Cheating On You

XI

"Is this for me?" Her tired expression was suddenly replaced by a smile.

"Yeah, didn't you say it's your favorite?" She nodded repeatedly while sipping her coffee.

"Perfect timing, I really need this right now. It helps me destress. Thank you." He moved closer to me and kissed my forehead, catching me by surprise. "Having a wife is really great, someone brings you treats!" He grinned as he headed straight to the bedroom to get changed. I just stared at the muffins and coffee left on the table. I ended up taking a bite of the cake and couldn't help but smile too.

After he showered, he came back to the kitchen and joined me. "You look really worn out, huh?"

"Yeah, we have upcoming projects so it's really tiring right now," he started eating his muffin.

"You work at a lending company, right?" he just nodded. "Before, I thought that small lending companies have really cramped, dark, and dusty offices."

He almost spat out his coffee at me. "Hahaha wow, really?" His laugh was so handsome and manly. "You're so judgmental. Why would you think that?"

"Well, because that's how most of the ones I've seen look. Plus there's always a crowd of people wanting to borrow money gathered in front of the office."

"Our company isn't like that. It's a modern-style lending firm, and we're affiliated with other businesses too. Take you for example, suppose you own a jewelry store. We'd partner with you. You'd display our banners in your shop and give space to one of our agents. Our banners would say people can borrow from you through us. That way, customers who want to buy your products but can't pay cash have an option."

"Then how do you make money from that?"

"When someone borrows, we'll pay you in full cash right away. We'll be the ones to collect installment payments from your customer. You get your money upfront, and we earn from the interest on the installments."

"Wow, that's really convenient, isn't it?" I laughed. "Why?" he kept staring at me.

"It's obvious you don't get out much or observe what's around you."

I raised an eyebrow, "How did you know that?"

"Well, these kinds of businesses have been around for a while now. You see them almost everywhere, especially in malls, jewelry stores, gadget shops, even car dealers."

"Really? Then you have a lot of potential partners, don't you?" I took a sip of coffee.

"Just enough. As for you, I bet you dreamed of having a flower shop and coffee shop back in high school, which is why you're running one now," he said teasingly.

"Hahaha yeah! But isn't that cliché?"

"Yeah, but I'm glad you did it. People like me have always dreamed of visiting a place like that, you're the reason we get to see our vision come to life in person. Not everyone can turn their dreams into reality."

"So you want to run a business like that too?"

"Of course, it's so relaxing. Even if managing it is hard, just seeing the flowers and smelling the coffee beans makes it feel rewarding right away."

"That's exactly why I started my business. But to be honest I thought if you wanted another business, it would be something like cars, the kind of thing guys usually go for."

We talked for a few more hours before deciding to rest. As the days went by, I got to know Elijah better. He wasn't as mean as I thought. Sometimes he has a short temper, sometimes he raises his voice because of stress, but he always makes up for it and honestly, he's very kind and sweet. He's the type of man who takes care and protects everyone around him.

"Goodnight" I bit my lip when he suddenly hugged me. I was facing away from him, so my back was pressed against his chest. I could feel his warm breath on my neck.

"Goodnight" I replied softly. It tickled, but it felt nice too. I just closed my eyes so I wouldn't start thinking about all sorts of things.

I woke up feeling so light the next day. I cooked for Elijah and even packed him lunch. Then I headed straight to work. I already fixed the issue with our supplier, so my staff could focus more on serving customers. The day went by so quickly probably because I was enjoying myself.

A car horn pulled me out of my thoughts. I grabbed my bag and the food I ordered, then walked over to the car with a smile to greet him.

"Love!" I kissed his cheek. "Finally, alone time with you!" I hugged him tightly.

He smiled at me. "Looks like you had a good day."

I grinned widely. "Yes, dear!"

"Finally, I missed seeing that. What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh, wait! I have something for you, your favorite Sagada blend and apple cinnamon muffin!" I excitedly showed him what I was carrying.

"Wow, I've missed those!" Every dish on my coffee shop's menu is special to us, we created all the recipes together.

I've been having really intense cravings lately no matter how much curry I eat, I just can't seem to get enough.

"Slow down," he said with a laugh, scolding me gently.

"It's so good," I kept eating. His chicken curry is so good.

"Hahaha here, have some more. I bet you didn't eat lunch again, did you? Tsk tsk." He shook his head as he served me more rice.

"Claire and I were having such a great conversation we both forgot," I laughed.

After eating, we cleaned the house. This has always been our way of bonding, even back then cleaning up, taking care of our cat, and resting. Kenji and I have such a simple life. Sometimes it's boring and monotonous, but it's what we want. No drama, just stability.

"Baby Nala is so cute, she's so well behaved too. I'll give her treats later." I pressed her paw to make her claws come out so I could trim them. I'm the only one who can cut Nala's nails, so if I'm away for too long, Kenji always comes home with scratches.

"I tried trimming her nails last time, she scratched my arm," he rolled up his sleeve and showed me the scratch mark.

"Bad Nala, look what you did to Daddy's arm," I turned her toward the wound and scolded her. She looked at me like a person would, meowing nonstop. It was like she was really explaining herself, even pointing at the scratch with her paw. Kenji pretended to cry like he was so poor and helpless, so I just laughed at the two of them. I missed these kinds of moments. Simple, quiet, happy.