They just arrived at the Altezza apartment right at nine o'clock in the evening after Altezza had picked up Adaline, Emma, and Violet from the hospital and taken them back to Violet's house. Emma, Violet, and Adaline were quite surprised when they saw Altezza at the hospital after they finished their examinations. When asked the reason for his presence there, Altezza-as usual-always had a silly answer to every question asked of him.
Flashback On
"Why are you the one picking us up? Where's your driver?" Violet asked, quite surprised to see her son-in-law.
"He's got a pretty bad stomachache, so he asked me to pick you up. That's what happens when you have an employee who's getting older, there's always some trouble whenever they're on duty. If only I didn't need him, I would still keep him because he's quite loyal," he replied casually, winking mischievously, which made Emma unable to hold back her laughter.
Next, before heading back to Violet's residence, Altezza took his three female passengers to a mall not too far from the hospital. This naturally puzzled his mother-in-law.
"Why are we here? Why don't we just go straight home?" Violet asked, puzzled.
Once again, Altezza answered nonchalantly. "Just need to use the restroom, Ma. Going to a gas station restroom is normal. Going to a mall restroom makes it extraordinary," he said, causing Violet to shake her head again.
They got off at the mall parking area. Altezza led them to a rather expensive family restaurant. The uniformed waiter warmly welcomed them and escorted them to a quieter area. Then, after that, they were given menus.
"I'll be back in five minutes," the waiter said and left the table.
Altezza intentionally took Adaline's family out just to familiarize himself with them. Since his introduction to Adaline was rather brief, and considering Adaline's relatively simple character, Altezza tried to get closer to the women's family in a simple manner so that gradually they would get used to his presence. After ordering, as he had mentioned earlier, he disappeared towards the restroom. Dinner went on leisurely and cheerfully. When dinner ended, Altezza intended to entertain the women by taking them shopping, but both Violet and Emma declined, citing fatigue. Altezza didn't insist and later escorted them back to Violet's residence. What surprised Altezza was finding out that Adaline had already packed her belongings to bring them to Altezza's residence. Seeing her modest belongings, Altezza couldn't help but ask, which Adaline answered, "We don't live far away anyway. I can come here anytime I need something." Altezza simply nodded, and they left.
Altezza showed Adaline the entire area of his apartment. His spacious workspace had tall bookshelves and large windows that opened to a balcony. There was a small room on the other side of the apartment that had been converted into a storage area and an ironing space adjacent to the laundry area. A large pantry with a fully furnished and undoubtedly expensive kitchen island was connected to the dining area, which in turn flowed into the living room equipped with a large flat-screen TV flanked by active speakers on both sides, and a collection of movies and gaming equipment below.
Then Altezza opened one of the doors adjacent to a door of similar color.
"The one on the right is my room. And this one is yours," Altezza opened one of the rooms and gestured for Adaline to enter. "This place is off-limits from my mom. But just to be safe, wherever you go, your room should be locked," he said, and Adaline nodded in understanding.
Slowly, she stepped into her room. The interior was simple yet cozy. A queen-size bed sat in the middle of the room facing a vintage-style vanity mirror. On the left side of the bed, there was a large wardrobe against the wall, facing a sofa bed forming an L-shape on a light gray fur carpet. Wide glass doors led directly to the balcony surrounded by thick glass walls.
"Hope you'll feel comfortable here," Altezza's words startled her out of her reverie. Adaline turned around to see her husband standing casually, leaning against the door frame with his shoulders. His arms were folded across his chest.
She tried to swallow her saliva; for some reason, she suddenly felt nervous about Altezza's presence there. Adaline nodded slowly in response.
"If you need anything, just knock on my door," he instructed, once again met with Adaline's nod.
Altezza then turned and walked away, closing the door behind him, leaving Adaline with an unusual pounding in her heart. Adaline took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Oh God, seeing him standing there earlier felt like seeing a celebrity doing a photoshoot for a famous magazine.
Yet what Altezza did wasn't unusual, it even seemed ordinary. But somehow she felt her heart pounding as if she had just finished running a marathon. So fast and making her breathless.
She sat down on her soft bed and took another deep breath. Now, she was living under the same roof with a man. Even though he was her husband, their relationship wasn't ordinary. And again, they were both adults.
Her thoughts began to swirl. What would happen in the days to come? While the decision about the 'IVF process' itself still had no definite answer.
What if Altezza decided to follow his friend's advice? The conventional way, he said. That means they would have to engage in natural marital activities?
Adaline was already an adult, and she clearly understood what was meant by marital activities and the conventional method. Imagining Altezza touching her, kissing her, suddenly made her lower body tingle. Adaline shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the dirty thoughts that seemed to suddenly arise. Finally, she opened her bag and took out a change of clothes before cleaning herself up.
At five in the morning, Adaline was already awake. She was used to waking up early to help her mother at home before going to work, and she carried that habit to Altezza's residence. After tidying her room, Adaline headed to the kitchen, wondering what time Altezza would wake up. Was he accustomed to having breakfast at home? Did he usually make breakfast himself or opt for office breakfast using delivery services?