Chapter 83

“I never imagined you were this thoughtful. I always see you as a meticulous manager that only has the business matter inside his head like any other entrepreneur.”

He made an abrupt chuckle as he took a nibble of the strawberry with a grin on his lips. “We never actually had a chance to get to know each other better until tonight so that's reasonable.”

I reciprocated his soft giggles as we were abruptly engulfed in silence.

“Listen, Cattleya. I understand that what happened to you tonight is not the best and you felt horrible. And I don’t know what went on to the two of you, I had no idea what he had done for you to burst into tears all night. Regardless, if I am going to give you advice, as a friend. I would say that you should at least listen to him. Give him a chance and hear his apology for you to understand the real meaning of his actions or what he said before you decide how you will behave toward him.” Richard murmured calmly as he soothed me with his genuine gapes. “It’s totally normal for couples to have misconceptions that will tarnish their relationship. So, as your friend, all I want to say is that giving him a chance to speak is worth the time.”

My eyes fell over from Richard as I let out a heavy sigh, playing with the strawberry in my hands. “I already gave him a chance to talk…” I whispered. “But, no matter what he says… or anything he will do, I think that the words he brought to my face are no longer possible to be taken back… It already wounded me.”

“The words that wounded you aren’t possible to be taken back. But it’s still possible to be healed.” Richard replied in a hushed tone. “Don’t get me wrong. I'm not taking his side, Catt. I just don't want to end up seeing your unhappy face. I can't stand another day of my life seeing you like this. What you are doing right now could possibly create a distance between you and your husband, and I know if that happens, that will break you more than his words. Our strawberries might be gone before I can even cheer you up.”

I chortled softly as my eyes raised back to him. Richard is very gentle tonight and I am thankful that he is here for me to have someone cheer me up.

“What I want for you is to be happy, and believe me or not, that’s what I see in you when you were with him earlier. Your smiles are brighter and I didn't even see you smile in the club before. But now that you are away from that man, your eyes look empty and sad.” He took a long pause as he stared sincerely into my eyes. “There is nothing wrong with taking a rest and having time to breathe. You can stay here as long as you want, KitCatt. But, you can never run away from your life. No matter how long you stay here in the villa, and no matter how much you put everything on hiatus, you will still go back to your life and have to face everything that is waiting for you.”

After he spoke those deep and meaningful words, Richard gave me a delicate gape for a second before he began to carefully stand up. He gave me a goodbye gentle pat on my head with a small and comforting smile.

I closed my eyes for a second as I felt his hand land on my head. I lifted my gaze to him as I flashed a smile on my lips, to thank him for his effort to join me tonight and cheer me up.

“I will think about it…”

I whispered to which he put on a small nod in return before he began stepping towards the end of the window and then carefully exited it without making a sound. Richard used the rope tightly tied to the branch of the tree to get down on the ground.

My eyes were left in the air as I let the window open for a moment, and allowed the cold breeze to brush my face as I let out a loud series of deep sighs.

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“Good morning everyone!”

I greeted them enthusiastically while going down the stairs to the table where they invited me to eat breakfast.

My day switched on very early because this morning, it was already noisy with people conversing and singing along that I could hear it in the room where I stayed. It was really late when I fell asleep, so I still lacked sleep. Yet, surprisingly, it didn't affect my energy at all which started elevated. Maybe it's an effect of staying with cheerful people.

This is the first time I will dine at a table surrounded by many and blasting people. The inside of this house is very delightful because even in the morning, you can already notice the smiles on their lips as well as the direct sunlight passing into the house. It appears like people here don't have any difficulties and troubles at all. This environment is very different from where I live. In the unit that we live in, it's rare for something like this to happen when the sunlight enters the house because the entire area in the apartment is covered and shrouded. Unlike here, the house is practically open so that if there is a criminal or thief outside, they can just enter inside the house without any hardship. But I guess anyone with an evil heart would be ashamed to enter this house because of their overfilling happiness.

While I was sitting in the chair they gave me, my eyes caught Richard who was already sitting in his chair and had food on his table.

Another thing I noticed here was the noise of the roosters outside which is a bit uncommon for people who live in this kind of place. I'm used to it that when a person lives in subdivisions, there is no crowing to be heard because it is sacred and quiet. This is almost like a kingdom of freshness and happiness. A dream place that you will never imagine exists.

I feel really hungry just by looking at how generously they feast enthusiastically.

“Cattleya, hija, don't be shy and eat well. I don't know if you follow any diet because you seem to have a promising shape. But don't worry, okay? Because the foods we have here are all freshly picked and healthy.” Richard's grandmother said sweetly with a smile on her face. She was sitting on the edge of the chair and directly at me. “If you don't have anything to do after we finish our breakfast, help my grandson Chard get fresh eggs from the poultry.”

My eyes formed a circle as I sensed excitement. “That would be a new experience. I’d love to!” I said gladly as I began to eat my breakfast.

“But don't we have enough eggs in the fridge? I just checked this morning and-”

“Chard, Cattleya will join you today and do me a favor picking eggs in the chicken house. Is that clear?” His grandmother cut him off, which made everyone at the table laugh instead of Richard.

“Nona is right. You kids should go together!”

“Yeah! We think so too!”

People say while laughing.

Richard was right when he told me that this place is a joyful place, and right now, I kind of feel like I already belong to them because of how welcoming they are. Even though we are the only two who are close in age because almost all of them are in their forties and I fifties. But, their energy and stamina are unmatched. It’s like I am sitting together with college batchmates that are causally chit-chatting and laughing together.