Chapter 44: Chapter 44
That morning, Rakia woke up early after checking her cell phone notifications last night and getting a message from her boss to fill in the morning news. That meant she had to leave for work early in the morning. She looked at Dashtan fast asleep beside her, last night had been a draining one for both of them, Dashtan with his sexy finesse making love to her. She also didn’t understand what the man’s anger meant when she told him her heart forbade him from doing things like this often. To be honest, she didn’t want to get so deeply attached to him either, she was afraid of her heart breaking again if the separation came. But the sensation that the man gave her when he touched her could not be denied.
Rakia sighed loudly, then shifted slowly to the side of the bed and lowered her legs. She tried to use her legs to stand without the help of a cane, and the result was satisfactory. She proceeded to move her initially painful leg with gentle movements and it didn’t hurt anymore, it was just stiff. With slow steps she headed to the bathroom with nothing on her body, leaving Dashtan still fast asleep. It was half past six in the morning by the time she was perfectly ready in her black Daily Singapore uniform. A short-sleeved shirt with the station’s logo on its right sleeve and on its left breast, just above a buttoned pocket.
Rakia decided to make coffee and then a sliced meat sandwich, a simple but filling breakfast. She also made the breakfast for Dashtan, and when she was done, she wrote a note on the fridge for Mrs. Hunt to heat up the bread for Dashtan before he ate it. She left by ordering an online taxi after her breakfast was finished.
Dashtan woke up when the clock struck half past seven in the morning. He found himself alone in Rakia’s room. He looked around with eyes still filled with sleepiness, but he realized he was alone in the room. He rubbed his face to get rid of the sleepiness then got out of bed, picked up his clothes and put them on, then he sat on the edge of the bed again and recalled his lovemaking with Rakia last night. He smiled and mocked himself for not being able to resist Rakia’s charms. He left the room and wondered where the woman was. When he realized he was once again alone in his house, Dashtan went to the kitchen for a drink. He found Rakia’s message posted on the front of the refrigerator and read it. After that, he looked for the sandwich referred to in the message, and found it in the microwave. He quickly heated it up with that and moved on to making coffee, but he was again surprised by his coffee maker already being filled, he just had to heat it up. He smiled and thanked Rakia for her dexterous presence in his life as a wife.
Mrs. Hunt came in when she was done with his breakfast and was getting ready to shower and leave for the office. As he showered and was getting ready, he thought about Rakia leaving for work early in the morning. He couldn’t understand why she had to leave so early. He decided to find out later.
Elsewhere, Rakia was busy meeting with her team when someone from outside interrupted the meeting and told Rakia that someone was coming. Rakia excused herself to meet her guest, and was directed to a special room to receive guests. She was surprised to find Dalilah sitting on one of the sofas in the room and waiting for her.
“What brings you here?” asked Rakia as she sat on the sofa opposite the woman. Dalilah looked down for a moment then lifted her gaze and looked at Rakia pleadingly.
“It’s about me and Dashtan,” the woman said. Rakia immediately understood what she meant but she put on an uncomprehending face to get the woman to tell her the full story.
“My company is facing bankruptcy and I need money to save it, I asked Dashtan to help me but he needs collateral. I.... “ Dalilah looked down once again as she swallowed. Rakia also looked at the woman with a slightly sharp and wary gaze.
“I told him that I would be his guarantee by making me his mistress or wife.”
Even though she already knew that, Rakia’s heart skipped a beat when that sentence slipped from the woman’s lips. She sighed, trying to remain level-headed in the face of this rude woman.
“Are you sure there’s no other way? Why don’t you just auction off your company? Or, you could offer a guaranteed profit share to Dashtan.” Rakia was trying to appeal to the woman’s sanity as much as she wanted to find out her true intentions. Dalilah swallowed again, and Rakia could tell she was nervous.
“It’s a company that’s almost bankrupt, if I auction it off there will automatically be acquisitions from other parties I don’t want that, I’m trying to keep me as the main owner of the company.”
Rakia raised her forehead, she really didn’t accept the woman’s plan.
“Why does it have to be Dashtan?” asked Rakia again, this time she looked at Dalilah with a sharp gaze. Dalilah squeezed the long skirt she was wearing, as her hands were on her thighs.
“Because Dashtan is my best friend, we once-“
“I know, but don’t you know that he has a wife? As for you, you already have a husband and you offer such things to a married man, have you lost your sense of shame?” asked Rakia sharply, her tone calm but piercing, making Dalilah flinch. She looked down with tears in her eyes.
“Steve and I are getting a divorce soon, he sued me after he found out my company was going bankrupt and I had to take on a lot of debt. I... don’t know who to turn to for help, and I don’t have anything to pledge.”
“What about the hotel and greenhouse?” asked Rakia. Dalilah lifted her gaze to look at Rakia with a tearful look.
“The hotel... Soon it will be confiscated and become the property of the bank because I once borrowed money from the bank by pledging the hotel,” said Dalilah who looked down again. Rakia sighed loudly.
“Look, Lila... I can’t let you do that.” Dalilah immediately looked at Rakia in panic but Rakia didn’t care and continued her sentence.
“If you want Dashtan’s help, do it in a good way, because I will never allow any woman to interfere with my status as Dashtan’s mistress in my household,” Rakia said in a tone full of emphasis and warning. She rose from her seat, ready to leave the woman but she did not expect Dalilah to catch up with her and grab her wrist, then kneel down.
“Please, I have no one to rely on, only Dashtan.” The woman looked at Rakia with teary eyes. However, Rakia froze all sympathy inside her. She brushed off Dalilah’s hand and left the woman with her feelings raging inside her. She exhaled when she was far from the room where she met Dalilah. She thought of discussing this with Dashtan as soon as possible.