She's My Sleeping Pill

Between him and Luiz, Luiz was the most outgoing person. If you ask Kyle to choose between shopping and staying in his room, he would rather stay in his room. If you want him to go shopping, it depends who would be going with him and what they would be shopping for. However, if you ask him to buy groceries, he won’t refuse that. He’s better in buying groceries than Cayenne.

As the children play, the adults were busy conversing. This time, there were no business partners, no talk about business projects and whatnot. The women were mostly talking about their past times and the things they usually do at home. The men were drinking and chatting about sports.

Although both Dumrique and Sugo families were present, there was no tension between them. They were all civil for the sake of Cayenne and Stefan. At the same time, they didn’t really cross their paths. They occupied the tables of opposing sides.

“I’m happy.” Cayenne told Stefan as the two of them watched the party. “I never thought that I’d be holding this kind of party one day.”

Stefan nosed Cayenne’s temple and inhaled her scent with their fingers intertwined under the table. “It’s because you are kind and generous so God gave you all his blessings.” he said. “You deserve all the happiness in the world and I make it my duty to protect that smile on your face. I only want you to be happy, Ayen.”

“I’ve always been happy when I am with you.”

.....

Stefan looked around and when he found that no one was watching, he kissed his wife sneakily like a teenage who was afraid of getting caught by his parents. Cayenne giggled at his action but she welcomed his kiss at the same time. They thought that no one was looking but Magnus happened to turned his head and saw the two of them. He was jealous of their happiness but he could only wallow in deep regrets.

As the party continued, some of their friends dropped by to send them gifts and others stayed for an hour or half. As for Luna and Ali, they couldn’t travel far with their family party as well. In the end, she could only ask one of the guards to send her gifts to Yen’s family. At the same time, she called them briefly just to see them and greet them as well.

Around ten in the evening, David called Luiz, telling him that he couldn’t come because of some personal reasons. As he spoke, he was glaring at his boyfriend who was grinning widely beside him.

“Sorry. I really thought I’d be able to go.” David stated and kicked his boyfriend, venting his frustration for breaking his promise to Luiz.

“It’s fine. As long as you get to enjoy your Christmas, I’d still be happy.”

“I’ll be sure to visit you guys when I have time.”

“Sure. You are always welcome to come here.”

They talked for a little more time but as soon as the call ended, he pounced on his boyfriend and bit his shoulder. “You are so annoying! I feel so tired and drained.”

“Really?” Kai retorted with unbelieving eyes. “I think I didn’t exhaust you that much. You even have the strength to kick me and pounce of me. Surely, you should have enough strength.”

“Shut up. I can’t even get out of this bed without tripping on my own feet.”

“Let me give you a massage. It would make you feel better.”

“No. It will make me feel something...something...wrong.”

“You are just being horny.”

“You are the one who’s horny.”

They bickered back and forth which ended with David under Kai’s strong body. The two of them spent their Christmas in bed with no one but the moon and stars as their witness.

On the other hand, the party at Cayenne’s home continued with a blast. The children received gifts from Cayenne and the body guards received gifts from Stefan. Lucia and her daughters received gifts from Luiz and Kyle. To add more, Magnus gave them some cash placed inside a small envelope. It was another bonus to them. Even though they were just employees, they received so much more compared to other servants in some households.

“Boss, thank you so much for being so good to us and for always helping us when our family needed financial help. We are very grateful for all your help and because of that, we decided to pool some money and give you something in return. They’re not much but I hope you will like it.”

They presented a box to Stefan which was wrapped with simple gift wrapper with a card on top. Just seeing the box, a familiar scene flashed in Cayenne’s mind and her lips twitched into a helpless smile. She could already tell what’s inside.

“This is heavy.” He stated as he tried to guess what’s inside it. “Thank you for this gift.”

“You are welcome, boss. This is the only way we can think of thanking you.”

Stefan and Cayenne received so many gifts but Stefan’s attention were still on the box given by their bodyguards. He knew that some of the gifts were expensive because they came from his business partners and other wealthy acquaintances. He could even guess what’s inside those gifts but the peak of his interest was still on the box.

They started the countdown for the Christmas eve to come and when the clock finally turned 12MN, fireworks whistled their way to the sky and exploded like flowers blooming in spring. One after another, they colored the dark sky as everyone gazed at them in awe.

Stefan brought Cayenne’s hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles one by one. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

“Merry Christmas, hon.”

Under the huge and colorful fireworks, the two of them shared a sweet lingering kiss. It didn’t matter if someone was watching or not. Right this moment, they felt that they were the only people in the world and everyone just blurred in the background.

The party was concluded around two in the morning and their guests left one after another. Cayenne invited Ingrid and Reuben to stay due to the woman’s pregnancy. She didn’t want them to travel that long back to City D. Cory just got out of the hospital and Stefan was worried for his grandma so, they were invited to stay as well.

Due to some reasons, the Dumrique and Sugo family were asked to stay. They didn’t have that many rooms in Cayenne’s home but they were able to find ways to share bed with others. The theater room was even converted into a bedroom. It was better compared to them driving back home. In fact, Stefan was only being cautious knowing that his enemies were still lurking outside, waiting for a chance to attack the people he loves.

When everyone was settled down, the couple went back to their room which was full of gifts. They were littered on the couch, the floor and some were at the foot of their bed. Cayenne took a deep breath in surprise. Whenever she received gifts from families and friends, she only asked Erwin and Martin to bring them inside their bedroom. She didn’t expect that when accumulated, it would be so much more than her heart can handle.

“Other gifts can wait for tomorrow but I will open this box first.” Stefan commented and carried the box that their bodyguards gave them. It was time to finally see what’s inside it.

When Stefan saw the things inside, his face brightened and he smiled widely. It looks like he found some gold inside the box or won a lottery worth millions of dollars but in truth, all the things inside the box were just simple items. They’re not expensive but they’re something that makes him really happy – the matching items or couple items.

Seeing his silly smile, Cayenne rolled her eyes in disbelief. She just couldn’t understand why he’s very obsessed with these things.

With so many things that happened and from receiving so many gifts, Cayenne didn’t realize that she didn’t receive anything from Stefan. However, the next morning when she woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed. She heard the faint sound of waves crashing on the shore and smelled the salty air around her. Stefan’s gift to her was a relaxing time that belongs only to both of them.