with my mom or sister and felt like killing myself, I always called Rai. He would always calm me down and talk me out of harming myself. Having bipolar had really changed me. There was no in-between, only manic or depressive, and Rai was able to handle me when even my own mom could not.
Starting from that day, I spent nearly every day with them, sometimes staying over at Damian’s place, in one of the guests’ bedrooms. During the day, we went to the mall or some restaurants together, the three of us or just Rai and I. Strangely, I’d never gone out with Damian, just the two of us alone, without Rai, though I had never really thought about it too much.