Words I Was Afraid To Hear

"What"s the matter?" Verdan Zhou was bothered by her expression .

This made her burst in a hearty laugh .

He hurriedly placed the cups he got on the table and went to find out what she was laughing about .

As he peered through the doc.u.ment, he noticed that it was upside down from the view he had when he was sitting . He blushed .

However, not wanting to concede just like that, he asked, "What"s so funny about this?"

She wiped a tear from her eye as she calmed herself . "It"s upside down!"

"You turned it!" he accused .

She laughed even more as she pointed at the lower part of the upside down doc.u.ment .

He chuckled as he touched his nape in embarra.s.sment .

He had signed the date of the doc.u.ment .

"You must be too hungry to make such a mistake . " she remarked .

"I must be . . . " he said, redeeming what"s left of his pride .

He looked at her gently .

She meet his eyes and they stared at each other for a while .

Then as if snapping out of a trance, she broke the seemingly staring contest and turned to find her seat on the sofa . "Let"s eat then . "

As he sat down, he saw a familiar-looking pancake filled with meat and vegetables, tppped with sauces and spices . "Oh . . . okonomiyaki!"

She chuckled . "You really don"t remember anything, do you?"

"Huh?" He had a puzzled look . Was the dish significant?

She had a smile with a tinge of regret . She started slicing the savory pancake .

"What did I forget this time?" His voice was really gentle . He was sorry for not remembering .

She shook her head and put up a forced smile . Her eyes were watery . "Nandemonai . "

"I"m sorry for not remembering . " He picked up his chopsticks and took a piece from his plate . "I will try my best to remember this from now on . "

"The food might get cold . Let"s eat . " She tried changing the atmosphere . "

They chatted more about their project collaboration throughout the meal .

While they were eating, Verdan Zhou noticed that some mayonnaise was left on a side of her lower lip .

"Uhm . . . you . . . " He had the urge to wipe it off but he ended up pointing with his finger .

"What?" Her innocent reaction was a bit cute .

He sighed . Then he reached out to hold her jaw and he used his thumb to wipe off the sauce from her lip .

To her surprise, he licked it off from his finger . She blushed to this .

"You say you don"t remember . . . but why are your actions the same?" Her brows are drawn together .

"I . . . it was tempting . . . " he said honestly . "I . . . I was doing it often before?"

Her face was flushed as she remembered how he threatened to lick it directly from her face next time .

"I . . . I"ll go and wash the containers first . " She took them and hurriedly left him in the office, even leaving the door ajar .

He brushed his hair with his fingers as he shook his head . He wondered how they were before . As of now, they are back to an awkward phase of getting to know each other .

Midori took her time washing the food containers, sighing and smiling while she was at it .

Verdan Zhou, on the other hand, fixed his appearance in the room en suite to his office .

He went back into the office as he heard the door creak .

However, his bright smile vanished and his eyes widened at the person before him .

The frail-looking lady wore a simple b.u.t.ton-down white blouse and black straight-cut pants and black flat shoes .

"Lui-- uhmm . . . Mr . Zhou, is it?"

"Eleanor . . . " he almost whispered .

"Please don"t send me away just yet . I don"t mean to disturb your life . I . . . I just need the ring back . . . the one I made you wear . . . It . . . it belongs to my husband . " She tried to explain her presence before someone kicks her out .

He frowned . "It"s not with me anymore . I"ll send someone to bring it back to your place once it"s found . "

"Oh . . . I . . . I understand . " She looked up to him . Her eyes were begging him . "Mr . Zhou, can I embrace you one last time? I promise not to show myself in front of you again . "

His frown became deeper, but he nodded as he stood still .

She took her opportunity and embraced him tightly . "I"m so sorry . " she whispered .

Then, they heard things falling onto the floor .