Revenge, Rebirth and Second Chances

Did We?

As Merissa woke up the next morning, she immediately felt uncomfortable due to the bright sunlight shining right into her eyes, causing her head to pound. She tried to cover her eyes but found it difficult to move as if something heavy was resting on her. When she opened her eyes slightly to look, she realized that there was an arm wrapped around her, and underneath her head was a well-built body. At first, she thought it was a pillow, but as she looked around, she realized that she was not in her room and had not slept with Aaron. After recollecting the previous day's events, she was sure that she did not want to be with Aaron anymore, especially after seeing him with Ann. She continued looking up at the well-endowed body and found Justin, someone she had known long ago, staring right back at her. Feeling her headache, Merissa groaned again and covered her eyes while holding her head, when she heard Justin's husky voice speaking to her,

"There's a pill and some orange juice beside your bedside. Take those, and they'll help with your headache."

Merissa sensed Justin getting up from under her and sitting beside her on the bed. When she looked at the bedside table, she saw the items Justin had mentioned - a glass of orange juice and a pill - placed right next to her bed. Merissa sat up straight away and took the pill with the juice. After that, she asked Justin,

"Where am I, and what are you doing here?"

"Have you forgotten this room already? Don't you remember staying in this room so many times? And where would I be other than my home?" Justin asked solemnly.

Merissa found herself bombarded with those series of questions. As she tried to gather her thoughts, she looked around the room and immediately recognized it as the guest room she had stayed in during her visits to the Woods' family mansion. It was no ordinary home, as it was too large for a family of three. As a child, Merissa had often wondered if there were secret passages or hidden treasures in some of the rooms. With a firm shake of her head, she redirected her attention and asked genuinely,

"What am I doing here and how did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" Justin asked with a strange glint in his eyes.

Merissa's confusion was palpable as she asked, "Remember what?"

However, her initial confusion turned into worry quickly when she glanced down at herself as if she had suddenly realized something. Looking down, she saw that she was wearing a shirt that was too big for her, which she didn't recall wearing the day before. When Merissa had sat up to gulp the pill and drink her juice, her blanket had slipped off. It had revealed that she was wearing only the shirt and nothing else underneath it. Although she felt a bit groggy and had difficulty remembering everything from the previous day, she did remember wearing her dress and going to the club. Some events were still unclear though, like going to Justin's house, but she had a clear memory of most of what had happened. But noticing her clothes now, Merissa felt that the situation was becoming increasingly pressing, and she needed clarity. She asked Justin again agitatedly before he could answer her previous question.

"And who changed me? Where is my dress?"

Justin smiled at seeing her so flustered. He got up out of bed casually saying,

"Shame you don't remember begging me....."

He left the sentence hanging and picked up his suit pants from his bedside table. When he turned around, he saw that Merissa was staring at him and her cheeks had grown red, and even her neck had some pink tinge in them. When she saw him looking at her, she coughed slightly and started staring at the walls, avoiding looking at him. The red on her cheeks and neck grew more with that, as she avoided eye contact with him, and asked with a stutter.

"Wh..at...What do you mean?"

Then, after clearing her throat, she asked again with a clear voice.

"Did we?"

"Did we what?"

Justin asked, watching how her blush kept getting deeper. He didn't expect her to be so shy even after being married for so many years. It made him feel something strange in his heart like he wanted to protect her, kill anybody that dared hurt her and keep her with him forever. He knew though that was an irrational thought, and that if he tried to do anything like that she would never forgive him. So, shaking his head and curbing the feeling in his heart, he continued saying with a smirk on his face.

"Don't worry, nothing happened between me and you"

Hearing that, Merissa breathed a sigh of relief but then, in the next moment, immediately asked furiously.

"You still haven't answered me - who changed my clothes? Did you?"

"Do you think that low of me, M?"

Justin asked with a sigh, but continued talking before Merissa could reply.

"My housekeeper changed your clothes because you had vomited all over your dress. I didn't have any nightdresses so I gave her my shirt to change you into."

"Oh" Merissa replied with a blush, then added "Thank you"

As if thinking of it, Merissa asked again with a frown on her face.

"That does explain why you were in bed with me and in just...."

She gestured, pointing at him to his under-dressed state in bed. Justin was just buttoning up his dress shirt. He had gotten out of bed in just his boxers only, but his clothes had laid on his bedside table in a neat folded pile and he had dressed himself in that while they were talking.

Understanding her gesture, he replied with a blush of his own, "Well, after my housekeeper had changed you, I came to check in on you."

His expression changed from blushing to smirking as he continued, "I didn't expect you to be so needy though, begging me to stay with you and sleep with you. You even held my hand in such a strong grip and refused to let go of them until I agreed"

Merissa blushed, but still asked furiously, "That still doesn't explain why you had stripped down to just your boxers."

"You don't expect me to sleep in my suit, do you?" He asked, still smirking, then added

"You should be glad though that I still kept my boxers on. Usually, I sleep naked in bed, especially when a beautiful woman is beside me" He teased her while continuing to smirk and with a suggestive wiggling of his eyebrows.