Chapter 6 Caught Red-Handed

“What a pretty doll. Is this … from Papa? Papa was here?” Felly asked.

Kimberly shook her head so fast that her bangs moved with it. Her expression was grim when her father was mentioned. She regained her smile as she tightened her grip on the pink and blue pony doll.

“No, Mama. This is Uncle Ryan’s gift. It’s from Uncle Ryan!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Felly could not hide her surprise. “Uncle Ryan?”

“Mhm! Oh, that’s him!”

Felly’s hazel eyes turned in the direction her daughter pointed. There he was, a man in a gray suit, approaching them with a smile.

“Kimmy, have you said thank you to Uncle Ryan?”

“Of course, Mama.”

“Good girl.” Felly smiled caressing Kimberly’s cheeks. “Now, go keep Aunty Sarah company, alright? She’s alone right now. I want to talk to Uncle Ryan.”

“Okay, Mama!”

After squealing out the reply, Kimberly ran into the café while hugging her new doll. It was as if she was afraid someone might snatch the doll from her.

Felly stood there, staring at Kimberly’s back as she ran. Felly smiled bitterly. Kimberly had been waiting for her father to buy her dream doll for weeks, but she got it from another man instead.

“Hi. Am I bothering you?”

Ryan’s voice brought Felly’s gaze back to him. She shook her head, smiling. “No, I’m actually on my lunch break.”

“What a relief. I came in the right time,” Ryan said as he glanced at his watch. “Have lunch with me?”

“Uh .... Actually, Sarah and I were about to have lunch together. Would you like to join us?” Felly offered. She knew she could not ditch Sarah for Ryan. She also knew, Ryan made new friends easily.

“Okay. That works for me,” Ryan smiled.

Ryan’s personality was friendly and warm, it made everyone comfortable around him. From the first time when Felly met him a few months ago, their conversation had always been flowing naturally and exciting. But Felly did not see Ryan more than a client and a friend. Although her relationship with Archer was bad, Felly had no interest in seeking other men’s attention. She knew her place as a wife and mother.

“Thanks for the doll, Ryan. Kimmy looks so happy,” Felly said. “Last night I didn’t get the chance to tell Kimmy that you’ve bought the doll. She was already asleep by then. This morning, I was also too busy. So, she must’ve been so surprised when you came.”

Ryan chuckled then nodded. He walked with her, entering the café. “Yeah, I noticed her shock when she saw me just now.”

“Uncle Ryan! Come sit with me!” Kimmy exclaimed as she patted the chair next to her. She was sitting across Sarah’s chair.

“Alright, beautiful. How could I say no to a sweet girl like you?”

Ryan sat down next to Kimberly, who was still giggling after hearing his words.

Sarah stared at him briefly with a frown. She then turned to Felly with eyes full of questions.

“Ryan. My client,” Felly answered as she sat down next to Sarah. She knew what her best friend wanted to ask.

Sarah made a voiceless ‘Oh’ and nodded. She then checked her phone because she just received a new message. A waitress came to their table with a menu.

“Mama, I want smoked salmon!” Kimberly exclaimed. Her voice was so loud, the whole café must have heard her. Fortunately, the café was not crowded that afternoon. There were only two other boutique staff at the corner of the room.

“They don’t have smoked salmon here, darling. We’ve been through this.”

“Oh, right. I forgot,” Kimberly grinned. “Chicken katsu then, Mama.”

“Okay.”

Felly was happy seeing Kimberly return to her cheerful nature. She then ordered chicken katsu for her. Chicken katsu and smoked salmon, both are Kimberly and Archer’s favorite food.

Whenever Archer’s name crossed her mind, Felly’s chest always tightened, no matter how hard she had tried to forget that man. Felly could not do it. No matter how much she had tried to hate Archer, her heart refused to hate him.

“Hey, you alright?”

Felly blinked when Ryan waved his hand in front of her face.

“Huh? Oh. Y-Yeah. Sorry, what did we order?”

“Only chicken katsu, Ma’am,” the waitress replied.

Sarah silently noticed what was happening with Felly. The years of friendship had made her recognize what had been on her mind. Sarah once thought Felly’s life would be perfect. She never imagined it would turn miserable instead, all because she was unwanted by her own husband. Sarah felt for her pain and complexity.

Aside from being beautiful and kind, Felly had a successful career and came from a wealthy family. From the outside, any other woman would envy Felly and even lose confidence once they face her. But, they all knew that Felly’s fate brought her flaw in the form of imperfect love life.

The lunch was quite loud. Kimberly has not stopped talking to her new doll. She pretended to feed the chicken katsu to the pony doll. Meanwhile, the adults were talking about work.

Sarah had not finished her food when suddenly she received a phone call from her boss. Her boss called her to the office in an authoritative tone. Sarah worked for a mass media company. Her office was not far from Blossom Boutique.

“Your best friend, I feel like I often see her on the television. Am I right?” Ryan asked after Sarah left.

“Mhm. Sarah is a reporter.”

“Ah, that’s why she looks familiar,” Ryan sipped his drink.

“Uncle Ryan, you know, my school’s holding a family gathering. You should come!” Kimberly chimed in. Her words almost made Felly choke on her food.

“Is that so? When?” Ryan asked while taking another bite of his food.

“When is it, Mama?”

Felly cleared her throat. She met Ryan’s eyes with a faint smile. It was her way of telling him to ignore Kimberly’s words. Felly had told Archer the event asked the parents to be there. But she did not know whether he would go with Kimberly, or went to be with his lover instead.

“Next week, darling,” Felly replied.

“Oh,” Kimberly turned to Ryan. “Next week, Uncle Ryan. You should come! Please … cause you got me the doll, Uncle Ryan.”

Ryan smiled. There were many things he would love to know about Felly, about her family, and her husband.

“Uh, I should check my schedule first. I can’t promise I would come,” Ryan replied. He knew his place. A family gathering should be attended by the parents, and he was just a stranger. “Kimmy, you haven’t washed your hands, right? Go wash your hands,” he said to change the topic.

“Oh right, I forgot.”

Kimberly grinned and then rushed to the sink.

“I’m so sorry, Ryan,” Felly felt a little awkward. “Kimmy is easily touched by others’ gestures. That’s why she wanted you to come, but—”

“Relax,” Ryan cut her, then a smile appeared on his lips, “I understand.”

Felly nodded and thanked him for not taking Kimberly’s request seriously. She then sipped her drink. She was almost choked on her drink when she heard the baritone voice she knew very well.

“Oh. So, this is what you’re doing behind my back, Felly!”

***