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"This may sound vulgar and taboo, but Vino's best friend told me that he can't get along with women. He's cold and has no passion for them. In fact..." Broto sighed heavily. "He can't even kiss a woman. He's very different from me."
Vira looked at her reflection in the mirror with a flat expression.
"I hope you'll be patient with him as his wife. It will take time and a long process. That's why... I can't leave everything to Vino. He's still not ready."
He can't even kiss someone! He can't even kiss a woman! He even—sentences like that kept ringing in Vira's head.
She ruffled her hair in frustration.
The conversation she had with Broto since this morning on campus kept replaying in her mind.
"How could he not be able to kiss a woman? He's kissed me several times!" Vira hissed with irritation, pointing at her lips, slowly groping them.
She could still vividly remember how her husband kissed her lips with such warmth and passion.
She arched her eyebrows, confused! Who should she believe now?
"Or... is Vino just pretending to be passionate in front of me so I won't underestimate him?" She spoke to herself.
Once again, Vira looked at her reflection in the room mirror. She sighed heavily before finally dropping onto the edge of the bed.
"Huh! I want to help him, but what if I get pregnant?" Vira's face looked worried. "Tsk, I'm not ready," she murmured resignedly.
"I came to campus to get an education, but I can't stop thinking about Vino. Why does it have to be his family campus? Why did Mr. Broto have to tell me all this? He made me feel bad for Vino."
She muttered to herself, "And why does my room feel so hot?!"
The more she got angry, the more sultry she felt. She took off her trousers, leaving only her underwear and a T-shirt.
She threw her bra down and lay back on the bed.
"Childhood trauma... exactly what happened to him in the past?" Vira kept thinking about Vino all night.
The first day on campus was spent listening to a discourse from Broto.
Thinking about Broto's story made it impossible for Vira to get Vino out of her head. She kept thinking about the man all night until she finally fell asleep.
***
The busy sounds in the kitchen made Vira frown. The sound of breaking objects startled her awake.
Crash!
Vira jumped out of bed. She pulled the door open and ran toward the sound of falling objects.
Out there.
Vino saw his wife running toward him, grimacing in pain.
"What happened? Are you okay?" asked Vira, surprised. She could see the shards of glass on the floor.
"I accidentally dropped a glass," Vino said, his face tense.
"Are you hurt? Why didn't you call me?! Call me when you need something! Don't do anything alone. Geez, your hand is injured!" Vira panicked when she saw Vino's finger bleeding. She grabbed his arm, urging him to sit in a chair.
"You sit there, don't go anywhere. Geez!" Vira looked at the broken glass. She tied her messy hair up before starting to clean up the shards on the floor. "You stay there! What if there are more shards and they stab your leg!" she ordered.
Vino nodded with a tense face, looking away as his wife bent down right in front of him.
He tried to avoid her direction, but his eyes couldn't lie. The pink underwear still caught his eye.
Vino shook his head, closed his eyes, and turned in the opposite direction, his face flushed with heat.
"I'll get you the medicine box. You wait here!" After cleaning the shards, Vira asked her husband to stay still in the chair. She jogged until her knee hit the corner of the small table, which was part of the room's décor. She returned with the medicine box in her hand.
"Let me see if it's badly injured!" Vira reached out for her husband's finger.
Vino nodded slowly, not daring to look at his wife's face, which seemed to panic.
"What do you want to drink? You can call me anytime, I already told you that. Say anything and I'll help you. You don't need to be ashamed."
Vira pulled a chair, sitting in front of Vino. She wiped the wound on his finger with cotton before applying antiseptic solution and bandaging the cut.
"Even though I'm a girl, not all women are weak. I'm used to working in the kitchen and doing housework. You don't need to hesitate to ask me for help. After all, you've done me a favor," she said.
Vino gave a small nod once again. He didn't seem to have any words to say.
How could he speak when the girl in front of him was so caring, so gentle, and chatty? But that wasn't the real problem!
The issue was that Vino was speechless because he saw his wife's smooth thighs. Vira's behavior was making him go crazy!
He tried to calm down and restrain himself, but as a man, he still couldn't bear to look at the sexy curves of his wife's body, those cute lacy underwear.
Vino shook his head.
Was she teasing me on purpose? Like the cheap women who have been approaching me? His mind began to jump to random conclusions.
He was used to bad and flirtatious girls, but with his wife! This was the first time Vino felt so hot, his head seemed to explode just from seeing the woman in front of him sitting so casually.
"Done!" Vira showed him the finger she had bandaged, looking satisfied and happy. "Now, let me make breakfast for you. What do you want?" she asked.
Vino lowered his head as Vira stretched her arms and got out of her chair. "Ah, I had a hard time sleeping last night, so I woke up late. Would you like coffee and toast?"
Seeing her husband's lowered face made Vira surprised.
She bowed slightly, searching for Vino's face. "Hey, are you sick? Your face is so red!" she asked in a hushed voice, raising her hand to check his forehead.
Gasp!
Vino grabbed Vira's arm, slowly lifting his head so that their faces almost met.
Vira froze. She didn't understand her husband's attitude, especially his flushed face.
"Are you teasing me on purpose?" Vino asked in a hoarse voice, his gaze so sharp it made Vira's chest flutter.
"Why are you teasing me so calmly? Are you testing me right now?"
Hearing Vino's strange question made Vira frown.
She gave a bitter smile. "I don't understand," she answered in a low voice.
Vino looked at her face once more, his breath heavy.
Vira's face looked so confused as she wondered in her heart.
"When it's like this, what should I tell you?" Vino asked, a strange look on his face. His dark eyes held so much passion.
"What are you saying?" Vira asked, surprised.
Vino didn't answer, but his grip on her thigh spoke louder than words.
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