Ryu smiled at the drawing and patted the little kid on his head.In his gentlest voice,Ryu asked his son,"You have grown up!Did you miss me a lot?"
Ru pretended to think about that and then laughingly said,"Yes father I missed you so much."With his hands extended as wide as possible Ru grinned happily and answered his father.Ryu thought he covered his emotions well but Alicia had heard the tremble in his voice when he said that Ru had grown up.Ru thought that his father was asking about the last month but Alicia could see that Ryu was referring to the past year.In the last year Ru had grown a few centimeters taller and his face had grown rounder and chubbier.Ryu who"s memory of Ru was missing for the last year was feeling overwhelmed and somehow relieved.A parent"s biggest worry is something wrong happening to their child in their absence but seeing Ru after so long ryu knew that his child was fine!
Alicia gave a small understanding smile to Ryu over Ru"s head but this was ignored.Ryu kept asking questions and Ru was happy to answer all of them both lost in their own little world.Before Alicia could feel jealous at being ignored,her stomach gumbled loudly indicating that it was hungry.Both pair eyes turned to her,one in annoyance and the other in laughter."Mother!!Your stomach just roared like a lion!"Skipping to his mother,who was feeling embara.s.sed,Ru put his ears to his mother"s tummy and laughed hard as it rumbled again.
To cover her embara.s.sment,Alicia picked Ru and said in a growly voice,"Yes I am very hungry and I see a yummy little boy in front of me!I am going to gobble him up!"With that she started placing small kisses on the baby making him laugh and try to wriggle out of her embrace.
Laughingly they both exited the study room.At the door,Alicia turned around and said,"Come have dinner in 20 minutes...Hubby."Blowing a kiss his way Alicia ran after Ru who had finally escaped his mother!
Ryu who was left alone in the study room stared at the door thoughtfully before he disciplined himself and concentrated on his work.
At the dinner table:
Alicia had prepared a little feast to celebrate Ryu"s return.Within a short time,the entire place was filled with the aroma of tasty food.The aroma brought not just Ryu but also Neil to the table who had been hiding in the guest room.Ru and Neil were eating the food as if they were starved and someone would run away with the food.Ryu was eating slowly,but he was also relis.h.i.+ng the taste of the delicious food.Alicia really did know him well,she had prepared his favorite dishes.
Ryu looked at the woman who sat opposite him feeding his son and felt an ache in his heart.It seemed he had been wrong in a.s.suming that the woman had married him for money.Either she was a very good actress or she felt genuine warmth for his son.She also did not seem to fear him.The way she had planted herself in his lap was something no one would dare to do.
He wondered if he really had fallen in love with her and pampered her or was it grat.i.tude and l.u.s.t he felt.He could see himself being attracted to her beauty but how did he fall in love with such a quirky person?If he had not seen her resume just now and Yang had not a.s.sured him that the complicated report he had been studying was prepared by her,he would have a.s.sumed her to be an airhead.
Still lost in thoughts,Ryu continued to cut his steak he had just put in his plate.Not knowing his own actions,he cut the steak into small pieces and exchanged his empty plate with hers.Alicia looked down in surprise.First at the plate and then at the person who had just served her.He had done the same thing on their honeymoon.Looking at his face and the way he was lost in thought Alicia felt like crying again!Her hubby had just done what he did whenever he was with her.Her eyes met Neil"s who had noticed the exchange and he smiled in sympathy and rea.s.surance.Ryu caught this exchange between the two and frowned.He was unaware of the fact that Neil and Alicia shared a deeper bond that just brother and sister in law.
Sensing the question on Ryu"s lips,Neil hurriedly decided to distract him.With a fake smile,Neil held out his plate and said,"I like steak too."Ryu frowned at the steak in Neil"s plate and said,"Then eat it!What is stopping you?"
"Well I thought you would cut some for me the way you did for sister in law here."Neil pointed to the plate which was now sitting in front of Alicia.Somewhat in a trance,Ryu looked down and realized he had indeed cut the previous steak for Alicia.Stumbling to make an excuse,Ryu said,"I only did that because I was worried you would eat everything and since she was busy feeding Ru I helped her."
Ryu,who was focussing on trying to avoid Neil"s teasing did not know that he had again melted his wife"s heart.With a happy face,she came to him,placed a smacking peck on his lips and said,"Thank you hubby!You are the best." and went back to her seat.
And poor Ryu,who had once more been a.s.saulted by his wife looked down to finish his food at the speed of light.