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Kissing Kenan in front of his mother.
Renatha, the woman was silent for a few seconds as Kenan's lips were kissed by her son who she thought was a jerk. Likewise Kenan, the man was silent for a few seconds when his lips were briefly kissed.
Once the distance was back between them, Kenan exclaimed, "Don't kiss me!"
One corner of Renatha's lips lifted-after Kenan responded to Austin's kiss with dislike. A lopsided smile played on her peach—colored lipstick—polished lips. As expected-Austin always took the starting line first, not Kenan. However, she didn't know that Kenan maintained his image only in front of Renatha. Because in fact, Kenan was the one who teased Austin first.
Austin only showed apathy for what he had just done. He took back the cup of sake to sip deliciously.
Replying to Kenan's question, Austin said, "Why would I do that? Because we do it all the time." A meaningful smile spread across his face. Also, his eyes occasionally glanced at his mother who was looking at him with a sneering look.
"Kenan, why would you want to get close to a jerk like him?" Renatha's eyes moved, glancing at the man in question.
While the so-called jerk squinted his eyes in displeasure.
This time, Kenan didn't know what to answer. He wanted to be honest, but he couldn't. Even if it was behind Austin's back. For a long time, Kenan was silent, his throat feeling so dry as his brain was forced to search for answers from within.
Sighing softly, the woman said, "It's okay if you don't want to answer."
"Why would such a thing be questioned again? Isn't it obvious that Kenan loves me," Austin said confidently.
Kenan just looked down at what he heard from Austin's mouth. Did he love that man? Did his heart forgive him? Although, he still wouldn't stop his original intention.
Staring at Austin, Renatha finally emphasized. "You can't keep being selfish like this. You want to destroy your household."
"My household, my marriage, whatever it is is my business," Austin looked back at his mother, "I can take care of everything myself."
"By continuing to play behind your wife's back?" Renatha scoffed.
"She already knows ..." Austin said in a lower voice than before.
Suddenly, Renatha's eyes flashed. She had not expected Helena, the wife of her son to know about her husband's affair. She couldn't help but wonder, did Helena just let Austin behave behind her back?
Renatha didn't know much about her daughter-in-law. Renatha only came face to face a few times while exchanging a few words with Helena. That was when the two accidentally met in Paris during a fashion show in the city that is also nicknamed the city of fashion.
Dumbfounded, the woman said, "How could you do that to Helena?" Her tone of voice rose several octaves. She didn't mean to defend Helena, nor did she want to blame Kenan for being the third person in the Austin household. Still, she couldn't tolerate what her son had done.
Austin looked away. Can't answer, huh?
"Austin, you've gone too far!" His mother yelled, "You really ... asshol—"
"Ma!" Kenan cut in.
Renatha's curse was stuck in her throat as Kenan grasped her hand; to win her anger. The woman took a deep breath to calm down.
However, Austin, who had gotten carried away, exclaimed, "What am I really? Tell me!"
"AUSTIN, DON'T YELL AT YOUR MOTHER!
Kenan's shout silenced the man instantly. It was replaced by a triumphant smile from the mother. A lopsided smile, accompanied by a scornful snort was heard faintly by the woman when Austin was surprised-Kenan not only shouted at him, but also glared at him.
Patience Kenan, patience, he muttered to himself.
Silence stifled the urge to speak out. Both mother and son were silent. Turning to Austin, Kenan saw the man bowed in silence. His Adam's apple trembled slightly. It seemed that talking about his marriage problems had made Austin a bit depressed.
"Austin," Kenan called out.
He looked at him closely, but Kenan immediately turned to look at his mother. "Mrs—I mean, Mama ..." Kenan was quick to correct as soon as he saw Renatha's displeasure at being called ma'am.
And Austin wasn't surprised, when Kenan called his mother 'mama' she didn't mind either, even though he didn't call her 'mama'.
Kenan's lips trembled slightly as he began to open his voice again, "Can... can you guys just make peace?" His eyes moved alternately to look at the mother and son who were also staring at him.
"No!" Both answered in unison. They looked at each other, only to look away again.
Turning to Austin, Kenan looked at him with a pleading look in his eyes, but not from his tone. "Why did you say no, without considering it first? You'll definitely need your mama's help. Maybe one day."
Really, Austin didn't understand the meaning of Kenan's words just now. The frown on his forehead was faintly created though it did not show an expression of confusion. Staring at Kenan, Renatha tried to guess what the sentence 'someday' meant which was lower in tone than the previous sentence.
The moment their gazes met, both mother and son showed a rather awkward gesture. Kenan understood the gesture, gradually, the sides of the corners of his lips were slightly pulled up to form a faint smile. Well, at least in this meeting. He could slightly patch up the rift in this mother and son relationship. Although Kenan admitted, if he also added to the cracks in the Austin household.
The soft ringing of the cell phone got Austin's attention. The man reached into his pocket for his cell phone. There was an unreadable look on his face, as he stared at the phone screen. not wanting the caller to wait long, Austin then stood towards the door to answer the call.
"How was it?" asked Austin. His voice sounded faint to Kenan who was pouring sake back into the cup.
"There's no doubt that the cause of the brake failure in Monsieur's car was due to a faulty piston and a damaged brake hose."
Kenan's fingers on the glass sake bottle slightly cracked as his sense of hearing caught the man's explanation from the phone. And Renatha was not blind, that she could not catch the movement. She eyes blinked briefly, looking at Kenan intently. The man's expression remained calm. Implying a question mark in the woman's mind.
Exactly two days ago, she heard that Monsieur Serge-her ex-husband had an accident. Renatha didn't care about that, but after hearing what the cause of the accident was, it raised a little curiosity in her.
"If the damage was intentional, make sure you get the culprit." Austin ordered. Then he closed his cell phone and sat back down in his original position.
"Want some more sake?" offered Kenan. Austin quickly nodded and offered his cup again.
"You're not drinking?" asked Austin, since Kenan had only poured sake for Austin and Renatha.
Kenan shook his head and looked at Austin's mother. She replied, "I forbid it." She took another sip of her drink. Kenan was amazed by Renatha's tolerance for alcohol. So was Austin, although in the end the man was still drunk but not heavily.
After the three were about to part ways, Kenan invited Renatha to hang out again. The woman seemed reluctant to say 'yes' because she knew that Kenan would also invite Austin. So, she just nodded, before entering the car and having the door closed by her bodyguard. After the woman left, in front of the Japanese restaurant Kenan told Austin to go to the restroom to fulfill his urination.
Austin just nodded before Kenan left, while he waited in front of the car located in front of the restaurant.
Not long after, a car stopped right next to Austin's car. From inside, out came a tall man wearing a black jacket and jeans. The pair of eyes hidden behind sunglasses glanced at Austin before walking away, without showing any gesture of looking at him.
*
"Kenan!"
A low voice tinkled in Kenan's ear, as he came out of the men's restroom. Kenan turned his head and found a woman figure smiling sweetly at him.
Acting apathetic as if he didn't recognize her, Kenan took another step, before Freya exclaimed, "Give up, Kenan! Helena already knows what your plan is."
Hearing that, Kenan glared where he stood, staring at Freya with an overlapping expression.
*
In the parking lot. Austin Keano looked at his watch several times. It had been more than five minutes since Kenan had gone to the restroom. However, the man had not returned.
Keep waiting, or catch up. Austin paced beside his car for about a minute while clutching his car keys. Until the next three seconds, he mindlessly followed Kenan into the restroom.
"There's only one week left, can you get that much money from him? You wouldn't ask him directly, would you?"
"I'm not," Kenan replied, his eyes looking coldly at Freya then continued, "How many times do I have to tell you, get out of my life!" Kenan emphasized every word.
Freya was speechless. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva to wet her dry throat. It was as if she had just traveled through a desert.
The restroom was now deserted. There was no one but Kenan and Freya. When the faint sound of footsteps tapping on the floor approached. Freya swiftly pulled Kenan into the toilet and begged him not to rebel when he rounded his eyes. The owner of the footsteps was standing right where Kenan stood. His eyes gazed around the toilet and opened each flap with his left hand, while his right hand. Holding a pistol hidden under the leather jacket he was wearing.
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