William dried Rosaline’s body and laid her on the couch while he changed the sheets.He put her on the side of the bed while he blow-dried her hair.Having never done that before, it took him a lot of time and effort, but he managed to do it in the end.He left her hair open as she never tied it anyway. He put her in a simple slip dress and did not bother with undergarments.He applied anti-inflammatory ointment on her, fed her warm organic tea with honey and warm water, and wrapped her inside the comforter.He then put away the sheets he had changed in the pile of dirty laundry.He collected all the condom wrappings littered around the bed and nightstand, threw them in the dustbin that already had the used condoms and tissues, and cleaned the utensils and food packages on the table.When the room looked tidy enough, he slumped back in the bed, spooning her tightly.The little tease turned over, whispered his name, and wrapped her hands and legs around him like an octopus. He gently
Rosaline stood up, only to fall back in the bed. William rushed to her, panic clear in his voice.“Are you okay? Shall we go to a hospital?”“I am fine. I think my feet and arms have numbed because I had wrapped them around you weirdly. Also, my legs are weak.”“What should I do?”“Help me up. Let me walk a few steps and get better footing.”“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”“Yes.”William helped her walk a few steps, after which she regained her balance though her legs still felt shaky.“All good now. Order something quick, please. Your girlfriend is starving.”Rosaline gave him puppy eyes as she went to the bathroom.William stared at her curiously, trying to decipher if she was okay or faking it.He ordered food nonetheless and waited for her right outside the bathroom.Rosaline opened the door to call him only to get a big shock.“Damn it! You startled me.”“Are you okay?”“Yeah. Do you have a spare toothbrush?”“Yes, it’s on the cabinet above the mirror.” “I w
William and Rosaline went shopping after they ate.William made her choose between him carrying her in his arms or her leaning against him while walking, clearing preferring the first option.By the time they finished shopping, Rosaline was exasperated. Her legs were only slightly shaky, to begin with, and had become much better already. William treated her like she would get disabled by exerting pressure on her legs.After shopping, William drove her to several places where he had picked select items from the menu over the years that he thought she would like.By 5 pm, when they came back to his penthouse, she was bloated and satisfied.All her annoyance and exasperation had flown out the window.She slumped on the couch, in the living room, without even changing or freshening up.William sat down on the foot of the sofa and caressed her back.“How do you feel? Are you in pain anywhere?”“I am fine, Wiliam. You worry too much. I am happy. My legs are not shaking anymore. I don’t ev
“William?” Rosaline tentatively called when he did not say anything for a while.He only hummed in response and did not speak, making his displeasure evident.She turned over in his arms to face him. She held his face in her hands and made him look at her.“You look so cute when you are sullen and pouting. Did you know that?” Rosaline asked.William glared at her.“Why don’t you ask me the things that are bothering you?”“Three years, and you never asked anyone about me. You even interrupted people when they tried to tell you. Why?”“Because our relationship does not need interference from any third party, including Tessa.”“I think boyfriend/girlfriend is a temporary relationship, someone replaceable. I call you that for lack of a better word.”“But in my heart, I see you as my partner - equals, halves, and permanent.”“The way I see it, couples, husbands/wives, and partners are one unit - one united front. I don’t want someone else to tell me how you are doing. Or how you feel.”“I
Rosaline was amused seeing Tessa and William glaring at each other.It looked like she had forced them to sit together.“Are you guys that hungry? Why are you staring at the food like that?”“Rosy, it smells delicious. When did you learn to cook?”“It happened by accident. I started with small things like tea, coffee, breakfast items, and sundaes, and before I knew it, I was already cooking most of my meals by myself.”“Here, try this. I think I got the taste right. Can’t match Grams obviously, but should not be too bad.”Rosaline put a few dishes on Tessa’s plate and asked her to taste them.“I made this for you. You did not eat or sleep well for three years. I get so distressed every time I think of that.”Rosaline scolded William about it again as she ladled soup for him.William smiled at that and took it.“How is it?” Rosaline looked at them expectantly.“It’s so good. And you did not even burn your hands this time. When did you get so good?” Tessa exclaimed.“Good. My woman is e
The dinner ended on a high note as they stopped talking about serious stuff and started joking and sharing things they had missed out on over the last three years.William hardly talked but listened attentively to them, especially when Rosaline would share things.They finished the dinner and worked together to clean up.Tessa stocked even one-quarter of the bowl worth of remaining dishes. William found it funny.It was not hard to see that it was not just because the food was tasty but because Rosaline had made it.Once they had cleaned up, they slumped on the foot of the couch with wine and continued their chit-chat.William sat behind Rosaline, wrapping her in his arms. Tessa snorted at him but did not comment.Rosaline leaned into him as they talked endlessly.William had known they could talk non-stop for hours but was still surprised to see it firsthand.The other thing he was pleasantly surprised with was that they did not gossip.They must have spent around three hours chattin
William and Rosaline had breakfast amidst teasing and making out.She took aspirin for the hangover, drank lots of coconut water, and felt better.She called Tessa, who was similarly hungover but was feeling better after having breakfast and drinks William had ordered for her. Rosaline pecked him on the cheek to thank him, and only then did she realize she was supposed to sleep at Tessa’s place.He showed her the video of her clinging to him.She had clung to him even when he was driving and trying to change his clothes, making her cringe.“Wow. I never knew I was so clingy. Sorry!” Rosaline replied sheepishly. “You can cling to me anytime you want. Well, as long as you don’t drool on me.” William teased her.It was a few minutes before 10 am when they both arrived at William’s office.He held her hand and pointed at the offices along the way, showing her around.At 10 am, they had their usual meeting with the security team, who briefed them on the status. All the people were curio
The people from the Marketing and research team were indignant. It was one thing to be criticized by William, but for an unknown nobody to say the work they had spent three weeks on was useless was a heavy blow.Someone finally muttered discontentedly.“The people who play games don’t respond to surveys. The turnover has always been low.”“That’s because you ask the wrong questions and offer uninteresting incentives.”“Why would a person who spends over a thousand dollars in games every month care about some 10 dollars worth of shopping vouchers? Not only would it disrupt the game, but he would also have to spend more money to use the 10 dollars.”“What’s your suggestion then?”“Ask them if they want to be the VIPs who would receive the release or upgrade of the newest AR group software a day before the global release if they help you with the survey.”“What? How is it possible to release a product in advance for a select few people?”“William, can that be done?” Rosaline asked Willi