Rebecca, almost lost her bearing seeing the pitiful way Talia was calling out for Arthur. She had never seen her wearing her hearts in her sleeves much less seeing her acting in utter despair.
Tears had streamed down her face making her shirt wet, a drop of tear was still hanging from the top of her nose, her pretty eyes had reddened and were filled with desperation.
This was the first time Rebecca had seen her like this... Like a human. She always looked perfect like she was devoid of human emotions. But her heartbroken state only made Rebecca fearful for her.
Is it normal for her to get this tensed? He might be sleeping too deeply. Joe does this sometimes when he is too exhausted. He won't wake up even if a dynamite blows up near his ears...
Plus, he might even be playing a trick on her... She is only calling out for him for only a minute or two now.
Or, if she is worrying this much, did he have an underlying condition that only Talia knows of?
Rebecca wondered if she should call the emergency services but before she picked up her phone, Arthur woke up.
Talia wiped her face in her sleeves and saw Arthur opening his eyes groggily and sighed in relief. He blinked his eyes a couple of times before squinting his eyes to see the figure kneeling in front of him and it took him a moment to realise where he is.
That was oddly a very deep sleep! But was this little thing that worried for me, enough for her to cry?
He held out his hand and wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her close. She tried to struggle out of his grasp but he didn't let her go. His entire body felt weak for him, yet his strength was greater than hers.
How pitiful is she?
"Did I scare my sweet little Iris too much?"
He purposefully spoke in a mocking tone insinuating that he played a trick on her knowing she'd be worried if he says that he felt sick enough to not able to wake up. His head still ached a lot.
"Stop lying!" Talia tried to push him away and her hands felt his chest that was firm like a rock. He always took care of his body. And as far as she knew, he is a light sleeper. He never sleeps this deeply.
'Is he here because he has some incurable illness like in those dramas? An inoperable brain tumor? Or.. Cancer?' she felt a shiver passing through her spine at that thought.
'Is he here as a last wish to see me? Will this be the last time I'll be seeing him? If I send him away, will I be able to see him ever again? ' Talia's mind went through a lot of negative thoughts in his embrace.
Rebecca saw her struggling in his embrace pinching and scratching him like a feral kitten and got more surprised. Talia looked defensive, trying to push him away yet for her, it seemed like she was acting coquettish towards him with the way she was looking at him. That intimacy, affection and care sparkling in her eyes made her look more adorable.
She never was like this with David even! And the e way he calls her 'Iris'... He surely loves her deeply.
Rebecca felt like she never knew her friend well enough till then. Somehow she felt like a third wheel watching them and at the same time she received a call from Joe and walked to the foyer to attend the call.
"Fine... I was lying," Arthur noticed Rebecca leaving and said rubbing Talia's back as he could feel her tensing up. He could sense her fear. He decided to change his tactics. He thought that if he said he was messing with her, she'd get angry and get over it but it seems to be not working.
"Whose fault is that, huh? I'm a guest in your home and you starved me for almost a day! I couldn't sleep well last night since I was hungry and you didn't cook me breakfast either! How am I supposed to be not exhausted? Not to mention I'm still suffering from jetlag...." he complained in a childish way nuzzling his head in the crook on her neck and placed a kiss on her neck that stopped Talia from struggling.
His gesture was so sweet that she forgot about everything else for a moment.
" I'm hungry. Feed me..." he said taking in a deep breath and Talia felt a bit cold in her neck as he inhaled.
"Let go of me then!" she said gritting his teeth but she couldn't control the smile in her lips. For a moment she was deadly scared but now she was so happy and relieved he is fine and by now she had almost forgotten about the big fight they had early in the morning.
'It seems like he did sleep deeply. Ah, Talia! It's been ten years. He could have changed, just like you did!'
She set a plate for him and served him the leftovers from Rebecca's cooking.
"Join me," Arthur asked.
"I already ate," Talia refused.
"Just a little... Here... Say Ah..."
"Bugger off!"
"Come on! Just a bite..."
"I thought you were hungry enough to faint! Will you just shut up and eat?"
"How will I eat if I shut up?"
"I don't know... Just do it!"
"You won't accept a single bite from me...?"
"No!"
"Look... Although these are just... plants, they taste pretty good. "
"No, eat your own food! And that's Tropical Radicchio salad. "
"Fine... Whatever salad. It's rabbit food. But it is tasty... Iris..."
"Noppity nope! Nope!"
"Darling..."
" Dumbo! Don't you understand English? I said no! No means no!"
Rebecca ending the call noticed those two bickering like old married couples and she was happy to see them like this. It is time for Talia to have a good married life too.
"Well Tallie... Joe is waiting for me. I'll get back now" Rebecca said placing her hand on Talia's shoulder and kissing her cheek. She could sense a dark glare on her to see Arthur with a fuming gaze.
Uh?
"Bye. Don't hurt Talia. Or I'd shoot you where the sun don't shine," Rebecca placed another smacking kiss on Talia's cheek, waving the little pistol she had for self-defence in her purse at him while smirking at Arthur.
"Aren't you afraid you might lose our business?" Arthur snorted, "And I'm pretty sure that what you did is illegal!"
"What? This?" Rebecca placed another kiss on Talia's cheek chuckling and placed the pistol back in her purse.
"Your friend waved a gun at me, Iris!" Arthur complained to Talia unable to see that woman freely kissing his wife.
And what's with people around her pointing guns at me? First it was Cyrus and now it is this woman!
"Yeah, like this is the first time someone points a gun at you!" Talia dismissed him, "You should be thanking her for your lunch," Talia took her friend's side.
"What? Her?" Arthur was surprised. These dishes all were pretty good like a Michelin chef would prepare.
"Yeah, Mr. Sinclair!. Thank these awesome hands that made this sumptuous feast with a diamond bracelet! " Rebecca waved her hands and looked at Arthur with her chin up. She wasn't scared they might lose his business. If he wants his wife back, shouldn't he stay with her? Working with her would be the best option to spend time with her. He'd be a fool to lose that chance.
'But... If he succeeds in wooing Talia, will she leave with him?' Rebecca felt a bit sad too.
Arthur looked at Rebecca and he had a string desire to punch her face. This.....woman has the perfectly punchable face.
But she is Iris' friend and she seems to care for her.
"If you thank me properly, I might tell you a juicy little detail about our Talia," Rebecca liked to tease him. If he has the guts to steal her friend, he should at least lose something.
"What?" Arthur got interested and Talia looked at Rebecca suspiciously too. Now what is she doing?
Rebecca stood unmoving waiting for Arthur to compliment her
"Mrs. Rebecca Feldstein, this lunch was nice and I thank you for taking care of my Iris for the past nine years ," he was mad at her but then he did thank her from the bottom of his heart. He was not with Iris, but it was people like her who stayed close to her all this time. He had no qualms thanking Rebecca for that.
Rebecca was angry at first for calling her lunch as just nice but she could feel the sincerity in his eyes and voice when he thanked her. And she was moved a bit... No a lot!
"We took care of each other Mr. Sinclair. It's no big deal," Rebecca said with a genuine smile. She had a feeling that this man will take good care of Talia.
"And you should savour the dessert Mr. Sinclair. Talia put a lot of effort into it," Rebecca added and walked to the foyer to put on her shoes.
"No, I did not!" Talia refused and Arthur looked at the refrigerator expectantly.
"Yes she did! She even added a layer of white chocolate just for you!" Rebecca said while opening the door and shit the door just before a bix of tissues hit the door.
"You still remembered I love white chocolate?" Arthur asked after seizing the dessert before Talia threw it away.
"I did not! There was a bit of white chocolate mousse left and so I filled it in one glass... Who remembered what you liked? In fact give that back to me. I made an extra dessert for myself!" Talia tried to grab it from his hands while he skillfully dodged her and happily ate the dessert his wife prepared for him.
" Uh! Whatever! I'm going to take a bath! "
Talia stomped and locked the bathroom door and Arthur looked at the glass in his hands and smiled. It was the perfect dessert he had ever had in his life. To think there came a day when she cooked for him... He became ecstatic.
'I know you can never forget me, my Iris! I will bring you back with me no matter what.'