A Piece of Paper

"Then, I'll go first, Baby."

Alexa smiled as Dominic rewarded her with a kiss on the forehead before leaving for work. They have returned reluctantly from the island after spending three days on this exotic island.

Dominic wanted to spend more time with Alexa on the peaceful island. However, the head manager of the company suddenly called in the middle of the night and said that there was a problem that had to be handled directly by Dominic at the company.

The head manager of Dominic's company is not a fool who would disturb his boss's vacation for trivial reasons. Like it or not, they immediately packed up the next day. Dominic immediately changed clothes as soon as they got home at noon. The man asked Jasper to immediately prepare the car, while Flora took the initiative to help Rika store their belongings during the holiday back into the house.

Alexa waved her hand as Dominic's car started to drive away from the large yard of their house. Alexa took a deep breath. Dominic hadn't even had time to eat lunch with her. Sometimes, Alexa asks herself. Why is Dominic still working so hard when he already has it all?

"Madam, lunch is ready. Mr. Dominic told me to make sure you eat and rest immediately afterward."

Alexa turned to Rika, who had just approached her from behind. Alexa nodded weakly. She should at least be able to make Dominic less worried about her now if she couldn't help her husband with anything. Alexa followed Rika into the house, towards the dining room, where the other servants had already prepared the lunch menu.

Lunch felt bland when Alexa's thoughts continued to focus on Dominic. Alexa kept worrying that Dominic would fall ill because three days on the island didn't mean Dominic had enough rest. They have sex every night, and they always spend their afternoons trying out the various entertainment provided on the island.

Alexa, who didn't move much, felt her body ache and weak when she finally arrived home. Now, how is Dominic, who still has to wake up every night to have long conversations with his subordinates?

Alexa asked Dominic not to treat her with such attention every day. But Dominic insisted. The man always thought that Alexa was angry with him whenever she brought up the topic.

Seeing Dominic's guilty expression every time the man realized that Alexa felt uncomfortable with his treatment made Alexa finally close her mouth and let the man do whatever he wanted. Even though Alexa knows her husband has extraordinary stamina, Alexa is afraid that not getting enough sleep every day will still have a bad effect on him.

"Rika, you... are you okay?" Alexa asked curiously. Rika, who was always behind her when eating, approached before politely answering Alexa's question.

"I'm fine, Madam. Is there anything you want from me?" Rika asked. Alexa was silent. Her hand played with her fork as she asked once more.

"Aren't you tired at all? You know, even I, who kept idle a lot while I was there, feel tired right now. But as soon as I got home, I had to go straight back to work. I was just wondering, how come you guys are acting like your usual selves after such a long trip? Are you really okay?" Alexa asked worriedly. Rika, who heard the long explanation, smiled faintly before approaching one step behind Alexa.

"Are you worried about Mr. Dominic?"

Rika's guess succeeded in making Alexa speechless. Of course, she was worried. Dominic couldn't rest just to cheer her up by taking her to the island. But, Alexa can't do anything to help Dominic now. Moreover, she doesn't remember having any skills or intelligence that could help Dominic in her work, something that sometimes makes her annoyed with herself.

So, in the end, she could only always worry without being able to help her husband in any way.

She's... a very useless wife, isn't she?

"Mr Dominic will be fine. He's used to it."

Rika's sudden words brought Alexa back to her senses. Alexa turned to Rika, who was still standing straight behind her without changing her expression in the slightest.

"To be honest, in the past, Mr. Dominic was a man who prioritized work without caring about his own body. Mr. Dominic even didn't sleep at all for several days when you were in a coma. Mr. Dominic would only rest when we asked him to. Mr. Dominic is the type of man who will continue to work until his anxiety completely disappears, Madam," Rika explained. His face remained calm as he continued his sentence.

"However, since you woke up, Mr. Dominic has started to calm down again and is sleeping regularly again. Mr. Dominic has even started to rearrange his food menu and daily exercise schedule. That alone proves that your presence has had a big influence on Mr. Dominic's life."

Rika exhaled a long breath when Alexa still didn't seem to understand the meaning of what she was saying. For the first time, the girl was willing to sit in the chair next to Alexa. Her eyes stared deeply at Alexa as if she could read all of Alexa's hidden emotions with that gaze.

"So, don't feel that you are no longer useful to Mr. Dominic, Madam. You are everything to Mr. Dominic. I have proven it directly all this time," she concluded. Alexa's cheeks flushed when she heard Rika's explanation. Her hand stopped playing with the fork in her hand. Alexa breathed a sigh of relief before smiling slightly at Rika.

"Thank you. You can always read my emotions, right?" joked Alexa. Rika just smiled a little in response before getting up again and standing behind Alexa as usual.

"Just sit next to me like before, Rika. Even though I was happy for you to sit next to me, you must be tired every time I eat, having to stand behind me. Look. This table is too big if I'm the only one sitting here," Alexa said. Rika shook her head in response. The girl didn't move from where she was standing after hearing Alexa's persuasion.

"It wouldn't be ethical if I were at the same table while you were enjoying your meal. I'm just a servant, while you are the other owner of this residence," explained Rika, while Alexa's brow furrowed at those words.

"But Dominic considers you a child, right? Don't consider yourself a servant, Rika. You're still too young to devote yourself like this," said Alexa, trying to give advice. Alexa gave in when Rika remained silent and didn't flinch at her words. Alexa focused again on finishing her food quickly before wiping her mouth and getting up from her seat.

"I want to rest, Rika. Climbing the stairs to the top is very tiring. I'll just sleep in my old room this afternoon," said Alexa. Rika nodded in understanding. She took Alexa to the front of her room before stopping right in front of Alexa's room door on the first floor.

"Have a good rest, Madam," she said briefly. Alexa nodded, then closed the door to her room. Alexa sighed tiredly. Her feet stepped slowly into the bathroom before the sound of shower water could be faintly heard from outside the bathroom.

With a puff of steam on her body, Alexa came out of the bathroom not long after. She only wore a bathrobe when sitting in front of the ornate mirror she had in the room.

"Ah, I forgot. Rika seems to keep my moisturizer and toner upstairs. Ugh, I'm too lazy to go out again," she monologued, annoyed. However, when she remembered that Dominic always kept skincare reserves in her dressing table drawer, Alexa started trying to open the drawers and prove the truth of her memory.

As a caring husband, Dominic never forgets to buy Alexa lots of skincare that the woman can use every day. Alexa smiled a little when Dominic still kept several skincare sets in one of the drawers. However, Alexa raised her eyebrows in surprise when she realized that the toner she had just taken had run out and filled with a crumpled piece of paper inside.

The toner bottle is thick and cannot be seen from the outside, making it impossible to see what paper is inside the bottle. Alexa tried to open the toner bottle with her hand. Her brows furrowed even more as she, with great difficulty, finally managed to pick up the crumpled paper.

+43 0023 5673

Alexa became even more confused when she saw that there were only a series of strange numbers on the crumpled paper. The series of numbers looks like a telephone number, but Alexa feels unfamiliar with that number.

But apart from Alexa, no one has ever touched her items. Rika and the other maid only went into her room to change the bed sheets and take her dirty clothes to wash. The only one who could keep the paper was herself, and that probably happened when she got the brain injury that Dominic talked about.

Alexa knew there were several days that she simply forgot about after she woke up from her fainting spell at that time. Alexa probably didn't mind the incident too much before. However, the paper in her hand seemed to tell Alexa that something important had just happened during the day that Alexa had forgotten about.

"Ugh."

Alexa's head throbbed with pain as she tried to retrieve her memories of that day. Alexa tried to calm herself down before taking her cell phone to press the numbers on the paper and find out the truth directly.

Her mind was anxious as she listened to the operator's voice indicating her call was connected to another party. Alexa was nervous when she knew that this call might be the answer to a question that had been rooted in her mind. About herself, which Dominic may have never said before.

[... Who's this?]

Alexa's heart seemed to jump when someone actually answered her call. Her lips were stiff for a moment before Alexa finally tried to talk to the wary-voiced man she was talking to now in a nervous tone that the woman couldn't hide.

"He-hello... Um... I'm Alexa, Alexa Rutterford, Sir," said Alexa finally.