The afternoon started on a pleasant note as they arrived at the acclaimed Bombay Wok, a high-end Chinese restaurant in Kayooma. Reyona had heard of the restaurant being the best Chinese restaurant in the country, but she had never been there before. Just as Maxwell was parking in the sectioned parking lot, Junior was the first to exclaim. “Look! Look at that giant cat! Wow! Why does it have all that stuff? And he is waving at us!” Reyona smiled as she came face to face with the biggest Maneki-neko she had ever seen. The statue is otherwise known as the beckoning cat and is always like a figurine that the Chinese and Japanese put in their places of business for good luck. It was mostly placed on desktops or near the cashier, but this particular one was set on a pedestal at the forefront of the restaurant, almost like a guardian angel. “It is cute” Allysyn said as they came closer. “What is that written on its body?” Junior asked in confusion as he pointed at the 千万両 written in red
They requested that the first course be Chinese chicken meatballs, much to Junior’s delight.The sticky, yet savoury dish was an eye-opener for Reyona, and she wondered how much more she had been missing.It was garnished with sesame seeds and green onions, which did nothing to detract from the slightly spicy taste of the mouthwatering meal.After that, they had Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, Peking roast duck, Mapo tofu, chow mein and Wonton soup successively.By the time they rounded everything up with mango pudding, the pipa music that was trickling in from the room next room had risen in frenzy.Even Junior was silent, as they simply enjoyed the culture of another country through the food and music.By the time they were leaving, the attendants informed them that their private room was next to a shopping centre where they could get their children any Chinese paraphernalia and clothes they might want.Though Reyona felt a bit weird when the attendants assumed they were a fa
The ringing phone woke Reyona up.Without opening her eyes, she stretched her hands towards the direction of the sound.The phone stopped ringing just as her hands touched something warm.Her foggy mind was confused for a moment as she poked at the firm, warm…“Fleshy form?!” Reyona’s eyes popped open as she suddenly realised that she was not alone in bed.Not only was she not alone, but she was wrapped in his arms like…Didn't he say he was going to leave after she fell asleep?What the…Reyona lay still as she listened to his rhythmic breathing.She was half-tempted to give him a little accidental jab.Maybe that would knock some sense into him, she mused, even as she knew that she was not going to do it.As she tried to wriggle out of his arms, she suddenly froze when she felt a well-recognised budge cradling her ass.“Damn,” Reyona thought as her insides automatically reacted to his boner.She needed to get up as soon as possible.She did not consent to this.Having sex with him w
Reyona quickly entered the bathroom so that his voice wouldn’t be heard over the phone. On second thought, she locked the bathroom door before she picked up the call. “Hi, Mom,” she said with a smile. “What is this, dear? What is going on? How did this even happen? How can you hide this from us? This can’t be true, can it?” Gladys Rochester asked anxiously over the phone. “Mom. Mom, please calm down. What are you talking about?” “Reyona Beatrice Dexter, don’t you have something to tell me? Why do you have to let us find out like this? What are you doing? Who are those kids, eh? Just tell me they are not who I think they are. Are they?!” “Mom…” Reyona moved her phone from her ear and she felt it vibrating with another call. She was surprised to see Samantha’s number. Samantha wouldn’t call her on a weekend unless it was something very urgent. Dread settled in Reyona’s bones as she thought of the coincidence. Her mum’s call. And now Samantha? Her mom asking about the kids. H
“Rey, I have been trying to call you!”“Yes, I saw that. I am sorry for missing your calls. Have you spoken with mom?”“Boy have I. And dad too. They hate me! And I blame you!” Toria said passionately.“I am so sorry about this, Toria. Is mom fine? She was very upset with me,” she said.“She still is. And with me too. She is so disappointed that none of us thought of telling them.”“Oh, Toria. I am so sorry. You could have just told them you were unaware too, you know. At least, they would only have been mad at me.”“Oh, I was tempted to,” Toria said instantly. Then she sighed “But then, I couldn’t. As crazy as I thought the idea was, and I still think it is crazy, mind you. I understand why you did it. And like it or not, I was there, so I couldn’t just throw you under the bus like that. I guess now they would just disown the two of us together. Great!”Reyona let out a short laugh at the sound of Toria’s bemoaning tone.“You can still laugh? How can you still laugh?” Toria asked in
Reyona spoke with her dad that morning before leaving the house.As always, he was careful not to condemn her actions.He just wanted to understand why she did not trust them enough to keep such information from them.The more understanding he was though, the worse Reyona felt.She explained to him how she knew what she did was not ideal, especially about how she came to know the children."So, this whole marriage thing was because of them?""Yes.""Is it legal?""Yes, but temporary.""Do you love him?""No, I don’t.""Oh, Reyona, did he force you into doing this?""Not at all, I volunteered to do this. It was the only choice at the moment.""No, my darling, there is always another choice. Always.""I am sorry that I didn’t think of it. I am sorry that I did not tell you and Mum about it. I just didn’t want you to be as upset as you are right now.""No, my dear. You should share things like this with us. We are your family. We should be able to share whatever burden it is you have wit
They were almost done with the interview session when her eyes went in the direction of the door.She could see him through the glass wall.He was standing outside the closed door with a pensive look on his face.What was he doing there?Reyona stumbled on her train of thoughts for a moment and Rouarke had to repeat the particular question he was asking at that time.Reyona quickly answered the question and took her mind off any distractions to answer appropriately.Some of the reporters had a few other questions which stemmed from some of the things that Reyona had said during the interview.So, Rouarke asked if she would like to answer a few more questions from them.Reyona agreed and Rouarke read out the few other questions that one of the crew had passed to him from the reporters.She mentioned that she only just got married to President Rohan a few months ago. Does that mean they had been having a relationship a long while ago?Maybe even before her divorce?Reyona’s answer was c
It was hard for Reyona to focus at first.Not when he made himself so comfortable on the couch in her entertainment area.For a moment, she wished she had asked Charlotte to come after all. At least she would have been a buffer between them at that moment.But then she had felt bad about taking Samantha and the others from whatever they might have planned on a Sunday morning already, that she didn't want to have to bring in her secretary too unless it was absolutely necessary.It wasn't necessary, but now she wished she had her there anyway.Sure, he was quiet as he had promised, but then all it took was for him to breathe, and she was distracted.It shouldn't be, yet the scent of his cologne found a way to reach her despite the distance between her desk and the couch.As if her eyes had developed a mind of their own, she also couldn't stop her gaze from going towards him from time to time.And he always caught her at it!Whenever her gaze involuntarily went to him, his gaze was alway