Time flew by so quickly. Our vacation is over, and it's time to get back to my normal life.
I carefully got out of bed, trying not to disturb the person beside me and also so I wouldn't aggravate my sore back. Pond's stamina in bed is truly unbelievable. He almost broke me last night. Now my hips and back are aching.
"Good morning," I whispered to Pond before giving him a quick kiss on his forehead. Then, I carefully slipped out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up and hide the marks Pond left on me last night on my neck. Seriously, sometimes I wonder if Pond is a vampire. He loves to bite and leave hickeys on the more visible parts of my body. And they're so hard to cover up.
"Why are you covering it?"
"Shia! Ai Pond!" I threw the towel at Pond, the one I could reach. He was leaning against the door of the walk-in closet, clearly enjoying the surprise he'd caused.
"Don't cover it. It's my mark on you." He walked over and took the concealer I was holding.
"Pond, stop. I need to cover it. There are so many of them."
"No."
"And why not?"
"It's my mark on you."
"Are you a mosquito, leaving all these marks?"
"I want everyone to know that I own you."
"By these?" I pointed at the marks on my neck. "How will they know you're the one who did this? Are they going to run a DNA test on these marks?"
"If they can afford it, why not."
I shook my head in disbelief and grabbed the concealer back from Pond. "What are you so worried about? I'm yours and only yours. Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you, but not my dad's employees at the office."
I looked at him and let out a deep sigh. "I'm all yours, Pond. I can be friendly with them, but I'm yours. You have nothing to worry about. No one can take me away from you."
"Fine."
I stood up and kissed Pond on the lips. "I love you, and I will always love you."
"I love you too, baby. Can you skip work today? I'll call Dad and tell him you can start tomorrow instead."
I couldn't help but laugh loudly. Pond being unreasonable like this is just so cute.
"I'll be home right away. And you can have me all night."
"Okay, I'll take you there. I just need to shower first."
I shook my head and chuckled as Pond turned his back to me and headed straight for the bathroom. Pond will always be Pond.
Today is my first day at work at one of Pond's family's companies. The job I had lined up before I went to Thailand got put on hold because of everything that happened. Pond's father stepped in to help, and then he hired me afterward.
"I'll pick you up later. If there's a welcome party, I'll come with you."
"Mm. Noted." He really can't sit still. I'm working in one of their companies, yet he's worried that someone might take me away from him. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or annoyed. It feels like he doesn't trust me at all.
As soon as I stepped out, the security guard at the entrance greeted me. He was smiling so widely that I glanced over my shoulder. Pond was standing next to his car, watching me. Now I get it. The guard is sharp enough to immediately recognize who I am.
I went straight to the third floor, where my department is located. I saw Aimee, who seemed to have just arrived as well.
"Good morning!" she greeted me cheerfully.
"Good morning," I replied simply.
Aimee is my classmate from elementary school and also my schoolmate before I went to the US. She used to dislike me because she had a crush on Gemini back when we were kids. She was a transferee, and she didn't know that Gemini and I were twins. But when she found out, she became much friendlier, even calling me "brother-in-law" because she said she would definitely marry Gemini. After our elementary graduation, she had to go back to Berlin with her dad for reasons I didn't care to know. She promised Gemini she would be his wife someday.
However, when we saw her again on our first day of college, she completely ignored Gemini and focused all her attention on Dunk. Later, we found out that Aimee is the only heir to her father's business, and they were planning an arranged marriage with Dunk for business purposes. That's when she started to dislike Joong, especially after she learned that Joong and Dunk were in a relationship and had their parents' blessings.
She went back to Berlin on her third year college and continue her studies there. But now she's back not to gain any work experience but to get close to one of Pond cousin who happened to be a descendants of a royal family.
For clarification, Pond is not a descendants of a royal family.
"What's with the awkward vibe, Phu?" Aimee asked as she walked over to me.
"What do you mean?" I placed my bag on my designated desk, then looked at Aimee.
"You didn't talk to me. I feel like I'm some stranger to you."
"Didn't I say good morning?"
"Yeah. That's it."
"Is there something else I should be saying?"
"You should asked how I am?"
"You looked fine to me, so, why should ask?"
I couldn't figure out what she wanted from me. We're not close; we just know each other. She looks perfectly fine with all her makeup and that super short dress, which is obviously not appropriate for someone working in an office.
"You're harsh, Phu."
"Excuse me, Aimee, are you flirting with me?"
"Why? Is that a problem?"
I scoffed, shocked by her response. No wonder Pond warned me about her last night. He told me not to get too close to Aimee because he didn't trust her.
"I'm not your future husband, right? I mean, I am not your prospect for that position. So why flirt with me?"
"You're not my prospect, yes, but you can be my other guy."
I shook my head. She's exactly what Pond thinks she isâa flirt. The kind of woman who doesn't even understand what self-respect is.
"I don't fit into that kind of role, Aimee, and I never will. So stop. I'm not interested in being your other guy."
"As I expected," she replied, unfazed. "Well, it's fine. I have others on my list. I can try with Mr. Pond, the heir to this company. If I can't have his prince cousin, at least I can have him."
I couldn't even manage a smile or a comeback to what she said. Even though I had every right to be angry with Aimee, I restrained myself.
No one knows what my relationship with Pond is, and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want to be the subject of office gossip. It's not that I really care, but I just don't want to be the topic of conversation here. And if it ever gets out in the company what I am Pond's lover, I want it to be something they find out on their own.
I turned my back on Aimee, fished my phone out of my pocket, and sent a message to Pond.
'Don't you even dare come here. Stay at the main company. I don't want Aimee seeing you.'
"Jealous?" came his reply.
"Yes. And I still don't know how to handle this jealousy. Honestly, I'm scared to find out."
"But I want to see you jealous, baby."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then come here. Let's see where I'm sleeping for the next month."
"Oh. I changed my mind. I'll stay here. Looks like Dad really needs me at the office right now."
I smirked. Dealing with Pond's naughty imagination has become pretty easy lately. I can threaten him in such simple ways now. I find it funny and cute at the same time. It's like I'm taming a golden retriever.
Would I sound too harsh if I decided to tape Aimee's mouth shut and stick her to her chair tomorrow?
After our brief welcome ceremony in the meeting room, Aimee did nothing but talk to me and Dreep, one of our coworkers. She kept asking questions like, "How do I do this?" "Is this okay?" "Where should I put this? Here or there?" Like, seriously? We have completely different tasks. I'm in charge of checking the bugs on the company's website, including the hotel and online selling platforms. Dreep handles other technical issues for the hotel and restaurant websites, while Aimee is responsible for editing the product photos to post online. I'm not sure if she's just trying to get her tasks perfect or if she's trying to flirt with Dreep since we're all sitting together.
If it is the latter, I want to know if her brain is working properly or her comprehension was left somewhere else. Dreep already make it clear that he is a gay and he's already in a steady relationship for 7 years. If she's flirting with me, then, her comprehension is nowhere to he found.
She made me tired and drained.
"Are you okay, baby?" Pond asked, rubbing his hair with a towel. He had just come out of the bathroom, and his fresh-out-of-the-shower scent was lingering in the room.
"I'm not." I sighed deeply, then sat up on the bed. I signaled for him to come over so I could dry his hair. Knowing him, he'd probably just lie down with wet hair.
"Why?" He kissed me on the cheek before sitting down on the floor next to me.
"Aimee. She's draining the life out of me."
"Should I ask Dad to transfer her?"
"Where would you even transfer her? To the main office? No way."
Pond let out a loud laugh.
He turned around, grabbed my hand, and kissed the back of it while his eyes stayed locked on mine. "You're cute when you're jealous."
I blushed. I knew my cheeks were red because I could feel the heat rising, even though the air conditioning was on.
"Pond." I whined.
"If Aimee is stressing you, I can transfer him in Chiang Mai or Pattaya. She can be away from all of us."
"Will your dad allowed it?"
"Of course. Dad don't want him around us."
"Okay. Do whatever you want. I don't want her to see you. I can't promise anything if she flirt with you."
"Noted on that."
"Okay. Then, let's call it a day."
I handed him the towel and crawled back into bed. Just as I was about to lie down, I felt Pond's breath on my neck.
"Should we?"
"Tsk. Pond." I said in warning tone.
"I miss my baby badly."
I secretly rolled my eyes. The most scariest word from Pond is I MISS YOU because my body will surely sore tomorrow.
I turn and look at him. "Not now Pond."
"But baby..."I put my forefinger on his lips.
"You'll behave and lay down beside me or I'll sleep at the guest room. Maybe I should asked Gem to..."
"I said we should call if a day. We should sleep. I hang the towel first and we will sleep peacefully."
I couldn't help but laugh as Pond quickly got off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom to hang up the towel. He's so clingyâthough, not that I'm complaining. It's just that, for someone as big and tough as he is, seeing him act so clingy with me is both funny and cute. His clinginess is actually pretty rare, which makes it even more endearing. When I say I'm going to leave his side, he immediately follows, making sure I'm still around. If he could make me a keychain or a bracelet to keep me close, I'm sure he would. He's that kind of guyâanything to make sure I don't go too far. I honestly love it, though. I like how attached he is to me. It's like I'm his whole world, and I can't help but feel special because of it. He's my giant cutie, my clingy golden retriever, and I wouldn't change him for anything.