Today, Andromeda is exactly one month old. Well in advance, Veronica and Darwin had both made plans. They intended to host a small celebration to formally introduce their son to the extended family and a few close business colleagues.
“Are you sure you want to organize and oversee everything yourself?” Darwin asked when he saw Veronica bustling around, checking every detail of the preparations for the afternoon event.
“Yes, dear. I want everything to be just the way I want it, so I need to double-check everything myself,” Veronica replied.
Darwin sighed softly. He knew Veronica had been having trouble sleeping lately. Every night, his wife seemed restless, often waking up in the middle of the night even though Andromeda wasn’t crying or asking for milk. That’s why Darwin thought it would be best if she rested as much as possible instead of getting busy like she was now.
“We could hire an event organizer as usual. Otherwise, you might end up exhausted,” Darwin suggested, concerned.
“Come on, it’s just for today, Win. I won’t be this busy every day. I promise I won’t get too tired. Plus, I’m just supervising people who are working. I won’t be getting directly involved and making things more complicated. So, you don’t need to worry,” Veronica reassured Darwin, trying to convince him to let her continue with her plans.
“Alright then. Just make sure to rest if you get tired. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to call my assistant.”
While Veronica supervised the workers busy setting up the room, Darwin was tasked with taking care of Andromeda for the day. Fortunately, he wasn’t alone. Kennedy was there along with Randy to keep him company. They had come to deliver some boxes of cakes that Luna had specially prepared for the guests.
“Thank you so much, Ken. Please convey my thanks to Luna. Thanks for going through the trouble of making these cakes. I’m sure she made them herself, right?” Darwin said.
Kennedy nodded. Luna, who enjoyed cooking and was skilled at making various cakes, often gave her homemade cakes as gifts to friends and family instead of buying them for convenience.
“Don’t worry, Win. We know Luna and her baking hobby,” Kennedy replied while sipping the coffee served to her. “By the way, the event starts this afternoon, right?” Kennedy confirmed.
“Yes, Ken,” Darwin nodded. “It’s from 3 PM to 6 PM. I didn’t invite many people, just close family, friends, and business associates I consider important and have known for a long time.”
“It looks like my mom will be coming too. She just arrived from Singapore last night,” Kennedy mentioned.
“Great, I hope our entire extended family gathers this evening.”
Then, not long after, Darwin turned to Randy. Since he arrived, Randy had been surprisingly quiet. Usually, there was something he’d talk about or complain about when they gathered like this.
“What’s up, Ran? Feeling unwell?” Darwin asked curiously.
Randy glanced up as if he couldn’t be bothered to talk much.
“No, not feeling unwell. I’m just not in the mood to talk much.”
“That’s unusual,” Darwin wondered. He even intentionally placed his palm on Randy’s forehead. “No fever, though. Why are you so quiet? Did something happen?”
Kennedy laughed. Since Randy wasn’t responding, she decided to provide an answer to Darwin’s question.
“Why is Randy so quiet? Well, he’s dealing with his wife’s problems.”
“Huh? Problems?”
Hearing Kennedy’s earlier statement, Darwin immediately furrowed his brow. He even double-checked what his cousin had just said.
“Yes, Win,” Randy replied after a moment of silence. “I thought that marrying a much younger woman, with an age gap of more than a decade, would make it easy for me to control and steer her the way I want. But I was completely wrong,” he confessed.
“Completely wrong about what? Can’t you tell the story properly?” Darwin complained, a bit annoyed. He was curious, and Randy seemed to be intentionally dragging out his explanation.
“Honestly, I’m getting a massive headache dealing with Ghea every day. She’s incredibly smart, and I can’t manipulate her at all,” Randy honestly admitted.
Instead of being touched, sympathetic, or feeling sorry, Darwin burst into laughter. He even gave Randy a mocking look, considering Randy’s current condition quite pitiful.
“Well, that’s good. It means a player like you finally met his match,” Darwin responded while still laughing.
Randy sighed deeply. He wanted to protest Darwin’s mockery, but it felt pointless.
“Just imagine, both of you,” Randy continued to share. He even adjusted his sitting position to focus on what had been occupying his mind. “You both know I’ve easily changed partners frequently in the past. Everyone knows I’m good-looking, and many are interested.”
Upon hearing that statement from Randy, Darwin immediately made a disgusted face. Randy and Kennedy were known to be quite full of themselves.
“I feel like among the three of us, I’m the most handsome,” Darwin quipped intentionally.
“Whatever, man,” Randy replied lazily. He wanted to tell his story without interruptions. “But I’m sure there are plenty of women who want to be with me. And strangely, out of all the women who’ve acknowledged my good looks, it seems that Ghea is the only one who doesn’t seem interested at all in the charm I have.”
“Maybe your love charm isn’t strong enough for her. And in my opinion, out of all the women on Earth, it seems like Ghea is the only sane one. That’s why she’s not interested in a crocodile like you,” Darwin joked without any remorse. He had shown no sympathy for Randy, who was clearly frustrated.
While Randy had been the subject of Darwin’s mockery all along, he finally got irritated. Rising from his seat, he urged Kennedy to leave Darwin’s house.
“Ken, let’s just go back. I can’t stand it here anymore. Darwin’s no fun!”
Darwin laughed heartily. Instead of regretting his actions, he became even more enthusiastic about annoying his cousin.
“Fine, go ahead. I never asked you to visit my house anyway.”
“Damn it!” Randy muttered in frustration.
“In that case, I’ll take my leave, Darwin. I’ll be back this evening with Luna and the others,” Kennedy said, taking Luna’s instructions into account, as she had been asked not to stay for too long.
Randy did the same, bidding farewell before leaving Darwin’s residence.
“Remember to come back. And don’t forget to bring your wife this evening,” Darwin reminded his cousin once again.
“I’ll definitely come, but I can’t promise if Ghea will join or not. Hopefully, she’ll be willing to cooperate later,” Randy replied before bidding farewell along with Kennedy.
Exactly at three o’clock in the afternoon, one by one, the invited guests started arriving. Darwin and Veronica, who had been prepared and on standby, directed the guests to enjoy all the food that had been prepared.
As expected, the entire extended family was present, just as they had hoped. Randy was the only one missing so far.
“Ken, isn’t Randy here yet?” Darwin asked when he realized that his rival hadn’t shown up at the event.
Kennedy, who had arrived 30 minutes earlier, shook her head. She had been looking around, but she hadn’t seen Randy at the event either.
“Randy didn’t contact me to come together either. But earlier, he promised to come, right?”
Darwin nodded. And exactly five minutes later, the person they had been looking for and waiting for finally arrived. And to their surprise, Randy managed to bring his wife to the celebration today. This was certainly an achievement to be proud of.
“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Darwin greeted Randy when he saw him standing in front of him.
Randy just smiled. Ghea, his wife, was standing right next to him.
“There’s no way I wouldn’t come. I promised, after all.”
Darwin then turned his attention to Ghea, intending to engage her in conversation.
“Ghea, how are you? Thanks for coming to the event today.”
Ghea, the girl in question, responded with a friendly smile. She nodded and answered Darwin’s question.
“I’m good, Kak Darwin. You’re welcome. Sorry for only being able to join now.”
Darwin understood. As a senior college student, he knew Ghea probably had a hectic schedule at the campus. That’s why she had been absent from several family gatherings.
Meanwhile, Veronica, who was touring the area and had spotted Randy’s arrival, approached them. She wasn’t there to reprimand Randy but instead invited Ghea to join her.
“Ghea, instead of standing around with the guys here, how about you come with me? We’ll go see Luna inside.”
Without much thought, Ghea immediately agreed. She thought it would be better to accept Veronica’s offer to join the others rather than standing next to Randy continuously.
“Sure, Kak. I’ll go with you,” she said confidently.
Before leaving, Ghea shifted her gaze to Randy. She intended to ask for his permission to leave and join the event’s host to enter the main room.
“Uncle Randy, I’ll go with Kak Veronica inside, okay? If Uncle Randy is satisfied with eating and wants to leave later, you can-”
“Hey! Don’t casually call me ‘Uncle’ at an event like this. Actually, is this uncle of yours or your husband? Besides, when did I ever get married to your aunt?” Darwin protested.
“Then, if not ‘Uncle,’ what do you want to be called? Big Brother?”
“I’m not a meatball seller!” Randy retorted immediately, making Ghea and others burst into laughter.
Ignoring Randy’s complaint about the term “Uncle,” Ghea was pulled by Veronica to go inside and join Luna. Meanwhile, Darwin continued to mingle with the guests, welcoming them and engaging in conversations with some of them.