Bargain Wedding

Anger And Forgiveness

Coco hit his head on the stack of files all too hard and instantly regretted it after yelling "YIKES" and rubbing his forehead. "Wrong time, Mr. CFO?" A knock reverberated and a voice resonated in his office.

"Please, come on in," Coco panicked as he got up hastily, hitting his kneecap under the mahogany table as he now hissed holding his knee, hopping on one leg.

"Day seems to be not in your favor. Are you alright?" Tetsuo asked as he stormed ahead to support Coco with a humorous chuckle.

"Life's been a b***h for so long. Can't complain. Please have a seat," Coco pointed at the chair and Tetsuo snaked one arm around Coco's torso to make him sit on his chair while ignoring his words.

"Thank you," the CFO gestured again for Tetsuo to sit as well.

The older male took the seat. He placed his bag on the table and took out some files. "Is Jona out of the country?" He asked.

"He... Had a little accident and will be off work for this week," Coco mentioned, and before Tetsuo could react, he added, "nothing to be afraid of. Thankfully, it was not serious. He hurt his head, so I will have to take him to the hospital later in the evening."

"How did it happen?" Tetsuo asked, concerned.

"Someone swooshed in the wrong lane and hit from behind and Jona did not have a seat belt on at the moment because he had just gotten inside the car which was on the sideway parking."

"Did they get the person?"

"They did, but Jona didn't want to press charges, so they let him go."

Tetsuo knitted his brows as he thought about something. "Why are you taking him to the hospital? Axel could do that," he uttered in puzzlement.

"Axel is also not well. She passed out after her dance competition, but again, nothing serious. Doctors have just asked her to rest and precautionary no driving for a few days."

Tetsuo rubbed his forehead, thinking about the missed calls from Axel that he had seen this morning. "I should go and see them later. Aoki will kill me," he mumbled and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I have Uncle Aoki's files." He handed the folder to Coco, who took them and began to read thoroughly.

"I am sorry. Do you need anything to drink?" Coco asked, pulling the file down from the front of his face as he was confided behind it.

Tetsuo chuckled. "No, I am good. Thanks for the offer but you carry on."

Coco nodded with a smile. He read everything for a few minutes. Pulling out a few stamps from his desk drawer, he put them on paper and signed the pages. "There you go!" He handed the files back to Tetsuo and smiled.

"Thanks," Tetsuo reciprocated and started to wind up.

Say something. Ask something! Coco yelled inside his mind. "What are you doing next Friday?" He suddenly babbled.

"Huh! You mean tomorrow?" Tetsuo confirmed.

"No. Next one," Coco stated, his feet kept tapping the floor vigorously and fingers crossed under the table.

"What do you have in mind?" Tetsuo asked, smirking, and Coco gulped. The confidence that Tetsuo saw in Coco at Aokis' party was trying to keep up with his words, but Tetsuo was not feeling it.

"Um~ I was thinking about taking Jona and Axel out," Coco lied because neither Jona nor Axel were in the condition to go out.

"Well, I can make myself available if you go out with me... Minus Jona and Axel." Tetsuo flirted and the younger's cheeks turned hot, and his ears turned red.

"I will let you know," Coco rambled.

"Take your time," Tetsuo stood up, carrying his bag, and then he halted.

He pulled out his pen and walked around the table. Coco's hands were closed in a fist which Tetsuo delicately pulled open. "You are sweating, Mr. CFO," he stated and blew on his palm, causing Coco to press his lips together to stop himself from whimpering because that's what he felt like doing, unintentionally.

The cold air from Tetsuo's mouth made Coco's hair erect on his nape and he got goosebumps all over. Axel's cousin wrote down his number on Coco's palm really slowly, torturing him further.

The man had turned beetroot red by now. Tetsuo admired his work, and by work, he did not admire his calligraphy, which, by the way, was quite praiseworthy. He adored the red and whipped Coco. "This is my number," he said after he pulled away. "And this is my card in case you wash out that ink." He placed the card on the table and slid it with his index finger towards the younger male.

Coco couldn't say anything.

Tetsuo turned around and left, smiling widely.

When he disappeared, Coco shrieked and groaned. "You couldn't say anything better? I will let you know. I WILL LET YOU KNOW?! You f*****g i***t!" He dropped his head on the file stack again but instantly cried out in pain while holding his head.

"MOTHER HUBBER!"

☘

Axel was breathing heavily under Jona. "Jona..."

"What is it, Axel? Do you want me to stop?" Asked Jona and Axel shook her head promptly.

"What do you want? Tell me," Jona asked the girl as he hovered on top of her and Axel gasped awake.

She looked to her right and Jona was sleeping peacefully while his hand was hugging her torso. The cherry-haired female realized it was a dream, and she didn't know if she regretted waking up from it or not. She couldn't meet Jona's closed eyes now. Gently, she held the older's hand to set it aside before attempting to even out her breath carefully.

After getting up and tying the loose cincture of her robe, she picked up her phone from the nightstand and walked out of the room, not before stealing one more glance at Jona. Her gaze averted back to the ground as she closed the door behind her without making a noise.

She took the elevator to go down to the ground floor where she turned on the light of the night lamp and sat on the couch. The security guards took notice of the lights. One of the men came inside, whom Axel had never seen before. "Do you want anything, ma'am?" The man asked.

"Thank you, but no. You may resume your work," Axel replied politely, and the man started to walk back to the security room.

"Actually," Axel trailed off and the man turned around, halting. "I have never seen you before. Are you with the security?"

"Yes, ma'am. I am posted for night duty and that is why you haven't seen me before." The man replied as he stood straight while his hands remained folded in front of the house owner.

"Thank you. Please carry on," Axel dismissed him and the man nodded before he strutted outside right after.

Axel sighed and kept her phone on the couch before arching her head on the backrest. Her mind was now free from everything. The last four months have not been the best, but she couldn't complain right now as she thought back to the day when her father dropped the news on her. The bargain wedding was now turning out to be a real marriage.

She closed her eyes and recalled everything from the day before her wedding. She recollected the decoration being done while she cried her eyes out. She remembered not talking to her father and getting ready in the bride's room. The venue was her home, and it took days for the event management team to deem the lawn fit for wedding decorations.

Jona had been calling her for several days before the wedding, but she didn't accept the calls, not once. She had not the slightest clue what kind of man Jona was. Would he force himself on the wedding night, or would he just not care about her at all? She didn't know. Either way, she was ready to fight for her life, irrespective of being bonded by the contract that was whipped up by their parents.

She thought about the first night and the wedding gift. Just as she was walking out of the walk-in closet that night, she received a gift, and she assumed right then that Jona was someone who would neither force himself on her nor care about her. She supposed that Jona would try to act all righteous to win her love with tactics and shrewdness, but she was determined not to fall prey to his ways. She perceived that Jona would always take her side to stay in her good books, but her allegory was crushed to bits when Jona scolded her the first time.

She realized then that Jona didn't act righteous, but he was righteous all along.

She remembered withering to his touch and his embrace during the reception on the very next day of the wedding. She went back to the room that night and thought about why she hugged him during the dance, but all she got was ambiguity and no answer.

When days started hurling by, her assumptions about Jona were also proved wrong. By then, she had unknowingly started considering Jona as someone she could trust, and she also didn't know how it happened. When one lived with someone for that long, perhaps they were bound to develop inconsequential acquaintances. But that was not it. Axel had struggled morally a lot. After marriage, she never advanced herself on Minhaj albeit her marriage was a sham. Her principles never allowed her to act otherwise.

The date with Jona, which she at the time thought was nothing more than a dinner, but now she realized how special it was. Jona's little ways of taking care of her, like cooking her food after she got an allergy, or taking care of her while she was sick, the way the temperature of the room always remained 25 degrees, and all the lights would be off when she needed to sleep, or simply the way Jona stocked even the toiletries that she required — everything seemed special.

She sprung up straight on the couch and her eyes darted at the house gate. She remembered the first time she entered through the same gate and here she was now, four months later. She picked up her phone and everything was calm there, just like her mind. There were no flooding texts from Minhaj or any calls.

Clicking open her chatbox, she deleted Minhaj's messages without hesitation. She then scrolled down and saw Tetsuo online. She immediately texted him.

What am I seeing? Tetsuo and awake? That too at night?

LOL !! Why are you up? I heard from Coco you were admitted to hospital. How are you feeling now?

I am feeling well and alive. Don't worry about me and answer me.

I am awake because of the launch. I need to deploy the new app tomorrow. I will sleep for at least a year after that.

Good luck with the app then.

Thanks, Akiee... I will come to meet you tomorrow.

How about lunch? I need to talk to you.

Sounds good. I will be free by lunch and I will come to pick you up.

It's okay. I will have the driver drop me off. Don't worry.

You should be sleeping. I will text you the name of the place. See you tomorrow.

Good night!

Axel flinched when she heard Jona's voice from the stairway. "What are you doing down there?"

She quickly locked the phone, "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Wait, I am coming up!" She assured quickly before the man decided to descend, and took the elevator.

As the elevator door opened on the first floor, Axel came out of it and smiled subtly at Jona. "Why did you get up?"

"I didn't find you in bed," Jona pouted.

"Let's go back and sleep. You should not be walking around," Axel chuckled after saying that, because this was what Jona told her when she came back from the hospital.

They went back inside the room, smiling, and closed the door behind them.

Axel thought about something as she stood by the bed after helping Jona to lay and he stared at her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Axel started to collect pillows without saying a word to build a pillow wall in the middle of the bed. Quite satisfied with her work, she joined Jona on the other side of the partition.

Jona was trying so hard not to burst into laughter, but his face immediately stretched into a huge smile in the dark once Axel turned off the lights.

☘

Jona woke up, feeling pain in his whole body once the wounds settled in. Yesterday, the car juddered harshly in the collision and this caused him to lurk forward and hit his head with the steering wheel. His back was also hurt in the process, though the only visible injury was on the forehead.

Axel groaned and turned to him in her sleep. The older just c****d his neck and looked at her peacefully. His eyes did not pry away for a long time. He leisurely kept looking at her skin, which made him want to touch it and feel it on his own.

In a few minutes, sunlight began to reach the bed through the curtains and Jona held his hand up to shield Axel's eyes, so the bright rays wouldn't wake her up just yet. He wanted to admire the girl in her sleep for a little longer.

Jona was not unwary of Axel's behavior in the past few weeks. The girl had distinctly changed with him, but he didn't want to assume her behavior as love. For all Jona knew, Axel could simply have been nice to him. He was waiting for this very day to talk about their kiss and understand Axel's side of emotions, and perhaps express his feelings if he got a positive response from the younger one. Now, he certainly didn't want to do any of it because his body was only half functional.

Amidst Jona's self-reflection, Axel opened her eyes and the older smiled, "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Jona. How do you feel?" Axel sat up and instinctively looked at him, trying to know if he was hurting.

"Waking up and seeing you next to me already makes me at ease. I will be better. How do you feel?" Jona asked instead and Axel slowly adjusted her robe.

"I am not the one who met with an accident... How did you let it happen?" Axel suddenly thought about it and it made her angry.

Anger. Not something Jona wanted near his wife. "I should have been more careful. I waited outside our restaurant, and I was deep in thought that I had not driven the car right away, and I didn't have the seatbelt on at that moment."

"It was not your fault, Jona. You had the vehicle parked. It was that fucker who was wrong. Let's file a complaint against him today." Axel thundered.

Jona noticed the intensity and passion to take revenge in Axel's words and her body language. "Axel... It's done now," he said calmly. "I don't want him to suffer because what he did was not on purpose. People should forgive others, it is the highest virtue." He smiled'

Axel shook her head, disagreeing. "I am not so sure about that, Jona. He hurt you. You are in pain because of him. He should at least pay for what he did. He deserves it, so he won't repeat that in the future."

"I believe more in positive reinforcement. I am certain that he regrets the accident and that alone will let him be careful next time," Jona replied, and Axel looked away. He didn't want to argue or upset Axel, so he gently held the younger's hand, "I know you mean well for me, but please let it slide. He was a taxi driver and I didn't want him to have any trouble. Besides, I will be fine in some days, but he might not be able to recover from the loss that penalty will bring to him if we file a complaint."

Axel couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never had an outlook like this in life before. Jona was certainly a better and bigger person than she was. Axel was in awe as she pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Good, now that you are stuck with me here for a week. Tell me what do you want to do?" Jona left Axel's hand and asked her with a short smile.

"Leave that for me to worry about," Axel's eyes twinkled as she thought of what she wanted to do with Jona, but then she remembered her commitment to Tetsuo. "Oh shoot! Can I go for lunch with Tetsuo-San? I sort of promised him last night without thinking. But, if you want me here, then I will re-schedule."

Jona chuckled, "you don't need to ask me, Axel. I am fine, and I can manage to walk myself. I don't need your help as you think I do. But... You are not well either. I don't want you to exhaust yourself."

"It's just lunch, Jona. I will have the driver drive me and I will come back soon. I promise. And then we will watch movies." Axel pleaded excitedly and Jona nodded in assurance. How could he say no to that pouty face?

☘

Axel was waiting for Tetsuo in a restaurant. She needed to talk to her older brother about her feelings. Her restlessness was put to rest when a hand patted her back. "Did you wait for long? I am sorry if you did," Tetsuo said calmly and took a seat across the table.

"That's alright. I can't stay long though. Jona met with an accident last night."

"I heard," Tetsuo replied in concern. "I will visit him this evening. How did it happen?"

"As always, some i***t didn't follow the road rules. Jona was steady when he took a hit. I wanted to f*****g beat that person, but Jona is such a saint. He wouldn't even file a complaint."

Tetsuo noticed the same anger that Jona noticed earlier when Axel spoke. "What are you two doing? Is it some sort of secret competition going on between you and him? One day I will pass out and the next day you will meet with an accident," Tetsuo switched the topic to divert Axel's mind, and it worked as the woman smiled.

They placed the order with the steward first. "What happened to you? I am sorry I couldn't take your call that night. I was out of the city." The older person uttered apologetically.

"That's okay. I don't know how or why it happened, but I am not here to talk about that," Axel said quickly, and Tetsuo hooked his eyes on the young woman to continue. "Tetsuo-San... How do I know if I am in love?" She asked, without looking at him, and quickly stuffed her mouth with accompaniments that were kept on the table.

As if on cue, before Tetsuo could register the thought and had time to revert, the steward brought their food.

Axel anxiously tapped her feet while waiting for the man to set the table and leave. Just as he left, Axel grabbed the chopsticks and stuffed her face again with dumplings. Seeing the girl so perplexed, Tetsuo engulfed a whole dumpling, too, without chewing it and choked right after.

He quickly drank carbonated soda and wiped his lips with a napkin while his stare remained at Axel, inspecting her up and down while the latter did not budge from eating. "There are many phases to love, my little human."

"What are those?" Axel's hands stopped as she dropped the cutlery onto the plate and intently paid attention to the words the man had to utter.