When The Flower Withers (Fleur Series #1)

Chapter 26

R-18. Read at your own risk.

Every time I was with Ash, I didn't mind being too happy even if I know that there's this exhaustion and sadness that will come right after.

Being with him felt like I'd never feel the feeling of being sad again. It felt like he already protected me from that emotion. Whenever I was with him, there's no room for dejections anymore.

Or so I thought?

"You sure I look like a decent and a proper woman in my dress?" I asked Ash for the nth time. I couldn't just help but to be anxious after I saw in the picture how intimidating her mother was.

"Mga ilang ulit ka pang magtatanong?" Kaagad ko siyang hinampas sa braso nang isagot niya 'yon.

"Umayos ka nga!" Inirapan ko siya bago inayos ang buhok. Iniharap ko pa ang sarili sa kaniya. "Okay naman itsura ko 'di ba?"

He raked his eyes over my body before he looked at me straight in the eyes. He grinned and said, "Nothing changed. You're still pretty." Ash leaned forward and pressed his hand against the window beside the passenger seat, caging me with his arm. "You still look like my wife." When his eyes went down on my lips, he immediately claimed it.

It didn't last for more than a minute but it was enough to give me an assurance he'd be with me throughout the entire time we'd be with his mother. We stayed inside his car for a few more minutes before I've finally decided to go inside their house.

Ash's mother is an Architect, must've been the reason of their house's style—Modern Georgian Architecture. I felt like I stepped into a different world upon getting out of the car. I had no chance to wander around my eyes here earlier.

"Manghang-mangha tayo, ah?" bulong niya sa gilid ko. He wrapped his right arm around my waist and kissed my left temple. "Kapag naging mag-asawa na tayo, mas maganda pa riyan bahay natin... Mas marami ring nakatira." Kinindatan niya ako nang mag-angat ko ng tingin sa kaniya. 

I know what he meant by that. "Lecheng 'to. Mag-asawa ka na lang ng baboy kung gusto mo pala ng maraming nakatira sa bahay mo." Ayaw kong mag-anak ng marami 'no.

"Sa bahay natin," he corrected.

Inirapan ko siya. "Whatever, Ash." But that simple 'natin' made my heart thumped.

I couldn't say anything more aside from 'wow' after we stepped inside their house. Bawat gamit, even the carpet in their living room screamed with elegance and luxuriousness. Parang ipinamukha pa nga sa akin ng carpet na 'yon na mas mahalaga pa ang buhay niya kaysa sa akin.

"I should've worn the most expensive clothes, bag, accessories, and heels I have. Para akong slap soil sa loob ng bahay n'yo, Ash," sabi ko habang inililibot pa rin ang paningin.

Hinalikan niya ulit ang gilid ng noo ko. "'Wag kang mag-alala..." Tinitigan niya pa ako nang malalim. "Mukha ka naman talagang lupa."

I scowled at him. "I hate you!" Pinaghahampas ko siya ng Chanel Handbag ko. I thought he was going to say something nice to ease my anxiousness. Nakaka-inis!

"What's the commotion here?" Natigil kami ni Ash nang marinig 'yon. I turned my back at him and I saw his mom...

Fuck, I've never been this scared before.

I was in awe by her beauty. Her porcelain skin was glowing and blinding, it was as if she hadn't seen sun since birth. Her skin was like a snowflake, deprived of any warmth. Just like the snowflakes, she seemed so cold, too.

I bit my lower lip when she sauntered towards us. Ash gave her a kiss on her forehead, making my heart flutter. I couldn't believe that it's the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life.