Chapter 34: Chapter 34

At five in the morning, Rakia woke up and started making noise in the kitchen by cooking something. It was a routine she had been doing since she went to college and lived alone in a boarding house. The appetizing aroma of her cooking made its way into Dashtan’s room and tickled the man’s nose. The smell of baking bread stirred Dashtan out of his sleep. This was the first time he woke up at this hour to the smell of food. Usually it happened at seven in the morning, when the housemaid arrived. Dashtan looked at the black rectangular digital alarm clock. At five in the morning, he chuckled but was also curious about where the delicious aroma came from. Without realizing it, Dashtan left his room wearing only him safety triangle and headed towards the kitchen. With a sleepy face he walked slowly while occasionally yawning, he had slept quite late last night due to his workload. As he stood by his tall granite countertop, he leaned against it like a male underwear model.

“Rakia... What are you doing?” he asked with his eyes half-closed as sleepiness still lodged in both eyes.

“Oh, Godnes, I’m-“ The startled Rakia half-turned to Dashtan but she immediately turned back to the oven when she saw Dashtan’s current appearance.

“Oh, Godnes, you’re the one I should ask what are you doing looking like that? You want to rape me, huh?” asked Rakia in a voice loud enough to make Dashtan scratch his ear as Rakia’s voice was like a spear piercing his ear.

“What? What’s wrong with.... “ Dashtan also looked at his current body after hearing Rakia’s accusations. And he sighed loudly, he immediately left the kitchen with half sleepy steps to return to his room and put on knee-length shorts. He sat on the edge of his bed for a moment to recover from the sleepy feeling. After feeling better, he went back to see Rakia.

“What are you doing?” asked Dashtan, surprising Rakia for the second time.

“I was....” Rakia who turned towards Dashtan immediately turned away again. Rakia closed her eyes in a huff.

“Wear your clothes on, Ash!” she ordered to which Dashtan only responded with a confused face and then understood the current direction of the conversation.

“Oh, come on... I’m just shirtless you’re not-“

“How does it feel to see me currently wearing only a bra and shorts?” asked Rakia still with her gaze in the other direction.

“Yes... Of course it’s... It’s a nice thing, I guess,” Dashtan said as he scratched the nape of his neck which was not itchy with an ignorant expression. Rakia immediately raised her hands in surrender then without Dashtan expecting it a wooden spatula flew towards him. He couldn’t help but move away with an ignorant grin. Rakia tried to peek if the man had left or not and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized he was gone. She returned to her bread, since seeing Dashtan’s kitchen complete with cooking utensils and ingredients she became more excited to cook something. Rakia placed her Mexican Coffee Bun bread on the granite countertop along with the loaf. She always wanted to try making this bread because it was one of her favorites, not that she couldn’t afford it but the price was quite unfriendly to the pocket making her rarely buy the bread. The unit price could be up to one dollar and even more if you were in a country like Singapore.

Dashtan came back after wearing a sleeveless undershirt. He stared at the bread Rakia had just placed on the granite table.

“You made this?” she asked in amazement, half believing it and half not. Rakia who was in front of the coffee maker replied, “Yes, I made it, who do you think? The fridge in your house?!” Dashtan smiled almost laughing at Rakia’s answer.

“Do you want coffee?” asked Rakia but there was no answer she turned towards Dashtan but the man was not there. She was confused but soon resumed making coffee. After that, she transferred her bread to a wide, flat black plate made of melamine, she placed it neatly there.

“And... Voila! This is it, the Mexican Coffee Bun ala chef Rakia.... “ She said it in a rather loud and dramatic voice and chuckled. She wanted to eat one of the buns but she remembered Dashtan and wondered what he was doing on a morning like this. Rakia first got herself a cup of coffee then wandered around looking for Dashtan as well as looking around the house. Everything looked neat and classy to her eyes, she found a sizable swimming pool with a pleasant ambience, complete with sun loungers and a wide umbrella. Then, she heard something on the second floor. Her room was located right next to the stairs going up to the second floor, she went up there and found a gymnasium with glass walls, then a reading room a room door that she did not know what room and what it contained. Rakia approached the gym door which was also made of glass then leaned on one side of the door using her shoulder. She noticed Dashtan who was using one of the fitness styles called the tricep bar. This tool serves to train the tricep muscles, he knows more or less about fitness equipment because she has visited the fitness center several times to cover one of the bodybuilding activities there while still working at a television station in Jakarta. Dashtan who was currently shirtless with only a pair of mid-thigh shorts made Rakia swallow several times. She was also a normal woman who when faced with an athletic man like Dashtan her feminine side would stir. But for some reason she couldn’t take her eyes off the man who was now visibly displaying his body shape which made Rakia fantasize excessively with that body. Rakia lowered her gaze as she sipped her coffee when her thoughts started to go overboard about Dashtan. But when she raised her gaze she was surprised by the man who was already in front of her. She almost dropped her cup in surprise but Dashtan swiftly held her hand.

“Never pay attention to a man who is exercising,” Dashtan said which immediately made Rakia frown.

“Why?” She asked.

“You could fall in love with him,” Dashtan replied, looking at Rakia with an intense, high-voltage gaze. Rakia swallowed mischievously and said, “I’ll go then.” But Dashtan held her back then picked up her coffee cup and sipped it once.

“American?” he asked, and Rakia nodded.

“Um, I like espresso,” she said. Rakia looked down to hide her eyes that couldn’t move from Dashtan who looked so sexy this morning.

“Yeah, he always does that every morning even when he's only wearing his panties-“

Rakia immediately stopped her own excessive and impolite monologue of thoughts.

“Did you tell your friend?” Dashtan placed Rakia’s coffee cup on the backless wooden bench. Rakia was suddenly confused.

“Friends? What friends?”

Dashtan looked at Rakia as he scrunched up his waist.

“Your friend from yesterday, who knows about us,” Dashtan said to clarify her meaning. Rakia just oh ria while thinking quickly to find an answer. She hasn’t contacted Lizzy since yesterday.

“No, I plan to meet her again today,” Rakia answered honestly. She had just gotten the plan.

“Good, you should say what I told you yesterday, because I’m not messing around. Yeah... You know, I just don’t want both of us to get into trouble in our families.”

Rakia nodded and was about to leave but Dashtan held her back.

“One moment.”

Rakia turned her head back.

“You didn’t forget, did you? With my parents coming today?!”

And immediately Rakia patted her forehead, she had almost forgotten that one.

“I’m going down to.... “

“Ash...!”

Rakia instantly widened her eyes at the sound of someone calling the man’s name out loud. Dashtan sighed then said to Rakia, “Come here.” Rakia who was confused by Dashtan’s order just gaped, but when she heard footsteps climbing the stairs, Rakia hurriedly approached Dashtan then, the man glanced for a moment at the glass wall and saw his mother’s figure there just passing the last step. The panicked Dashtan immediately pulled Rakia’s head gently and kissed her on the lips which only made the woman startle.

“Oh, my god! You’re such a rude couple. I’ll wait for you downstairs,” Samira said and walked away.

“What the hell was that? We agreed not to-“

“I know, it was an emergency,” Dashtan cut in quickly which only made Rakia upset. The woman quickly walked away with her feelings raging. Dashtan could only sigh as he looked down with his hands on his waist. He heard Rakia slam the door to her room and it only made her mood worse.

“Oh, my God, this is going to be a bad day,” he said and left the gym with shaky steps. As he descended the stairs and headed to his room, his mother approached him.

“What’s wrong with Rakia?” Samira gave her son a puzzled look as she saw the woman come down the stairs and enter the room near the stairs and close the door with a bang. Dashtan sighed.

“I forgot to tell her that mom and dad were coming this morning, she was upset because she didn’t have time to prepare anything,” Dashtan lied which only made his mother nod weakly with a slightly confused expression.

“Call her, and put your clothes on, we have something to talk about.” Dashtan obediently obeyed her mother’s orders. He went to his room and prayed silently that his mother would not suspect why Rakia went to that room instead of her own.

Meanwhile, Rakia, who was busy bathing and getting ready, was still upset by Dashtan’s impolite kiss.

“Watch out, Ash!” said Rakia as she looked in the mirror. She came out of the room and approached her in-laws and sat on the sofa in the living room. Saying greetings politely and smiling. Samira smiled brightly and stood up from her seat to give Rakia a warm hug.

“Oh, dear, you must be upset with Dashtan because he forgot to tell you that we were coming this morning,” Samira said which made Rakia nod with a glum expression. She suspected that Dashtan had given his mother that excuse about his earlier actions. Rakia approached her father-in-law and greeted without touching each other’s hands, the man smiled kindly.

“Mom and dad want coffee? Ow, I also made some bread, I’ll get it.” Rakia immediately went to the kitchen. In the middle of preparing drinks for her in-laws, Dashtan’s housemaid arrived.

“Good morning, Mrs. Dashtan can I help you? I’m Adriana Hunt, Mr. Dashtan usually calls me Mrs. Hunt,” said the woman who Rakia thought was about to turn forty.

“Hi, Mrs. Hunt, please help carry the coffee and bread to the living room.” Rakia walked away with two cups of coffee on a tray. Mrs. Hunt immediately followed Rakia with the bread that the woman had made this morning.

“Uuwwooow... Did you make this bread, dear?” asked Samira in amazement. Rakia nodded as she placed two cups of coffee in front of Samira and her father-in-law, Mr. Sayyed. Not long after, Dashtan joined them. Rakia sat near Samira while Dahstan sat on another empty sofa.

“Well, since we’re all here, I’ll cut to the chase. The family in Dubai has asked you to come and mom and dad will be having a party to celebrate your marriage and invite family and a few colleagues.” Samira explained. Rakia held her breath for a moment and then tried to control herself. The moment that would make her most nervous, meeting Dashtan’s extended family.

“That’s fine for us, it’s even better, isn’t it? I also want to introduce Rakia to the family and Dubai. You’ll love it there.” Dashtan said his last sentence as he smiled at Rakia. Rakia smiled and nodded enthusiastically, and Samira smiled happily at her growing family. She was happy when Dashtan said that he was going to get married and it actually materialized after she knew about her son’s failed relationship with a woman named Dalilah.

“Great, then, mom and dad will prepare everything, we will be home tomorrow and the event will be held next week, you can come the day before the event.”

Rakia and Dashtan nodded. Samira reached for her coffee cup and so did Mr. Sayyed.

“Oh, don’t forget, your cousin Hanan is getting married too, but mom doesn’t know exactly when, he just finished proposing.”

Samira grabbed Rakia’s bread and tore into it, surprised by the taste.

“Oh, it’s delicious, you should teach me later, Rakia. I didn’t know you were good at cooking,” Samira commented to which Rakia was a little surprised as she thought about what her mother-in-law had said about Hanan. She also remembered Lizzy.

“Is Lizzy getting married?” The question echoed in her mind and she promised to meet the woman today. After chatting for a while, Samira and Mr. Sayed took their leave, Dashtan and Rakia escorted them with their arms around each other to the front door.

“I’ll see you guys next week,” Samira said before leaving the newlyweds. As the car carrying Samira and Mr. Sayyed drove away, Rakia moved away from Dashtan and went into the house. But Dashtan immediately pulled Rakia’s wrist so hard that she turned towards her perfectly and their faces were only inches apart. The scent of Dashtan’s body wash filled her senses and it immediately washed away all the annoyance she felt for the man, but Rakia kept her cold expression.

“You’re angry,” Dahstan said in a low, caressing voice. Rakia’s heart pounded and she was slightly lulled by the man’s voice.

“Don’t play me, Ash, or you and I will get hurt, if you want our relationship to work according to your ego, please abide by the agreement and I will not give anything for this marriage other than what we have agreed,” Rakia said, which made Dashtan surprised for a moment and Rakia took advantage of it to quickly move away from Dashtan and enter the house. Dashtan could only stare at Rakia with a glimmer of disappointment mixed with guilt that made his sigh heavily. The other side of him cracked a little and he began to waver in the relationship he had with Rakia.