She's My Sleeping Pill

She checked her phone and found it was already 8 o’clock in the evening. She was still wide awake even though she wanted to sleep early. She opened her phone and found Cayenne’s number. It would be better if she asks for advice from someone who experienced a lot of things.

‘Ms. Yen, are you still awake?’

Stefan was busy checking out the wedding plan while his wife answered her assignments. She was supposed to answer them earlier but she got busy when she remembered the things she needed for the weekend. She almost forgot her assignments. Stefan took out her phone from her bag and saw Elena’s message.

“Elena sent you a message.” He said without opening it even though he knew the password.

“Can you read it for me?”

“She’s asking if you are awake. I’ll tell her you are answering your assignments.”

.....

“No. I can use a little break to answer that.” She put down her pen and accepted the phone from him. She leaned on the couch between his thighs and leaned her head on his knees while dialing Elena’s number.

“Ms. Yen, am I disturbing you? I’m really sorry.”

“Not really. I was just reading some books. Do you need my help or something?”

“Well, I just have some questions for you. It’s a little private, though but I really need some advice before I lose my mind.”

“Chill. Just calm down. I’ll be listening to you. Don’t worry, I’d be glad to share some advice from my experience.”

Elena sat up on her bed and leaned on her headboard while looking at the red carnations she picked from her trash bin. That’s right. She picked the flowers she threw earlier. “Tristan and I talked during lunch and our conversation bothers me so much. I don’t want to jump head start in a relationship that I am not sure of.”

“There’s really no assurance when you start a relationship with someone. It depends on you if really want to start something with him.”

“Then, how did you make up your mind to start over again with the boss? I mean, you almost had a divorce with him, right?”

“Hmm...about that, I don’t really remember much now. When I decided to start over with him, I told myself not to dwell on our past. The first few months of our relationship was built with lies and secrets. We didn’t fully trust each other that time. So, when one thing was exposed, it crumbled our relationship. When he knocked on my door again, well, what exactly happened after that?”

“You shut the door for me. I had to use any means just to get close to you again. If it weren’t for Erwin and your brothers, I don’t know how long I’d spend sitting outside the house.”

Cayenne chuckled when she heard his response. “Did you hear that? The beginning of our relationship wasn’t all that sweet at all. Well, there were sweet moments but there were bad times, too. Ah! I remember. We fought one time and it caused me to have an ulcer because you forgot to feed me.”

“is that counted? We weren’t in a relationship back then. Don’t remind me of that because I always feel guilty when it crosses my mind.”

“That’s why he makes sure to feed me on time.” Cayenne told Elena which made the latter laugh on the other side of the line. “The things he missed doing in the past, he tries to make up for it now. My husband isn’t a perfect man. I’m not a perfect wife either. But our imperfections make us whole.”

“What if I say Yes and later on, he’ll break my heart again?”

“I had that question over and over inside my head. But nothing would really happen if you won’t take a step. Aside from that, wouldn’t you regret if you won’t do anything? Since you would regret anyway, why not make a leap of faith and just give your heart to him. If he breaks it again, just remember that you still have your family and friends. They will always have your back. You can always move on. You can love again until you find the right person. Because sometimes, fate will allow us to love the wrong person to learn a lesson.”

“Huh? I thought boss is your first love?”

“That’s another story. Let’s not talk about it because my husband doesn’t like me to mention it. His pride will be hurt.”

“That’s expected of the boss.”

“Anyway, if you need more advice, I can always arrange a tea party with all several women from my circle of friends. They can give you good advice as well.”

“Thank you, Ms. Yen. I’m good for now. I’ll think about it really, really hard before I make a free fall of this relationship.”

“Hn. That’s good to know. I suggest you think about this during the day or you won’t get any sleep tonight.”

“Yes. I’ll do that. Goodnight Ms. Yen. Goodnight boss.”

When the call ended, Cayenne immediately looked for Tristan’s name from her contact list and sent him a message. ‘Do something to impress her again. Also, if she ever agrees to have relationship with you, do not, I mean it, DO NOT ever hurt her. I will really pluck your hair one after another if you hurt Elena again.’

Tristan received the message while decoding the things written on the paper that Jackie gave. The smile on his face bloomed like he won a lottery and he ordered a bunch of red carnations which were made of cloth. In that way, they won’t wither and rot. ‘Hopefully, she won’t throw them again.’

As for Elena, she went outside of her home and cut three bunch of daisies before going back to bed. Her mother who saw what she did was confused but she let her be, thinking she might want to place flowers inside her bedroom. She had no idea that Elena just plucked the petals one by one, counting whether he loves her or not. He said it already but she was still stubborn and silly, thinking a flower could tell her the truth.

Thankfully, the last petal ended with ‘he loves me’. If it was the opposite, Tristan would probably hate all daisies in the world.

The next morning, Elena woke up from the series of knockings on her door. Still groggy, she walked to the door and opened it, only to see her mother’s grin plastered on her face.

“Ma? What’s going on? It’s not time for me to go to work yet.”

“Just so you know Maria Elena, your alarm has gone off three times already. Just what you been doing last night for you to wake up this late? Your friend has been waiting for you downstairs for almost an hour now.” Then, her mother grinned once again.

“Friend? Who would come to pick me at this hour?”

“He said his name is Tristan.”

“Tris-what?’

“Tristan.”

“How does he look?”

“Why are you asking me that?! Go and shower already. My gosh! You are an adult already. Why are you still acting like love-struck teenager?”

Tristan heard everything and he couldn’t stop laughing silently because of her. This was the first time she’d witness the silly side of her. He might not be seeing her face but he could already imagine what she was like from the exchange of words with her mother.

“She’d probably freak out knowing that I’m here.” He stifled his laughter once again while preparing the flowers he bought.