At the breakfast table:
Kamou quietly looked down at the food placed in front of her. A strange silence filled up the atmosphere which made it difficult for her to swallow her food. Though she wasn't looking at Juho, she sensed all his movements, his eyes looking at her from time to time. After what happened yesterday, she wasn't sure how to face him. Maybe it was the guilt of hiding the truth from him.
"Why are you not eating?" her head jolted up. She looked at Juho's face and immediately looked down again.
"I... I..."
"The food is not going to automatically end up in your mouth if you keep staring at it. Here." Juho said holding out the spoon.
Kamou let him feed her this one spoon. While chewing her food, her eyes started to get moist. Trying to hide it she looked down. 'Why is he still treating me like this? Why isn't he asking me anything? He should be angry, disappointed maybe, then why? It's like nothing happened.'
"David won't bother you anymore, if that's what you are wondering. I have taken care of him." Juho interrupted her thoughts.
"I wasn't thinking about him."
"Then what else is on your mind?"
"Why?" Kamou slowly whispered.
"Hmm..."
"Why are you doing this? Why are you so calm as if nothing happened? You really don't have anything, anything to ask me?" Kamou said tightly clenching her fingers, holding onto the fabric of her dress. The agitation made her tears flow more openly.
Juho's eyes softly looked at her, her head hand low. He knew she was trying her best to hide her tears. It was difficult for him too, but he needed to be cautious.
"Do I need to? Will you tell me everything if I just ask you?" Juho said politely. Kamou was unaware that he knew, he knew everything.
Kamou nodded her head, her vision blurred due to the tears. Juho got up from his seat and walked close to her. He gently lifted her face, holding her chin.
"You don't need to hide anything from me, your tears, your past, your insecurities. The day I fell in love, I accepted you completely. Things like this don't matter. I can handle everything, even the worst if you are here, right next to me. You really need to trust me." Kamou eyes widened a little listening to the words coming out of his mouth.
"Now, regarding asking questions, I fell in love with a strong woman. I respect your choices. Even though they may disappoint me at times, I would never force you. There might be something lacking in our relationship that you decided to deal with it alone. I am ready to work on it, so that you feel comfortable in sharing your problems with me."
"No... Juho that's not it. Please." Kamou pleaded holding his hand. "It's my fault, the problem is with me. I didn't want to tell you anything, I thought I would be able to handle it on my own. I never imagined things could get messed up."
"Then why didn't you tell me? I just want this one answer. What was the reason?" His voice was low, filled with regret.
Fear clouded Kamou's mind. The thing she feared most might happen, this could lead to something major. Though he wouldn't admit it, the incident impacted their relationship gravely. How long will they be able to make it work, will it end soon?
"Because I didn't want you to think less of me and walk out of my life. I knew there was a possibility that you would understand but I didn't want to that chance. I got selfish, I wanted to hold onto you as long as possible." She said holding his hands. She was scared he would walk away if she let go.
"I messed it up. The thing I feared the most might just happen. Are you going to leave me now? It's not your fault if you do so, I mean..."
"Honey..." Juho said wiping away the tears from her face. "You really need to work on how you view our relationship. Our bond is not that weak to shatter just like that. How many times do I have to say this for you to believe? I am not going anywhere."
Kamau eyes sparkled with relief. It was evident on her face as her features relaxed a bit. She hugged him tightly. "I am sorry, I was so scared."
"You really love me that much?" Juho asked holding her in his arms. "The thought of losing me, were you really afraid?"
"Of course, I do. I know I don't tell you enough but I love you. A mere thought of you not being in my life, it breaks me, it's so unbearable."
Juho heard everything she said, he analyzed every word she uttered. She may blame it all on herself, but he knew he was not that perfect. He failed to make her feel secure. He can't let his woman live in such mental despair. He needed to do something about it.
*****************************
Sometime in the evening the doorbell rang. Kamou was resting in her room, therefore Juho had to answer. He opened the apartment door to find a woman standing.
"Where the hell is she?" Impatient the woman said.
Juho looked at her confused. It was his first time seeing her. "Do I know you?"
"Move." She ordered, while making her way into the apartment. Juho was left on the door dumbfolded.
"Hey. Where are you going?" He said following the woman.
"To see Kamou. Do you have problem with that?" The woman teased.
"Who are you? I can't let anybody meet her just like that." Juho snapped.
"Really. Who am I? You'll know that soon." The woman said opening Kamou's bedroom door.
The woman saw Kamou sitting in her bed, her eyes closed. Kamou was awake, she was just relaxing a bit. She opened her eyes hearing the door open.
"You... Why didn't you return my calls? You know how worried I was." The woman said rushing to her side.
"Gina..." Kamou smiled at her, hugging her best friend.
While the two friends hugged each other merrily, Juho stood at the door stunned. 'So, this is Gina. Kamou, really? When was the last time you were this happy to see me.'