He smiled at Nichole, and she smiled back. To make their visit look like a planned one, Nichole had to pretend by asking Arthur, “You are here? Did you get what you went to buy?”
“No” he gave an absent-minded response and walked to the couch and sat down. Subsequently, Nichole continued with her meal.
“Father, I’m glad that you are here. Kindly stay with Mom. I will be back,” Louis pleaded and moved.
He was confident that his father would grant his request, and walked towards the door without waiting for his opinion.
To his expectation, Arthur replied, “It is all right, Son.”
Now, Nichole stared daggers at him while he adjusted his tie and rested his head on the couch. Meanwhile, she thought it was a coincidence that Arthur was there to look for Louis. Unknown to her, Freya and her husband, snitched on her.
Freya and Phil’s POV
After they got out of a call with Nichole the previous night, Phil called on Arthur to inquire.
“Hello, Phil. It is good to have you on the line,” Arthur responded after he picked up his call
“Hello, Father. I am just checking on you. How is Mom?”
At that point, Phil looked at Freya, who was sitting beside him, and they winked at each other while waiting for his response.
“Your Mom is fine. How are you?”
“We are fine. It’s good to hear that Mom is fine. I wish to find out if you have spoken with Louis.”
“No. I have not gotten through with him.”
Now, Phil and Freya waited anxiously to hear whether he would inform them of his plans to visit Cairo. When he did not say anything about that, they continued with their matchmaking.
This time, Freya spoke, “Oh! Father. I am dying of worry. I thought that by now, you or Mom would have visited him.”
“You are right, Freya. I will think about it.”
Then Phil spoke, “Father, if you have time tomorrow, I can book a flight for you. You can take advantage of the weekend and sort things out with him. It is only a suggestion.”
“Your suggestion is good, Phil. Book a flight for me. Thank you.”
Now, the mischievous couple smirked in success, and Phil went further to inquire, “It is all right, Father. Can I book for you and Mom?”
His response was swift and succinct, “No. Inform me when you book.”
“It is all right, Father. See you later.”
They laughed agreeably after they cut the call, and Freya asked, “So Mom did not inform him that she was traveling?”
Phil looked at his wife before he began to book a flight for his father-in-law quickly.
Likewise, he made clear, “She is probably trying to avoid him.”
“That must be serious. I pray she does not start dating another man.”
Phil shook his head in disagreement and declared, “If that happens, I will kill the man.”
“It won’t even happen. We better not imagine it at all.”
In the end, Phil booked the second flight for the day, which was for 9 AM.
End of The POV
While Nichole sees their meeting as a coincidence, Arthur feels the same way, but to his advantage. To him, it was a fortunate stroke of luck. He had seen his son and the woman he loved was right beside him, looking beautiful. He watched her cheerfully eating her food.
When she looked at him, he looked away and focused on the television, but he was famished. He remembered the days she would call him to ask him to come over for lunch, but he would turn her down. Now, he wished that he would return the hand of the clock.
All the same, he called out, “Nichole.”
He paused and waited for her response but she pretended not to hear him and concentrated on her meal.
Then, he called her again and inquired, “Nichole. How was your trip?”
“As you can see, my trip was safe,” she answered curtly and did not bother to find out about his flight.
To him, it was not an issue, since she responded to his question. He got up, pulled off his jacket, and hung it on the single chair before he joined her on the dining table.
Coincidentally, she was satisfied and had to get off the table, but Arthur felt that she left because of him and felt bad.
‘I must have hurt her so much,’ he thought and began to eat the portion of the food meant for Louis.
Then, Nichole sat on the couch to watch the television and after a while, she slept off. Arthur looked at her beautiful face and lips and imagined himself biting and kissing her. So, he seized the opportunity to take a closer look at her. Her knee-length skirt, which exposed her sexy legs, allowed him to observe her knees and calves. When he could no longer restrain himself from kissing her, he got out of the dining table and walked quietly to her.
He stood in front of her and observed her more closely. Then, he placed his left hand on the headrest of the couch, lowered his head turned her face with his right hand, and forced a deep kiss on her.
Suddenly, she woke up and protested, “What are you doing here? Go away from me.”
She pushed him away and shifted to the other end of the double-seat couch. After he had bodily contact with her, he could not help himself. He wished to continue, but that would mean intimidation, and she may hate him for life.
To avoid that, he quickly explained his action, “I saw a fly trying to perch on your face and I attempted to chase it away. I didn’t know what happened again.”
Then, Nichole gave him a disgusted look and mocked him, “Yes. A fly in a seven-star hotel room.”
She stood up from the couch and adjusted herself, while Arthur watched her. Subsequently, she walked towards the door and he was filled with guilt.
“What are you doing, Nichole?” He demanded.
She ignored him and walked out of the suite. Thereafter, he took a deep breath, walked back to the dining table, and continued with his food. However, it did not appeal to him anymore.
He dropped his cutlery, picked up his phone, and called her line. When she refused to pick, he sent a message, with more of a love tone than official.
(Nichole dear. I deeply apologize if I embarrassed you. Give me a chance and I will make you find true love. Love from Arthur.)
Meanwhile, Nichole walked back to the Exhibition Area to stay with Louis and his team members. She left the suite because she could not guarantee that she had completely purged herself of the love she had for him, especially with the body contact some moments ago.
(Ding)
She got a message alert and stopped to read it. She smiled afterward and said to herself, ‘Could he be genuine?’
“Mom, you are here. What of father?” Louis inquired when she walked into their boot.
“He is eating. I want to stroll around.”
“I see.”
“You can continue with your meeting,” she encouraged her.
“It is all right, Mom.”