Luliyah kept on thinking about how she would apologize to Kelvin for making him eat his dinner late. Their last argument in the car made Kelvin angry with her. Kelvin asked for something that Luliyah could possibly not do, but she understood that Kelvin was only thinking about her kindness. The man was innocent; it was the circumstances that made it impossible.
It seems she has to apologize to Kelvin, so that the atmosphere between them won't be awkward.
Even though they didn't love each other, they were now bound by a marriage that would last a lifetime. They would live together for a long time. Even though there was no love between them, they still had to adapt to each other way of life.
She must apologize to Kelvin.
Luliyah entered the dining room and saw nobody even though different kinds of foods had been served on the table. Kelvin didn't wait for her at the table as usual. At other side of the room, the man was facing the window and looking at the calm lake. The man stood with his back facing her, but Luliyah could feel Kelvin's mood was better than before.
The anger the man felt before has subsided.
She walked over to him, making sure that she made a sound to indicate her presence. She didn't want Kelvin to be surprised by her sudden arrival because the man couldn't see. However, even without the need to do that, Kelvin was actually aware of Luliyah's arrival. He could see the figure of the the woman approaching him and her reflection was seen from the transparent glass window.
Kelvin saw that the woman had already changed her clothes and was wearing a home dress. Her long hair was packed up with a pin that made it look neater.
Kelvin really loves her. He loved the sight of woman. He liked to see Luliyah in his house, wearing casual clothes. It made him feel that she was comfortable in their house. All of it made him feel that Luliyah was his.
Even though the woman didn't remember anything about him.
Luliyah stood beside Kelvin. There was this distance between them that Kelvin did not like. Luliyah was standing too far from him. His heart was telling him to take Luliyah into his arms and bury his face in her hair. He could only imagine the fragrance that wafted from Luliyah's body. He wanted to feel her warm body and hear her breath.
"Are you still mad at me?" Luliyah asked in a low voice. Her eyes stared at Kelvin, but the man did not return the gaze. Kelvin looked out of the window while his hands folded behind his back.
The man didn't need to move to show his good looks. Standing still in front of the window, with the dim light coming from the moonlight made Kelvin look very handsome. While standing next to Kelvin, Luliyah's head could only reach the man's shoulders.
"Do you know why I was angry with you?" Kelvin asked. He kept looking straight without looking at the woman beside him. But his voice didn't sound angry.
They stood sided by side, gazing at the lake that was reflecting at the moonlight and totally forgetting the diner served on the table. Silence enveloped them, but this silence was not awkward as before.
The silence between them was peaceful and soothing
"Yes... I know..."Luliyah answered.
Luliyah knew he was angry because he cared about her. Kelvin was angry because he was worried about her. The man always thought about her and helped her. Even though Luliyah was not in love with Kelvin, she was grateful to have someone reliable as him in her life.
Luliyah leaned her head against Kelvin's arm and said, "Thank you..."
Kelvin could feel Luliyah's warmth in his arms and decided not to move. Not because he didn't want to, but because he wanted to give Luliyah the freedom to do whatever she wanted. Kelvin didn't want to suddenly touch or hug her and startle her. He didn't want Luliyah to run away from him.
They were silent in that position for some minutes before Kelvin said, "Dinner?"
"Hmm...Sure" Luliyah spoke up immediately.
"Next week, I'll be going out of town." Kelvin said as they were eating.
"Where are you going?" Luliyah asked while putting food in her mouth.
Now that the awkwardness was no longer there, they chatted as they ate.
"I have some work to do." Kelvin replied.
"For how long?" Luliyah asked again.
"Three days..." He answered, but before Luliyah could ask anything else, he suddenly asked, "Do you want me to stay at home? I can cancel it."
Luliyah's hand stopped eating her food when she heard Kelvin's sudden question, "Ah, no.." She answered while shaking her head. "How could I prevent you from leaving. Your business must be very important."
Kelvin frowned upon hearing that answer. Luliyah didn't try to stop him from leaving. In fact, the woman was delighted to know that he was leaving the house for a few days.
Luliyah felt happy a little because she will be free. But she also felt a guilty because she was happy. Kelvin has always been good to her and he never restricted her from doing anything she wanted to do.
When she saw the man frown, she decided to say something to make him a happy at least, "I'll be waiting for you when you return."
"Hmm..." Just as Luliyah thought, those words made Kelvin feel good. He was happy when he heard Luliyah say she will be waiting for his return. Before this, he had always lived alone. He was only greeted by his servants because they worked for him, not because they were waiting for him to return.
Now, his life has changed. He has a wife at home awaiting his return. As long as Luliyah stayed by his side, he will forever be happy.
After dinner, they returned to their room. Luliyah immediately took a shower because she fell asleep before and didn't have time to clean herself up. She felt her body was itch and uncomfortable.
After she returned from the bathroom, she saw Kelvin lying on the side of the bed. The man's eyes was closed closed, but Luliyah was not sure whether Kelvin was sleeping or not. She often saw Kelvin close his eyes to rest when he wasn't working.
Luliyah got ready to sleep. She walked over to the side of the bed and lay down slowly, trying not to make any noise. She didn't want to disturb Kelvin's rest.
They laid on their side, not touching each other. They both felt comfortable in each other's existence even though they didn't touch touch each other.
She didn't know when she started developing such feelings, especially in her heart.
Did this feeling start because Kelvin was someone she could rely on?
Or did she start falling for him?
Impossible!
There was no way she could love someone else so easily.....
Luliyah closed her eyes, and was slowly drifted to her dreamland.