Chapter 17: Chapter 16

The next day

“Husband will you drop me to the mall on your way?” Teresa gets inside the car.

“Nope. Why should i?” He shrugs.

“I’m your wife.” She waves her hand infron of his face and then points at herself.

“Contract wife.” He gives a mocking smile.

“A wife is a wife. You can’t say no.” She moves her index finger side to side.

“I can and get out of my car!” He signs her to get out.

“Don’t be like that! You’ll have to! You don’t have a choice! I’m not getting out!” She crosses her arms and looks forward.

He glares at her for a minutes and when she show any sign of giving up,

“Fine.” He starts the car, surrendering to her stubborness.

“Good.” She smiles.

***

“You only came yesterday. Why should you meet Rina today again?”

“You ate yesterday then why bother having a breakfast today?” She retorts.

“Forget it.” he rolls his eyes.

“You started it!”

“Ok i got it! Whatever!”

“Cool. Now drive.”

“Did you just order me?” He glares at her.

“Please drive, dear husband. Happy?” She blinks at him, her eyes sparkling like a puppy’s.

“By the way, husband can i ask you something?” Her tone changes to a serious one. There’s something bothering her for quite a long time and she needs to know about it.

“If i say no, you won’t?”

“Okay wrong question. I’m going to ask you, you just answer.”

“What?”

“okay so here it goes” she mutters and takes a deep breath, “What’s your deal with Sam?”

His grip on the steering wheel is tightened at the mention of the name of his cousin, “What deal? Nothing?” He replies sternly.

Realising this question sisn’t get her anywhere she pushes further, “Okay again wrong question. Let me be more specific, what’s your deal with his wife?”

The car comes to halt abruptly.

“Take it easy, husband. I don’t want to die so soon!” Teresa shouts at her husband.

“May I ask why are you suddenly curious about them?” Ryouma turns to face his wife.

“Well, yesterday i met the couple and it’s a wife’s intuition, just asking?” She answers casually.

“Stop pocking your nose in my business.” He replies with a scowl on his face and starts the car again.

“Come on tell me.”

“Just shut your mouth.” He grits his teeth.

“hmm... you know if you grit that loud, you’ll break your tooth someday. Now I’m starting to pity them too... your poor teeth!” She clicks her tongue.

“Can’t you just keep your mouth shut for a minute?” He shouts.

“So if i keep my mouth shut for a minute, will you answer me?”

He stops the car again and glares at her.

“Okay okay, wait a minute.” She gets out of the car and knocks on the window, sking him to lower them. “here, Happy?” she then smiles at him.

“I’m not in for your stupid jokes so get in!”

“Why? I’m helping you out. You didn’t even have to put effort throwing me out of the car. I got out myself, see? So bye bye.” she waves her hands at him.

“Are you holding a grudge against me? What kind of joke is this? Just get in.”

“Wait! Let me just get my purse and my phone.” She grabs her things through the window, “Now you can go.”

“Okay!” He sighs, “I AM SORRY! You wanted to hear this right? now don’t make me repeat myself! Just get in the car!”

“No, no you can go i’m totally fine with it! And its easier for you. You always throw me out when you don’t want to answer. If i get in, then I’ll irritate you with my questions and trust me i have tons of them so leave when you have the chance.”

“Teresa, if you don’t want me to carry you and throw you inside the car, Get.in.the.car! Now!” He glares at her.

“Woah! hold on there! I was just kidding husband! No need to get angry. You need to get some anger management done. But i’m really getting down here. And before you decide to come out let me tell you Rina is meeting me here. You were too busy being angry, didn’t even realize we’re already here. See there” She point at a building, “that’s the mall, so you can leave.”

“Really?” He raises his brows at her.

“Really, really.” She nods.

“You want me to stay here until she comes?” He offers.

“Oh my dear husband, don’t be like this, it doesn’t suit you. Really! You can go.”

“Are you sure?”

“yes very sure. Bye bye. Have a good day.”

“You too.” He drives off.

Ryouma’s P.O.V

I reached my office with a heavy heart.

I don’t know why but i feel like something bad is going to happen. But it just might be a thought. I attended the meeting but i wasn’t able to concentrate at all.

“Excuse me gentlemen. I just need to make an urgent call.” I excused myself and went out of the room.

I dialed my wife’s number.

“Why is she not answering?”

I called again.

“Damn.” I threw my phone, which broke into pieces.

I turned to my secretary and told him to get a new phone which should be on my hands as soon as i finish the meeting.

I finished the meeting within 15 minutes and called my wife again.

“She better pick it up this time.”

Now unreachable?

“Are you for real? Why do you even carry a phone?” I was about to throw my phone again.

Okay now, lets just call her best friend.

But wait I don’t have her number.

I decided to call Rihito, no matter how many stupid questions I’ll have to answer, I’ll do it. But right now i need to talk to my wife. I’m sure he has her number.

“Rina or whatever her name was, give me her number.” I asked him as soon as he picked the call.

“Seriously Ryouma, leave her. She’s your wife’s best friend.” He joked.

“Cut your stupid jokes, they’re not even funny. Joke again and I’ll hit your head. Just give me the damn number.”

“Oi everything okay? You sound--”

“I sound desperate, frustrated? Ok i am! Just text me the damn number!”

“I don’t think I’ll need to text it.”

“I told you to keep your jokes aside didn’t i?”

“I’m not joking at all, look at your door. I’m here.”

“What?” I looked up at the door.

“Hey!” He waved his hand. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know. Even I want to make sure it is. That idiot wife of mine wasn’t picking up her phone at first and now it’s unreachable. Just call her friend already!”

*phone buzzing*

Rihito looked at her phone and widened his eyes and smiled.

He looked at me and answered the call. “Do we have a telepathic connection? I was about to call you.”

“What’s with everyone aiming for my head?” He murmured.

“What’s wrong?” I couldn’t hear what she said but his playful tone now was replaced by a serious one.

“What? When?”

“I’m with him.”

“Did you drop Teresa today?” He looked at me.

“Yes.” I answered him.

Oh I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“Where?” He asked.

“The place where they were supposed to meet, near the mall.” I answer.

“He says he dropped her near the mall.” He aswered the call.

“Okay. Got it. We’ll be there.” He cut the call and looked at me.

“What happened?”

“First calm down and do not panic.”

Too late. I’m already about to explode.

“What the hell happened?”

And he dropped the bomb.

“Your wife is missing.”

I had a bad feeling about this! I shouldn't have left her alone! I should have gone with my instincts! Damn!

Rina’s P.O.V

When i reached the place, Teresa wasn’t there.

“But she texted me that she reached, like 15 minutes ago.”

Where did she go?

I’ll just call her.

Why is her phone unavailable?

“May be she already went to Ai-chan?”

Ai-chan’s bakery was a little away from the mall. It’s our usual place to hang out. I entered the bakery and looked around, she’s not here.

“Rina!” Ai chan called my name and waved her hand.

Ai Sakura, 24 years old, sweet and charming girl and owner of the bakery. We met her around high school when Teresa discovered the bakery. Back then the bakery was small, mostly undiscovered and her mother used to run the place. But after college when her mother’s health began to deteriorate Ai chan took the responsibility of the bakery on her hands. We used to spend our times doing part time on the bakery, because Teresa decided to make the bakery popular in the market.

“Its unfair how you’ve hidden this tasty donut from the people. You should expand the bakery.” She suggested.

So after school we used to help Ai chan distributing pamphlets and Teresa literally used to announce about the bakery in the school assembly and get punished by the principal. She is a kind of girl who can go to any extent to help her friends.

After seven yrs the bakery has caught everyone’s attention and now the no.1 bakery in town.

“Hi Ai-chan!” I waved back.

“Is Teresa already here?” I asked her.

“No. I thought you guys were coming together?

“Yes. We were supposed to meet near the mall but she arrived earlier then me and i didn’t see her there so i thought she came here?”

“I haven’t seen her.”

“Her phone is unavailable.”

“Let’s wait for few minutes.”

“I’m worried because she has no sense of direction at all.”

“It’s been seven years she’s coming here. I don’t think she’ll get lost.”

But she’s the type of person who can even forget her way home. She’s that clumsy. I thought.

After 10 minutes.

We’ve asked everyone around. But no one saw her.

Ai:“Where did she go?”

Rina:“God! Why is her phone unreachable?”

Ai:“What do we do?”

I don’t know why i am calling him but i cant think of anything right now. My mind is in a mess.

” Do we have a telepathic connection? I was about to call you.” He answered.

“Keep your stupid Jokes to yourself or else I’ll hit your head.”

"What’s with everyone aiming for my head?” “What’s wrong?”

“Teresa is missing and her phone is unreachable. I don’t know what to do!"I said with a trembling voice. My tears threatened to fall.

“what? Where?”

“we were supposed to meet half an hour ago, but she’s not here yet. She texted me she already reached like 45 minutes ago. Wait, Ryouma was supposed to drop her here. Give me his no.”

“I’m with him. Wait a minute.” “He says he dropped her near the mall.”

“Okay. we’ll look around again.” I answered him.

“Okay. We’ll be there soon.”

“Just where are you, stupid? Just be safe.” I murmured.