[The Legacy Series] REDAMANCY - Love's Timeless Path

37th Note

I remembered that time we were lying on the couch in the living room of the five-star hotel we booked to stay at in Maryland.

The aroma of citrus, soap, and sweetness from vanilla blend into one. Accompany our silence, which was too quiet. My ears could only hear the sound of raindrops tapping on the window. And occasionally, the flickering of burning candle wicks on the table.

I stretched slowly. Rubbing his thighs, which were as smooth as bamboo cotton, I sometimes wonder how the man whose thigh I'm sleeping on sometimes looks a million times prettier than me.

"Sayang, geli ah," he whined when my fingertips rubbed his thigh again while his hand stroked my head without looking away from the book he was reading.

"Jen."

"Hmm?" His sharp nose, perched by glasses, looked perfect from my point of view. Slowly, his fingers turned over the piece of paper in his grasp.

"King.."

He took a deep breath before taking off his glasses and placing his book on the sofa.

"Yes, my queen?" He answered softly and thoughtfully. This man knows I was asking for his attention just by changing my nickname for him.

"You're not going to leave me, are you?" I whispered softly against his skin.

"I should be the one asking you that." His fingers tickled my ear. It annoyed me, but I still ended up cuddling on his lap.

"There are still times when you and I have different opinions. And sometimes I don't quite understand."

"But we've kept trying to work it out together, right?" He answered me right away. Trying to get rid of the anxiety in my voice.

"Everyone who approached me only have interest in me because of what I have. But it felt like you really know me." I continued again. Turning my sleeping position and looking at his beautiful face.

He smiled.

His incredibly beautiful face looked more like the angels in the fairy tales I read as a child.

"It's been so long since you talked to me like this." He stroked my hair gently. "You know what?"

I tilted my head. "What?"

"I am always grateful that you accepted me as your friend, boyfriend, fiancé, and future husband." He rubbed the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. "I wanted to give back as much as you gave to me.

"I'm not giving you anything." I answered quickly. Hastily got up from my sleep. Making my hair tangle and inviting laughter from his lips.

He shook his head. "You gave me a lot, Haira. And since then, I always wanted to be someone who could give you strength, even in this anxious situation."

He moved towards me. Leaning his face closer before kissing my lips.

"So, don't ever think that I will leave you in whatever situation you face later."

He kissed me again.

"Because I won't."

Again, he tasted my lips. Swallow it before pulling the nape of my neck. Deepen the kiss.

Slowly, he pulled his face away. Stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"You don't have to worry about paying me back or anything else on your mind. I did it because I wanted to make every day of your life easier. I also don't like it when someone else clings to you and squanders your time by using me as an excuse."

He cupped my face. I know there was annoyance in his words just now because some of our colleagues usually try to get close to him just to open up business opportunities with the Darmana — or with me directly. But despite any unpleasant things that happened to him because of me, I could see that he cared about me, and I could feel it from his slightest touch.

"Thank you, sayang." I held his hands, which were still cupping my face, rubbing my lips against his palm. "Thank you for bringing me here when we can see shooting stars and you..." I looked straight into his eyes, which were as sweet as honey. "Asked me to marry you."

I laughed softly.

"I think I understand why people in the old days felt joyous when they saw shooting stars. It is very remarkable to see it in person. I can't help but ponder about things when I see them like that."

He shrugged. "I think something beautiful suits beautiful people too."

I sneered when I heard his answer. "Even now, I still don't know what you like about me. I'm older than you; I'm fierce; and I sometimes like to do whatever I want." I pointed my fingers with my other fingers to count how many flaws I had that he might not see.

"Haira," he called my name, holding both of my hands. "You don't need a particular reason to fall in love." He looked at the ceiling for a bit, trying to come up with anything to say, and then he looked back at me. "Love, in my opinion, is like a fever. It strikes with no regard to a person's will, making them sick with it."

"Kok demam, sih?"

He laughed when heard me protest. "It was just a parable, Sayang," he said, poking my nose lightly. "You have no control over when it happens or who you fall in love with. It doesn't matter what the first trigger was. You can always justify it later. The matter is settled the moment your eyes land on that person."

His hand tightened around mine. "When you see them, your heart races, and you chase after them with enthusiasm. And the inside of you twists when you see them with someone else." He gently kissed my fingertips. "You just let your emotions get the better of you and lose all rationality."

I didn't realize how much I was counting his long eyelashes while I looked at his face.

Being loved by him felt to me like the first manifestation of something magnificent. A sort of love that had never existed for me before. It was so thrilling that I felt I would go mad at the sight of him. Of all the loves that ever happened to me, this was the most intense, sincere, and passionate.

And Jendra himself, of all the things I've had, is the only one that has remained beautiful in the past, present, and will continue to be in the future.

"...You really could like me, no matter what kind of person I am?" I asked him, a little afraid that the answer might not be what I expected.

"Huh?" He looked at me, confused. "Of course."

He seemed to ignore everything else and keep his eyes fixed on me. As if only the fact that I was Haira Darmana mattered.

"You have the same warmth and kindness as spring."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't act absurd. You're just saying that because you love everything about me."

He blinked his eyes. "Of course, it is." He rested his chin on our hands. "Is there really another reason to praise you so much other than because I love you?"

"Oh, Jen." I whined. Feeling defeated by everything he said. "I know. I love you too."

He laughed and planted another kiss on me. "As long as you tell me you love me, I don't care about anything else."

He reminded me of the sun beaming down from the snow-covered heavens. The sun which devours me. The sun which makes me think that living without him was like living in a state of perpetual agony and extreme loneliness, as though the entire world had abandoned me.

Again, the aroma of citrus, soap, and sweetness from vanilla tickled my nose when I closed my eyes as he kissed me more.

"Yeah, Jen. I love you so much."