Minutes later, the food was ready. Leila set the tray on the table, her smile, big and bright as she marched to the study to get her husband. She met him on a call. His voice was so low she barely heard a word he said. She leaned on the doorframe, a small smile on her face as she watched him massage his forehead. Even when disturbed, he looked cute. They might get along.
The call ended and he turned to her. Leila smiled, ready to speak but he cut her off. “What do you want?”Wow. His words were like ice poured over her, she took a subconscious step out of the study. Her hand curved in the direction of the dining.“Dinner is ready.” She tried and failed to smile but his reaction hurt her. Here she was, trying to be a good wife and he was being rude. “I came to tell you that.”She was a few steps out of the study when he called her. “Leila.” She stopped but didn’t turn. If he would be rude to her, she didn’t want to be around him. “Sorry for raising my voice.”Hiding a smile, she nodded and went ahead to the dining. Minutes later, Kelvin joined her. They sat opposite each other, she dished the food and they ate quietly. She tried to start a conversation a few times but the words dried up each time she looked at him.She couldn’t tell what mood he was in. “Leila,” Kelvin started. Her head jerked up, she squeezed her lips as he tried to form a statement. “Back there, the...” His short, brown hair fell over his forehead, she fisted her hand under the table to stop herself from pushing it out of the way. “The call riled me up. I didn’t mean to be rude.” Warmth spread through her chest and a smile lifted her lips. “Sorry.”“Want to talk about it?” She shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth. Kelvin observed her. It felt like he was staring at her for hours but in truth, only seconds had passed. He shook his head and she couldn’t help the disappointment that flickered through her. “Okay.”After dinner, he offered to do the dishes. She couldn’t protest, her arms were tired and she was still in her work clothes. They carried the plates to the kitchen, she sat on the stool while Kelvin gawked at the sink filled with dirty plates and the pot she used for cooking.Turning on the sink, water ran down the plates and Leila brows furrowed when Kelvin didn’t reach for the sponge and the bottle of dish washer by the window. Her mouth hung open when he rinsed a plate under the sink without washing it.What was he doing?“Have you ever done the dishes?” She had to ask.His reply didn’t come immediately, he held the plate he just rinsed mid-air, then dropped it back. “No.”Leila almost fell over the counter in shock. She jumped to her feet and covered the gap.“How come?”Kelvin shrugged. “There was always someone to do it.” At her blatant stare, he added, “My roommate took care of the kitchen while I took care of the finances.” She hummed in response. “It worked for us.”He was too defensive and it made her wary.Cooking and doing the dishes were among the basic things anyone should know. Kelvin stepped to the side as she squirted liquid wash into the sink and filled it with water. She stirred the water until it foamed. Without thinking, she bopped his nose, covering the tip with lather. Their eyes met for an awkward moment, she lowered her hand and muttered an apology.“I’ll take over from here,” he said as she was about to start. “Do you still feel dizzy?” She answered in the negative, he eyed her for a long second. “It’s time for you to rest. I’ll handle this.”Leila needed rest more than anything but she couldn’t leave him here alone. She knew she was right not to leave when a plate slipped through his palms to the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces. They exchanged another awkward glance, he crouched to pick the shards and she screamed.“Stop,” she yelled. He looked up. “I’ll get a broom.”She refused his help in sweeping up his mess. For all she knew, he might have no idea how to use a broom.When the floor was clean, she moved over to the sink but he stopped her. “Please, let me do it.” He pried the plate from her, ran the sponge over it the way she did the first time. “Like this, yeah?”She nodded. How could a man look so sexy washing plates? Her cheeks heated when he caught her staring, she looked away but her grin widened when she noted the smile he tried to fight off. Leila wanted to know him better than this, to have normal conversation.They would have to get a dishwater but she didn’t think it necessary for a family of two.“Leilani. Do you know what the name means?” Kelvin rinsed off the last batch of plates and dried his hands on the napkin while waiting for her reply. She hadn’t put much thought into the meaning of her name. Thinking about the name meant remembering them and she didn’t want to remember. “Child of royalty. Heavenly flower.” She didn’t know that. “Which one are you?”Arranging the plates into the top shelf, Leila replied, “None.”The atmosphere shifted, she felt him retreat into his shell at her cold response but she didn’t apologise. He set the towel on the counter and led her to the table.“We need to talk.”Leila’s heart jumped to her throat. Masking her fear of the unknown, she nodded. Kelvin’s gaze swept over her and she hid her hands under the table. For once, she didn’t want to know what he was thinking. Her mind slowed as she replayed the events of today. She had done nothing wrong.“Today at the office...” Kelvin started.“I get it,” she interrupted. “We should remain a secret.” Her cheeks burned when she remembered how he acted towards her and she shrugged. Too bad she wouldn’t be able to exchange husband tales with Freya. “I understand. I can do that.”After four rigorous years at Tech Valley, she didn’t want her success to be attributed to him. Most importantly, she didn’t want him to go out of his way to please her. Only real couples did that and their marriage was one of convenience.Kelvin smirked at her discomfort. “I was about to say… I didn’t mean to make you nervous.” Oh. She stared at her feet, embarrassed by her forwardness. “I didn’t say anything about us because we ha
Leila rose to her feet slowly. Her husband had not moved an inch, he was staring at her like he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t joined him on the bed yet. They might be getting along now but she wasn’t ready to be intimate with him.He was still a stranger to her, a familiar stranger.Her heart beat faster, she found it difficult to breathe as she dragged one foot in front of the other. Kelvin’s phone rang before she reached the bed, they stared at each other and she sent him a soft, pleading smile to leave the room.Furrowing his brows, her husband shot out of the bed. “I have to take this,” he said. “One second.”The words to reply to him failed her, he gave her a curt nod and her chest deflated with relief once he stepped out of the room. After one last look at the door to be sure he wouldn’t be back soon, she hurried to the wardrobe to get her pyjamas.A polka dot long-sleeved pyjamas. Scowling at her nightwear, Leila questioned her fashion choices. The pyjamas made her look li
“Yes. But I need to go get ready.” Leilani rushed to the door of the bathroom, then stopped. Her eyes closed, she took a deep breath. “I need to make breakfast first.”She felt a presence behind her and her spine stiffened. He was so close to her she could smell his cologne. She didn’t turn, she couldn’t. Her body was reacting to his presence in ways that were unfamiliar to her. She held onto the door frame for support when he placed a hand on her shoulder. She had to get a grip.“Don’t worry about breakfast. I made something.” She cocked her head a little to get a glimpse of him. He made what? Kelvin nodded and her heart clenched in fear and surprise. “I’ll wait for you so we can eat together.”A smile broke out on her lips, she hopped into the bathroom without a reply to him. As soon as the door closed, she leaned on it and placed a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating so fast, so hard. Her husband was making her feel things, things she didn’t want to feel.Laughter from outside
Leila was almost done with her toast when Kelvin’s phone pinged. “The driver is here,” he told her.Kelvin stared at the new Samsung phone on the table for a minute or two, then slipped it into his breast pocket. The short conversation they had about the phone already told him she wouldn't accept it. She was still as dogged.She finished the rest of her food in silence and he watched, doing his best to cover up the discomfort brought by her presence. She was pretty. The kind of pretty that you appreciated better after a second look with a tiny birthmark on her jaw he wanted to kiss. He didn’t expect her to agree so easily to his proposal. He had been prepared to use other means to entice her but he was glad he didn’t have to go that far.“All done.” Leila’s voice broke him out of his trance.Kelvin looked up and the table had been cleared. In his opinion, his beautiful wife stressed too much but that was a conversation he wasn’t willing to have with her.“Let’s go.”“Together?” she sq
So far so good, Leila thought until her husband’s hand slipped into hers. She almost dropped her hand bag. For a split second, she had no idea what to do. He squeezed her hand and something warm exploded in her chest.She was near her floor when he released her. The elevator pinged when she arrived at her floor. Lily stepped out before her and Leila delayed getting out. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do or say to him and they weren’t alone. In the end, she walked out without saying anything to him.If the Uber driver had not taken a different route that made them stuck in traffic, she would not have met him here. Who was the lady with him anyway? She was pretty. Too pretty and Leila wasn’t sure if to be jealous.“He’s not so bad,” Lily was saying to her as they turned into the corner of her office. “And he’s sexy.”“Yeah,” she answered because she was required to say something.The office was calmer than yesterday, only now, Susie was at her table. Susie looked up at the sound of
Leila gulped. She had not done anything wrong.Had she? Was he mad at her for not sending him a thank you note for the flowers? But she didn’t ask for it. Leila arranged her files and shut down her laptop. Her steps were slow as she meandered to the elevator.Lunch just ended and she didn’t get a chance to eat. Her stomach reminded her of her negligence and she winced. The door opened but there was no one out front. Leila was about to dial Kelvin when she saw Amara. The lady stopped in front of her. No smiles.“Hi,” Leila murmured after a few seconds of awkwardness. She didn’t know if to ask this lady about her husband. What would she state as the reason? Finally, she said, “Can I help you?”Amara chuckled. “Yes, you can.” Leila offered her a tight smile. With Leila’s short heels, she towered over the woman by a few inches. Turning her back on Leila, she said, “Follow me.”Leila hurried to catch up to her. The woman talked and walked as fast as she spoke. “The boss wants to see you ri
The car stopped a few metres from the office complex. They had been silent since they entered the car. Leila looked at her husband for an explanation.“You don’t want people to see us together, right?” Her head automatically bobbed. “You can get off here and walk the remaining distance to avoid any suspicions.”Leila couldn’t consider it a distance because it was less than five minutes on foot but she appreciated his thinking. They shared another glance, he wasn’t smiling but he wasn’t frowning so she did the unthinkable. She kissed him on his cheek.“Thanks, Kev.”Her husband was stupefied. She giggled. That was payback for his morning kiss. Her grin widened when she noted Amara’s small smile. Leila didn’t let it bother her. Kelvin already assured her so she had nothing to worry about.She skipped the remaining distance to the office and her smile fell once she glimpsed the time. Five minutes more until her presentation. She rushed into her office to pick her things but Lily blocked
Kelvin met Leila cooking. There were two things he didn’t like about this. First, she was still in her office clothes. Second, if leaning on the counter was a sign, then his wife was exhausted. He didn’t want her stressing over food when he had cooks on his payroll.After a change of clothes, he went to the kitchen with the intention of helping out but an aroma stopped him in his tracks. Leila was stirring something in the pot so she hadn’t noticed him. Kelvin clutched his stomach, doubling over as a spell of dizziness hit him.The door creaked as he clung to it to steady himself. His stomach churned and bile jumped to his throat. One of the reasons he hired cooks was because of his body’s reaction to some foods. A smell could set him off and it was exactly what was happening to him.He needed to get out of this kitchen and he needed to do it now. The sound of his flip-flops finally alerted Leila, Kelvin dry heaved but she didn’t glance his way.“Hey,” she said without looking at him.