8. Lies

"Thank you." Lydia smiled as she took the red plastic handed to her by the online motorcyclist. Lydia then hurried back to the lobby of her office.

It was after hours and people were starting to leave the office building. And it seemed that Lydia was the only one who actually ran inside, towards the bathroom on the first floor. Unfortunately, because she was in too much of a hurry, Lydia bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't looking at the road." Lydia immediately lowered her head to apologize to the person she had bumped into.

Actually, Lydia didn't pay attention to who she bumped into, but from the clothes she knew it was a man. And Lydia didn't expect the package of medicine she was holding, labeled with an online health app, to fall to the ground and be picked up by the man.

"Are you sick?"

The deep baritone voice startled Lydia. She immediately looked up to find Reino holding her plastic medicine. Lydia had tried desperately to avoid the man, but why did they keep bumping into each other like this?

"No, sir." She replied simply. Trying to look flat. "It's just medicine for femininity. A common thing to take."

Reino's eyebrows shot up at Lydia's half-truth. What was in the plastic medicine could only be used by women, but it was not a medicine, but a test pack.

Yes. A test pack. And Lydia had bought it because of Erika's chat. The sentence in her best friend's chat made Lydia panic and impulsively buy a trial pack through an online application.

"Could you please return it, sir?" Lydia stretched out her hand to ask for the plastic medicine back.

Reino did not argue and immediately returned the item he was holding. After that, Lydia went straight to the bathroom without saying goodbye. She did not want to answer any more questions from the man.

Unlike Lydia, who wanted to escape immediately, Reino paid attention to Lydia, who was already running away. He looked carefully from top to bottom, then stopped at the area between her waist and thighs. It was very thin, but there was a slight indentation. And that was enough to make Reino growl with desire.

"Damn it. What's wrong with me?" growled Reino, looking very annoyed.

***

"I'm not pregnant." Lydia exclaimed happily as she called Erika.

Yes. There were no two lines on the flat thing she had used in the office. And that made Lydia extremely relieved, but only for a moment. Because Erika's next explanation made Lydia panic again.

"Test packs are more effective in the morning and a week after intercourse. It's late at night, so the effect is a little less, and when did you have sex? Was it more than a week ago?"

"Oh God. Why didn't you say so before?" Lydia protested loudly.

"It's you who is suddenly buying it. You can find such information on the internet." Erika replied, annoyed that she was being blamed.

Lydia sighed quietly. It was her own fault for buying without asking or finding out. But she would also go crazy if she had to worry about such things all the time and it was Reino Andersen's fault.

"That damn polar bear." Lydia cursed her boss.

Lydia was especially annoyed because Reino seemed to be taking it easy after the incident, while she was worrying like crazy about so many things. Not to mention that she still had to avoid the crotch-worshipping man, but she kept running into him.

"What if I get pregnant or get an STD?" muttered Lydia, still unable to shake the negative thoughts.

"What's with the STD?" The questioning sentence made Lydia jump, almost dropping the cell phone that was attached to her ear.

"Mom, don't scare me." Lydia protested, then ended her call with Erika.

"I already knocked. You're the one who's busy." Liani replied, not angry at all.

The almost 50 year old woman approached her only daughter and sat down on the edge of the bed. She took one of Lydia's thin hands and rubbed it gently.

"You eat a lot, but nothing stays in your body." Liani felt sorry for her daughter's body, which she thought was too thin.

Liani did not insult her daughter for being too thin, but she regretted it. Her eldest child's life has been difficult since she was a child, and she blames herself. Besides, even as an adult, it was Lydia who contributed more to the living expenses of their small family.

"I feel guilty about you."

"Stop it, Mom. It's not your fault that I'm so thin. It's just because of my good DNA. Eating as much as I do doesn't make me fat, and it also happens to be in line with my hobbies." Lydia gave her horse a grin and that was enough to cheer her up.

"By the way, how can you talk about STDs? Who were you talking to earlier?

"Aha... ha... ha...." Lydia suddenly became embarrassed. "That's right, Mom. We were talking about the boss. He said he liked changing women on bed, like mostly everyday."

"How did you get a job in a place like that, Lyd?" asked Liani worriedly. She was afraid of what might happen to her daughter.

"Why do you ask that question, Mama? You should be proud that I can work for a manufacturing company as big as Linder." Lydia said quickly.

"After all, what happens to the top doesn't necessarily happen to the bottom, right? My employees are all good." Lydia reassured her mother, even though she had to tell a lot of lies.

Yes. I don't know how many lies Lydia told her beloved mother. Especially after she started working here. After she met Reino, who offered her a marriage contract. And Liani never knew about it, until now.

Not to mention what had happened to her recently. Lydia certainly wouldn't want to tell Liani about it. Besides, this is a woman who has been a single parent for a long time and has an old-fashioned way of thinking.

"I know times have changed and extramarital affairs are no longer taboo for some people, but you shouldn't be like that." Liani continued to stroke her daughter's slender hand.

"I think it's good that you can take care of yourself. Not all men are kind."

Lydia could only smile wryly at her mother's lecture. She really felt guilty for the woman who gave birth to her. Lydia couldn't imagine how hurt she would be when she found out about the arranged marriage.