Bitter sweet affair

Chapter 27 - Allergy

Reyna's POV
The constant ringing of the main door's bell was infuriating.
I tried ignoring it by putting the pillow over my head but it wasn't helping.
_ Ringing continues

Eventually, I gave in. Who could that be this early Saturday morning? It seemed to have woken Andre up too.

"Good morning" I greeted him with a smile.
"Morning, slept okay?" He asked placing a kiss on my forehead. I just nodded in response.
The bell continued ringing. I felt like my eardrums were gonna pop out.
"Let's go see who it is, shall we?"
He said as we walked towards the main door.

Andre opened the door and a lady in her early 20s; wrapped her arms around him.
"I missed you so much Dre," she said and Andre hugged her back.
"I missed you too Jules, You should have told me you were coming. Then, I could've picked you up from the airport"
"That's no fun, though. I wanted to surprise you and see the shock on your face" she smiled at him.
"When will you grow up?" He asked rhetorically while patting her hair.

I was confused, were they childhood friends?; colleagues or what? Someone should explain before I start getting the wrong idea.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Andre said averting his gaze to me.
"Reyna, this is my younger sister; Julie. Julie, my wife; Reyna" he introduced.

I never knew he had a younger sister.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Reyna. Andre can't stop talking about you. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to your wedding" she said with a broad smile.

It was nice to hear that Andre talked about me to his sister. It showed that he deeply cared for me, I guess.

"That's fine, you're here now. I'll help you with your bag"
"Thank you"
She had brought a suitcase along with a lightweight bag. I took it to the guest room downstairs.

"I'll let you both catch-up, up while I make breakfast," I said to the both of them before leaving for the kitchen.

Julie's POV
Seeing Andre happy was everything I'd wished for; I hope he stays happy for a very long time. He's been through a lot in the hand of golddiggers and he has loved and lost. Hopefully, Reyna was his soulmate after all.

Andre excused himself, walked into the kitchen, and hugged Reyna from behind. She seemed flustered at first; before relaxing in his embrace.

"Get a room you two" I teased, Reyna said something to him and he left looking like a rejected puppy. It was obvious these two were head over hill in love with each other.

"Why are you looking so down? Just a moment ago you were beaming with smiles " I teased him again

"Well, Reyna said I'm distracting her from cooking. She wants to make her breakfast special for you and she needs all the focus. Literally, I'm the distraction"
"Lover boy can't stay a moment away from wifey" I teased again.

"Breakfast is served," Reyna said with a smile plastered across her face.
We sat down together, talking as we ate.
I took a bite of the muffins and I suddenly felt uneasy. I started itching and I got stomach cramps.

"Julie, are you okay?" Reyna asked looking a bit worried. I was going to lie and say I was fine but Andre interrupted.

They were both standing.
"Reyna?" He said staring at her without affection.
"Yeah?" She said fixing her gaze on him.
"Did you perhaps use peanuts in making the muffins?" He asked clenching his fist.

Thinking of it, I was mildly allergic to nuts.
"Yeah," she said looking a bit confused.
"Julie's allergic to peanuts you dimwit," he said and hit her across the face.

The impact of the slap took her off guard making her stagger; hitting her head on the table close by.

I was beyond surprised. Why'd he do that? I managed to get on my feet to check if she was okay.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She seemed to have a deep cut on her forehead. She hid her face not wanting me to see the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't know" she tried to fight the tears back. She left after saying that.

"Andre.. my allergy shot," I said itching seriously. He administered my allergy shot.
After an hour I was feeling much better.

Andre was still by my side; meaning Reyna was still all alone.

I stood up to leave and talk to Reyna.
"Where are you going? You aren't fully recovered" he said. Not now; I'll talk to him when I'm sure Reyna's okay.

....
I saw her crying. She hadn't treated her wound yet. I grabbed the medicine kit and walked towards her, taking a seat beside her on the couch.

"Hey," I said
She wiped her tears and managed a smile.
"Are you better now? Sorry about earlier" she said.
"I'm fine, but you're not," I said opening the medicine kit. I applied ointment on her forehead and bandaged it.

"Thanks, I didn't know I was hurt. Clumsy me" she chuckled awkwardly.
"I'm sorry about my brother's behavior-
"It's not the first time. I'm fine; really" she said.

It was unbelievable. I couldn't think he did this regularly.
"You're not supposed to be fine with it. I'll talk to my brother-
She cut me off.
"No! That really won't be necessary"
I wasn't asking.

I found Andre at his study.
"Andre?"
"Jules, are you feeling okay? No more symptoms right?" He questioned.
"How could you hit your wife? Worst of all, she got hurt and you didn't even care and I heard it's not your first time laying your hands on her" I fired at him waiting for him to make an excuse.

"Jules, I ... Well... Why are you here? I mean it's unlike you to visit out of the blue"

This is just amusing. He ignored the question and pointed questions at me.

"Well, since you insist.. we're tryna' get pregnant. But so far, no luck. We did tests to see if either of us had complications but nothing. So the doctor said it might be stress. Gregor - my husband, suggested I went on vacation so here I am." I answered.

"O..k" he simply said.
I wasn't giving up just yet.
"Back to my question. Why are you treating her that way? From what I can see she cares deeply about you. Yes, she made a mistake but you should chastise her in love and not raise your hand at her. Are you a monster or a coward?"
I questioned, angrily.

"Jules, boundaries... I'm older -
I interrupted, knowing what he was gonna say. "You're a year older but I've been in this marriage game, way before you. Gregor and I aren't a perfect couple.
We have our differences. It might sound strange but we have a calming room.
Whenever we got into a heated argument that could lead to violence; we'd vent it all out on the punching bags and meditate. Then, we resolve it like mature adults..." I paused, making sure he was listening.

"I'm not saying all these for you to construct a calming room or convert one. No.. all I'm saying is to sort things out calmly and lovingly. You can't keep resorting to violence. You're hurting her emotionally and physically. I know deep down you care, but what's the point of caring if you can't show it or if she can't feel it? Don't cave into beastly instincts. I know you'll make the right choice." I patted him on the shoulder and left.

I sat on a three-legged chair on the balcony. The view of the busy street was quite a scenery. The wind blowing was gentle.

I walked in on Andre and Reyna having a conversation. I didn't wanna eavesdrop but... I did.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Would you please forgive me, once again?" He pleaded while he was on his knees.

As expected, she caved in.
"It's fine. Please get up" she said smiling at him.

I was happy they made up.