SR3. 23. Meet Dion

Aryan's eyes widened almost bulging out of their sockets when Laura casually removed her swimsuit and left it carelessly aside. Now, Laura was only wearing her underwear as she playfully pulled Aryan, who was frozen in place, towards the pool.

"Are you trying to tease me, or what, honey?" Aryan whispered while carrying Laura into the pool. Laura simply laughed and teasingly traced her finger along Aryan's bare chest.

"Why not? You're my husband, so it's my duty to tease you," Laura teased even more, playfully running her fingers across Aryan's exposed chest with a mischievous smile.

"Alright, it looks like it could be fun to play here," Aryan whispered as their bodies started to enter the pool.

Aryan felt Laura's body tense, and her hands gripped his neck tightly. Laura was panicking with her eyes closed. Aryan knew that Laura had intentionally teased him earlier, attempting to distract herself from her fear of the water. Slowly, Aryan released Laura's legs so she could stand on her own in the water, but he still held her close.

Swoosh! Aryan splashed water onto Laura's face playfully, and she gradually opened her eyes. She instantly clung to Aryan with panic in her gaze.

"Honey, relax; I'm right here," Aryan whispered, grinning. The girl who was usually so defiant and never backed down was now feeling uneasy just because she was in a swimming pool.

"Come on, honey," Aryan called, holding the back of Laura's head gently. He softly kissed her lips, which seemed to have paled due to her anxiety.

Feeling that Laura was still unresponsive, Aryan decided to abandon his original plan. He didn't want to pressure Laura, and he knew there would be other opportunities. He slowly moved away from Laura.

"Alright, we'll do this another time," Aryan mumbled as he carried Laura to the pool's edge.

Now, they sat side by side on the pool's edge, their feet dipping into the water. Aryan's heart raced as he noticed the scar on Laura's shoulder. Slowly, with trembling hands, he touched the long scar.

"Did it hurt a lot?" Aryan asked softly. His gaze was still fixed on the scar, which clearly wasn't from just one surgery, but several.

"That's right, Aryan. I was supposed to undergo surgery again to remove the plate a year ago, but I was still scared of having to go under the knife," Laura replied casually. As long as she felt comfortable with her body, she wouldn't consider having the surgery. That was one of the reasons she was afraid of swimming. She also believed that her swimming skills were still good.

Aryan still held Laura with trembling hands. Many questions swirled in his mind, and he only hoped that the girl he had accidentally bumped into years ago was not Laura, his wife. But suddenly, he remembered a WhatsApp message from Dion two weeks ago, after a dinner at their house.

---

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Aryan and Laura intentionally arrived early at his parents' house. Aryan's heart swelled as he saw his parents sitting in the garden, looking affectionate. Andre, his father, had his arm around Liana, his mother, while she was feeding her beloved koi fish. Holding Laura's hand, Aryan approached his parents.

"Good evening," Aryan greeted, instantly making Andre and Liana turn their heads simultaneously.

"Good evening, dear!" Liana called, her eyes welling up. She missed her youngest son, who used to be so affectionate with her. Aryan had thought her nagging was noisy back then, but now, he missed it dearly.

Aryan shook Liana's hand and hugged her tightly. It had been almost two months since he had heard his mother's scolding, and now, he realized how much he missed it. For some reason, during this meeting, Aryan felt deeply moved. He realized that what he used to consider noisy and irritating was, in fact, a source of comfort and warmth.

After Aryan and Laura had greeted his parents, they went inside the house and gathered in the family room. The atmosphere was warm, filled with light conversation, especially from Aryan, who always had a warm demeanor towards everyone. Laura observed Aryan, who had been acting playful with Liana since they arrived. She couldn't help but smile as she watched her husband behave like a child when he was around his mother.

"Be patient with Aryan's behavior, Laura. You see, when he's with his mom, even we can't compete," Andre said with a laugh. Aryan had always been the more spoiled one since childhood compared to Andra, who was used to living independently because he stayed with his grandparents.

"Yes, Dad," Laura replied briefly.

Suddenly, Aryan moved from sitting next to Liana to sitting beside Laura, hugging her.

"Are you jealous of my mom, honey?" Aryan asked, tightening his embrace as Laura tried to squirm away.

Laura's cheeks flushed as she glanced at her in-laws, feeling shy. Meanwhile, Liana and Andre exchanged smiles; their plan seemed to be working. In fact, Liana had planned to ask Laura and Aryan to stay with them since she had learned that Aryan and Laura slept separately in their apartment. She had been worried that her youngest son's marriage might be in trouble.

At exactly 7 PM, Andra arrived with his wife, Arabella, and baby Azka in her arms. The house instantly became livelier as everyone wanted to hold baby Azka, who was eight months old, incredibly handsome, and adorable. Anyone who met him would instantly fall in love with him.

"Mam... mam..." Baby Azka babbled, extending his little hands towards Aryan. Everyone laughed as they were rejected by baby Azka, who instead chose to be carried by Aryan, who was a bit farther away.

"Alright, baby, you're clever to choose this handsome uncle," Aryan said, approaching baby Azka and lifting him up.

Aryan chuckled as baby Azka kissed him, leaving his face wet with drool while the chubby little hands playfully patted his face.

"Let's have dinner first, and then we can continue chatting. Dad's hungry," Andre said as he walked towards the dining room, followed by the rest of the family.

Laura felt grateful to be in the midst of such a warm and affectionate family. Suddenly, Aryan held her hand and smiled. Seeing Aryan and Laura's affectionate relationship, Andre and Liana breathed a sigh of relief. They had worried about potential conflicts due to differences in character between Laura and Aryan, especially because everyone knew that Aryan and Laura had not loved each other when they got married.

"Ahem... Newlyweds, believe it or not," Andra teased as he spoon-fed baby Azka, who was sitting on his lap.

"Oh, come on! You're not helping!" Arabella retorted as she cleared the dirty dishes from their meal and Andra's.

"Aw, don't be like that, darling. Does that mean you want to go home early?" Andra teased, trying to escalate the situation.

"Alright, you two, go to your respective rooms. Mama has tidied up your rooms already. Stay here; we miss having a lively house like it used to be," Andre continued, hugging Liana's shoulder affectionately.

"Yeah, I miss Mama's nagging too. It's been a while since I heard her morning singing," Aryan teased, making Liana pout playfully.

"Sorry for being straightforward, Ma," Laura apologized to Liana and Andre.

Everyone laughed upon hearing Laura's apology. It was understandable since Laura wasn't used to their teasing habits. However, the Alfarizi family always showed affection and support for one another.

That night, both Andra and Aryan followed their parents' request to stay over. After discussing the Alfarizi family business, at around 11 PM, Aryan and Andra bid farewell to their parents and joined their wives, who had been resting in their room since earlier. Arabella had retired to their room at 9 PM due to Baby Azka's fussiness. Baby Azka had a habit of needing a spacious area to sleep comfortably, and he wouldn't sleep peacefully until he had circled the bed, leaving it in disarray.

Aryan's heart raced when he saw Laura sleeping with her back to the door, wearing only black, sexy lingerie. He hesitated if he could fast tonight and felt embarrassed in front of his family if they saw Laura's wet hair tomorrow morning.

Taking a deep breath, Aryan pulled the blanket to cover Laura's body and then slid under it himself. However, he was startled when Laura suddenly moved and turned to face him with a wide smile.

"Haven't slept yet, Honey?" Aryan asked, looking at Laura intently. His fingers traced Laura's face, stopping at her lips.

"Can't sleep," Laura replied briefly, then cuddled up to Aryan's large body.

Aryan reciprocated Laura's embrace tightly. He closed his eyes, savoring every moment with Laura. He couldn't shake the unease he had felt since meeting Dion. He was afraid that the truth might affect his relationship with Laura. For him, Laura meant everything, and his only goal now was to make her happy in every way he could.

Laura sensed Aryan's restlessness but didn't want to disturb him. She assumed it might be work-related stress.

Laura smiled broadly and then straddled Aryan's body. Aryan looked at her with surprise; this was unusual for his wife. But before he could say anything, Laura silenced him by pressing her lips against his. Aryan couldn't stay passive this time and responded with a deeper kiss.

"Just a moment," Aryan whispered, then got out of bed. He locked the bedroom door and turned off the bedside lamp.

Laura laughed when she saw the handsome man in front of her walking while taking off his clothes and throwing them in any direction. Laura couldn't deny that Aryan was handsome and sexy, everything about him was like an addiction that she wanted to enjoy all the time. The way Aryan treated her gently and romantically succeeded in making Laura's entire heart filled with Aryan's name.

Aryan smiled meaningfully then carried out his actions, causing soft moans between the two of them. Laura was now even more adept at satisfying Aryan in bed, Aryan was increasingly pleased with Laura's attitude of not being shy when she wanted him. That night Aryan let Laura dominate the game until they were exhausted and passed the newlywed's night perfectly for the umpteenth time.

***

The next day, after having breakfast together with Andra and Aryan, they all headed to their respective offices in their own cars. Andre had an important meeting with a client that morning. Even though most of the company's affairs had been handed over to his sons, Aryan and Andra, Andre, as the owner of the company, still took an active role in ensuring its success. Meanwhile, the wives had no classes that day, so Liana decided to bake some cakes and prepare a large meal for their family.

Upon arriving at the office, Aryan took out his phone from his pants pocket and called Jefri to go over his schedule for the day. Aryan preferred to make the call himself rather than having Jefri follow him around.

After confirming his relatively light schedule, Aryan contacted Dion.

"We'll meet at the Coffee Resto at 1:00 PM," Aryan typed the message and sent it to Dion's WhatsApp number.