Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38 Anous survived the heart attack thanks to Benjamin’s help. Anous‘ wife thanked him a dozen times. Benjamin had wanted to take Anous‘ car, but then he changed his mind after being thanked by Anous‘ wife a lot of times. When Anous‘ woke up hours later, the first thing he saw was his wife laughing to Benjamin‘s jokes, and the scene twisted his gut. Firstly, what was the useless son–in–law doing, sitting next to his wife? And why was she laughing so much? Having already suffered from a heart attack before, he quickly realized that he was admitted into a hospital, but why was his wife busy talking with Benjamin when she would be worried about him? Though he didn‘t want to admit it, Benjamin was a much better looking guy and was younger, too. It was natural that his wife would get easily attracted toward the son–in–law who even managed to fool someone like Rebecca into marrying him. Just the thought of Benjamin playing with his wife squeezed his heart. His blood pressure began to rise. The cardiac monitor sent an alert to the doctor, and Anous wife got extremely worried when her husband started convulsing Benjamin stepped in and slapped Anous‘ chest, shocking her. “What are you doing?” she yelled at him, but then Anous‘ heart rate came back to normal, leaving her shocked.

“When he wakes up, tell him I want my Honda car,” Benjamin told his wife. “What car?” she asked, looking completely confused.

“Just tell him, ma‘am. He‘ll know.” Afterward, Benjamin gave her Anous‘ mobile and walked out. As he was walking in the corridor, Anous‘ kids ran past him. “He has a good family.” Benjamin didn‘t go to work but came home. More than thirty people were sitting at the dining table and messily eating. Rebecca was also there, making him wonder how she managed to climb down the stairs. Judging by the way she treated them, he could tell that they were her colleagues. When he was walking past the dining table, one of the guys called out for him, “Hey, you. Come over here, and pour us some drinks.” They could easily do that themselves, but they had decided to ask him, thinking he was also another one of the workers. Benjamin briefly looked at his wife who couldn‘t look him in the eye. He then served them without complaining. They ate and chatted for more than an hour, and then wished Rebecca a good recovery before leaving The dining table was such a mess that even the maids weren‘t willing to clean it. Wearing disgusted expressions, they escaped into the dorms, not wanting to be the one to clean the table.

Rebecca was sitting in one of the chairs by the table. Though her colleagues helped to bring her downstairs, they completely forgot about taking her back to her room. Now, she was sitting at the dining table which looked so beautiful before the meal but turned quite ugly afterward, “Who‘s going to clean this mess now? Even the maids sneaked out without shame,“Rebecca was cursing them. However, her husband who had gone into the litchen returned with two buckets and two towels. He gently dropped all the plates, bowls and utensils into the buckets with one hand and elegantly cleaned with the other hand.

Rebecca who couldn‘t even look at the mess her colleagues made only seconds ago was now watching her husband do such lowly work with ease and flair. Could a table be cleaned so skillfully and elegantly? She hadn‘t seen anything like it until today. Benjamin‘s expression was casual throughout, as though he wasn‘t affected by the mess on the table in the least. He was working fast, but it felt like time was moving slowly. While she wanted to look away, she couldn‘t move as if her neck was nailed in place. There were instances when their eyes met.

“I... Um, you...” she couldn‘t speak even though she had done no wrong. And then her thoughts were chaotic till the very end.

“Have you eaten?” Benjamin asked.

Rebecca wasn‘t expecting that question. (So he noticed that I haven‘t eaten anything? But why‘s he asking me if he already knew?) “Why? You can eat if you‘re hungry. Don‘t worry about me.” “Then, should I get you to your room,” he asked. There was no way she could climb the stairs even with the help of a wallong stick A minor slip-up could cause a much worse injury, after all Rebecca‘s face gained pink as she wondered if he‘ll lift her up into her arins or put her over his shoulders. “No. I can wait here until you are done eating,” (What the hell am I saying?) “Really? Benjamin was greatly surprised.

‘‘Yeah, go on.”

Benjamin went into the kitchen and returned after twelve minutes, holding a bowl full of spicy egg fried rice. Its aroma filled Rebecca‘s nose and made her forget the fact that she had been sitting there and waiting Benjamin didn‘t even remember the last time he had lunch in the villa. Maybe this was the first time? He wasn‘t sure, but he sat in the very next seat to his wife and began eating. In between, he tried to feed her, but she was quick to shake her head.

Rebecca was secretly salivating. She really wanted to taste it. “I–It smells smoky. Are you sure you didn‘t roast it too much?”

“Ah, I put it on high flame, so it will smell that way. Otherwise, the egg smell will dominate and make it harder to consume this whole bowl.”

“O–Oh,” she didn‘t know what he was talking about because she never cooked, except a couple of times where she went to foreign restaurants that made the customers cook for themselves. “Let me see..” she reached out for his bowl and pulled it until it stopped right before her. She put a spoonful in her mouth and kept nodding. “Mhmm, it‘s not bad.”

Benjamin was a little surprised as she had always said his cooling was bad. “There‘s more leftover rice, so I can make you some if you want.”

“No thanks,” she pushed the bowl back to him, and he resumed eating (What the hell? Persuade me more!) Despite all her inner wanting, she couldn‘t express herself.

Benjamin finished eating and then came up to her. “Shall we go?”

She faintly nodded and raised her arms. He picked her up into his arms gently and took her up the stairs. Kathy and the new maid who saw that were slack–jawed. A butler took a snap and forwarded the image to Selena who was in her motorhome.

“WHAT?” Selena didn‘t believe the picture was real.

As Benjamin climbed the stairs, his eyes met with Rebecca‘s eyes. She wasn‘t wearing any make up, not even simple lipstick, but she looked very attractive and different. Rebecca was having different thoughts.

(His beard looks better from up close.) she thought. (But I still prefer a stubble over this jungle any day.)

“How‘s your ankle?” he asked. “‘I was able to sleep last night,” she said. “I don‘t feel all that pain today. I think I‘ll be able to walk just fine in a couple of weeks despite what the doctor said.” “Good for you.” As he was entering the om, her foot lightly struck the door frame. “AHH!” Rebecca cried out.