The black sedan sped through the deserted city streets at night. Inside the dim cabin, the smooth hum of the engine accompanied the silence that had settled between them—until Drew broke it with a probing remark.
“It’s been a long time since you saw your classmate, but you still remember him,” Drew said, stealing a glance at his wife from the passenger seat.
Alea turned toward him with a faint smile. “Hm... Because I remember that back when there was a spot-the-difference contest, this Joni guy had a really sharp eye, and he won.”
Hearing Joni’s name mentioned again, Drew’s thoughts instinctively jumped back to Alea’s dusty diary, which he had found the other day. Could Joni... be the guy Alea had meant in that diary? Drew wondered to himself.
Hah. An irritated snort escaped Drew’s nose before he could stop it, and the annoyed expression on his face left Alea confused.
“What’s wrong, Drew?” Alea asked, puzzled.
“Nothing... I’m fine,” Drew replied quickly, clearing his throat awkwardly as he turned his gaze toward the window. He steadied his breathing for a moment before looking back at his wife. “We’re going back to Mom’s house tomorrow.”
The next day, inside the flower shop filled with the fragrant scent of fresh roses, Alea was busy arranging cut flower stems in a large vase. Suddenly, her phone rang loudly on the cashier’s counter.
Alea answered the call. “Hello, Alea Flower Shop. How can I help you?”
“My birthday is in a few days,” said an arrogant voice on the other end without any small talk. “I want to order flowers for the decorations. Since we’re friends, I want to help grow your business.”
Alea fell silent for a moment, immediately recognizing the voice. Before she could refuse, Ishara pressed on. “I want you to handle everything yourself. This Friday.”
Alea let out a long breath, holding back the irritation in her chest. “Sorry, Ishara. Our shop requires reservations a week in advance. And Friday is already fully booked.”
“I’ll pay ten times the usual price, so you can hire more employees to do it,” Ishara replied casually.
After taking another long breath, Alea finally nodded reluctantly for the sake of professionalism. “Since you’re being so generous, I can’t say no. I’ll find extra workers to handle your decorations.”
“Okay. I hope the result won’t be disappointing,” Ishara said before abruptly hanging up.
Alea gripped her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. You’re digging your own grave, Lea, she thought bitterly.
She immediately gathered all her employees in the middle of the shop. “Guys, we’ve got a big order for Friday!” she announced firmly.
Alea went over every requirement, from contacting suppliers for imported flowers and searching social media for luxurious decoration designs to asking her friends to work as additional freelancers. She worked with meticulous care and a strong sense of responsibility.
By the time night fell and the shop’s operating hours ended, a text message from her husband arrived on her phone: I’m waiting outside.
Alea immediately stopped what she was doing, grabbed her handbag, and hurried out of the shop.
Up on the second floor, several employees who were still cleaning up the last of the work looked curious as they peered through the window. Outside, Drew stood casually leaning against the body of his luxury car.
A warm smile immediately spread across his lips when he saw Alea running toward him. He quickly opened the car door for his wife, motioned for her to get in, and then drove off into the night.
Upstairs, the employees immediately erupted into excited gossip. “Wow... So that’s our boss’s husband! He’s so cool, right? I heard he’s a CEO and the sole heir? He looks so classy in that suit, and look at his build... Come on, let’s dig for more dirt on Boss Lady in the office WhatsApp group!”
As the car glided smoothly down the road, Alea’s phone suddenly chimed with a string of notifications from the office group chat. Alea checked her screen, unaware that Drew was glancing over and reading the messages too.
“Are they gossiping about me?” Drew asked calmly.
Alea nearly jumped out of her skin, never expecting her husband to read through the employees’ WhatsApp group chat along with her. “N-No... It’s nothing. They just wanted to know, that’s all...”
Drew glanced at his wife with one eyebrow raised. “Just tell them everything they said is true. I’m a CEO, tall, handsome, and I have a six-pack.”
Jhosep, his personal driver behind the wheel, immediately coughed to hold back his laughter when he heard his boss openly teasing his wife.
“Don’t make things up...” Alea protested, her cheeks flushed.
“Want proof? Now, or when we get home?” Drew whispered in a low, teasing voice.
Jhosep instantly focused even harder on the road ahead, doing his best not to hear anything more.
Not long afterward, the luxury car arrived at the grounds of Grandma and Mom’s lavish residence. As soon as they entered the family room, they found Grandma, Mom, and Dad sitting together and chatting casually.
“Mom, Grandma, we’re home,” Alea greeted them politely.
The entire family turned toward them, casting meaningful looks in Alea’s direction. Finally, Dad shifted his sharp gaze to his son. “Come with me for a minute, Drew. We need to talk in my study.”
Meanwhile, Alea awkwardly walked over and sat beside Grandma.
“Sweetheart, forgive us if Drew is sometimes too rough with you,” Mom said gently, her voice full of empathy.
Grandma joined in as she rubbed Alea’s back. “Yes, sweetheart. Men sometimes just can’t control themselves.”
“Next time Drew goes too far, just tell us,” Mom continued, her tone joking but firm. “We’ll teach that naughty boy a lesson.”
Alea immediately blushed, finally realizing that the older adults had been glancing at her collar-covered neck. “Yes, Mom, Grandma... thank you,” Alea squeaked.
In Dad’s study, the atmosphere was slightly tense. “I heard you two are trying to have a baby?” Dad got straight to the point.
Drew nodded. “Yes, Dad.”
“I know you’re trying very hard. But you have to remember that a wife’s feelings must also be respected and protected. Give her enough time to rest.”
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry, Dad,” Drew replied sincerely.
“Don’t take advantage of her condition whenever you please,” Dad added sternly.
Drew let out a resigned sigh. “I understand, Dad.”
That night, in the master bedroom where they were staying, Drew and Alea sat side by side on the warm carpet. In front of them, an album of Drew’s childhood photos lay open on a low table.
“You deliberately brought me back to Mom’s house so you could show me this photo album, didn’t you?” Alea asked, glancing at her husband.
Drew gave her a crooked smile. “What do you think?”
Alea smiled too, touched that Drew had truly kept his promise. They turned the pages one by one, finding pictures of a young Drew who already looked adorable and handsome. Every now and then, soft laughter escaped their lips as they talked about all sorts of lighthearted things from the past.
Warmly, Alea thought to herself: I wasn’t part of any of the moments in these childhood photos, but now... I feel so much closer to him.
However, when they turned to the pages from his teenage years, Alea’s hand suddenly froze. Her eyes locked onto a medium-sized photograph.
In the picture, four teenagers stood close together: Kevin, Drew, Ishara, and Julian. Yet standing just behind them was a schoolgirl in uniform, slightly blurred—a background figure who shouldn’t have ended up in the camera’s frame. It was her.
Alea swallowed, her heart pounding softly. So... this is the real form of that childhood sweethearts’ group, Alea thought painfully. And I... really was nothing more than a passive observer from afar, all those years ago and even now....