My Soul Will Find Yours : The Fulfillment of the Promise

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Ignoring them, I continued to wipe my face clean. The moment she recovered from her shock, Anne squealed and hugged me tightly. Marie followed her lead and I was soon enveloped in a group hug. Meanwhile, the rest of the women in the room cheered and congratulated me, a reaction I was not expecting at all. Touched by everyone's show of sincere happiness for me, I felt my eyes tear up.

"Oh, Miss, the thing I have long been praying for has finally came true!" Anne said while still hugging me. "I have always, always prayed for your happiness!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked in amusement while wiping the corners of my eyes.

"We always thought it was unfortunate that you have remained single all these years," Marie answered. "We entered this company at the same time but not once did I hear about you dating someone. I got married, had two kids, but you remained a workaholic who rarely went out to have fun."

"Yes, yes, yes," Anne punctuated each word with a nod of her head. "It turns out you're just a private person."

"An extremely private person," Marie corrected before grinning impishly. She then leaned a little closer to whisper something only the three could hear, "So, how did you and Clark Joseph Kent meet?"

Anne, who once again couldn't contain her emotions, squealed excitedly. "Please tell us, Lois Lane!"

Seeing that there was no way I could freshen up without answering their question, I answered resignedly, "Fine, I'll tell you but could you please let go of me first?"

"Oops."

"Sorry."

"Thank you," I muttered when they broke our hug.

I carefully reapplied my makeup and brushed my hair while they waited.

"It's still working hours so let's talk later," I reminded them.

Once again everyone looked disappointed.

"I promised, okay? I'm not going back on my word."

"We should talk about it over coffee," Marie suggested.

"That's a great idea! Miss loves the café at the ground floor," Anne said.

The two secretaries followed me out of the ladies' room and returned to their respective work desks. When it was time for us to clock out, the both of them were already waiting for me outside my door while the three women from earlier looked like they wanted to take part of the 'exclusive interview.'

~~~

"I only have thirty minutes to spare so if you have questions ask them now," I told the two women opposite me after glancing at my wrist watch.

"Let me start!" Anne pulled her seat closer and, with sparkling eyes, asked, "What is Superman's real name and how did you meet?"

"His name is Kaname. I met him through his cousin," I answered, leaving out the dangerous and gory details of that fateful encounter.

"He has a cousin?" Marie asked with a grin. "Is he as handsome as Mr. Kaname?"

"No one is as attractive as my husband," I scoffed as I stirred my matcha au lait.

Marie laughed at my response, she then asked, "How long have you been together before you decided to get married?"

"Four, almost five years." Technically, I wasn't lying. We have indeed been together that long before I officially became Lady Kirishima... It's just that it was during pre-modern Japan and not in this century.

"You are extremely secretive!" Anne gasped. "So all this time it wasn't because you had high standards that you rejected all your suitors, it was actually because you were already taken!"

"It's actually because of both," I corrected her with a wink.

"Why did you act like you didn't know him when he was the talk of the entire country?" Marie asked.

"Because we both wanted to keep our lives private. If I told the two of you that I knew him, would you have been able to hold your tongues and kept his identity a secret?"

"No," they answered in unison.

"I'd have probably bragged about it to my family and friends," Anne admitted.

"I could've done the same but ask the people I'd tell to keep it to themselves," Marie added.

"But now the cat is out of the bag," I sighed. "I'm just thankful that his popularity isn't as high as it was weeks ago."

"Does he work around the area, Miss?"

"Yes, he works at the gym located at 9th and 30th."

"When are you going to introduce us to him, Lois Lane?"

"Soon," I downed the last of my milky drink and stood up. "It's time for me to go, ladies. Kaname can't drive yet so I'm picking him up."

After saying our goodbyes and going our separate ways, I immediately drove off to Kaname's workplace. Traffic was heavier than usual so I got to the gym a bit late. He was already outside and talking to a man in bright orange workout clothes when I arrived. When he saw me driving over, Kaname bade the man farewell. When I saw that Sabrina was nowhere to be seen, I immediately relaxed.

"Good evening, my beautiful wife," Kaname greeted me before kissing me on the forehead. "How was your afternoon?"

"It was interesting to say the least," I replied with a hint of wryness. "Your visit attracted so much attention in the office, I was ambushed in the washroom."

"Eh?"

"They all recognized you. As a result, I was put on the hot seat and was made to answer several questions about us."

"So that was the first and last time I'll get to drop by?" his bottom lip was slightly jutting out. "I can't visit you at work again?"

"Of course not, baby," I giggled. He looked so adorable with his sulky pout I took advantage of the red light to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You can visit me again!"

"'Baby'?"

"You don't like it?"

"I prefer 'anata,' it's much more expressive."

"Alright."

"Which reminds me, I've recently thought of giving you a pet name aside from 'Hina-chan' and my 'beloved wife'."

"Really? What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know, maybe 'wifey' or 'babe'?"

"No way!" I shook my head vehemently. "You are not calling me either of those!"

"But they're adorable," he said in a persuasive tone.

"No, they're not," I snorted. "Besides, I don't want you to call me in the same way Tyler used to."

"Let me guess, he called you babe?"

"Yes, so think of something else."

"Fine," he grunted and slumped back on his chair with his arms crossed on his chest like a petulant child.

Kaname was silent for the rest of the drive home. When he spoke again, we were already in the driveway.

"How about 'mahal[1]'?" he asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

My fingers paused and I felt my cheeks warm up. To most people I know, mahal was either an old-fashioned or cheesy way of addressing their significant other. I, on the other hand, have always secretly found this term of endearment cute. With my eyes lowered shyly, I nodded by assent. Kaname was not satisfied so he held my chin and made me look at him.

"I need to hear you say it," he said in a tone that clearly said he was dead serious.

"Yes, anata," my blush deepened. "You may call me mahal."

"Why are you blushing?"

He unbuckled my seatbelt for me before wrapping his arms around me. I looked down again when I saw his odd eyes shining with glee.

"Why do you look so happy?" I countered.

"Because calling you mahal does that to me," he answered solemnly. "Now tell me, why are you blushing? Aside from 'my love,' it doesn't have any other meaning, does it?"

"That is its only meaning if you pronounce it that way[2]," I answered.

"And?" he prompted.

"I've always secretly adored that word. Now that someone I love so much calls me that, I can't help but feel so special," I hid my heated face on his chest.

Kaname chuckled. "You are so adorable, mahal," he whispered playfully to my ear.

"S-stop!" I pounded his chest with one clenched fist, earning me another amused snicker.

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[1] My love in Filipino. Since Hina calls Kaname anata (Japanese TOE, obviously), I wanted him to address her in a TOE that's in her mother tongue.
[2] Depending on how one pronounces it, mahal can either mean my love or expensive.