Finally, she said it. Even though it wasn't the truth, Anna told him about Dave. And she almost exploded from her nervousness."Matt?" she called when she didn't get a reply from him.But he didn't budge and kept doing what he was doing. Watching Dave. Oh, his eyes looked like they were going to pop out at how seriously he looked at him."Matt," she called again. This time a little louder while pulling his arm to return his attention to her."Is he kind?" It was the first sentence out of his lips since her confession. After that, he looked at her intensely, asking her to be honest."So far, he is good. He helps me a lot."Wrong! She shouldn't have answered him that way. He would ask..."Help you with what?"Yes, he would ask that. He knew Anna was an independent woman and wouldn't ask for help quickly."An unexpected situation happened to me."Matt squinted at her suspiciously. He was between doubting and believing her words. But then, a sigh was released. "Okay. I trust you. If he he
Anna wiped her face with a tissue. She was relieved after venting her frustration in the empty toilet. Correction. A little annoyance. But at least it was treated with her latest post. Kate complied with her.Therefore, she was peaceful."What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to find Dave standing in front of the toilet, and she was pretty sure he was waiting for her."Waiting for you to come out."Her brow furrowed at that. "Waiting for me for what?""To give you this." He handed her something. It was a small ball encased in yellow aluminum.She took it as she guessed what it was."It's chocolate. It will put you in a better mood."In fact, she had expected it. It looked like a chocolate package from a famous brand or some homemade chocolate. "Where did you get it?"She opened one and ate it. Her eyebrows rose as the chocolate touched her tongue. It had chocolate and a slight milky taste but was not too sweet either.Even though she loved desserts or sweets, she limited her
Anna yawned widely, causing tears to form in the corners of her eyes. She wiped it off and shook her head hard enough to relieve the sleepiness. "I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep well last night," she said before Chelsy asked.As promised, she accompanied her to her favorite boutique to discuss dresses for the party."She imagined the ghost we watched yesterday," Dave sneered.Also, with Dave. He came because there was nothing to do but spend the weekend with her while she decided to meet his cousin.Anna suddenly gave him a sharp glance. Wouldn't he be enough to nag her not to watch horror anymore?Yeah. Although Anna enjoyed it, she would admit that it sometimes scared her into her dreams. But she never felt enough."I thought you couldn't sleep for another reason," Chelsy replied. She took a sip of coffee served by the waiter while waiting for the designer, or owner, to issue the dress reference for the theme, pirate. "Like passionate sex, maybe?" she continued.After that, it was Chels
"Where are we going?" Anna asked as she saw Dave turning the car to the right, heading north of Los Angeles. It wasn't the direction to her apartment, The Byrne Hotel, or Chelsy's, as she said, was on the west side. Then where would they go?"We'll go to the beach and buy ice cream," he answered without taking his eyes off the road. He looked relaxed, riding the streets quite busy on the weekends.If it was her, she would have chosen... nothing. She would curl up in her bed if she had no work or appointments unless she wanted to wander around the city. But she usually used the bus or just walked."Yeah, there's a great ice cream parlor near the beach." Chelsy chimed in from behind. "And maybe lunch because it's already lunchtime."They finished with Nate around lunch. So, without looking at the watch, Anna knew her calculations were correct. That was probably about one.Anna saw a board showing the coast's direction, and it was they were heading. It was quieter but still crowded, and
"How do you feel after separating from him?""With Dave?""Yes. Who else?"They just returned from the airport after dropping him off there. It was a Sunday night like any other night.Anna stared at the road in front of them, pondering the answer. To be honest, she didn't understand the true meaning behind it."Are you feeling sad or anything?" Chelsy asked again, giving an example to clarify her point.Anna thought again. Was she sad?She then shook her head doubtfully. "No.""Then happy?"Her bead moved to the right, a sign that she was thinking. "No.""Angry? Disappointed?""No.""Confused?""No."Then silence.Chelsy was still focused on the road to her apartment. But her face showed she was thinking. "Indeed, you need more time with him.""For what?""Develop feelings for him."Chelsy took the left turn. It was still ten minutes from her apartment."I don't know, Chels. It's hard to predict something like this."Again, it was a matter of the future. Things were still far from th
Anna watched Kate shake hands with Mr. Donahue, the CEO of the Organization. Then they looked ahead, at the camera to be precise, and smiled. It was the opening of a series of activities in the orphanage. Those were handing over donations, lunch, and activities with children.Yeah, it was for media and image creation for the public.Kate clapped as the CEO handed over a large sign, as a donation symbol, to the orphanage. It brought another round of applause, making the situation lively. And didn't forget about taking pictures. The CEO took turns greeting the orphanage's staff, and each person's photo must be taken.They all went into a room and talked. Again, photos couldn't be forgotten in every situation.Anna actually wanted to leave. She was lazy to listen to such talk. Somehow it looked not natural, considering cameras were everywhere. How could they generally act in that situation?But she had to endure to monitor Kate. That was her job and her professionalism. Therefore, she st
"They're so adorable." Those were his first words when the call was connected after she sent her picture with the previous children."I know," she replied, wiping her wet hair with a towel. It was her routine to have a hot shower before going to sleep. She even took a bath if her body was exhausted. It helped her get to sleep faster."How long were you there?""We back at four, so we had five hours there." She then put down her phone and turned it on speaker mode before walking to the wardrobe."You just got home?"She took casual clothes—an oversized t-shirt and pants. "Not really. I just finished my shower." She raised her voice slightly, considering she was a bit far from her phone."How about dinner?""We bought fast food before going home."She started to change clothes when she heard his reply."At least you had dinner."She didn't respond immediately but finished her activity, returned to pick up her phone, and took it with her to sit on the bed. "How about you? You had dinner,
She heard something. Or not? It was so faint that she didn't know if what she heard was real or a dream.Dream?Wait. Didn't Anna say goodnight to Dave before going to bed?Just then, her eyes opened wide. It was like something pulled her from a dream and forced her to wake up from sleep.For a moment, she guessed it was the alarm. But then she realized that her alarm wasn't that loud. She used waves and wind sounds, so it wouldn't jolt her from sleep.Then she spun her head as she realized something. It was her phone. So she immediately took it and took a glimpse at the time. It was past two."Hello," she greeted, still between dream and reality."Hello. Is this really Kate's friend?" replied a deep voice on the other side.Her brows furrowed, and she took off her phone to see who was calling her. That was Kate's number. "Who's this?" she asked suspiciously and worriedly. Someone was holding Kate's phone at this hour. Who was not worried?"I'm from the club. Kate is here but too drun
Anna peered through the common bathroom door on the first floor before stepping out casually as if nothing had happened. She walked past Dave, who was sitting on the couch in their living room and reading a report on his tablet, with Zach crawling on the floor."Zach, baby, come here." She called for Zach's attention, which was never hard to get. "Let's play outside."And his reaction was predictable. He was running toward his mother excitedly. His smile was so big that it was going to explode.Being a child seemed fun, didn't it?She followed him, running out of the house to their yard barefoot. She couldn't help her own smile from forming on her face at seeing him and another happiness she had just found out about today.She was pregnant with their second child.But be quiet. Anna wanted to make a surprise for her husband.Oh, she couldn't wait to see his reaction!"Zach, come here. Mommy wants to say something to you."Zach halted his running to look at his mother with an indescrib
Three years later.She watched everything. Their every move, laugh, giggle, scream, and more. She couldn't help but grace a wide smile over that. It was too good to be true. But it was what that was as it was the reality.Baby Zach was now three years old and in his active days. He had run on every corner of the house and was always excited to run outside.Although it tired their body from following him around, she didn't complain, especially Dave. He always had the energy to play with him and never ran out of ideas. He raised their child with all his heart.She shook her head to force herself back to her place. She couldn't only observe them all the time, as she needed to finish the cookie dough.Zach had the exact liking as hers for sweets. So she tried to be the best mom by baking them instead of buying them outside or ordering chefs to make them. It was cheaper and could adjust to her family preferences, which she wanted, not too much sugar.As Dave said, sugar was a killer.She
"Hi, baby boy. I'm happy you're awake, and I can hold you. Your mother must feel the same way. But she's resting now, so let's not disturb her and play with me instead." His voice was laced with happiness as his eyes flitted the same feeling. There was nothing happier than this moment when he finally held baby Zach. And the fact that he was born healthy was wonderful. It could be perfect if his wife's recovery went well.Baby Zach wriggled his tiny hands and managed to capture Dave's finger. He gripped it though his eyes were still closed. Baby Zach might sense familiar and safe, so baby Zach didn't cry, which made Dave's heart swell with pride and warmth. Only his touch could do that, and he couldn't be more proud of that."What do you think about this world? It's amazing, isn't it? You have me, your mother, and your entire family by your side. And in the future, you will find your own friends."Baby Zach was just quiet, and if his grip was not still on his finger, Dave might have th
A few months later.Anna was closing drawers after checking what was inside was still inside.It might be confusing. The point was Anna had just finished looking at their baby’s needs, such as clothes, diapers, socks, blanket, and more. She wanted to make sure everything was ready when the time came, which was soon. Her due date should be this week, and she couldn’t be more excited to finally welcome their baby.She moved to the only bed in the room. It was big and had four wooden walls on four sides to protect the baby from falling. And it was the one Dave said could accommodate her body while breastfeeding their baby. She even could sleep on it too.Her hand touched the doll on the nearby side and placed it neatly between another doll and the pillow. She had some, mainly cute animal characters, to accompany him while he was sleeping.Yes, him. Their baby was a boy.“Do you like it, honey? It’s nice, right? Your father prepared them for you.” She spoke as her hand caressed her so big
"I saw everything, Anna. I know what you hide behind your back." His eyebrows raised as if waiting for her to reveal it by herself. There was no point in hiding it anyway since it was why he approached her. He already saw her enjoying the ice cream!"What do you mean?"So she was going to play with him. Unfortunately, he didn't want to pretend that he did not see that. "The bowl. Ice cream."And she could only force a grin."Come here." His hand reached out to invite her to come near him."No. You will scold me.""That means you know you were doing wrong. How many bowls have you had?""Hmm. Five?""Count it correctly, honey.""Okay. Okay. Nine." She raised both her hands in the air and surrendered herself."No, honey. The bowl in your back is the eleventh."He actually didn't have a problem with her enjoying the ice cream. But Anna liked overeating, and she might have more if he didn't watch her."Good job Dave. She needs to be more careful with her health." Rebecca, standing beside h
Finally, the day they had been waiting for came. It was hectic but also fun. Their friends and families gathered together to celebrate the happy day. What was more pleasing than that?The vow went well. Although Anna felt more nervous, everything was perfect this time compared to the real one. Her father led her to the altar and handed her to Dave, which generally did at a wedding ceremony. And she and his husband stated their vow again and became husband and wife one more time.And to make it perfect, he sealed their vow with a kiss on her lips. Then cheers and applauses filled the hall.It was indeed a favorable moment. And it lasted until night."It's a pleasure to finally meet the newest Mrs. Byrne." Alexander greeted Anna and took her hand to land a quick kiss, like how a gentleman met a lady for the first time. "My name is Alexander Green.""Oh!" Anna couldn't help but show her surprise. She heard a lot about him from Dave, but this was the first time they met in person."Based
She felt warm on her skin. Also, a soft and warm breeze brushed over her neck, bringing a shiver to her body. A second later, she sensed warmth moving on her swollen belly, rubbing it so gently as if fearing to wake her up."Hmm." She stirred from her sleep, the result of those doings. Only then did she realize hands wrapped around her, and she knew whose those were. "Dave." Her voice came throatily from sleep."I'm sorry I woke you up." He mumbled against the nook of her neck.She heard it but didn't want to answer him as her voice was stuck in her throat. But she couldn't do it anymore when her eyes fluttered open and dark welcomed her through a glass wall which gave a view of the dark sky. "It's still dark.""Yes.""What time is it?""It's past midnight.""Why aren't you sleeping?"Instead of replying, he tightened his arms and dug his face deeper into her neck. His hand slipped inside her nightdress and caressed her tummy. "I can't sleep.""Why?" She wriggled her body to turn arou
"The preparation is doing good, right?" Dave asked Eddie, General Manager of The Byrne Hotel in Los Angeles, as they took a look at the hall designated for his event to take place. It was still filled with other decorations, as it would be occupied for someone's event for tonight."Yes. We have everything that we need ready. Gifts also have arrived, and we're working to put them into goodie bags."Dave nodded his head in understanding. "Pack them nicely and make sure those are right for each occasion. Don't get confused." He gave further orders.As planned, they would split the event into two, the vow and the party. And because of that, they would use a separate hall, decorations, gifts for guests, food, and more. They had different preparation for each occasion."Sure. We have a lot of experience with these things. I assure you everything will be in expert hands. You can enjoy your time with your bride.""Okay. I trust you with this.""Yes."Then they walked together for a few minute
"I'm like a dolphin already!" Her voice echoed throughout the room. She was standing in front of the mirror, checking her appearance from the reflection. She wore an A-line midi dress in black, which fell nicely on her body. But it also made her baby bump visible."Says who?" Dave was walking toward her while buttoning his shirt."Me." She still focused on her own reflection, as if looking for something to satisfy her."Then you're wrong. You don't look like one at all." He slipped his arms around her waist. "Instead, you look sexier." He landed a kiss on her neck and began to stroke her stomach gently. It was almost six months, and the bump was pretty big."Don't lie to me, Dave. Look at me. Everything in my body is swollen now. Even my cheeks are full.""That's what makes you sexy, honey. I like how your body changes."She narrowed her eyes at his reflection. "Liar.""I'm not. I'm being honest with you.""I don't believe you."There was a sound of a sigh before he planted the last k