Thorne III

He is thinking of how her defense came so quick at the airport. He was caught off guard, and he doesn't know whether to admit that that's him in the magazine or not. When he spotted their suitcases, he found an excuse not to respond. But she responded for him. Brilliant woman. One day her husband would be so proud of her. Lucky is the man who will be with her. 

He glances at her, who is so engrossed with the views she is seeing outside the window. He could hear her 'awws,' 'wows,' 'beautiful,' 'perfect,' and 'magnificent' to the nice views, and 'That's sad. Why is no one helping her? 'when she saw a mother balancing her child on her hip while her hands and shoulder were full of stuff.

She is rubbing her flat stomach. Maybe she's imagining how she carried a baby or what. But she will not go to experience bringing up the child because after she gave birth. He will detach the child from her. That's their agreement. He noticed that her expression changes. He could see the sadness in the embedded face. He heaves a sigh.

"We're here!" announced the man who has fetched them.

The man gets out from the van and opens the door for them. He comes out first, of course, because he's seated near the door, and then he helps Ayinah to come down.

The man has unloaded their suitcases. And another man brought a trolley and put their suitcases in it. He escorted them to the concierge.

"Thorne Muller, please," he told the lady at the concierge.

The lady keyed in his name in the computer.

"Yes, welcome Mr. Muller and Ms. Lorenzana. Here's your key card to your suite," the lady said, giving him the key card.

"Thank you!" He said and held Ayinah's hand. He used to hold her hand; he noticed it. He has an excuse for doing so; in case she feels sick, he's to the rescue right away. Defensive. He laughs at himself inside.

"Which room, sir?" The man pushing the trolley asked him.

"Room 608 at the garden wing," he replied.

"Okay, this way," the man said and led the way.

They finally arrive in their suite. The moment they enter, Ayinah's eyes are already outside the glass windows. They could see the beautiful view of Manila's cityscape.

"Enjoy your stay, sir, ma'am," the man said.

"Thank you! I'm sure we will; it's so beautiful in here," Ayinah replied with content.

She's so happy. How much more if he will bring her to Paris, to Venice, to Bali, to—wait, why is he naming the places? It's not going to happen. They are here because of the baby, and after that, they will part ways.

After the man left the suite, she turned to face him.

"Thank you!" She said again. If he counted how many 'thank yous' he heard today. She said it many times.

"You're welcome," he replied.

This is only a small thing, but she doesn't stop thanking him. Unlike those women, he traveled with. If he won't ask if they enjoyed their trip, they will never say thank you. Now, he is comparing. But true. He never met a person like Ayinah. Very down to earth.

"Would you like to take a shower?" He asked her, who is now back at the glass window.

"Not now. You take first." She replied, but she never turns to face him. She is enjoying the view that she can't take her eyes away from what she is seeing.

"Okay," he said.

He opened his suitcase, taking out a change of clothes. He put them in the bed so it will be easy for him to change when he comes out from the shower. Then proceed to the bathroom.

"She will be ecstatic when she enters this bathroom, he thought." He whispered to himself.

That thought of her made him smile. She's some kind of a stress-eraser. Very positive woman.

After a few minutes in the shower, feeling clean and refreshed. He finishes his shower and dries himself with a towel inside. He wrapped his bottom part with the towel and came out of the bathroom.

"I'm done; you can take a shower now. Then we will find something to eat at the restaurants in here," he said.

She stares at him while he is talking.

"I surveyed the place, and there's only one bed available in this suite, where I am going to sleep," she asked.

"The bed is too big for us, so you can sleep with me. Don't worry; I'm harmless." He replied, winking.

She grabs her clothes and storms inside the bathroom, stomping.

He laughs out loud. He saw the other side of her; she's cute when pouting. He is still laughing while getting dressed. He hung the towel at the back of the chair beside the glass window. Then he takes out his laptop from his briefcase. He didn't realize that it was heavy, and he let her carry it. That woman doesn't know how to complain? Oh, yeah, she did a second ago. Well, it's not a complaint she was asking. Did she complain? No, she just stormed inside the bathroom. He smiles, thinking how he made her pout.

He turns on the laptop and waits until it's ready. When it's ready, he searches for the internet connection. He connected to the hotel's wifi, but it needs a password. He reaches out for the keycard from the bedside table. Usually, it's written there or in the manual inside the suite.

He is right; it's on their key card. He typed in and waited for the connection. He just wants to see whether the paparazzi made big news yesterday. He hasn't told his parents that he's going away, and he doesn't want them to misinterpret what the media reported.

He typed his name. He was right; there he is with Ayinah. He didn't read what's written yet. His attention is with the photos. For those who don't know what their relationship is, they will probably think that they are a couple. He is holding her hand tightly. He even looking at her. She smiled at him. Hmm, nice combination. They even wore the same shade of clothes. He didn't notice that with their many hours together. He doubts it if she noticed too. She is not in a very good state for their entire flight. Actually, he knows that she tried her best to look fine.

He read the clippings.

Does the sharp Thirdy of T. Muller has changed his taste about a woman?
Our reliable source has spotted him with his new eye candy; in fairness, she's beautiful and sexy. We wonder where he found him.
We'll soon find out.

"Crazy people," he said, browsing more stories about him.