Chapter 9
The next day at Alex's mansion
It's a beautiful Sunday morning, and Wendy is still laying on the bed tiredly and sleeping like nothing else matters to her, while Alex is having his bath in the bathroom. They planned to go to the beach by 9am and have fun for the whole day, but it doesn't seem like it's going to work now, since Wendy looks so tired.
She tosses on the bed tiredly and yawns before forcing her eyes open to see the blurry figure of her husband standing in front of the mirror. Her lips curve into a smile as she stares at him in admiration.
"Good morning, baby," Alex says with a smile on his face, not sparing her a glance. He knew the moment she woke up but just decided to pretend not to.
"Good morning, my love. When did you wake up?" She asks tiredly as she finally forces herself to sit up on the bed, with her eyes puffy and red. She hasn't had enough sleep in recent days, so when she had the chance to, she couldn't deprive herself of it again.
"5am," He replies casually, finally turning his attention to her as he raises his eyebrow.
"Jeez! Why didn't you wake me up? It's almost 10am already. I thought we planned to go to the beach today," She says tiredly as she hops out of the bed and drags herself into the bathroom.
"I didn't want to bother you, and we can always go to the beach on other weekends. It doesn't have to be today, OK? You should stay at home and get some rest," He says as he watches her walk into the bathroom and slams the door behind her.
"Hell no, Alex. We're going to the beach today," She yells from the bathroom, followed by the sound of water splashing.
"We're already late, honey..."
"I don't care. We must go to the beach today," She yells again from the bathroom, and he nods his head in surrender.
Sitting on the edge of the bed while waiting for her, the sound of his ringing phone suddenly pulls his attention, and he teachers out for it from the bedside table. He stares at the strange number on the screen for a few seconds in confusion, before she finally slides the answer button and holds it to his ear.
"Hey, this is Alex. Who am I speaking with, please?" He says on the phone, waiting patiently for the caller to introduce himself or herself.
"Hey, Alex. It has been a while. Guess who is on the phone," Hearing the feminine voice from the other end, he freezes on the spot and his eyes slowly narrow in shock as he stares into space. His mouth drops open.
"Why are you silent? I guess you know already who you're speaking with. I know you could never forget my voice. That's my new number, you should save it on your phone, OK? I'll call you more often now," The feminine voice chuckles over the phone before the call drops dead.
He blinks his eyes repeatedly to be sure that he's not dreaming, and it doesn't seem like it. What the hell just happened? Slowly, he brings the down from his ear and drops his hand on his lap, still in shock.
"Are you OK?" Wendy's voice snaps him back to reality, and he almost jumps out of his skin in fright.
"Oh, you're here?" He smiles at her nervously, and she slowly nods her head while having a confused look on.
"Are you OK?" She asks for the second time, scrutinizing her with his eyes.
"Of course, I'm fine. You've had your bath already? You're really serious about going to the beach today, babe. Come on, honey. You should get dressed so we won't be late," He says in a rush, changing the topic, but she still doesn't believe him.
She stares at him questioningly for a few seconds, then shrugs and walks over to the closet to select some clothes to wear.
"Is that what you're going to wear to the beach?" He asks nervously, pointing at the black short stoned gown she just dropped on the bed.
"I changed my mind. We're not going to the beach again. We should watch a movie together at the cinema later," She says to him in a dull voice, walking over to the dresser to do her usual routine of adding cream to her skin and getting her makeup done.
Minutes later, she's all ready for the movies.
"I'm ready," She snaps him back to reality again, and he smiles at her creepily. As much as she wants to keep questioning him, knowing that all is not well with him, she decides against it. He would've told her about it when she kept asking if he wanted her to know. There's no need to invade his privacy since he's not ready to share.
"Alright. Let's go," He holds her hand and leads her out of the room as they both head to the parking lot where his car is parked.
Hopping in his car a few minutes later, he drives out of the compound and heads to the cinema.
All through his drive, the thought of the call keep popping up in his head. 'Why did she call me? Why is she calling again after so long of not talking? What does she want from me?' Those are the questions that he keeps asking himself as he drives down the road.
Arriving at the cinema a few minutes later, he parks at the garage and leads her to get the tickets before they proceed in.
All through the movie time, Alex couldn't concentrate, and although Wendy noticed it, she pretended not to.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" He asks with a forced smile on his face as they both walk over to the car, and she just nods her head with a fake smile on her face.
"Are you OK?" He stops her and asks with a worried look on his face.
"Do you need me to take you somewhere else? We still have so much time to spend out... We..."
"I'm fine, Alex. I'm just a little bit sick. I think I need some rest," She lies to him, and his face even becomes paler.
"Do you need to visit the doctor? Do you want me to call the doctor to come and check on you at home? Are you feverish? Are you feeling dizzy?" He asks worriedly, touching her forehead.
"I'm fine, I just need to rest," She replies to him before she finally pulls the car door open and hops in, slamming the door close behind her.
He sighs briefly and throws his head back as he walks over to the driver's seat and hops in. He glances at her before he starts the engine and drives out of the place, while she stares out through the window sadly...