“Finally, after such a long time of not hanging out together, today I got to chat with you again.”
Deasy greeted Veronica with an ecstatic smile as she arrived. This evening, the two of them had decided to meet after work.
Remembering back, it had been over a week since they last saw each other, not even a brief exchange of messages or phone calls. Normally, these two women always met up, whether for lunch together or going out on weekends.
Aside from being busy with their own matters, Deasy was actually reluctant because the last time she met Veronica, she got a severe scolding from Darwin. Fortunately, earlier today Veronica reached out first and invited her to meet this evening.
“No need to be overly dramatic. You’re the one pretending to be busy. It’s unusual for you to not call or text me for the past few days,” Veronica complained as she opened the menu handed by the café waitress.
Deasy frowned for a moment. Taking a sip of her matcha frappuccino that she had ordered a while ago, she responded briefly.
“I didn’t feel like contacting you. I was afraid of getting scolded by your ‘handler’.”
“Handler?” Veronica repeated, playing along with Deasy’s words. “Do you think I’m a wild animal?”
Deasy laughed. She was joking, of course. But her friend seemed genuinely annoyed.
“Well, that so-called husband of yours acts like it. He’s so annoying, always scolding me.”
“Why didn’t you just retort back to Darwin the other day when he was scolding? When it’s just the two of us, you act all brave, saying all sorts of things about him,” Veronica retorted plainly.
Besides, when they were having a one-on-one conversation like now, Deasy often criticized Darwin in various ways. Her attitude was even quite bold. But for some reason, when they met face-to-face like the other day at the hospital, her courage seemed to diminish instantly.
“It’s not that I’m scared, Ve,” Deasy defended herself, not taking it lightly. It wasn’t pleasant to be called timid by her own friend. “I was just being aware of the situation. Yesterday, I was at the hospital, you know. If I had confronted Darwin, it would’ve caused a scene and the hospital staff might have reprimanded us. That would’ve been embarrassing.”
“I thought you’d shed your shyness,” Veronica teased, laughing.
“Don’t push it!” she grumbled, not accepting it. “Besides, your husband is seriously irritating. He’s the one with a lot of faults, but he acted all righteous yesterday, like some kind of hero. Seriously annoying.”
Veronica just shook her head. Not wanting to engage in a long discussion, she opted to enjoy the cheesecake that had just been brought by the server. She ate it peacefully. Once she had about half left, she turned to Deasy to resume their conversation.
“How’s the preparation for the Vortex Group’s anniversary event going? I heard Papa personally appointed you as the head of the organizing committee, right?”
Deasy nodded. Over the past week, alongside her regular job, she had been busy with various preparations for the upcoming anniversary of Damian Ashborne’s parent company.
As a longtime staff member who used to work directly at the main office before moving under Veronica’s wing, Deasy often found herself in the role of organizer. Due to her perceived competence, she had been given the opportunity this year to lead the execution of this important and prestigious event.
“It’s at 90%, Ve. Hopefully, everything will run smoothly at the event on Saturday. You’re going to come, right?”
Veronica nodded.
“If I’m invited, I’ll come.”
Deasy immediately scoffed. How could the only child of the company owner not be invited? Veronica would surely receive a VVIP invitation like the other company executives.
“Don’t be crazy!” Veronica exclaimed, giving Deasy a sharp look. For some reason, her friend seemed overly enthusiastic about pairing her with Sean. “If I come with Sean, it’ll be like World War 10 with Darwin. You know about the agreement I made, right? Just recently, he’s been complaining about me ‘just’ coincidentally meeting or being with Sean.”
Deasy nodded halfheartedly. There was no way she could forget. Because she had shared this agreement with Sean, she ended up getting scolded twice. First by Veronica and second, of course, by Darwin.
But what else could she do? She disliked Darwin so much that from the beginning, she had intended to separate Veronica from him. For some reason, she believed Darwin was not even remotely suitable to be with someone as almost perfect as Veronica.
“Besides, six months is quite a long time, isn’t it?”
“Why do you say that about six months?” Veronica wondered.
“Well… I just want to see you and Darwin get divorced quickly. I can’t stand the thought of you, who’s almost perfect, living with a jerk like Darwin Walters for too long.”
Veronica just laughed. She wasn’t the least bit offended by Deasy’s seemingly derogatory comment.
“Even if I divorce Darwin, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll end up with Sean, Des.”
Deasy furrowed her brows. She knew that Veronica used to be deeply in love with Sean. So, why had things changed now? Had Veronica’s love faded? Could this possibly have something to do with Darwin?
“Why’s that? Have you stopped loving Sean?”
“It’s just okay, I guess. Besides, I don’t want to think about things that are far away. It’s better to focus on the marriage we have right now.”
“Yeah, the pretend marriage, right?” Deasy taunted, and Veronica responded with a shake of her head.
“No, not at all. Just so you know, Darwin and I are trying to make our marriage or relationship as normal as possible for the next month.”
At that moment, Deasy was taken aback. She wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly.
“Don’t joke around, Ve. You know who Darwin’s heart belongs to, right?”
Once again, Veronica nodded. She didn’t need to be reminded about that.
“I know. But this suggestion actually came from Darwin. So, what’s the harm in giving it a try?”
“And if it fails?”
“Well, we’ll revert to the original agreement. Separate after six months of marriage,” Veronica replied calmly, as if there were no burden at all.
Deasy let out an exasperated sigh. She became worried just hearing what Veronica had said. How could a sacred institution like marriage become a trial or a testing ground?
“Okay, let’s say you agree to live a proper married life with Darwin. After a month passes, and you realize you’re not compatible at all, won’t you feel like you’ve been shortchanged? It’s like it’s good for Darwin, but not for you.”
Veronica laughed again. Meeting Deasy’s gaze, she responded.
“I’m not foolish, Des. So, you don’t need to tell me how things should be. And why do you underestimate Darwin so much? Honestly, your behavior is becoming like those snarky internet trolls who hang around gossip accounts.”
“Well, that’s because he’s been a jerk from the beginning, Ve. He’s really not suitable for you.”
Veronica gave a slight smile and raised an eyebrow.
“So, according to you, who is suitable for me? Sean? Why don’t you just date Sean yourself?”
Deasy fell silent for a moment. Why was Veronica suddenly suggesting Sean to her?
“Well, Sean is the one who’s right for you. Think about it, during the time you were together, as far as I remember, he never hurt you. Let alone cheating on you. Just from this alone, he’s 180 degrees different from Darwin,” Deasy explained with all her arguments. She took a moment to catch her breath. When she felt a bit more comfortable, Deasy spoke again. “Even now, Darwin’s attitude has changed for the better because he’s been threatened by you, right? If it wasn’t for that, he would probably still be hurting you by cheating.”
Veronica nodded. Then she responded.
“Well, maybe Darwin has genuinely changed and is trying to better himself. What’s wrong with giving him a second chance? After all, everyone has their own past, right? I’m not God, Des. I have no right to judge him.”
Deasy shook her head in disbelief at Veronica’s words. She was convinced that her friend had truly changed.
“Seriously, you’re really into Darwin,” Deasy stated without hesitation.
“Well, it’s okay to like your own husband. It’s perfectly fine, right?”
Deasy pursed her lips tightly. She was about to argue back at Veronica’s statement when she was suddenly startled by Darwin’s presence. Apparently, he had come to pick up his wife and take her home.
“Love, is your chat with Deasy done?” Darwin asked when he was standing right in front of his wife.
Before, he was aware that Veronica was out with Deasy. He had let her go first. After finishing his own work at the office, he had decided to come and pick her up.
“Yeah, it’s done.”
“In that case, can we head home now?” Darwin asked with a gentle tone.
Veronica nodded in response. She got up from her seat.
“Let’s go home.”
Veronica then bid farewell to Deasy. Darwin also did the same. Unlike before, he made an effort to say goodbye in a more friendly manner. He then held his wife’s hand without any awkwardness, and they walked together to the car, heading home.
***
“Win, did you buy this Japanese food?” Veronica asked as she and Darwin sat at the dining table.
After arriving home, they had quickly freshened up. When they were about to have dinner, Veronica was slightly surprised to see a variety of Japanese dishes like Sushi, Takoyaki, and Onigiri laid out on the table. She was sure that Darwin had ordered or bought these dishes to be their dinner tonight.
“Yeah, before picking you up from the café, I stopped by and bought all of this so we could have it for dinner tonight.”
Veronica smiled happily. Honestly, she was starting to feel comfortable with the way Darwin was slowly trying to win her over. Besides, anyone would melt if they were treated kindly like this.
“Thank you so much, my husband,” Veronica said sincerely. The simple sentence caught Darwin off guard for a moment. After all, it was the first time Veronica had addressed him with such an uncommon term.
“But, by the way…” Veronica continued, “Besides Japanese food, I also like Chinese food. So, to keep things interesting, you should buy Chinese food for us to eat together sometime.”
Darwin snorted. He shook his head in amusement.
“You’re being demanding, you know!”
“Come on, Win. Let’s do it all at once. So that you’re fully committed when it comes to giving me attention,” Veronica replied, playfully winking.
“What do I get in return?”
“For you, I’ll cook with a dash of love. Fair, right?”
Darwin didn’t respond further. He chose to quietly enjoy the food that was already laid out. Veronica did the same. When they were almost done, Veronica initiated the conversation again.
“Do you have any plans this weekend?”
Darwin looked up, casting a glance at his wife. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before replying, “I don’t think so. Why?”
“There’s a birthday event for Papa’s company. If you’re not busy, I’d like to ask you to accompany me. But if you can’t, then I’ll have to go with-”
“Sean?” Darwin guessed, as if he could read Veronica’s thoughts.
“You’re a mind reader, aren’t you? How did you know?”
Darwin rolled his eyes with a hint of annoyance. He disliked it when Veronica brought up anything related to the person he disliked the most-Sean.
“I’m so tired of hearing that ex’s name. Besides, as long as I’m alive and still your husband, I won’t let you go with him.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Seriously, I’m not as jealous of him as you think, Ve. It’s not at the same level.”
Veronica grinned widely. Another thing that made her happy was seeing Darwin jealous like this. Even though he was too proud to admit it, his actions and behavior spoke otherwise.
“So, you can come with me this weekend, right?”
Darwin nodded without hesitation.
“I can. I’ll accompany you to the event.”
After finishing their dinner, they decided to return to their room. Darwin himself later went to his office for a while to finish some work he had brought home.
Veronica did the same. Taking a seat on the sofa, she looked busy checking some of her tasks.
By 10 pm, Darwin decided to call it a night. When he returned to the room, he found his wife accidentally dozing off while leaning against the sofa.
Darwin took the initiative to move Veronica. He gently picked her up and placed her on the bed, covering her with the blanket. He even gave a brief kiss on her forehead before joining her in sleep, just like the previous nights.