As planned, tonight Darwin truly redeemed his promise to Veronica to have a good time, to relieve their longing. After doing what they desired, lying down and cuddling, Darwin engaged in a conversation with Veronica before deciding to rest.
“I love you, Ve. I just don’t want us to be separated in the future.”
Veronica looked up, gazing at Darwin’s face, then cupped her husband’s cheeks before planting a deep kiss on his lips. Veronica seemed to savor Darwin’s lips gently, and after breaking the kiss, she responded to Darwin’s earlier statement.
“I love you too, Win. If not, how could I repeatedly beg Papa to stop his plan of testing you?”
Darwin smiled. He gently caressed Veronica’s cheeks alternately with his hand.
“But no matter how many tests they put me through, I managed to convince Papa Darius that I deserve to be your partner, right? Besides, I was determined to win you back no matter what.”
Veronica nodded. Seeing Darwin’s determination over the past few weeks, she felt proud of him. Moreover, Veronica knew that Darwin had repeatedly pleaded with her father to give him another chance to be with her.
“Luckily, you managed to do what Papa instructed. What if you had failed? We might have been forced to separate for real. I might even have been married to another man.”
“With Sean, you mean?” Darwin teased. Although Veronica hadn’t mentioned or discussed that man in their conversation, Darwin still enjoyed mentioning Veronica’s ex-boyfriend.
“Of course not just Sean. Do you think there’s only one man in the world? Do you think I’m not desirable to other men?” Veronica protested, her face displaying an intentionally annoyed expression. Her lips even pouted, as if she were sulking.
Darwin smiled. He drew her closer, responding to what his wife had just said.
“There are many men in the world, Ve. However, the one who left a lasting impression in your heart, and whom you truly know inside and out, is only Sean, right?”
Veronica nodded. She didn’t refute what Darwin had said. Initially, Sean had held a special place in her heart. But as time passed, the space she had reserved for Sean had shrunk. Now, that place was occupied by another man, Darwin.
“Yes, I admit that Sean is special. But, once again, he’s in the past. Even after marrying you, I have no interest in having an affair with him, even though I’ve had plenty of opportunities.”
Darwin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Veronica’s words. Instead of being moved by her statement, he mockingly gazed at her. Soon, he protested to his wife.
“But the problem is, I often see you with Sean at every opportunity. When I complain, you just brush it off. Yet, I’m genuinely jealous.”
Veronica raised her head slightly, looking deep into his eyes, and then gently caressed Darwin’s cheeks. She felt a bit amused hearing that her husband had been jealous of their interactions with Sean all this time.
“Oh, so every time you complained when I worked on projects with Sean, it meant you were jealous?”
Darwin reflexively nodded. “Of course. You can be really sneaky. If I so much as talk to Vivian, you don’t want me near her for any reason. But when it’s you-”
“I only get close to Sean when we’re working on office tasks, my dear. Outside of that, have you ever seen me being friendly or spending time with him?”
This time, Darwin shook his head. Upon reflection, Veronica had never engaged in discussions or meetings with Sean outside of work.
“No, you’re right. You haven’t.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Outside of office work, I even intentionally kept my distance from Sean. Not like you, who broke your promise not to meet Vivian, even though you did so because of bad luck and thinking there was an emergency,” Veronica said, reminding him of his recent breach of their agreement.
Darwin grinned. Once again, he was being reminded of his mistake. It was true; yesterday, he had been too foolish and impulsive to break the agreement.
Seeing Veronica pouting again, Darwin drew her close. He softly kissed the top of her head while trying to reassure her.
“I no longer have any relationship with Vivian, my love. In my heart now, there’s only you, and there will always be just you.”
“You’re such a smooth talker,” Veronica said, with a mocking expression on her face.
“I’m serious. From the beginning of our agreement, I never broke my promise to meet Vivian, even though I wanted to. Yesterday, it was just bad luck and my assumption of an emergency that made me break the promise. But I swear to God, I have no connection with Vivian anymore. Since touching you completely, I’ve promised and resolved to remain faithful to you until death.”
Veronica was touched. She leaned in closer and, without any words, kissed Darwin passionately. It seemed that she was now fully convinced that her husband had truly changed and was serious about what he said.
“I hope we won’t be separated again after this. May our marriage last until death do us part,” Veronica whispered softly after breaking the kiss.
“I offer the same prayer, my love,” Darwin replied confidently. Then, after hugging Veronica for a while, Darwin suddenly got up from their bed. He looked at Veronica with an anxious yet curious expression.
“But, by the way, speaking of Vivian, on the last day before she left for Singapore, she said something that has been bothering me to this day,” he revealed.
Veronica also sat up, tying her loose hair, and cast an investigative glance at him.
“What did Vivian say? Did she say she still loves you? Or does she want to get back together with you? Is that it?”
Darwin shook his head.
“No, dear. It wasn’t that.”
“Then what?”
“She said that recently, there’s been a man who has been approaching her repeatedly.”
Veronica’s forehead furrowed. She was becoming increasingly curious about what her husband wanted to tell her.
“And then?”
“So, this man asked Vivian to work with him to separate the two of us. He even offered her a substantial payment if she agreed to the offer. And just so you know, I initially suspected that it might have been your father or Sean’s doing. But when I sent her pictures of those two, she said it wasn’t them who met her.” Darwin then looked at Veronica intently. He spoke with a tone full of questions. “Is it possible that this is Sean’s doing after all? But he had someone else do it to avoid being caught?”
Veronica remained silent. Whether she was pondering or guessing, Darwin couldn’t be sure. What was certain was that he could see the change in her facial expression from relaxed to serious.
“Why are you so sure it was Sean?” she asked.
“Well, because he still loves you, right? There’s a possibility that your ex-boyfriend has been looking for the right time to separate us from the beginning.”
Veronica then smiled faintly. She reached for Darwin’s wrist and gently held it. While her eyes locked onto Darwin’s, she spoke seriously.
“Sean would never do something like that, Win.”
“You never really know what’s in someone’s heart, Ve. Maybe he’s been secretly plotting all this time.”
“But it wasn’t Sean who did it,” Veronica confidently argued.
“Why are you so sure it wasn’t Sean? Is it because he’s your ex-boyfriend?”
Veronica shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she provided an explanation for her unwavering belief.
“Because…”
“Because why?” Darwin pursued, curious.
“Because the person who met with Vivian was my emissary.”
Darwin was instantly stunned. What Veronica had just said left him in shock and temporarily speechless. He even tried to convince himself that what he had heard couldn’t be true.