Chapter 49


    Justin rubbed his eyes and ustomed himself to his surroundings. He woke up not to the warmth of


    the sunlight kissing his skin, or to the chilly space beside him, rather it was the sound of Serene’s shout


    He scrunched his brows. What’s going on with my woman? Did she go crazy? Why is she shouting this


    early in the morning? He got out of bed, wearing only his pajama bottom.


    “Kurosawa!” she shouted, waving her arms in the air. The person whom she called had his yawn


    caught in his throat. Seeing Serene on the opposite balcony took Dn by surprise. He knew that the


    Lewis’s and Ellis’s were neighbors, but he did not know that Mary’s and Serene’s rooms were directly


    across each other.


    Serene yelped when she felt a powerful arm hug her waist and sniffed her neck.


    “You’re awake,” she turned around to face Justin andced her hands on his neck, then give him a


    quick peck on the lips.


    “Hey, you two get a room!” Dn shouted from the other balcony.


    Justin just gave his best friend a stony stare, then guided Serene back inside. The two quickly changed


    to meet with Carol and Conrad for breakfast.


    Unlikest night’s spread, today’s menu was simple. Serene got her usual toast and marmde while


    he had bacon and hash brown.


    “Shen, your Aunt Martha asked you toe over for lunch. So after you guys eat your breakfast head


    over to the other house,” Carol exined while pouring a cup of coffee for Conrad and Justin. Both


    men mumbled their thanks.


    “Unless of course you want Martha to cook lunch,” Conrad said, then chuckled.


    “Dear!” Carol admonished her husband.


    After breakfast, they head out to the house next door. Serene introduced him to Martha and George, Al


    and Mary’s parents. Martha had a jolly personality, while George was reticent.


    Their children were already familiar to him and no longer needed any introductions. He met Mary once


    while he and Al had business deals together.


    After her introduction, she left him to Martha and George to head to the kitchen. Al secretly exined to


    him that his mom’s not versed in the kitchen. They would rather order out than eat her cooking.


    After spending a couple of hours in the kitchen, the helpers called them to the dining area where a


    spread of seafood dishes weed them.


    Serene was already sitting at the round table. The rest of them joined her. He took the seat to her right.


    Seeing Dn take the seat beside Serene instead of Mary took Justin by surprise, but he just shrugged


    it off.


    “Here you go, Shen,” George handed her a bottle of medicine which he now understood as


    antihistamines. Serene epted it and popped a couple of tablets in her mouth, then gulped her water.


    While the rest of the table dug into the dishes she prepared, Serene had to wait a couple of minutes


    before eating anything. Justin waited with her.


    Serene took a couple of tiger prawns and expertly peeled them, then ced it on Justin’s te. She did


    the same for the crabs. Only when she got satisfied with the quantity of food on his te did she put


    food on hers.


    “Shen, did Justin use my room?” Al asked while he peeled his shrimps.


    “No. We shared a room.” Feeling Justin’s aura getting colder, she exined further, “Al and Mary each


    have a room in our house. When Aunt Martha and Uncle George go on trips, Mom insists they live with


    us.”


    Justin simply nodded and held her knee from under the table, startling her a little. She smiled at him


    and continued binging on her prawns.


    “Oh boy, Carol must be desperate to have a grandchild!” Martha said in between chuckles.


    Everyone from the tableughed at Martha’s statement except for Serene, who could not help but


    choke on her food after hearing what Martha said. Justin was quick to give her a ss of water and


    rubbed her back as she coughed to stabilize her breathing. Her face turned scarlet from Martha’s


    teasing.


    Throughout the meal, Justin observed that Serene and Mary had not spoken a word with each other,


    which he found odd. He knew that even distance could not separate them. Serene called Mary more


    than she called Conrad and Carolbined.


    After the meal, George invited everyone to lounge on thenai by the pool. From a distance, the pool


    water glistened under the sun. Inviting then to take a plunge.


    Serene took Justin’s arm and urged him to walk towards thenai. She wanted to put as much space


    between them and Mary and Dn. Serene had not been talking to her since her arrival. Serene felt


    miffed because she still had not told her about her rtionship with Dn.


    “Shen, please…” Mary said, grabbing her hand while she and Justin walked out of the dining area.


    Serene gave Justin a quick look. He nodded and continued his way to thenai with Dn trailing him.


    Serene crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Mary. Most of the time, it’s her using the


    pleading tone to Mary. This time their roles have changed.


    Mary looked at her friend. Serene hardly put on a serious face. She’s always full of smiles. However,


    today her lips merged to a single line and one of her brows arched as she looked at her. Mary chewed


    on her lip, then plunged herself forward to embrace Serene.


    “I’m sorry, I did not tell you right away,” she said. Her voice sounded muffled since her mouth was on


    Serene’s shoulder.


    “I meant to tell you, but you beat me into it. I’m sorry. It’s not my intention to hide it from you.” She


    hugged her tightly then looked her friend in the eyes, “Shen, please…”


    “You happy?” Serene sincerely looked at her friend. She’d never seen her glow this much. Mary looked


    at her and nodded. Serene hugged Mary back.


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    From when they were kids until they’re grown, it took little for them to make up. They hugged each


    other’s waist then walked to thenai where everyone had cold drinks and fruit.


    Nobody seemed to notice the two young women when they arrived at thenai. The younger men


    huddled on one side, talking about business. The couple were lovingly talking to one another, not


    caring about the young ones. Mary and Serene went to the changing room on the side of thenai to


    change into their swimsuits.


    Mary wanted her to wear a two-piece bikini, which she adamantly refused. Defeated, she gave serene


    a one-piece bathing suit, the front of which was fully covered while the scooped-back ended just a few


    inches above her buttocks.


    While no one noticed them going inside the changing room, it was not the same when they got out.


    Justin’s eyes immediately darted to Serene’s and felt quite relieved when he saw she was more


    covered than Mary, who wore a two-piece bikini.


    He gave her a smile and a wink when their eyes met. Serene beamed at him. After getting an


    affirmative reaction from Justin, she and Mary ran toward the pool and jumped like they did when they


    were kids.


    Justin immediately regretted giving Serene his affirmation the moment he saw how low Serene’s


    scooped-back swimsuit was. He wanted to fish her out of the pool but hesitated after seeing her and


    Mary happily sshing water to each other. After seeing the two have finally patched up their


    misunderstandings, he decided to just let this one slide.