After finishing the meeting with the investor from Singapore, Darwin decided to quickly return to his office. Searching for his cellphone, he hurriedly called Veronica and asked her to come to his room right away. Somehow, Darwin suddenly felt longing for his wife.
In retrospect, it seemed a bit excessive. But, what could he do, that’s what he was feeling right now. Ever since last night’s incident, there was a feeling that made Darwin want to be constantly with Veronica and spend a lot of time together.
“Oh God, it seems like I’m cursed because I bragged before that I wouldn’t fall in love with Veronica.”
Darwin recited that sentence in his heart. While lost in thought, Veronica, whom he had called earlier, seemed to enter the room. Walking closer, approaching the position where Darwin was sitting.
“Why? Do you want to discuss the meeting?”
Darwin looked up. He smiled at Veronica and reached for her wrist, then pulled her until she was seated right on his lap.
“Win!” Veronica exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, what is it, darling?” Darwin responded, his tone gentle. He brought his hand, then without hesitation, hugged her tightly from behind. He even took the opportunity to kiss Veronica’s cheek with an affectionate expression.
“What are you doing?” Veronica asked with a worried tone. The problem was, the door to Darwin’s office wasn’t locked. She was afraid that other staff might suddenly come in and see what they were doing.
“I miss you,” Darwin replied while continuing to kiss Veronica’s cheek and neck alternately.
“What do you mean, ‘miss’? We’re not far from each other.”
“But I just want to keep hugging you, Ve.”
“No need to overdo it,” Veronica replied, trying to extricate herself from her husband’s embrace.
However, instead of letting go, Darwin repositioned Veronica. He intentionally directed her body to sit sideways on his lap.
“I’m not overdoing it. I really miss you and want to keep hugging and kissing you.”
“The problem is we’re in the office. What if someone suddenly comes in and sees what we’re doing?”
“Let it be!” Darwin replied casually. He seemed to not care at all if people around saw what he and Veronica were doing. “Why should we be ashamed? We’re married, after all.”
Darwin then proved what he said. He brought his hand, cupped Veronica’s cheeks, pulled her slightly, and then passionately kissed her.
One of Darwin’s hands then descended, moving to slip into Veronica’s black blazer. He caressed slowly until he found what he was looking for and gently squeezed it.
During Darwin’s kiss, Veronica jumped in surprise and inadvertently widened her eyes. She felt unprepared for what Darwin was doing to her. She wanted to push him away, but her husband anticipated it by holding her hand to prevent her from moving away.
Darwin continued to deepen the kiss. He kept kissing and nibbling without stopping. Even when he heard a knock on the door, he didn’t care. Eventually, someone entered and clearly saw what he and Veronica were doing.
“Oh my. I’m sorry if I’m disturbing Mr. Darwin and Mrs. Veronica,” said a voice that was familiar to both Darwin and Veronica.
Feeling uncomfortable, the man intended to leave. Just as he was about to turn around, the room’s owner called out.
From his position, Darwin slowly broke the kiss. A moment later, he turned to the source of the voice with a relaxed smile.
“It’s alright, Mr. Sean. I was careless and didn’t lock the door first. By the way, are the documents I requested ready?”
Sean nodded with an uneasy expression. He stepped forward, then handed over what Darwin had asked for.
“I’ve reviewed everything. Just need to give it to Mr. Damian.”
“In that case, thank you. Mr. Sean, you can get back to work.”
With few words, Sean immediately left the room. Darwin was left smiling happily about the earlier incident.
There was a reason why Sean suddenly entered Darwin’s office. After asking Veronica to come to the room, he intentionally contacted Sean to deliver one of the documents he would take to Damian’s office later.
And finally, the bait he threw was taken by Sean. Darwin was convinced that what he and Veronica were doing was definitely clear to Sean.
“You’re really something, Win! Now I’m embarrassed,” Veronica complained after a brief silence. She pouted, her face annoyed with what Darwin had done.
“Really embarrassed? Or just uncomfortable being seen by an ex?” Darwin teased intentionally.
“Don’t even start!”
Darwin laughed. He got up from his seat and approached Veronica, who was already standing.
“Alright, let’s continue the sulking later. I need to go to your father’s office. You’re coming with me, okay? Once we’re done there, we can head home.”
Veronica didn’t refuse. Although still annoyed, she agreed when Darwin invited her. This afternoon, there were a few important things Darwin needed to discuss with her father.
Entering the Vortex Group building, Darwin confidently held Veronica’s hand. They walked along the corridor on the 15th floor and stopped in front of one of the rooms.
“Darling, do you want to stay here?” Darwin asked to make sure. Apparently, Veronica preferred to make a brief stop in Deasy’s office first. For the past month, her friend had been stationed in the main building.
“Yes. I’ll drop by for a moment. Is that okay?”
Darwin nodded. Even though he was not fond of Deasy, he still felt uneasy about restricting or forbidding Veronica from socializing or staying in touch with her friend.
“Alright then. I’ll head to dad’s office first. If you’re done, just catch up with me upstairs.”
Darwin continued on his way to Damian’s office. Meanwhile, Veronica approached Deasy, who was currently busy working at her desk.
“Why you so serious?”
Veronica teased as she entered. Walking closer, she pulled a chair and seated herself.
Deasy, focused on her work, nodded. Without looking up, she responded to Veronica’s teasing.
“The deadline has to be met by this evening. You know all these reports have to be presented at the meeting the day after tomorrow in front of all the higher-ups,” Deasy explained while continuing her work. “By the way, who did you come here with? Sean?”
Veronica sighed. Why was Deasy guessing that she came with Sean?
“With Darwin, of course. There’s no way I’d come here with Sean. Why would I even be with him?”
“Ugh, so annoying,” Deasy clicked her tongue. Her expression, which had been neutral earlier, turned irritated upon hearing Veronica mention Darwin’s name. For some reason, the animosity Deasy had harbored from the beginning still hadn’t faded.
“Why annoying?”
“It’s annoying to even hear your husband’s name, Ve. Don’t you remember? He embarrassed me at the bar the other day. Besides, why did you end up marrying a jerk like Darwin?” Deasy complained candidly. She didn’t care if Veronica got angry or hurt by what she said.
“Why are you blaming me?” Veronica retorted. “You know very well it was my dad who arranged this marriage. It’s not like I could choose.”
Still focused on her computer screen, Deasy nodded her head. After a moment, she continued to talk.
“So, how about the one-month trial of being happily married? It’s almost over, right?”
“Yes,” Veronica nodded. She understood what Deasy meant. “It should be over in two days.”
“Then what? Are you still going to get divorced six months from now?”
Veronica smiled. Even though Deasy wasn’t looking at her, she reflexively shook her head.
“There won’t be a divorce, Des.”
Deasy, who had been busy with her work, suddenly stopped typing on her keyboard. She looked up, her eyes filled with questions.
“What do you mean, no divorce, Ve?”
Deasy continued to stare at Veronica with a questioning expression. Instead of answering, Veronica just smiled widely, which irritated Deasy even more. She started to speculate on her own.
“Don’t tell me that you two are actually fall in love.”
After that sentence was spoken, in the next moment, Veronica immediately nodded. She simply affirmed what Deasy had guessed.
“Your guess is right. Darwin and I have decided that there won’t be any divorce in our marriage. Yes, you can consider that we actually have feelings for each other.”
“For the love of God, Veronica!” Deasy exclaimed with an incredulous look. She shook her head repeatedly, trying to deny what she had just heard. For Deasy, her friend had truly lost her mind. “Don’t be crazy! Are you sure you want to spend your life forever with a jerk like Darwin? Oh, come on. You can do much better than Darwin, Ve. Why him? Why?!”
Veronica kept a calm expression. She wasn’t affected by what Deasy was saying to her. Regardless, she had made her decision, and no one had the right to interfere.
“Well, it’s not a big deal. I’m sure about it. Besides, from the beginning of our marriage, I’ve committed myself to take our marriage seriously.”
“The problem is, your husband, Darwin, Ve. He likes to fool around with women and clearly cheats. I’m even sure his previous relationship with Vivian Mouse went too far! It’s so unfair that you end up with a guy like him.”
Deasy grumbled in frustration. She was completely dissatisfied with Veronica’s decision. For some reason, Deasy was absolutely unwilling to accept that her friend would marry such a jerk who didn’t meet her criteria.
Veronica herself simply let out a long sigh. In truth, she was reluctant to debate personal matters like this.
“Des…,” Veronica called. “Every human makes mistakes. I’m not God. So it’s not fair to judge his past. If what he did in the past happened to me, I would be devastated if not a single man would accept me because of my flawed past.”
Veronica continued to gaze intently at Deasy’s face, trying to convince her friend that she had made the best choice.
“What matters is that Darwin has changed and committed. He’s promised to take care of our marriage, nurture it, and keep it strong in the future.”
“But cheating is an incurable disease, Veronica Ashborne,” Deasy debated once again. Her voice sounded even louder. She wasn’t satisfied with Veronica’s arguments that seemed to be wholeheartedly defending her husband. “Don’t close your eyes too tightly. I’m sure, even if he’s changed now, there’s a possibility he could repeat the same thing in the future.”
Veronica nodded, not denying anything Deasy said. In fact, she might even be thankful that her friend cared so much about her future.
“Enough, Des. My decision is final to continue the marriage. If something happens along the way, I’ll deal with it. Thank you for your concern.”
Deasy looked resigned. All the advice and arguments she presented seemed futile because, in the end, Veronica still chose Darwin as her husband.
***
Deasy, who was still as annoyed as usual, arranged to meet Sean. After work, as usual, they made plans to have dinner together at a restaurant in a well-known mall.
Deasy naturally arrived first. A few minutes later, Sean, who had also finished work, appeared and joined her.
“What’s the occasion this time that you’re inviting me to meet, Des?” Sean asked once he was seated. He was sure there must be a significant reason why his ex-girlfriend’s friend was inviting him to meet like this.
“This is bad, Nath,” Deasy stammered, her expression full of anxiety. There seemed to be a fear weighing on her.
Sean took a sip of the strawberry milkshake that Deasy had ordered for him. He maintained a cool expression and sought clarification.
“What’s bad? Did you get fired? Or are you pregnant and your boyfriend isn’t taking responsibility?”
“God forbid,” Deasy scoffed. “It’s not about me. It’s about you and Veronica.”
Sean nodded casually. He wasn’t too surprised that Deasy wanted to meet to discuss his relationship with his current girlfriend.
“Why? Is she getting closer to her husband?”
Deasy nodded repeatedly. Yes, that was the issue she wanted to discuss with Sean.
“Veronica has decided not to get a divorce from Darwin. She insists on keeping her marriage, no matter Darwin’s background or what he’s done all this time.”
“Seriously?”
Once again, Deasy nodded.
“What I was afraid of is really happening, Nath. With this situation, you’ll have a hard time winning Veronica back.”
Sean let out a long sigh. His jaw tightened. He was probably trying to hold back his emotions.
“Earlier this afternoon, I even caught Darwin and Veronica making out in the executive office.”
“Don’t be crazy!”
“For real, Deasy. I’m not making this up. And it seems like Darwin intentionally called me to his office to show off what he and Veronica were doing.”
Deasy was left speechless. For a split second, she couldn’t say anything.
“I’m sure they’ve done more than just kissing, Nath,” Deasy continued, sounding frustrated. “My worst fear has come true. With things like this, what can you do? It’s going to be difficult to pull Veronica back to your side, Seaniel.”
Deasy muttered repeatedly. Her feelings were all over the place right now.
Meanwhile, Sean remained silent. He gazed straight ahead with an expression that was difficult to decipher. It was unclear if he felt resigned or if he was contemplating something he might still be able to do after this.