Chapter 5

Chapter 5: 5. His Lover

“William ....” The video call revealed a beautiful woman with round eyes. Her skin was light and clean. Her oval face looked puffy, it was certain that she had just cried for god knew how long. It was clear she had a big problem.

“What’s wrong, Lea?” William looked worried. He looked to his left side, where Paula was still asleep. Not wanting Lea to know what he was doing with his wife, he got out of bed and took his cell phone out of the room. “Please tell me, honey! Don’t cry, baby.”

“I canceled all my study plans. I am not going to continue my doctoral degree here. My professor moved to another university.” Again, Lea sobbed without finishing what she was talking about. “If I transfer to another professor, it’s violating the scholarship’s policy, and just cancel it. I can not afford the tuition fee.”

Lea continued to cry, pausing her story by leaving William’s curiosity behind. After a while, Lea continued her story again. “I’m going home this September, William. I don’t speak Japanese, so I can’t work part-time. Besides, what about my parents and my younger siblings at home if I’m not well-established here myself? I can’t possibly send them some money.”

Lea’s sadness scratched William’s feelings. He lived happily here, while Lea struggled to live in a foreign country. “Honey, what if this time you just accept financial assistance from me?”

“No, William. I don’t want to be called a gold digger again by your mom.” Silence. Lea wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve sent job applications to several companies. I’ve decided to go home, William. Besides, my younger siblings need me at home. Maybe this is fate. A blessing in disguise.”

Lea ended the video call immediately after saying goodbye. William put down the phone with mixed feelings. Lea would come back home earlier. While he still hadn’t explained about his marriage. What would he say later to her?

.....

At William’s request, his marriage to Paula was deliberately not exposed to the public. Only family and close friends were invited to the wedding. Outside too, William and Paula never showed affection. So, he was still lucky because almost no one knew about his private life.

William thought he would still have three more years to work things out between his family and Lea. However, fate said otherwise. Everything unexpectedly accelerated.

“A call from your girlfriend?” Suddenly Paula showed up and asked him in a sleepy voice. It startled him. She looked at her husband with half-opened eyes. Her slender fingers covered her yawning mouth. She almost fainted from inhaling the bad morning smell of her mouth because she hadn’t brushed her teeth.

William turned to his wife and nodded. For some reason, he felt nervous as if he had made a mistake-cheated on her. They had promised not to involve feelings in this marriage. But somehow, he was still feeling awkward with the situation.

“Lea will come back in three months.” William gulped, staring at Paula with bloodshot eyes.

“For a visit? For good?” Paula asked. She knew how inconvenient the situation was.

“For good. Initially, she was planning to take her Ph.D. in Japan as well. But, things happen,” William explained further so Paula could grasp his current problem.

“Did she know about our marriage?” she asked again. William didn’t answer with words, he only shook his head as a response.

Paula felt her husband’s anxiety at this time as well. She came closer and hugged him tightly. “Don’t worry. You can just explain everything we planned. If she truly loves you, she will understand, no? After all, you do everything for your mom.”

Paula’s soothing words made William feel a little calmer. However, for some reason, he felt that things would be out of hand. It would not be easy as it said, of course.

***

The thrilling September has arrived. A well-proportioned beautiful woman walked out of the airport with a tired but smiling face. Her long wavy dark hair that was tied in a loose ponytail looked a bit messy because the long thirteen hours trip made her fall asleep on the plane.

She was sad because she had to return to the state earlier than planned. However, on the other hand, she felt happy because she would soon meet her lover whom she loves very much. The man she loved was now waving his hands at her and waiting for her with a wide smile plastered on his face.

“William, I miss you!” she screamed in joy while running to hug her lover.

“Me too, Lea!” William returned Lea’s hug very tightly. Pairs of eyes looked at them until they both felt uncomfortable and decided to leave the airport immediately.

“Jeez!” Lea said, laughing heartily. “They were staring at us like we were a couple of dorks!”

“Huh, yeah!” William replied as he grabbed Lea’s suitcase and took her to the yard where he parked the car. “Who cares? I missed you so much.”

At Paula’s suggestion, William did not say a word about what happened while Lea was living abroad. He had to choose the right time to discuss the real situation with Lea.

When the two of them arrived at Lea’s house, William helped to put Lea’s things into the house. Her three younger sisters came to greet them with joy. The eldest was studying psychology at a private university in town. The other two were still in grades twelve and ten. The three of them collected the gifts Lea promised. But of course, Lea rebuked them. “Guys, you can do it later! Please behave well and bring us some drinks!”

The youngest girl grumbled. “You just came home after six years abroad and now you stick to your boyfriend instead of taking care of us! Don’t you think that you should visit mom in the hospital first before being lovey-dovey with him?”

“Hush! Stop nagging and bring us some drinks and snacks! I will visit mom later.”

Lea pinched her youngest sister’s cheek. However, her other sisters also showed a similar protest.

“Lea, I’ll go home first,” William said because he felt he was disturbing family time. No matter how much he missed Lea, surely her sisters need her more.

“Oh, why is that?” Lea objected in deep regret.

“It’s okay, we still have a long time, Lea!”

Lea was reluctant to let William go. But, she had no choice after all.

“Fine. You better prepare a special date for me. The romantic one,” Lea demanded while hugging her lover tightly.

“Sure. I will call you later.”