SPLASH!


    Rudy washed his face by pping the water on his face. He sshed so much water that some of it got into his hair and rolled down his forehead with a trail.


    He looked at his reflection in the mirror and let out a weary sigh.


    ''I fell asleep during the ss. That''s… weird. Sure, this is not my first time falling in the ss, but that was always when I was tired, mentally or physically. I don''t understand why I fell asleep now, especially in Rize''s lecture.''


    "Tch! I missed my precious time when I could stare at Rize without being interrupted. Also, I should get a haircut. Elena cut my hair thest time, and she actually did an excellent job at that.


    Maybe I will ask her to cut my hair again after— eighteen years." Rudy let out a soft sigh and muttered, "There I go again… missing Elena. I will call her again after school—"


    RING~! RING!


    Rudy checked his phone and saw a familiar phone number as the caller.


    "..." Rudy took a deep breath and answered the call, and then he let out his breath. Of course, it was Elena.


    [Hello, who is this?] she asked.


    "It''s me."


    ''Does she not have my phone number added to her contact list? There is no way that''s possible!''


    [Umm… who? Is this a prank call?]


    "No, no, it''s me. Rudy!"


    [Rudy? No, you can''t be him. I have his contact ID, and this is not his phone number.]


    "...oh! Right!" Rudy facepalmed himself and muttered, "I called her with the private number Maria had given me."


    [Speak up, I can''t hear you!]


    "Where are you right now?" Rudy asked calmly.


    [I am at the airport. My flight got dyed, so I am waiting for it to arrive.]


    "Are you on your way home?"


    [No, actually. I am flying to the neighboring city. It''s like 5 AM here.]


    "When will you arrive here? Are you busy tomorrow too?"


    [I have five meetings today at different ces in the surrounding cities. And then I have one more, which I don''t need to attend physically. Why do you ask?]


    Rudy ignored Elena''s question and asked, "So you won''te home for a few days?"


    [No, I will be home tomorrow at noon or evening. Why are you calling me to ask all that? Did Eric ask you to contact me to make sure about my whereabouts?] she chuckled.


    "Huh?"


    [I don''t know. Don''t boys usually invite their friends over for parties when they are home alone?]


    "You and I both know that Eric is not that kind of boy."


    [That''s true. So why did you call me? It''s so random. We haven''t talked in thest few months. How are you doing? Is everything okay at school? How is Reba? She is taking care of herself, right? Keep an eye on her, so she doesn''t force herself. She has a habit of overexerting herself.]


    ''It might have been a few months since youst saw or talked to Rudy, but I haven''t seen the milf Elena in years.''


    [Hello? Are you there?]


    "Yes, mom is enjoying her life, thanks to you. And I am too. And judging by your voice, it seems you are enjoying yourself too," Rudy smiled distantly.


    [What else can I do? Nothing.]


    "I… I got the wallet from Eric…"


    [...]


    "Thank you for the wallet."


    [Did you like it?]


    "Yes. It was perfect. I needed it in my life."


    [Do you… have you felt or remembered anything strange after receiving the wallet?]


    "That depends on your definition of weird."


    [Err… like, maybe you had a dream where you were living a normal life as a guardian of three girls?]


    "Or having a romantic rtionship with their school teacher?"


    [And doing wild things with her,] she added.


    "Or raising the kids together?"


    [And dreaming of having their own kids in the future. And… and starting a…]


    "...starting a family with her?"


    [..Yes…]


    Rudy could easily hear Elenor''s voice breaking while speaking, as though she was trying to hold her tears.


    "Hey… my pervert…"


    [That title doesn''t belong to me,] she chuckled.


    "Are you okay? Your voice sounds a little…"


    [Yeah, I just had to move to the corner because people were ncing at me.]


    "I don''t know if it applies, but… I am back."


    [I will cancel all my meetings and catch the next flight to—]


    "No, please. Do what you must."


    [What are you saying? My work is not as important as you are. Nothing is more important than you.]


    "Yes, I know. But what about the others? You said you have five meetings today, and there must be dozens, if not hundreds, of people gathered for the meeting. If you cancel, you might lose your chance to get the deals. And it will affect your business.


    Moreover, even if you cancel ande here, you will eventually have to go back to the meetings sooner orter. So just finish your work, so we can meet and spend time together without worrying," he asserted calmly.


    [You used to say the same thing to Reba and Jessica whenever their holidays started. You would ask them to finish their homework in the first week so they could enjoy the rest of the vacation without worrying.]


    "Yes."


    [So… we will meet tomorrow.]


    "Yes. Time will pass by in no time."


    [Okay. I will talk with youter. My flight has just been announced.]


    "I don''t think you need this, but take care."


    BEEP~!


    Rudy was talking with Elena on the phone while staring at his reflection in the mirror.


    "I should—!"


    DING~ DONG~!


    "..."


    ''Rize is going to kill me!''


    Rudy gulped down, but not in fear. He knew Rize wouldn''t do anything to him. In fact, he was happy that he would get to spend some alone time with her.


    Rudy rushed to his ssroom to find it empty.


    "What the—! The bell rang like twenty seconds ago. How the hell did everyone leave so quickly?"


    "Because they all left a few minutes ago."


    Rize was standing at the doorway with her arms folded below her bosom and a disappointed re in her eyes.