Chapter 5

Darwin massaged his tense neck. Just a few minutes ago, he had just finished attending a meeting with several members of the board of directors.

He had just leaned back in his chair when the room door knocked. As he looked up, he found Kennedy and Randy walking towards him, carrying a medium-sized box of unknown contents.

"You guys rarely stop by without giving a heads-up first," Darwin remarked as both of his cousins pulled chairs in front of him. Kennedy handed over the box she was carrying first before taking her seat.

"No time, Win. Just finished the meeting, and I was rushed to deliver this to you," the man explained, pointing to the box he had just handed over.

Darwin's brow furrowed. Straightening up, he moved the box on the table closer to him, intending to check its contents himself.

"What is this?"

"It's a black forest cake," Kennedy responded. She sat down casually, folding her hands in front of her chest. "Luna made it. I told her that you really love black forest cake. It turns out she made a lot to share."

"Even I got a delivery of the cake last night. I don't know if it was freshly baked or what. All I know is it was brought straight to my house," Randy chimed in, adding to Kennedy's statement.

Darwin himself broke into a wide smile. He was pleased with the attention his cousin-in-law showed him.

"Your wife is so amazing. She cares about her husband, children, and the entire family. She remembers even extended relatives."

"She's always been like that! Luna has always been that way. She even thinks about the kids at the orphanage. That's why I love her even more," Kennedy continued.

Darwin nodded in agreement. He didn't dispute Kennedy's statement. As someone who had known Luna for a long time, he was aware that his cousin's wife was indeed kind and caring.

"Must be really nice to be married to a caring woman. Especially when you're in a loving relationship like you two. You're really lucky, Ken."

Kennedy chuckled. She understood what Darwin meant. She also knew that her cousin had been frustrated because he was eventually arranged to marry and forced to marry a woman he didn't love.

A year after returning from South Korea, Kennedy knew that Darwin was thrilled to continue his relationship with his long-distance girlfriend. As Kennedy remembered, her cousin had been preparing to propose and had even planned to ask his girlfriend to marry him.

However, Darwin's hopes were dashed when his father arranged a marriage with another woman for certain reasons. Kennedy remembered well how stressed Darwin had been at that time. He had struggled to refuse, but it didn't change Magnus's decision to marry his son off to the woman of his choice.

Kennedy didn't forget how Darwin had spent nearly three consecutive days at bars or nightclubs, just getting drunk. She and Randy had been worried sick, taking turns bringing their cousin home and trying to reason with him so he wouldn't drown in his sorrow.

"Who said I married a woman I love? Compared to you, my situation is worse, Win. From the beginning, Luna and I weren't a good match. At the beginning, we used to argue a lot. Luna used to be really annoying. If it wasn't for the proposal from Pakuwon, I might not have married her."

Randy next to Kennedy burst out laughing. In truth, he was tired of hearing Darwin complaining about his marriage in every meeting.

"You should have taken lessons from Kennedy, Win. They managed to unite and even love each other eventually. Well, you? You rejected everything before even giving your wife a chance to get close or know each other."

Darwin sighed lazily this time. The thought of having to be polite to Veronica made him feel sick.

"You haven't experienced my situation, Ran. It's not pleasant to marry and live with a woman you don't like."

"Ah, that's probably just your feeling," Randy teased. "Wasn't Kennedy like that with Luna at first too?"

"But Kennedy and Luna had gotten to know each other, even if only as boss and employee, right? As for me, I don't know her at all."

"It's the same, Win," Randy argued.

"It's different, Ran," Darwin grumbled. He was getting annoyed debating with his cousin. "I hope you also get to experience being arranged to marry and wed a stranger you don't know, like, or love. So you'll know what it's like to be in my shoes."

Randy burst into hearty laughter. He wasn't offended or angry at all by the prayer Darwin had directed at him. He was used to hearing his cousin's anger and complaints.

"But after getting married, you stopped getting drunk, right?" This time it was Kennedy who asked. Making sure if Darwin's past bad habits were resurfacing.

"No," Darwin shook his head. "Don't worry. I haven't been to a bar or nightclub since."

"Good," Randy added. "You were causing trouble for others. When you were unconscious, Kennedy and I were exhausted bringing you back home."

"Yeah. Remember when you were unconscious, Randy even tried to give you motion sickness medicine," Kennedy recounted.

Darwin's face twisted. Why on earth had Randy thought of giving him motion sickness medicine?

"What for? Were you trying to kill me?"

"No!" Randy shook his head. "Not trying to kill you! It's motion sickness medicine for alcohol. Maybe if you took it, you'd wake up and your drunkenness would disappear instantly," Randy joked innocently.

"That doesn't even make sense, you fool! There's no connection between alcohol intoxication and motion sickness medicine. You're such a crazy cousin."

Darwin grumbled immediately. He was resigned to having cousins with similarly rude and sometimes absurd behavior.

"Fine. I'm heading back now. If I stay here too long, my work will get neglected."

Kennedy hurried to stand up, followed by Randy. The two men hugged Darwin before leaving the room.

Within seconds of the door closing behind them, another knock sounded followed by footsteps. Without looking up, Darwin, who had just focused on his laptop screen, immediately greeted. He believed it was his secretary who had entered.

"What's up, Alisa? Did you finish the report from this morning?"

There was no response at all. Darwin lifted his face and was immediately surprised. The woman he loved so dearly was standing right in front of him.

"Vivian."

Her name on his lips made her smile broadly. She stepped forward, approaching the spot where Darwin was sitting.

"I'm not interrupting your work, am I?"

Darwin shook his head. Busy or not, he wouldn't mind making time for his sweetheart.

"Why didn't you let me know you were coming here?" Darwin asked curiously. Usually, he would be the one picking up or meeting Vivian first.

"I missed you so much. We haven't seen each other for three days. So, I came straight here to see you."

"Sorry, love. I've been really busy the past few days. Please, don't be upset."

Vivian just smiled. She wasn't even a bit angry or annoyed after hearing the reason Darwin had just given her. She understood completely that her boyfriend was extremely busy with his work.

"It's alright. I know you're busy. What matters is that I can see you now."

Darwin didn't respond to her words. Instead, he pulled Vivian's body onto his lap. Without hesitation, he planted a long and passionate kiss on her lips. He wanted to soothe the longing he felt for his beloved.

"You missed me a lot, didn't you?" Darwin whispered as he broke the kiss.

"Of course. I want to hug you for a long time," Vivian replied, her fingers brushing against Darwin's lips, still wet from their previous kiss. "How about we go to my apartment? Don't you want to spend some quality time together and ease your longing for me?"

Vivian's eyes held a mischievous glint. She was intentionally teasing the man who was currently holding her in his arms.

Darwin immediately raised the corners of his lips. There was no way he would refuse an offer to spend time with the woman he loved so deeply. Besides, it had become quite common for the two of them to spend time together.

"Sure, let's go to your apartment."

With that, Darwin stood up in an instant, completely ignoring his work. He chose to leave. If necessary, he wouldn't even return home today, just to ensure that Vivian felt satisfied spending time with him.