“Everything that your dad requested, I’ve already sent it. Oh, and I’ve got some info too. Leighton gave me a heads up earlier this afternoon. It looks like next week it’s their turn to send their representatives to our office, dude.”
In his office, Darwin seemed all serious while his secretary was laying it out. Even though the tension was still there once in a while, he could count his blessings because he managed to meet all the work deadlines on point.
That’s why, when it was about quitting time, Darwin wrapped things up. He’s the type who ain’t too keen on hanging around the office for too long. Rather than working overtime till night, he prefers taking some work back home to get it done.
“In that case, give me the next update on when exactly they’re visiting Indonesia, so we can give them a warm welcome.”
“Got it, man. I’ll keep you posted.”
“If there’s nothing else to cover, you can head back to your space. Besides, I’m getting ready to head out.”
Just about ten minutes later, Darwin grabbed his jacket and work bag from the sofa and headed out of the room. As he was about to close the door, from a distance, he unintentionally spotted Sean outside Veronica’s room, urging her to step inside.
Somehow, curiosity got the best of him. Darwin ended up taking slow steps, even a bit sneaky. Once he reached his wife’s door, he paused and once again listened in on what his wife and her ex were chatting about.
“I know you’re practically arranged into this. But, there’s one thing I just found out from Deasy – your marriage with Darwin is only gonna last for like six months, seriously? And when that’s up, would you consider coming back to me?”
“Oh my gosh, Sean. I can’t just whimsically -”
“Calm down,” Sean quickly cut her off. “No need to stress. Right now, you don’t have to do anything. Yeah, even though I could probably swoop you away from Darwin right now, I’m not that low to wreck your marriage. I don’t mind waiting six months, ten months, a year, or even a decade. The point is, when the time comes, you come back to me.”
“Why should I wait for me, though? You deserve better than me yourself.”
“Because I’m just in love with you, Ve,” Sean said with conviction. “I know, you’re not happy in this marriage with Darwin, right? That’s why, when your marriage period is done, you’ll want to come back to me, won’t you?”
Darwin clenched his fists tightly. His ears suddenly felt hot hearing what Sean had just spilled to Veronica. That’s why, when he heard his wife about to reply, he chose to step in, deliberately calling out.
“Sean, I -”
“Veronica.”
Both individuals in the room immediately turned in sync. Equally surprised to see Darwin standing at the doorway, throwing gazes that were pretty darn hard to interpret.
“Darwin… Y-you-”
“It’s time to head home,” Darwin deliberately cut in. The guy didn’t let Veronica finish her sentence first. “Grab your bag. Let’s go home now.”
Veronica nodded obediently. Giving a quick glance toward Sean, she then got up and followed her husband’s steps to head towards the lobby.
During the ride back home, Darwin deliberately stayed quiet. Not a single word came out of his mouth. Even after getting home, taking a shower, having dinner, and moving the gift box from his room to his wife’s, he still remained silent.
Usually, Darwin would always object if he found himself alone with Sean. Calling it shady, unfair, or something like that. But today, he seemed like he just didn’t care.
Veronica, of course, felt uncomfortable. From the start, she had this nagging thought that her husband might have overheard her conversation with Sean on the way back. Even though she didn’t have any feelings for her husband at this point, it still bothered her.
“I’ve moved the gift box. Just open it yourself and all that,” Darwin said as he left Veronica’s room.
However, as he was about to head back to his own room, Veronica immediately intercepted. She believed that what was going on between her and Darwin needed some clarification.
“Win, wait up,” Veronica called out quickly.
Darwin turned around again. Giving her a questioning look, he responded, “What now?”
“Actually, there’s nothing. It’s just that I feel you’re acting weird.”
“Weird how?” Darwin shot back, looking right at her.
“Usually, whenever you see me with Sean, you’d protest for sure. Surprising that you’ve been silent all this time.”
“I’m tired of repeating the same words, Ve. Even though you’ve heard me complain many times, right? But it keeps happening,” he said without hesitation. Veronica was even taken aback by his response. And again, her husband was speaking with a tone that sounded cold. “You’re the one who forbade me from meeting or having any contact with Vivian. But -”
“Sean and I aren’t doing anything, Win,” Veronica cut off Darwin’s sentence.
“Yeah,” Darwin nodded. “You guys aren’t doing anything. You were just discussing plans to be together after you separate from me, right?”
“Win!”
“Ve, just listen,” Darwin requested at that moment. “We clearly don’t love each other and neither of us wants this marriage. Honestly, I don’t care if you’re involved with anyone. That’s your right and your privacy. But I don’t like people who can’t stick to their own commitments. You asked me to hold back my reactions for the next six months, but you’re breaking your own words.”
Veronica fell silent. It was suspected that her husband had heard everything she and Sean talked about at the office before heading home. After all, Darwin had every right to be annoyed because he had noticed Sean paying extra attention to Veronica a few times.
“So, what do you want then?” Veronica asked afterward. She was unsure what kind of response she should give.
However, instead of a straightforward answer, Veronica heard Darwin chuckle softly for a moment, until he finally answered, “You’re asking what I want?” he said, raising one of his eyebrows. “I think you probably already know what I want even without an answer.”
Darwin then walked away towards his room. However, before completely closing the door, he once again invited Veronica to talk.
“And one thing you need to tell Sean. No need to be afraid or worried. Six months isn’t a long time. When the time comes, I’ll be the one to hand you over to him.”
After that, Darwin immediately closed his bedroom door tightly, not giving Veronica a chance to respond to his statement.
Thinking that Darwin’s presence had vanished, Veronica went back into the room. Glancing at the giant box that Darwin had just moved, she thought about opening it right away.
Pulling the ribbon wrapped around the box, she slowly took out the brown teddy bear, even as big as herself, and placed it on the bed.
“Looks great,” Veronica murmured. “But too bad, the one who gave it is sulking.”
***
After yesterday’s incident, Darwin seemed to be actively avoiding Veronica. This was evident during breakfast, as he deliberately came down earlier.
Seeing his wife who had just entered the dining room, Darwin hastily took a sip of his milk from the glass. Quickly getting up, he intended to leave for work ahead of time.
“Win, wait,” Veronica called out when she saw her husband about to pick up his work bag. “I’ll go with you.”
Moreover, Darwin had already confirmed that from now until the next six months, they were supposed to leave and return from work together. Why did he want to leave earlier this morning?
“You can go with the driver. Or drive yourself. I have a meeting outside this morning, so I won’t go straight to the office,” Darwin replied firmly. From his expression, it was clear that he wasn’t keen on going to work with Veronica.
“I can come with you and wait for your meeting,” Veronica casually responded.
“If you come with me, then who will handle office matters if someone needs assistance?”
“But, I -”
“Enough, I’m leaving. Just go with the driver. I’m really running late.”
Veronica let out a long sigh. It was futile to plead; Darwin clearly wasn’t interested in taking her today.
Meanwhile, this morning, Darwin was indeed attending a meeting at a convention hall. There, he even ran into Kennedy, who had also been invited to the meeting.
“You’re alone?” Darwin asked as he approached his cousin, who had just finished talking to another guest.
“Yeah, just me today. Bimo has some work that can’t be left behind.”
Darwin nodded repeatedly. It wasn’t surprising to see Kennedy attending a meeting by herself. His cousin often didn’t involve Bimo when working outside the office.
When the meeting started, they both entered the room. Taking their respective seats, they focused on listening to the speaker’s presentation.
Initially, everything went smoothly. Darwin even concentrated on listening to what the speaker was discussing up front.
However, during the 15-minute break, Darwin’s phone started ringing. Initially, he ignored the call as he didn’t recognize the number.
But because the calls kept coming, Darwin eventually grew curious. When his phone rang again, he answered the call this time.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mr. Darwin Walters?”
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this, and what’s the matter?”
“I’m a police officer. I need to inform you that Mrs. Veronica Ashborne has had an accident and has been taken to the hospital.”
Darwin was taken aback. He was certainly shocked by what he had just heard. After being told which hospital his wife was taken to, he immediately asked for permission to leave the meeting. He hurriedly left, hoping that nothing serious had happened to his wife.