The Woman He Married

17. The Wedding Ring

Zane woke up alone in the room. He looked around and sat up when he realized Mae was not there. He reached for his phone to check the time, then assumed Mae was either at work or in the kitchen, since he could smell food in the air. He got up when he remembered that they partied all night. There's no way Mae would do that if she has work in the morning.

He exited the room and head to the kitchen to find Xavi giving her a disgusted look. Zane cleared his throat and looked around, "What's wrong with you?"

"Did you do it?" Xavi asked.

"I'm thirty, turning thirty-one soon. I'm married. I slept with my wife, I don't know what is wrong with that," Zane scoffed, "You should find yourself a girlfriend if you're jealous, or marry your dad's choice."

"I can't believe you did that when I'm around," Xavi sighed, "This is violations towards the rights of us single people. One of us is going to get pregnant, I'm sure."

"Where else am I supposed to perform acts of intimacy, on the streets?" Zane scoffed, "And speaking of violations, you're the one violating our privacy."

"I'll go home when I'm ready," Xavi grumbled, "You betrayer. It's an all boys' night. You're not supposed to get laid at the end of the night."

Zane looked around, "Anyway, have you seen Mae?"

"She went out after getting a call from Alaia. I suppose they're having breakfast together," Xavi muttered.

"Huh," Zane exhaled. He wondered if he did ask her out on a date last night, or did she forget about it?

"Speak of the devil," Xavi said as the front door unlocked and Mae announced her return with a muffled grunt.

"Someone help me," she called out, and Zane immediately went to the door to help her with a big bag of groceries.

"Hi!" He greeted as soon as he saw her face, and Mae grinned sheepishly.

"No kisses allowed," Xavi called out from the kitchen.

"He caught me while I'm leaving the room this morning," Mae said softly.

"Why did you buy groceries without me?" Zane asked, placing the bag on the kitchen counter and checking out what she bought.

"I didn't plan on it," Mae told him, "I accompanied Alaia to buy groceries and decided to buy some for this house, too."

"Is everything okay with Alaia?" Zane asked, "I remember she was kind of upset last night."

"About that..." Mae hummed, glancing at Xavi who was eating breakfast in the lounge while watching TV. "I swear I sent the two home in separate cabs, but Alaia said she ran into Martin in the neighborhood. They ended up spending the night together."

Zane stared at her, doing calculations in his head. "Yeah, they live across of each other. They're both singles. I don't see a problem, unless it's not of mutual consent."

"Me neither," Mae sighed, "But Alaia thought it's a big problem. You see, she's always with the carefree men. Those who will walk out of her life when they're done messing with her. I assume Martin's not like that...?"

"Nope," Zane shook his head, cleaning the fruits. He came back to her and fed her a strawberry, "Martin usually date someone for a long time. His past relationships didn't work out because they got bored of him. I'd say they weren't ready for commitment, he is. The last time we talked about this, he said he wished his next relationship will be the last. He wanted to settle down. So he might start chasing your friend."

"Oh," Mae munched on the berry, "Will it be done respectfully?"

"Respectfully," Zane replied, "He's a good guy."