Chapter 35: How did you know that I’m married?
Jark kept glancing at his phone, as he was expecting a call from Kathe, but there was no call from Kathe. She didn’t even call to remind him to have his lunch. He would have called the old lady to check up on her, but he didn’t want to stress her, so he decided to call her. Just when he picked up his phone to call her—
Knock, knock.
The door was pushed open, and Rhea walked in with a bag.
"Good afternoon."
"Afternoon. Is anything wrong?" Jark asked, raising his eyebrows.
Rhea kept her head down shyly.
"It’s lunch break already, and I figured out that you must have not eaten anything yet, and you didn’t have breakfast too."
Jark was surprised. He wasn’t expecting that.
"You brought lunch for me?"
"Yes, I did. Hope you ain’t angry," Rhea said, sounding pitiful.
"No, it’s okay, and also thank you. You can drop it over there," Jark said, pointing to a nearby chair.
"You’re welcome."
She said and walked out of the room with a smile.
Back in the office, Jark frowned.
"Since when did Rhea start caring if he had eaten before?"
He sighed, reached out for his phone, and dialed Kathe’s number, but it was unreachable. He tried for a couple of times, but it was still unreachable. He threw the phone on the table and buried his head back in work.
.......................
This was the longest and slowest ride that Kathe had ever experienced. Filled with excitement, she was on a different roller coaster as she imagined how she would hug her mother tightly. Though it had just been a month, she couldn’t help but feel emotional. She sometimes had nightmares of her father torturing her mom because of her disappearance. She was still in shock as to how her mother got her number. Due to happiness, Kathe didn’t notice that her phone was out of network and also that they had entered another town that looked more like a resort.
"Ma’am, we have arrived at the location."
"Thank you."
Kathe stepped out of the car. That was when she took a look around her surroundings. The place was like a remote countryside, with people busy with their own business. Kathe frowned, wondering why her mom chose such a reserved and remote place for their meeting.
She turned to pay the driver, but before she could pay, he drove off, leaving her stunned.
Just as she was wondering about the man’s weird behaviour, she heard her name being screamed.
"Kathe!"
She turned around and found her mom standing in front of a restaurant, waving at her.
"Mom!"
Kathe couldn’t control her emotions any longer.
The moment Sarah saw Kathe, her face lit up. Kathe quickly ran across the road, and they both hugged each other.
"Mom."
Kathe began sobbing as she hugged her mother tightly, afraid that she could disappear at any moment from then.
Sarah tapped her lightly on her back.
"Shhhh, you are a big girl now. You ain’t supposed to be crying again," she teased.
"I’ve missed you, Mom."
Kathe hugged her more tightly before they withdrew from the hug.
"You don’t know how much I’ve missed you," Sarah said as she brushed her hand through Kathe’s hair.
"You don’t know... I sometimes hear your voice..."
Kathe’s voice was already getting cracked up as she pulled her mom in for another hug.
"Enough of the hugs. Now let’s go inside."
After withdrawing from the hug, Kathe frowned, looking at the environment. Sarah could see the discomfort on her face.
"Mom, why here? It looks like..."
"Like a remote area, right?" Sarah completed her words with a playful smirk.
Kathe nodded her head with a pout.
"I’ve always loved peaceful nature," Sarah said, looking around.
"Nature?" Kathe asked, clearly confused.
"Come, let’s go inside first."
Sarah gestured for her to go in first.
They both went inside the restaurant.
Sarah had already secured a nice spot for them close to the window.
"I know how much you love sitting close to the window, so I booked this spot. Hope you still love sitting close to the window," Sarah said, throwing her a playful grin.
"That’s one of my favorite habits. I’m not sure I’m ready to let go."
They both giggled as they took their seats, facing each other.
Sarah placed her hands on Kathe’s palm. They stayed quiet for some minutes, staring at each other. The silence alone explained their longing for each other.
"You’ve grown a lot," Sarah said, touching her cheeks lightly.
"Mom! I’m not that grown. Just say you missed me more."
"Who was hugging me a while ago, not wanting to let go?"
"It was just due to emotions, Mom."
They both threw playful banter at each other.
"Mom, how has Dad..."
She really wanted to know how her dad had been treating her mom.
Sarah smiled softly.
"Like I told you, I can handle your father."
"What about the investor?"
Though she hated the discussion about getting her married to a stranger, she was genuinely concerned about his business welfare.
Sarah sighed.
"He withdrew his partnership with four of your dad’s companies, and one of your dad’s companies has been shut down."
Kathe, knowing how strictly her father ran his business, could not believe that it was shut down completely.
"How did it get shut down?"
"Your dad had to pay for the partnership damage."
Kathe paused for a minute.
"Isn’t that supposed to be the investor who has to pay, not Dad?"
"I don’t know much about their terms and conditions."
Kathe couldn’t help but feel guilty. The partnership wouldn’t have been withdrawn, and her father’s business wouldn’t have shut down if not for her.
"Wasn’t the policy well secured, or wasn’t everything properly drafted?"
Sarah could sense her worries, so she quickly changed the topic.
"Why do I feel like you missed your dad more than you missed me?"
"No, I missed you, just..."
But Sarah waved her hand at her, stopping her from speaking.
"Enough of your dad. How is he treating you?"
"Who?"
"Your husband."
"How did you know I’m married?"
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