Chapter Twenty Five: First Day

Sean drove her to the condo unit after taking her out for dinner.

“Did I live here all by myself?” Thera asked him as they walked past the hallway.

“You used to live alone,” he answered.

Finally, they reached their destination. They stopped right in front of the door of Thera's unit. Sean pressed the buttons and input her unit's passcode.

101515 registered on a small screen. Thera turned to face him.

“How did you know about the passcode?” she asked him the moment they heard the click of the lock, indicating that the numbers he encoded were accurate.

“We’re using the same passcodes,” Sean told her. He then yanked the lever handle and pushed the door open. “It’s late. Take some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” was all he said before turning on his heels and heading towards the elevator.

The elevator chimed, and it slid open. Thera saw how Sean followed the man with his gaze when he stepped out of the lift. She waved him goodbye, but he ignored her. Thera smiled at the guy from the lift when he walked past her. If only she didn't look away, she could have seen the grin painted on the man's lips.

She was expecting Sean to take the lift, but he was still standing there, staring at her. Afterward, he walked back to her, making her even more confused.

Sean was gazing at the man in the lift who's now entering his door unit. Once he got in, Sean turned to face her.

“D-did you forget something?”

Could it possibly be a kiss? Will he ask for a goodnight kiss from her? That being so, will she give it to him right away, or will she hold back and try to be a traditional maiden for now?

“Consider tonight as our first night as husband and wife, Thera,”

Astonished, her hand clutched her chest, feeling like a fool. What if Sean wanted more than just a kiss? Will she give in to him?

SEVERAL moments had already passed since Thera finished taking a shower. She had gotten dressed as well, but she could not find her courage to go out of the bathroom. She drew a heavy sigh countless times and was trying to gather her spirit to face Sean, who was waiting out for her. She was still trying to get herself collected.

She had already checked her unit early on, particularly the double-sized bed placed in the middle of the room. Sean changed the sheets himself before she went to the bathroom. She could not help but question herself about the size of the bed. If Sean lay down next to her, it would look like a single bed.

She used to offer him to sleep beside her nonchalantly, but now she couldn't get any more anxious.

She closed her eyes and tried to shrug her thoughts away. "You're turning thirty, Thera, not seventeen. Why are you acting like a teenager right now?"

For the nth time, she took a deep breath. Perhaps, she was just overthinking. Sean might even sleep on the couch rather than sleep in a bed right next to her. She tried to console herself and pull the door open afterward. Slowly, she stepped out of the room. Alas! He was already there, sitting comfortably on the left side of the bed. Scrolling his phone in hand. She tried to calm herself.

“Why are you—?”

He raised his face to look at her. “It is one of your conditions, isn't it? You wanted me to sleep next to you,” he reminded her casually.

She tried to open her mouth to say something but decided to shut it right away.

“You looked like someone who doubts one's self-control, Thera,” an amused smile formed Sean's lips.

There were times before that she imagined how he would look like when he smiles. She thought his smile could make every woman’s heart race. She was as much disappointed, realizing she was right all along. In fact, she wanted to clutch her chest right now. It was beating like crazy.

“I'll just take the couch—” before she could finish what she was about to say, Sean held her hand firmly.

She gasped in surprise when he pulled her close. Another swift move from him, she found herself next to him, with her head settled on his arms. She squeezed her eyes shut when Sean turned around and wrapped his arms around her petite body.

“Look at me, Thera,”

Jesus. She felt like her rib cage was about to tear apart, feeling the chaotic motions inside her chest. She doubted she could survive this. Feeling uncertain, she flipped to her side to face him. She gulped hard. Sean was looking at her intently. She felt like she was about to melt any moment on.

When Sean snaked his arms around her, she exhaled nervously.

“We should’ve done this a long time ago, Thera,” he whispered.

Goosebumps were spreading all over Thera's arms.

His breath smelled like mint and vanilla dancing in her nostrils. She froze when Sean pulled her much closer. She blinked when he lifted his free hand, brushing a few strands of her hair covering her face and tucked them behind her ear.

“You have no idea how much I’ve dreamed about this moment,”

Thera bit her tongue, trying to suppress her surging emotions. Dreamed. Was he fantasizing about her? She could not contain her feelings hearing his confession.

She bit her lip. Had Sean forgotten something? However, she didn't know how to bring it up to him. She didn't want to break the spell right away.

“Ah…” she immediately swallowed the lump in her throat and gave him a sheepish smile. “Sean, I hate to break it to you, but as much as I wanted to do this with you right now, sadly, I can't," she chuckled nervously, trying to cover up the awkwardness around them. "I'm on my period right now. I'm sorry,”

Sean's hand was left hanging in the air, staring directly at her. His forehead creased, feeling frustrated before letting out an amused fit of chuckles.

Thera gazed at him with confused eyes. His laughter sounded like a melody in her ears, but she could not find the reason why he was giggling right now. Did he think she was joking around?

“Right. I know,” Sean smiled, exposing his perfect set of teeth. “I think I just saw the opened pack of sanitary pads in the closet earlier today,”

She stared at him. He knew. But he still attempted to—

She couldn't help but sneer.

“Cute,” he commented, squeezing her cheek. A wide smile was still forming on his lips. “I’m not thinking of making love with you right now, Thera. Just sharing a bed with you tonight with snuggles is enough to make my day special. In the meantime,”

That took her by surprise. She felt her cheeks start to blush.

Sean tightened his grip; his arms snaked around her hips. He huddled closer before kissing her forehead.

“That was meant for your lips. But since it's your first day, I need to control myself for now. Thank you for telling me…” he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes glistening in amusement. “…that you wanted to do it with me as much as I did,”

Thera woke up with Sean's arms wrapped around her. Her back was facing him, but she could feel his tight embrace. The temperature in her room was cold, but surprisingly, she was feeling warm. She moved her head a little to glance at the clock on the side table. Quarter to eight. Slowly, she flipped around to face Sean, who was still deep in his sleep.

Savor the moment. Yumi's voice popped up in her head. And that's what she was going to do at the moment. She would like to watch him while he's asleep. Thera held her breath for a moment when Sean moved slightly. Thankfully, his eyes were still closed.

She studied his handsome features as carefully as she could. Her eyes focused on his thick brows and his rich, long lashes down to his pointed nose and sharp jawlines with a bit of a stubble. She was at the point of bringing her hand to his face to trace his sultry lips when he opened his mouth.

“Stop staring, Thera. Your eyes will hurt,”

A smile formed her lips. Whether her eyes hurt or not, it doesn't matter. She'd instead memorize every feature of Sean's perfect face than—

Her eyes widened, realizing that the man beside her was talking. She was about to release from the hug when Sean pulled her even closer. Blinking his eyes open, he smiled, and his eyes drifted to her lips. Much to her surprise, he leaned his head closer, their lips almost half an inch apart. Just when their lips met, the door burst open, revealing two figures of a man and a woman. She freaked out and pushed Sean away from her. However, she fell down from the bed instead.

She stood straight right away, carrying a blanket they shared with last night. “W-were not... we didn't... It is, it is not w-what you think it is,” she stuttered, finding the right words to say. Her eyes shifted from the two then back to Sean. “We're not doing anything wrong,”

Sean's idle gaze was fixed upon her. It seemed like he had no plans to give explanations. She bit her lips sheepishly, realizing that. Awkwardly, she spun around and faced the newcomers. “Y-you guys believed me, right?”

There was a mischievous smile forming the woman's lips. “You're fine, madam. You may both continue doing something steamy. We'll be back later,”

They stormed out of the room, leaving Thera's mouth hanging open. She turned to face Sean, who was sitting nonchalantly on the bed.

“She’s Laida. The other one is your driver,” he told her as soon as he saw the confusion in her eyes.

“T-they believed me, didn't they?”

Sean shook his head, amused to see the red flush creeping across her face.

“I STILL find it hard to believe that you and Sir Sean were actually. . .”

Thera turned her gaze to her nosy assistant, who was still talking about what she saw earlier that morning. “You’ve gotten the wrong idea,” she told her, feeling so awkward.

“But madam, it is not something to feel shy about. What you guys did was totally normal. He's your husband, and on top of that, I can see pure love when—”

“Laida…” she protested, her eyes pleading for another subject to instead talk about.

She felt a flash of relief when Laida shut her mouth. She focused on the show they were watching on TV. After lunch that day, Sean asked for her permission to get a few important things from his condo unit in Alabang. She also knew he'd head directly to the office and get back to her before dinner. He asked Laida and her driver Ringgo to stay with her until he got back from the office.

“Yumi told me that you no longer want to ask about what happened in the past,"

“Do you know anything about us?”

“It's only between you and Yumi, madam. Granting I know something about it, I'd rather not tell you anything, especially I can see that Yumi was right after all," she told her, heaving out a sigh. "You looked happier and better now. Just give yourself some time to enjoy things. Once your memory is back, let your heart decide what works best for you. Would you forgive each other or continue hating him? It's all up to you,”

When Yumi told her that it would hurt them, she knew she had to stop herself from digging more into her past. Fear took her over. What if her memories suddenly crash back to her? Afraid of what could happen once she finds out how deep the wound was, she chose to shut her ears to it.

Seeing Sean so afraid to roll the dice was really something. Yumi and Laida could attest to it. She wanted her memories back. If not, she wanted to know as to why her memories were still wiped out. That was her reason, but now, she just wanted to bury her memories deep into the ground and get rid of them forever. She couldn't feel any happier having Sean in her life now. It felt like it was the happiest moment she ever had in her lifetime.

“Have you already made up your mind about coming back to the office before the anniversary party?”

“I have told Sean that I'll show up during the party. I felt like all the population in the company hated me that much, Laida.”

“Well, if he's going to fire anyone he'd hear making a monkey out of you, then, The Palace will run out of staff,”

“Did he fire the two—”

“A memo was sent out to them yesterday. As per big boss's demand.”

Thera's shoulders slouched, feeling guilty. “They've got a point anyway. I let them suffer on purpose. It was rather my fault,”

“I know the mistreatment was uncalled for, but if you ask me, they all deserved it one way or another.”

A bitter smile formed on her lips. “Mistreating someone was an awful thing, to begin with. How come they deserve it? I don't want you to justify my misbehavior just because they hurt the hell out of me before,”

The personal assistant was stunned for a moment. Then, a smile curved on her lips. “Yumi's right. You've changed a lot big time. Worry no more, madam. I'll change for good as well. Lead me the right way,”

Thera burst out laughing. “The kitchen is the right way. Come on. Let's get ready while waiting for Sean,”