"Luana?"

Luana gasped, her heart racing.


"Are you in there?"

It was clearly Rey's voice. The man did not seem to have any intention of going to the office, because since this morning Luana had seen no sign of the nobleman getting ready and putting on his shirt.

Instead of showering and leaving, Rey was lazing around. After waking up without Luana by his side, the man immediately half frantically searched for her whereabouts. Negative thoughts filled his mind, but he could still breathe a sigh of relief when he found Luana in the garden watering the flowers that morning.


Until now, late in the afternoon, Rey was again confused about the whereabouts of Luana, who was no longer visible in his eyes.

"Y-yes," Luana said quietly, at the same time nervous. What should she do with this elongated object? Should she throw it away? Or hide it somewhere Rey can't find it?


Ouch, she have such a headache.

"Did you take a shower?" Rey exclaimed again. The man leaned his head against the door, tapping his earlobe to make sure he could clearly hear Luana's voice.

"No, really." Luana hurriedly stuffed the testpack she was holding into the pocket of her slacks, hoping Rey wouldn't ask anything.

She was not ready, really not ready. She didn't know where to start, because she also still couldn't believe what she had discovered a few minutes ago. This was all too false, and it was adding to Luana's headache.

The woman was deliberately silent, before moving to take a step towards the door. Rey's voice was no longer heard after his last response, so Luana thought he might have already left.

Turning the doorknob and pulling it slowly, Luana gasped slightly as Rey's sturdy body simply greeted her with a bright smile. The man had deliberately waited.

"Want to take a shower?" Rey asked with his back leaning against the wall. Unclear if it was a question or an offer, Luana shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I already took a shower," Luana shook her head as she stepped away.

Keeping her distance from Rey after what happened last night was probably a wise choice, as it was all Luana could do to ensure her heart remained safe. So that she would not hope again, so that she would not try to hold on to what was not hers.

At least, for now.

"I wonder if you want to take another shower." That was the offer. "With me."

Luana's cheeks heated up at Rey's invitation which sounded a little tempting, but she quickly threw him a glare as if she was bothered by it. "No need."

Rey laughed as he followed Luana to the woman's bed. Luana felt uncomfortable, but it couldn't be helped that the nobleman was still following her and had even taken up a position right at the edge of her bed.

The two of them sat side by side.

"Want to have dinner out later?" Rey offered again. "Do you want to eat something?"

Luana glanced briefly at Rey who seemed to be wearing a pleased expression, but then she shook her head faintly. "You'll get allergies later," she said, followed by a small chuckle in the air.

Rey was grateful that he could still see her laughing, and for some reason his heart instantly warmed. He was happy when Luana was happy, he was happy when Luana was happy. It didn't matter that the woman had revealed her true identity, because Rey had already chosen her in the first place.

"It doesn't matter," Rey moved his arms back, making them a support. "I have you to take care of me again."

Luana hung a smile, looking at Rey's handsome face that still looked handsome even though the man had not showered since this morning. He was truly a perfect sculpture from the Almighty Creator, and Luana knew she had to keep that man's face in her heart.

Before they might be separated in time and space, later.

"Sir."

Rey frowned. "My name is Rey, Luana. Rey."

Luana took a breath. "Alright, Rey."

"Hm mh. Why?"

Rey watched carefully as Luana's face turned sad, waiting for what his wife was about to say. It seemed that Luana was going to talk quite seriously this time, because she turned her body to look at Rey freely.

"Look, I have a few questions," Luana said, looking down occasionally. "Do you mind answering?"

"Of course not," Rey replied quickly. Correcting their sitting position, the couple now sat facing each other with one leg bent on the bed. "Ask me anything, I'll answer everything for you."

Luana looked into Rey's bluish irises and found that there was an honesty there that could not be hidden. The man always tried to be honest with her, and Luana couldn't be more grateful than that.

"Since when did you know my status?" shot Luana to the point. Her eyeballs waited anxiously.

Rey seemed to sigh softly, but he was not trying to run away from what he had promised earlier. He would answer everything.

"Since I flew to Leipzig," Rey said with a big smile. "Since I left you alone after that fateful night."

Luana's memory was thrown back to the night she had spent with Rey, the night that had made him almost act beyond the limits of what she could tolerate. Unable to hide her shock, Luana covered her parted lips.

"It's been that long?!" she exclaimed under her breath. "And you pretend you don't know? Why did you do that, Rey?"

Rey moved slowly to pull Luana's drooping hand from his lap and grasped the delicate hand with all his heart and soul.

"I want to take care of you, Luana," Rey replied honestly. His eyeballs rolled, as he continued slowly. "At first it was because I felt I had to take responsibility for what had happened between us. But as time went on, I really wanted to keep you to myself."

Luana's tongue froze, as if frozen. Is it true what this man said? Was it true that he had kept her this far out of love?

"But you know we don't-"

"I know," Rey interrupted quickly. "That's why I'm asking you to trust me, Luana. You promised me that night that you would only trust me. I know you must be thinking all kinds of things because Beatrice is back, but you have to believe that I don't want her anymore. Not one bit."

The situation seemed to be getting more complicated. Because Luana was sure Beatrice wouldn't stay silent. After all, this was her place.

"But you know that's not possible," Luana said, bowing her head. "You know what we'll face, if we keep this up. Besides, I can't face Miss Beatrice."

Luana's throat choked, just as she said the woman's name with her own lips.

"You don't have to worry." Rey lifted their clasped hands to place a small peck on the back of his wife's hand. "All you have to do is get behind me, and I'll put you up. Do you want to do it?"

Luana blinked twice. Her heart was still troubled, especially with what she still had in her pants pocket.

"As much as I want to hold on to everything, so I hope you hold on even if it's not easy, Luana," Rey pleaded in a pleading tone of voice. "Because I need you, because I can't face everything alone. But with you, I can do that."

Luana still pursed her lips tightly. Wondering what kind of response she should give to her husband, who was looking at her with hopeful eyes now. Also full of love.

"Leave everything to me, trust me," Rey repeated reassuringly. "We'll face everything, and I'll make sure no one can touch you but me. No one will be able to judge you, no one will be able to reach you but me. I'll make sure of that, Luana. I promise."

Luana felt her heart almost jump out of her chest, as she was suddenly filled with hope even though it still seemed false. She didn't know if Rey would still be saying things like this or not, if Beatric appeared in front of them one day.

Luana could not even imagine it.

There was a few seconds of silence between the two of them, until Rey realized his cellphone was starting to ring. Pulling the flat object out of his pants pocket, Rey checked the ID on the caller. Holding the phone with his hand in a low position, Rey did not expect that it would allow Luana to glance at the name that was now clearly displayed on the screen.

Beatrice. B-e-a-t-r-i-c-e.

That girl. And this was where they were supposed to end up.

Instead of swiping the screen to pick up the phone, Rey stared at Luana intently. After all this time the number had finally reached him again, but now he had to know that things were no longer the same.

"Pick up," Luana said, trying to hide the sudden awkwardness. "You need to talk to her."

Not wasting any more time, Luana simply got out of her bed. Passing through the partition door that separated Rey's room and hers, the woman did not look back at all.

She wanted to make room for Rey. The space that should have been there a long time ago.

Not caring about her heart that began to heat up, when now the woman's hand just moved to reach for the testpack that she had pocketed earlier.