Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Masked Stripper is my Wife. : Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 120

AsherThe first thing I felt was weight, heavy, suffocating weight pressing on my chest. My eyelids fluttered open, and the brightness stabbed through my skull like needles. Everything around me was a blur of white and faint beeping sounds.For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. The world felt distant, wrapped in fog. I tried to move, but my body refused to obey. My throat burned, my lips cracked.Then I heard a soft, trembling voice, one I hadn’t realized how much I missed until now.“Dante?”I turned my head slowly, and there she was, Grandma, her silver hair was tied in its usual bun, though strands had fallen out around her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, she looked like someone who had spent her whole night crying. I swallowed hard, my voice came out hoarse and weak.“Grandma?”“Oh, thank God.” She was already leaning forward, tears spilling freely as she pressed her hand to my cheek. “You are awake, baby. You are finally awake.”Her hand was warm, familiar, my mind tried t

AsherI woke up to the sharp smell of antiseptic, I knew immediately I was still in the hospital. I opened my eyes and saw I was alone. The quiet pressed in on me, and for a moment I just stared at the ceiling, wondering what life was supposed to look like now. Months ago I was an able-bodied man, today I am someone who needs help to bathe, to move, to do almost everything. Someone dependent and broken. I gritted my teeth and tried again to move my legs, Not even a tremor beneath the sheets. The effort sent a hot bolt of pain up my spine, but worse was the stillness. Frustration tightened in my chest, twisting until I could barely breathe.Fuck. Is this going to be my reality now?The door opened, and the doctor stepped inside, clipboard in hand, his expression doing that too-neutral thing professionals use when they don’t want you to panic.“Mr. Prescott, how are you feeling?” he asked as he approached.I ignored the question. “Where’s my grandma?”“She stepped out a little while ag

Asher“This is hard,” Richard finished, choosing his words carefully. “I know you hate being seen as weak. But you are not, you survived something most people wouldn’t.”I scoffed. “Survived to end up like this?” I slapped the side of the bed with the back of my hand. “Survived to be lied to? Manipulated? Married to someone I don’t even remember?” My voice rose despite myself. “How is that surviving?”Richard didn’t flinch, “ I was told I was expecting a baby, only for my hope to be dashed that I lost the child to the accident.” “You are angry,” he said. “And you have every right to be. But there are things you need to know, things nobody else is willing to tell you because they are too busy walking on eggshells.”I narrowed my eyes. “Then talk, because at this point, everyone is acting like I was living a double life.”He let out a slow breath. “You were actually married to her almost two years now.”My heartbeat stalled. “What do you mean we have been married for two years?” I snap

AsherIt had been a little over a month since I left the hospital, and the house still felt like a stranger’s home I was supposed to recognize. I tried moving from room to room, hoping somethingwould click into place. A scent, a picture frame, the light falling a certain way on the floorboards. But every time I stopped and waited for a memory to rise, nothing came. Just the same hollow echo in my chest.Grandma arrived from Italy this morning. Two weeks she had been gone, handling business, because apparently life doesn’t pause just because your grandson cracks his head open and forgets pieces of his world. Ever since the accident, I have barely left the house. I work from home, take meetings on Zoom, and pretend things are normal. I made sure the media never learned the real state of my health, no one needed to know just how broken I truly felt.The front door opened, and Grandma swept in with the butler trailing behind her, lugging her suitcases. Her eyes landed on me immediately

Loretta I sat on the couch, nervously flipping through my phone for what felt like the hundredth time. Tonia sat beside me, sipping a cup of coffee and trying to calm my nerves."Relax, Loretta, everything will be fine," she said, placing a reassuring hand on my knee.I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know, it's just, this is a big responsibility. I'm trusting this person with my babies."Tonia smiled. "And they will be great, Maya wouldn't have sent her if she wasn’t qualified, besides we spoke with her already.” I nodded, it just feels somehow trusting my babies with a stranger but Maya had said she was trustworthy. Just then, the doorbell rang. I jumped up, smoothing out my dress and trying to compose myself. "That must be her."Tonia stood up, handing me the baby carriers. "I will get it, you take care of the babies."She walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a pleasant looking woman with a warm smile."Hi, I'm Nana, the new nanny," she said, extending her hand.Ton