(Red’s POV)Sorry We’re CloseThe signage reminded me that Lucy’s Kitchen would not open until ten in the morning. I glanced at my wristwatch, realizing I was fifteen minutes early. I took my cell phone from my pants pocket, hoping to call Lucy to inform her I was here, but the door opened before I could press her number.“Mr. Carlington,” The receptionist smiled, recognizing me from last Saturday.Thinking of it, I realized I proposed last Saturday, got married on Sunday, and after a week, warning signs flashed, telling me we might divorce before we even celebrated our first week as a married couple. She opened the door wide and smiled gently but glanced at an empty ground, probably waiting for Aya to appear.“Aya’s… at home,” I lied and entered the restaurant.Her face turned crimson as her lips curved into a sheepish smile. “Umm… this way.” She led me to the table near the window, overlooking the garden. “I’ll tell Lucy you’re here.”She left when I was seated, and not long before
(Red’s POV)“Ryan Lopez, I’m her boyfriend,” he again said as if the receptionist was deaf.“Ah!” The receptionist’s mouth opened in surprise, nodding at him and then glancing at me.“Is she here?” Ryan knitted his brows when she slowly shook her head. “That’s odd. Aya never absent, unless…” he breathed out as he pressed a number on his phone, calling her. “Did she, by any chance, call Lucy and tell her…”His forehead creased as he looked at the screen, murmuring his worries. I pressed my lips, suppressing a displeased smile, wanting to tell him she would not answer his call because she had turned off her cell phone. I knew her whereabouts because her own bodyguard reported to me where she went, and right now, she had probably shared with Addie and Leslie what had happened between us. My eyelids were half-closed for a second because it would be another topic that Aya would irk about, as she did not know about the security personnel following her discreetly.“She’s not answering,” he
(Aya’s POV)I was lost in my own space, pretending to look after Katie, although my mind was occupied with Gino’s resurrection. The thought of possibly seeing him again stirred mixed emotions inside me, but most of them were anger and fear. I lowered my head, pinning my eyes on the wedding ring on my finger, nervously touching and trailing it with my index finger as I thought of what Addie had said.The soft knocks on the door snapped me out, bringing me back to reality and causing my body to jerk as if the sound was a loud bang. Katie stopped playing and turned her head toward the door; her eyes sparkled like a beautiful star as she rose to her feet.I shook my head. “Na-ah! Mommy’s opening the door,” I said, standing up when I realized what she planned to do.“It could be daddy,” she blinked, her eyes still on the foyer.“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes, wanting to tell my daughter she needed a miracle for that. “It could be your aunts…”Addie and Leslie went grocery shopping, but if it was
(Aya’s POV)There were two imaginative voices I was hearing. The first one tried to confirm if Red did say he intended to spend the rest of his life with me, and the other validated that he did but for the kids. It could have been romantic, but again, the other voice told me Red would not go overboard for someone like me.It may be hard to explain, but when I said ‘I do’ on our wedding day, I thought of the same thing but we could not be together and live harmoniously if lies kept coming between us. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking quickly about what to do, and there was only one thing best to do… Telling Red the truth!“Ryan gave me a jewelry set, and I… I lost it. He’s not supposed to be back this year from his business trip, so I thought it would give me time to save money. I’ve been thinking of breaking up with him, but I must return that expensive gift.” I explained and breathed hard before I continued, “But…”He placed his index finger on my lips, stopping me from talking. “Do
(Aya’s POV)One of the reasons I was not particularly eager to go home yet was that I needed to go to the community college and enroll for my last semester. When the school cashier gave me the receipt, my lips curved into a smile, feeling emotional as I stared at my proof of payment.“Do you like saying finally, Aya?” Mrs. Lane teased me, glancing at the man behind me, whom she was sure was not here to enroll in a small college.“Yeah,” I chuckled, folding the small piece of paper and placing it in my purse. “Bye, Mrs. Lane,” I said and waved my hand.When she raised his hand and mouthed ‘bye’, I smiled again before turning my back on her and grabbing Red’s arm, leading him to the stairs. It was the weekend, so more students were in the admin hallway to enroll and pay for their tuition. As expected, women and gays would stop and stare at the man I was with. Some would even give him a flirty look, but he seemed not to care about them.“Why didn’t you use the debit card I gave you?” he
(Red’s POV)“You can let go of my hands now, Red, because if you don’t, how can we get inside and cook your dinner request?” Aya chuckled nervously.For some reason I could not understand, I did not want to let go of her hands. My heart was hammering my ribcage, screaming to pull her closer to me and kiss her.“Red…” Her eyes were wide as her voice trailed off after saying my name.“Just a kiss, Aya,” I murmured, thinking I was crazy to ask her.I didn’t need to hear her answer because as soon as our eyes met, I knew she was giving me permission to do it. Just a kiss… a brief one, nothing more, nothing less. I breathed out nervously and lowered my head, unsure why my heart acted strange. It stopped beating when my mouth touched her soft lips, but my heart pounded erratically when Aya parted her lips… to welcome me?I intertwined our fingers to imprison them from touching Aya more, not wanting to misunderstand her and thinking she was giving me the signal that I could deepen our kiss.
(Red’s POV)“Me?” Aya raised her eyebrows, her palm on her chest as she confirmed that Violet was asking for her, not Scarlett.When our housekeepers knew Violet was okay, they left Aya and me in the hallway, just outside my daughter’s bedroom, giving us the privacy to talk.“Yeah, you,” I affirmed, although I was also unsure about it.Among my children, Violet was the only one who never called her mommy, just Aya, but today, she didn’t need me, not even Scarlett or anyone from our family. Only Aya.“Okay. I’ll check on her,” She smiled anxiously, breathing out nervously as she entered the bedroom.I followed her and sat on the edge of Violet’s bed, watching her and thinking about what would happen. Aya glanced at me; her lips trembled as she smiled before turning to the closed door.“Violet,” she knocked softly and called her.My daughter immediately opened the door for her, and when she entered the bathroom, Violet immediately locked it. A few minutes later, Aya went out, and Violet
(Aya’s POV)I did not move, pretended I had fallen asleep, dead-tired after our long day together. I could hear Red’s even breathing a few minutes after he switched off the main light. The only ones left were the dim wall light, enough for us not to stumble toward the bathroom just in case we wanted to use it at night.Slowly, I moved, rolling to my other side, but I was scared to open my eyes and see Scarlett sleeping between Red and me. My imagination went wild, wanting to move closer to my husband, but whenever it happened, my subconscious mind would scare me to death, seeing Scarlett’s spirit lurking in the shadows.Sighing, I rolled to my other side again while my mind screamed at me for believing a dead could hurt me. I had been married to Red for almost a week, and I could imagine myself dead before we could even celebrate our first year together. Cause of death? Nightmares. Crazy imagination of seeing Scarlett and thinking she would never share anyone of her family with me.I