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“Belated Happy Birthday, Van. Could we meet? I want to talk to you pls.”

–Zian

b.u.mmed by utmost dismay, I covered my face with my hands while cursing myself on repeat.

s.h.i.+t! What the h.e.l.l does this guy have in mind now? He even wants to meet up! If Allen finds out, I'm sure he'll lose in anger again!

I thought he'd stop bothering me after the situation we got into in the parking lot last time. We even lost contact since then. But no, it seems not to be the case. Ugh, my husband will kill me for sure!

I almost jumped in complete surprise when I felt someone's presence behind me. I was about to softly hide the cellphone on my hand, but Allen latched on to it in a flas.h.!.+ s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t! My eyes bulged in shock and dread combined! I even tried to get it back from him, but he withdrew it further and pushed my hands away.

“What's with the phone? Why do you look so pale?” He asked boldly.

Fear started to consume me as he talked to me dauntlessly. I felt very distressed that I could already hear my own heartbeats!

I swallowed hard.

“Uhm, Allen. It's n-nothing. Give me back my phone…” I spoke haltingly while my hand set forth in front of him to get my cellphone back. But he refused to. Instead, he just gave me a hostile look, which intensified the fear I'm feeling in my heart even more.

I couldn't help but continue cursing myself as he read the text message from Zian. I saw how anger lavished his previously calm and delightful face. The cellphone almost got rugged to his very tight grip. He turned his frantic eyes on me and I cringed after I saw him raging in anger.

“NOTHING?! HUH, VANESSA?! s.h.i.+T!” He cussed and then threw my cellphone on the floor. I closed my eyes hard to the noise of its broken parts that slumped onto the floor.

I was about to explain to him that I didn't know anything about this when he suddenly walked away and punched the closed door. I irritably lurched my hair in distress! Ugh! We have just compromised and settled things between us, but here goes another sour note again! What the h.e.l.l!

I tried to go near him even if I felt scared that he might slap me in the face again. I stroked his shaking shoulders, but he just pushed my hands away.

He shook me off walking away and putting his hands on his waist, and then he looked at the ceiling as if he was suppressing his anger.

“d.a.m.n IT! HE REALLY WOULDN'T STOP, WOULD HE?!” He exclaimed angrily without glancing at me.

He's immensely shaking in anger that even if I can't see his face, I know that he's biting his lips hard. “HE REALLY DOES HAVE THE GUTS, DOESN'T HE?!” He added.

My senses got me to step back when he suddenly turned around, looked at me, and came closer. It was too late now to fend off him as he got hold of my arm already. I cried when his sharp nails dug into my skin as he held me.

“DON'T EVER THINK OF DEFYING ME AND MEET HIM, VANESSA. YOU WON'T LIKE IT. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU!” He threatened, and then he gripped my arm even tighter.

Using my other hand, even if tears gleamed from my eyes, I tried to smile. “H-hey, don't worry. I never thought of seeing him again.”  I saw him close his eyes hard and then he let go of me. He vulnerably sat on the edge of the bed and then he grasped his hair with both hands and stared at the wall in front of him.

I sat beside him. I reached on his hand and stroked it on my cheek, but he pulled it back apprehensively. But I didn't just give up, I embraced him and leaned my nose on the side of his face.

“Allen…trust me. Maybe he texted me and wanted to meet, but that doesn't mean that I'd go along with him. I won't ever see him again. I promised you that, remember?” I reminded.

I inched my face away because he suddenly looked up and sighed.

“I trust you now Vanessa… But I don't trust that man.” He said as he breathed heavily. “I order you to stay away from him. If I need to buy a new SIM for you so that a.s.shole will stop texting you, h.e.l.l I will! I'll do whatever it takes!” And then he suddenly turned his eyes on me. At least, the pain and anger instilled upon his face already subsided.

“Obey and do as I say. That's all I'm asking.” He continued. “If I find out that you went out to see that man again… I really wouldn't know what I can do to you.”

After he finished what he was saying, he stood up and went outside the room. I briskly rubbed my hands on the side of my cheeks, annoyed. I'm very much p.i.s.sed off with Zian! He ruined our vacation! This is the last day of our getaway, and this happened!

Why does he seem so desperate! Well, yes. I might have given him false hope and left him hanging - if that's how he sees things. But he needs to understand – we are in a different situation now. We are not single teenagers who can just play around.

Our affair was a forbidden one. And I don't even have a plan to fix things between us, especially now that Allen and I have already settled things down already. We're already happy!

I know that my husband is still disappointed even after my explanation, and I can't blame him for that. I won't be surprised if he will still get mad or if he will get jealous and bothered of these things, because that's him. That's the way he is.

I don't feel scared because this time, I know that I didn't do anything wrong. But I'm scared that with just one text from Zian, his supposedly good day turned upside down. It makes me feel upset. And it's really difficult to win Allen's heart over.

After a while, I went downstairs to follow him. I don't want us to go back to Manila like this. I want us to go home happy. Everything will go to waste if our vacation will just end up like this.

I saw him in the kitchen, he's getting some water from the dispenser and then went near the sink. He just drank a little and then threw the rest onto the sink. Then, he rested both of his hands on the edge of the sink, so I had the chance to embrace him from behind - just as he does when he's being sweet. I noticed that he was startled, but he didn't remove my hands tangled around his waist.

In fact, even if Allen and I have been married for just a short time, I already know his weakness. I know what makes him tick and what refrains him from saying no. And just as I said, we wouldn't go back to Manila with Allen having hard feelings.

I leaned my body against his back. I am wearing only my silk robe and nothing underneath, that is why I know that he can feel my bust behind him, and s.h.i.+t, I can't believe I'm doing this! I might have adapted the ways of my husband now. I put my hands inside his white t-s.h.i.+rt and started stroking his chest down to his core.

“Are you teasing me, Vanessa?”

A grin formed on my lips with his question, not because it's true, but because he's gasping for breath when he asked that, as if he is controlling something.

Then, I stroked lower on the hem of his gray PJs. I was about to pull its twine to remove it when he stopped my hand and suddenly turned around to face me.

I closed my eyes when he put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. s.h.i.+t! You wanted this, Vanessa. Suck it up! I could feel him almost inside me because I wasn't wearing anything but the robe. I wasn't surprised, too, when he held my face and kissed me.

He kissed me wildly, like there's no tomorrow. He played his tongue inside my mouth. He slowly lifted my face up, and then he kissed me under my ears. I'll be a liar if I say I didn't like what he's doing.

Then, I felt one of his hands on my b.u.t.t cheek. He squeezed it like he was a child in much excitement. And it seems like he couldn't get enough of it that he put his hands inside my robe and squeezed my b.u.t.t even more.

I unconsciously moaned his name. And in just a blink of an eye, he has already carried me up to sit on top of the sink. I felt my robe get wet to the remains of the water that he threw there earlier. And without any warning, he untied my silk robe that revealed me in my nakedness. His eyes were filled with so much desire.

He then spread my legs apart… And my mind got lost with him.

“Vanessa? Make that fast. I'm hungry.” Allen impatiently said as he knocked several times on the bathroom door.

I just shook my head and took a bath fast because it seems like my beloved husband is about to lose his temper again. One more thing, I'm also starving. We haven't had breakfast yet, and it's almost lunch time.

I chose to wear my faded denim shorts paired up with a loose white tees. I don't want to wear something else as my husband might want to get another round. We definitely can't because he will still drive later. He might get tired. I also wore the necklace he gave me before I went downstairs to eat with him.

I saw Allen frowning with his arms crossed. I smiled to him lightly and he rolled his eyes on me. Well, he's always like that especially when he thinks he waited for me for too long. Is it even my fault that it feels so great under the shower?

I was about to sit in front of him when his cellphone suddenly rang. It looked like he didn't have a plan to get it, but I told him it might be something important. He then reached onto it and went outside to answer the call.

I just put some food on his plate while waiting for him to come back. But he seemed to be on the phone for quite a while already that I'm getting curious who he's talking to and what they're talking about. What's taking him so long?

“Who called? Was it something important?” I asked as soon as he got back.

I noticed that he looked indifferent. He seemed disturbed, but I don't know why. He also didn't answer my questions, so I decided not to push him further. He might get irate, maybe they got some problems at work. I don't know, I'm not sure.

Then, we ate in stroppy silence.

I glanced at him softly. He was frowning while slicing the steak on is plate, like he was thinking about something very deeply. I can't help but feel bothered. What's wrong?

“Vanessa…”

I stopped when he called my name. I looked at him, but I didn't speak as some food was still in my mouth.

“I'm flying to Barcelona." He continued.

I don't know but I stiffened right at my seat. It took a while before my mind processed what he just said. He's leaving? I drank some water, just enough to swallow in the food in my mouth.

“When?"

“Tomorrow morning.”

Seriously? Tomorrow?! That's very soon! Was that the reason why he was on the phone for so long and why he looked so beaten down right now?

I put the fork on my plate. I seemed to lose my appet.i.te. We just got better and now he's leaving.

“For how long?” I asked him aloof.

He didn't look at me, but he frowned.

“One week.”

Weight fell upon my shoulders. That's so long! “What are you doing there?”

I'm sure that sooner, he will lose patience of me because I'm asking about too many things. But I don't care. I want to know the full details and I want them to come straight from him.

He sighed and sat properly. “I have to meet some possible partners. Your father is thinking of opening a hotel branch there.”

“Can I come with you?”

He turned his eyes on a different direction, but I still caught him close his eyes hard for a moment, like he's having difficulty with my request.

Maybe he already got irate, so he said, “Tsk. No, you can't come with me. You do not have any business there. Just stay in Manila and wait for me there.”

I got more disappointed. Maybe, he started to notice that I have been frowning. I don't know, but I'm really not in the mood after knowing.

I stood up and brought my plate to the kitchen. I'm sure he'll get mad because I walked out in the middle of lunch and didn't wait for him to finish. What can I do, I feel really overwhelmed by the news and I have lost my appet.i.te already. I wasn't able to finish the food on my plate.

For G.o.d's sake, I wanna go with him! I don't wanna be left alone in the house, I want to be with him. But it looks like he doesn't want to be with me.

We're only starting to make up for the time we lost when we were not okay, then this is happening - he's leaving and he does not want me to go with him. Then what should I do alone in the house? There's nothing to do! And it's frustrating! When he asked me to celebrate my birthday with him, I said yes without hesitations. Now that I'm the one asking to be with him, he forbids. I can't believe him!

I was startled when he held me in the waist and turned me around to face him. He tossed the hair on my face to the back of my ear and then I looked down. Now he's tricking me into his sweet gestures, like this happens only once in a blue moon!

“Vanessa.” He lifted up my face and looked into my eyes. “I can't bring you with me there. Please understand.”

“Why not?”

"You're being very unruly.”

I couldn't do anything but look down, and then I sighed very deeply. I knew it, he's already irritated. But then, he suddenly embraced me with one arm and kissed me on the forehead which I didn't expect.

“I'll be doing some work there. I'll be busy for that entire week and I wouldn't be able to look after you. So I just want you stay in our house. I'll be home very soon. Do you understand?”

I didn't answer right away because I really don't want to be left alone in our house. I really wouldn't mind if he will be busy and won't be able to look after me. What's important is that I get to see him every single day and that we're together.

“Van?” He called to get my attention, maybe because I was still not answering. I sighed and nodded forcefully, because in reality, my heart really doesn't agree.

“Good. Now, get a new plate and eat with me again.” He commanded. Of course, I couldn't go against him. I got a new plate and followed him to the dining area.

Even after his explanation and full a.s.surance that he will be back in no time, I couldn't get the disappointment out of me. I couldn't even smile. Ugh!

Why am I having this strange feeling? I'm bothered by the thoughts running inside my head.

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