Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

"I didn't know you got married." Just like his father, even Kevin was surprised.

"Is this why you decided to come back?" a woman approached them. She then hooked her arms around Kevin's and smiled, "I must say, our Andrew found himself a very beautiful wife."

"Rachael, she is my wife Adrina," Kevin introduced her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Adrina greeted her.

Rachael smiled and greeted her back. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Alright, leave the introduction and talk for later. The two of them drove here, they must be starving. Let's eat dinner first."

…..

After dinner, Rachael and Adrina sat together while Harrington, Kevin and Andrew got busy discussing business.

When Rachael and Adrina offered aunt Juliana help, she sent them away. "You two should go and enjoy yourselves, I will manage everything here."

Rachael wanted to insist more but Adrian stopped her. "There is no point telling her again, mom never listens." She then walked towards the shelf and pulled out two bottles of wine. "You drink right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Great, come let's go." Adrina guided her upstairs.

….

[Upstairs]

"Kevin doesn't allow me to drink," Adrina chuckled. "He says when I start, I don't stop." She then poured a glass for the two of them.

"So when and where did you and Andrew meet?"

"It's a little complicated," Rachael took a sip of the wine.

"Well, we have lots of time."

"Andrew and my big brother, they are friends. They went to the same kindergarten and middle school. I have known him since then but we lost contact after he went to Russia. In fact, we didn't talk for seventeen years. Then he came back, many things happened and we ended up getting married."

Placing her hand on her chest, Adrina gasped, "You both were childhood sweethearts, that's so romantic."

"I don't know about that," Rachael chuckled.

"Well, things did start off so romantic between Kevin and me," Adrina exclaimed. "At first, he wasn't interested in me at all. In fact, I was the one who forced myself on him all the time. But things changed when we kissed for the first time. Kev says he fell in love with me after our first kiss."

"Then he chased you?"

Adrina nodded. "Yes, he chased me hard. I even started ignoring him for fun but everytime I did that, he tried harder." She chuckled, "It was quite satisfying."

"Back then when we were in college, he would be surrounded with girls all the time. Even now, you have no idea how many women try to hit on him. It's quite annoying," she added. "But I have ways to deal with it."

"Like what?" Rachael curiously inquired.

"Well—" She shrugged. "Women always tend to ignore the ring on the man's finger so for the first few months of our marriage, I started purposely leaving hickeys on the visible part of his neck. I even do it now sometimes. It's just my way of marking my man."

Taking another sip of the wine, Rachael remarked, "That's interesting."

…..

[An hour later]

"Why don't you and Rachael stay here with us?"

"I have already asked someone to clean the place for us, we will stay there," Andrew remarked.

"Alright," Harrington sighed. "That house has been empty for a long time now, it will be nice if you two spend a couple of nights there."

"When will you return?" Kevin inquired.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why so early?" Harrington frowned. "Stay for a couple of days."

Kevin nodded. "Dad is right and tomorrow is not a very ideal time to travel. I was watching the news and they said that there might be a cyclone tomorrow."

"Oh that is bad, don't return tomorrow. Stay back and enjoy your time with Rachael."

"Okay, I'll talk to her." Looking around when he did not see her anywhere, he frowned, "Where is she?"

"I think she is with Adrina."

"I saw them go upstairs earlier," Juliana remarked.

…..

[Upstairs]

Gulping down the leftover wine from her glass, Rachael picked up the bottle to pour herself another glass.

"Oh—this is empty." She waved the empty bottle at Adrina.

"This is empty too." Adrina someone managed to pull herself up. "Wait, I'll get us another bottle."

"That's fine, I shouldn't drink more," Rachael remarked. Amidst all the gossiping and talking, they didn't realize they had finished two whole bottles of wine. No wonder she was already very tipsy.

Just then Andrew and Kevin entered the room.

Grabbing Adrina's hand who was struggling to stand up straight, Kevin frowned, "Did you drink?"

"Just a little bit."

Looking at the two empty bottles, Andrew frowned, "Two bottles is little bit?" He then walked towards Rachael and took away the glass from her hand.

When Rachael saw him, she smiled and wrapped her hands around his waist. "You are here." She then rested her head on his chest. "Are we going home?"

"Hmm." He gently caressed her back. "Can you walk?" When she nodded, he guided her out of the room.

…..

After bidded everyone goodbye, Andrew brought her to his place.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "We are returning home now?"

"No, we have one more house here." He kissed the back of her hand. "Why did you drink so much?"

"It wasn't much and don't worry, my alcohol tolerance is quite high," she chuckled. "I am just a little tipsy and not drunk."

Looking at her, Andrew sighed and helplessly shook his head. Her entire face was flushed red, her hands were warmer than usual and she could barely stand without his support and yet she was claiming she wasn't drunk.

….

When they arrived at Andrew's place, he offered to pick her up but Rachael refused.

"I can walk on my own." She stumbled out of the car. When he tried to hold her, she slapped his hand away. "You don't have to hold me."

"I am holding you for me." He wrapped his arms around her and coaxed her, "Let me hold you, okay?"

…