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I was fixing myself, currently putting my shoes back on when Allen suddenly spoke, “C-could you at least stay here until lunch?”
I stiffened to what he just said. This man"s really unbelievable! As I turned my eyes to look at him, I saw a face in despair. He was full of misery and he seemed to be in so much desperation. I took a deep breath and calmed myself before I answered, “And what am I supposed to do here? Fight with you?”
“You"re the one who always wanna fight.”
I raised an eyebrow, “Me? If you"re not p.i.s.sing me off, I won"t be fighting with you. Who wouldn"t want a calm discussion anyway?” I sighed, “Err. So what am I gonna do in here?”
“H-help me cook lunch. I"m hungry and I"m sick.”
And he still had the guts to treat me like a maid! If I know, he might have some evil plans on me again. He might use handcuffs on me this time, so I won"t be able to escape him. I pulled my hair to the back of my ears and responded, “I can"t. I have to go back to Rioscents. I"ve been gone since this morning.”
He walked near me, which got my senses to step back.
“Please, Van. Just now. Spend some quality time with me. Even just before we separate.”
My eyes bulged to what his mouth uttered, “S-so… Does this mean you already agree?!” I exclaimed. I can"t believe it! He has approved on our annulment. At last, he"s setting me free!
I waited for him to give me an answer, but he s.h.i.+fted his eyes to another direction. He looked lost to deep thoughts. Wait, don"t tell me he"s going to take back what he just said?
Then, I had the chance to look closely at the tattoo near his collarbone. When has he developed such an interest on getting himself inked? I stroked it slightly which made him look at that part of his body. To my surprise, it"s my name, "Vanessa". He had my name tattooed on his body.
“Why did you do this?” I asked, still ramming on the tattoo.
“Why are you even surprised? You"re a part of me, Van. I can fill my whole body with your name. If you want, I can have your face tattooed on my chest. I"m addicted.”
I rolled my eyes unconsciously, “Oh come on! Quit acting so sweet, honey. It doesn"t suit you.”
I don"t know, but he smirked.
“What?” I asked when I saw him grinning.
“You unconsciously just called me ‘sweet".”
I gave him a bored look, and then I irately closed my eyes for a little while, “Whatever! I don"t care how you think about it.” I said, and then I picked up my bag and the envelope which fell down the floor earlier. I turned my back on him and was about to pull the door k.n.o.b when he spoke again. He even touched my elbow. Tsk! What"s up with this man? He really won"t let me go, will he?
“How about lunch? I"m hungry.”
I looked at him more seriously this time and said, “I said I can"t.”
He bowed his head down and reached for my hand to feel his temperature on the neck. Tsk. He was literally so hot.
“Just for this time, Van.” He begged.
I avoided his gaze. Now he"s pleading. He"s even using his condition to be in good vibrations with me, eh? I rolled my eyes and sighed, “Fine, fine. Okay. But I"ll leave right after lunch. I can"t stay for long.”
Instantly, I saw his face lit up that he even gave me a sweet smile.
“Oh? You look like your sickness went away already?”
Immediately, his face went back to looking like a chaos, and then I sneered. I think he"s only making a drama, isn"t he? I could only shake my head. I placed my things on the couch while he went straight to the kitchen.
“What will you cook?” He asked.
“What do you want?”
“I want some soup. I feel cold.”
I laughed secretly. Look at this man. How could he not feel cold when he"s topless? I picked up his white t-s.h.i.+rt on the floor and hurled it over to him, “There! Wear that.”
After he wore the s.h.i.+rt, he went near the fridge and opened it, “I haven"t done grocery yet. I hope what I have here are fine.”
I went near him and said, “It"s fine. I"ll take care of it. Just rest.”
“No. I"ll help you. Let"s prepare lunch together.”
I stared at him – I really can"t understand what this man wants. First, he said he was feeling under the weather; then, he"s acting like he can manage to cook. Why did he let me stay then? I could only shake my head, “Do whatever you want! You"re such a stubborn man! You won"t get well if you"ll act like that.” I finished my statement in a low voice as he might think that I was starting a fight again.
Then, we started preparing the ingredients. I chose to cook him some braised meat; he wanted some soup anyway. While I boiled the meat, he sc.r.a.ped the potatoes on the counter. I watched him do his stuff secretly and I found myself smirking. Apparently, he can now cook and he now knows how to peel off a potato.
I remember when I asked him before to help me cook when I wasn"t feeling well. I told him to sc.r.a.pe the potatoes - it was easy, though, and he can do that even if he doesn"t cook - but he can"t. He spared almost no potato at all!
I had a word with him that time about how to properly sc.r.a.pe a potato, but he only got ticked off. He even told me not to lecture him and then he sternly hurled that potato on the floor before he walked out. He"s funny back then, but now, he has significantly improved. I feel happy for him.
“Why are you looking? Is there something wrong with what I"m doing?” He suddenly asked which made me get back to my senses.
Seemingly, he caught me staring at him. My lips drew a smile and I shook my head, “No. You look expert doing it. Who taught you that?” I asked, and then got my attention back to boiling the meat.
“No one. Just me. I need to learn or else I"ll die in hunger.”
“Good for you. Okay, hurry up. The meat"s almost cooked."
“I"m done actually.” He responded, and then he coughed.
I immediately went near him and grabbed the bowl of the raw potatoes, “Don"t cough on those! I might also get sick because of you.” I said, but I wasn"t serious. “Just take your rest. Go to your bed. I"ll just call you when it"s ready. This won"t take long.” I added.
He rolled his eyes on me. Seriously, did he really do that?! “I seem to have a contagious sickness with what you said. I"m fine. I said I wanna help you cook.” He insisted.
“You"re not fine, Allen. You"ve been coughing and sneezing since I came here. Go to your bed. I"ll just call you.”
He rolled his eyes on me again as he walked toward his room. I laughed deep inside. He would actually obey, but he still needed to roll his eyes, eh?
In just half an hour, I finished cooking the braised meat. I then served lunch on his two-seater table. I made some lemon iced tea, too, so he won"t do anything else but eat. I glanced at my wrist watch and decided that I should leave by 1PM. I can"t stay any longer as I still have a lot of things to do in Rioscents.
I went in his room and shook his body to wake him up, “Allen?” I shouted, but he still won"t wake up. I held his forehead only to find out that he"s burning hot. He wasn"t like this earlier. I stood up straight with hands on my waist. Breathe in, breathe out. Now, what will I do with this man? What has he been doing that he got himself sick? He"s giving me headache. Tsk.
After a while, I saw him squint his eyes. I think he"s already awake.
“Hey, lunch is ready.” I said.
He smiled, “Okay.” But he closed his eyes again.
My mouth dropped open. What?! Is he gonna sleep again? I slightly shook his body one more time, “Allen, come on. Wake up. You need to eat.”
“Yes. I will.” He said. Tsk. But his eyes were still closed!
I could only shake my head as I walked toward the bedroom door, “Whatever. Your soup will get cold.”
Just after a while, I heard him gt up the bed. He even sat down the dining table before I could, and then he stroked his temples.
“Hey, is your head aching?” I asked, and then I sat down on the chair across him.
He nodded and sighed.
“Drink your meds after you eat, and then sleep. I will leave after lunch.”
He looked at me, “Can"t you stay longer?”
Woah, this one"s taking advantage of his condition! “I already stayed until lunch, Allen. I have to take care of some other things.”
He bowed down for a second before he got some food on his plate. Surprisingly, he put food on my plate first. Then he said, “I still need you here, Van. No one will take care of me.” He said in a very lifeless voice.
I don"t know if I"m supposed to laugh. What does he think of me? His nanny? And the last time I checked, it"s not my obligation to look after him, so I said, “You"re old enough. You don"t need somebody to take care of you.” Then I started eating.
“So you"ll leave me like this?”
“You can take care of yourself.”
“Please stay a little longer here, Van. Just so I could rest well. Then I"ll be the one to drive you to Rioscents.”
I stopped eating and leaned my back on the chair. Oh, this man! Ugh. “Earlier you told me to stay until lunch. Now you"re asking me to stay until you get some rest. Do you have plans of sending me home?” I sarcastically asked.
He smirked, and then he took some soup while I rolled my eyes on him. With that smile, he sort of confirmed my hunch was right. Tsk.
“So, are you staying?” He asked again.
I shook my head before I returned back to eating, “No. Why don"t you call– what"s the name of that girl again? The one we saw when we had dinner? Let her come here instead. I"m sure she"s willing to take care of you.”
I saw the sudden change of reaction on his face, and then he stopped from eating and rested both of his elbows on the table.
“What?” I asked as he was looking deeply at me.
“Are you talking about Cindy?”
“Ah yes. It"s her.”
“I don"t like her. Okay? Don"t push it.”
I laughed, “I wasn"t teasing. It was just a suggestion.”
“You"re jealous of her? You wanna catch me off-guard, Vanessa?” The sound of his voice was proud.
I raised an eyebrow at him. Was he joking? “And why would I be jealous? I don"t care if you would get together. I would be even happy for you.”
“Right.” He sounded like he didn"t believe me.
“I"m serious! Do you want me to be your bridge?” I insisted.
He smirked, “Ok then. I"ll start dating her tomorrow.”
I was stunned to his response. I squinted my eyes and he seemed serious. Well, maybe he is. I think he has accepted that we"re going to separate legally already. I ignored his statement and got some more soup from the bowl.
“Van?” He suddenly called.
“Hmm?” I hummed in response without looking at him. I was busy eating, eh!
“I was just joking. Don"t worry, I won"t date other women.”
I looked at him, “It"s okay even if you do. I don"t care. Really.”
He wrinkled his forehead and stayed quiet for quite a while, but he couldn"t stop coughing.
“By the way…” He uttered, breaking the silence. “It"s my parents" anniversary next week. They will hold a big party. All friends and business partners are invited. I hope you could come. They"re expecting you. They already heard you"re back.”
I finished my gla.s.s of juice before I gave him a response, “Why? Don"t they know we"ve broken up?”
“They do, but we"re still legally married, so please come. Your parents will be there. Even Leila.”
I sighed, “I"m not sure. I"ll check my schedule.”
“I want you to be there, Van. I want to introduce you to them.”
“As what?”
“As my wife, of course. What do you expect?”
I couldn"t help but laugh, “Come on, Allen. We"ll only fool the people there. You know we"re not living as husband and wife. We never did, actually.”
His face looked so down, but he found a way to rebut, “I still hope you could come. I would be very happy. Same goes for Ellie. She"s been constantly asking me about you.”
“I don"t wanna promise, but I"ll try.”
“Call me then. So I could pick you up.”
“No need. You told me Leila would come. I"ll go with her if ever. Besides, I"m still not sure.”
“O-okay. Whatever you want. Just be there.” And then he finished his gla.s.s of juice.
After we had lunch, we took some time to rest and chat. I told him stories about what I had been busy about when I was in London - how I celebrated my birthday, Christmas, and New Year. It"s funny, though, that he asked me if there were a number of men who courted me there - I answered him "yes", but that wasn"t true. I just told him that so I could see his reaction – if he would yell at me like before – but he didn"t. He only remained silent with a face that"s down in the dumps.
Then it was his turn to tell stories. It was as if he instantly got better when he started talking. He had a face that"s lit up as he told me things. We talked about his tattoo and he said that Leila knew who inked him my name. I even teased him about her as they now got along too well. I can still remember how he hated my cousin before, like what"s left was to file a restraining order just so we couldn"t see nor talk to each other. Then he told me he also didn"t expect that they"d be in good vibrations, because every time they would talk, it was impossible that he wouldn"t hear her cuss. It felt like his ego was being hurt. I laughed. All in all, it turns out that in four years that we were apart, he only became busy with work and nothing else.
Woah. Honestly, this conversation felt different. It"s like we"ve just met each other yesterday and we"re in the getting-to-know-each-other stage - telling things about each other. It feels great! I think this is what we lacked before - we didn"t make time to sit and converse like this. Well, he showed no interest at me at all after we got married. He always just ignored me back then and it was only I who made moves just so I could get to know him. Also, he always just snapped at me before; but now, he"s just so calm, with a face like an angel.
I stopped reminiscing when he coughed again.
“You should take some rest. I"ll clean this up.” I said as I stood up and started cleaning the table.
“No need, Van. Just leave it there. You"ll get tired. You"ve been taking care of me since you came.”
I didn"t stop, though. Instead, I continued and placed the plates on the sink, “It"s okay. After I"m done, I"ll also leave right away.”
“Stay here.” He pleaded.
I peeked at him and said, “I said I can"t. Claire texted me a while ago. Somebody ordered a set of perfumes and will be getting it later at Rioscents. So I need to go back.”
I felt him behind me, and then he placed his hands on my shoulders. I then stopped from was.h.i.+ng the dishes, sighed, and closed my eyes tight. I know that he"d beg me, so I came first, “I can"t stay longer, Allen. I already cooked lunch for you. I"m needed at my shop.”
“Please?”
“Sorry. I really can"t.”
“Just one more hour.”
“You"re so hard-headed, Allen!”
“Okay. You"re being so hard on me, Van.” And then he released me from his hold and walked away.
He might have lost patience already. I just finished the dishes quickly as it was already late. It was already so late that it can"t be considered half-day of work if I would go back to Rioscents. As soon as I"m done, I fixed myself and my things. I had my bag and the brown envelope when I entered Allen"s room.
He was laying on the bed, facing down. I shook my head as I came near him, “Sleep a bit later. Let the food digest first.” I said, but he only ignored me. Instead, he turned to the other side of the bed, so I couldn"t see him.
I rolled my eyes, “I"m going now. I"ll leave the envelope here just in case you wanna review it…
Also, there are still some food left. You can just heat it later when you feel hungry.” I added.
I wanted him to answer me ‘okay‘ before I leave, but he didn"t.
I was about to walk outside, but he suddenly held my hand, and pulled me, “Allen!” I screamed as I lost balance wearing my heels. I slumped on the bed while my bag and the envelope hurled down the floor!
I planned on standing up immediately, but to my surprise, Allen laid his head on my lap. He even wrapped his arms around my waist! I could only look up at the ceiling and sigh. Oh, G.o.d! He really wouldn"t let me go, would he?
I tried to remove his arms, but he won"t let me. He just buried his face on my lower abdomen, as if he had no plans of letting me leave.
“Allen, please. I need to go. I"ll call you if you want. I just need to go back to my shop. Look, I"ll get stuck in traffic at this hour. I can"t get there in time.” But he acted like he didn"t hear a thing.
“Tsk. I"ll call you. Or I"ll come back here tomorrow, or the next day. When I"m free. I just need to leave.”
I"ve promised him everything just so he would let me leave, but he still won"t. He won"t listen to me. Ugh. Then, I peeked at him and he seemed to be asleep already. I could hear his soft breathing. Tsk. There, there! The reason he doesn"t speak. He still sleeps so fast until now.
I leaned on the headboard of the bed and rested my hand on his shoulder. Now, I"ve accepted it - I won"t be able to leave his unit. s.h.i.+t! I can"t even reach for my bag on the floor. My phone is there and I need to call Claire to tell her I won"t be able to come to work.
After a while, Allen moved. He slightly lifted his face up and looked at me. He gave me a smile, and then he went back to sleep.
“I"m happy you"re here, Van.” He whispered.
I kept my eyes on him, but I didn"t speak because I didn"t know what to say. I can"t tell if I"m happy, too. The truth is, I"m having mixed emotions – I"m not sure if I"m happy right here beside him, or if I just pity his current condition.
I brushed his hair with my fingers several times so he could fall asleep again. I continued doing so until I felt his body already relaxed. I peeked at him after quite a while and found him in a deep sleep. He looked so innocent and fragile, just like an angel who couldn"t hurt anybody. As I watched him sleeping, I couldn"t imagine that this man right in front of me was the reason of all my aches and pain before… That he beat and made me cry every single night and why I have become like this right now.
I shook my head and cleared my mind. Why am I thinking about such things? Tsk. I leaned my back on the headboard of the bed and closed my eyes. I think I"m also feeling sleepy.
I woke up to the sound of my cellphone ringing, though I only opened my eyes after it stopped. I couldn"t get up as it felt so good laying down on the bed. I had a good nap.
I peeked at Allen who was beside me and he was still sleeping like a baby. He seemed so comfortable laying down on my chest while his hands were wrapped around my waist. Then, I stroked on his forehead to check if he still had a fever, and yes he still did, but better than earlier.
Again, my phone rang. I had no plans of getting the call as I cannot really get up from the bed. But then it won"t stop ringing, so I thought it might be important. I carefully lifted myself up so I won"t wake Allen up. I pulled the strap of my bag closer to me when Allen moved. Did I wake him up? He wrapped his arms tighter around me. Maybe he thought I would be leaving.
“W-wait for a second.” I said as I patted his back. “Someone"s calling me.”
After I got my phone, I found out it"s Leila that"s calling. I thought it was Claire. I decided to get back to the bed before I answered the call.
“h.e.l.lo?” I greeted in a low voice. I even covered the mouthpiece with my hand so Allen won"t hear as I might wake him up.
“Vannie!!! Sorry I was just too busy earlier. I"m going to an art exhibit tonight. So, did you go to Allen"s?”
“Ah, it"s okay. Yes I did.” I directly answered. I couldn"t talk a lot because Allen"s sleeping beside me.
“Hey! Are you mad? I already said sorry! I"ll make it up to you! Let"s have dinner tonight, okay?”
“No, I"m not angry. Uhm, I can"t go with you later. I will be finis.h.i.+ng something.” Well, it"s true. I will be working on the pet.i.tion tonight.
“W-what? I can"t really understand you! W-wait! Where are you at? Why are you speaking so softly?” She snapped.
I peeked at Allen before I responded, “Allen"s asleep. I might wake him up.”
“AHA!!!” She exclaimed so loudly that I was forced to move the phone away from my ears. Tsk! “You are such a b.i.t.c.h! I knew it! You gave in, didn"t you?! What happened to "I have moved on already"?!” She teased, and then laughed out loud.
“Tsk. Stop it.”
She didn"t stop laughing and I could hear her. She was like in seventh heaven, “So did you two get back together? I thought you"re going to discuss your annulment that"s why you went there? It seems like you did another thing.” And then she laughed so hard again.
I laughed deep inside. She is such a green-minded woman! “Stop it, Lei. Don"t push it. Nothing happened, okay?” I said.
“I don"t believe you!”
“Stop it! Nothing really happened!” I insisted in a very low voice.
“Okay, okay, fine! Why are getting angry? You"re being defensive.” And then she laughed again. “Hey, but seriously… Let"s have dinner later. And then come with me to an exhibit. I accept no excuses, dear.”
I could only shake my head to this bossy lady, “I said I can"t. I have a lot of things to do later.”
“And what are you doing? Are those more important than your cousin? Can"t that wait for tomorrow?” She asked viciously.
I breathed in deeply. Tsk. Do it tomorrow? I"m already delayed in preparing the papers for the annulment.
“So? I"ll pick you up at your condo.”
“Okay, fine. You, bossy woman!” You"re like Allen!
“Okay! Great! See you later!”
“Okay, bye.”
I was about to end the call but she called my name again, “Vannie!”
“Yes?”
“How many rounds have you done?” She teased, and then laughed out loud.
“Stop it!” I exclaimed, and then I ended the call.
Oh, I really can"t believe that lady! From whom did she learn that? Tsk. Maybe she has a boyfriend already, and she"s just not telling me. I could only shake my head as I placed my phone on the table beside the bed.
“Who"s that?” Allen suddenly asked. I was stunned that he was awake already.
“T"was Leila. She"s inviting me to dinner later. Are you getting up already?”
“A bit later.” And then he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist.
He"s really heavy and I couldn"t say it. “How are you feeling?” I asked instead.
“Better.” I noticed that he smiled a little after I asked.
“Good. Get up now because I have to leave. You should let me. You"re abusing me already.”
“I"ll drive you.” He said in his signature authoritative voice, like I couldn"t say "no".
“No need. I can manage. You should just rest.”
“I want to drive you home.”
My eyes rolled heavenwards. Here he goes again, “Don"t be stubborn, Allen! You"ll get sick again! Just stay here!”
He lifted his face up and frowned, “Why are you yelling at me?”
“No, I"m not. You"re just so hard-headed. Just take some rest.”
He rolled his eyes on me, got up from laying on my chest, and sat down his bed. I also stood up and stretched my body. I fixed myself and my things again. I was combing my hair and wearing my shoes when I noticed him staring at me.
“When will meet again?” He suddenly asked.
“I don"t know. I"ll let you know. I have to talk to the lawyer again.”
“I"m not talking about that.”
I peeked at him, and saw his chaotic face again. I could only sigh, “I thought you"re fine with our separation? I marked what you said earlier.”
“I"ll visit you at Rioscents tomorrow, then we"ll have dinner together, then I"ll drive you home.” He said, changing the topic.
I chose not to mind him and just reached for my shoulder bag. I stood up in front of him and said, “You don"t have to do those things, Allen. I don"t want you having obligations with me. Let"s just live the way we lived when we"re apart. We don"t need to act this way. You understand? I want no commitments. No obligations.”
“What if I want to? I wanna make it up to you.”
“No need.”
He wrinkled his forehead, “I can"t understand you, Van. I thought we"re okay. Why are you still pus.h.i.+ng me away?”
“I"m just doing what is right. One more thing, you just wanted me to stay to take care of you because you"re sick. I just did you a favor, Allen. Don"t give that a meaning.”
“You also wanted that and you just won"t admit. And Van, I can"t see anything wrong if we"d stay together again. Like real husband and wife.”
I looked at him fiercely. Why is he giving meaning to what I did? I just did him a favour! d.a.m.n! He"s p.i.s.sing me off!
“It may be so simple for you.” I answered his last statement. “I wanna live alone, Allen. Without having to think about somebody else, without obligations. Let"s get this over and done. We could be friends if you want.” Sh*t, did I just say that?
He laughed while he shook his head, “Friends, huh? I don"t see myself being just your friend, Vanessa. Even in my dreams I won"t settle being just your friend.”
With a brave front I said, “Oh, well. That"s not my problem.”
I turned my back and headed to the bedroom door. I felt him following me behind.
“I"ll walk you out. Even until you reach the parking lot.”
I didn"t look at him and just walked straight, “Your call.”
Just like that, he really walked me out until I reached my car. He didn"t care if the people we were with inside the elevator already stared at us. How couldn"t they? He was wearing only his boxers and t-s.h.i.+rt. I know how those ladies think about us. I didn"t speak until we reached the parking area.
“Take care.” He said, and then I smiled at him and looked in a different direction, “Okay. Don"t forget to drink your meds.”
I noticed that he also smiled, and then he suddenly gave me a kiss on the lips. It was a chaste kiss and I felt that. Then, he whispered to my ears…
“Thanks for taking care of me. I"ll see you soon, my wife.”
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