Black Swan's

The Reunion (Eighty Nine)

            Eden walked calmly towards the living room and gave her gentle smile to Andrew as the man greeted her warmly.

            “Hai, am I bothering you?” asked Andrew with his trademark sweet smile. Eden shook his head lightly and invited Andrew to sit down.

            “Same as no. We are relaxing and after this we will drive Ciara to see the elephant in the zoo.” replied Eden as is. Ciara ran from the family room and directly hit Eden's feet when he was in the living room. The girl then smiled shyly at Andrew while drowning her head into her mother's comfortable thigh.

            “Darling, have you greeted uncle Andrew?” asked Eden gently. He pulled his son's hand so that the little girl would not constantly hide behind his thigh.

            “Halo sweet girl, you have not officially acquainted with uncle.” greet Andrew kindly. Seen once if he was drawing sympathy from Ciara. The little girl then walked over to Andrew and extended her hand timidly.

            “Halo uncle, my name is Ciara.” said Ciara with her small lips. Andrew chuckled with Ciara's innocent behavior which he thought was adorable. At once Andrew felt Ciara was a beautiful and attractive girl, just like his mother.

            “Halo, uncle Andrew Osborn's name. Summer's been telling me a lot about you. Well, since you've been acting so sweetly, uncle will give you a gift.” Andrew picked up a paper bag that he had placed next to his body. With a smile, Andrew gave the paper bag to Ciara and was immediately greeted with enthusiasm by the little girl.

            “Wah, thank you uncle.” said Ciara was excited when she found a new Barbie doll with blonde hair. Ciara liked her Barbie doll so much that she constantly hugged the barbie doll affectionately.

            “Ah, you don't have to bother like that.” Eden said in pleasantries. It feels very bad now, because in fact, her husband, Aciel would not like this. The man will surely put on a grim face if he finds out that Andrew has managed to attract Ciara's sympathy.

            “No problem, it's just a small gift for Ciara because she is a sweet girl. Oh yeah, this is for Louise. Hopefully this dress fits in Louise's body because I myself do not know for sure about Louise.” body size

            Andrew held out a light blue paper bag towards Eden and smiled sweetly afterwards while glancing at Louise who was playing her fingers cutely.

            “Thank you very much. You are very kind to my children.” said Eden sincerely. Ciara was playing Barbie doll with fun next to her. Honestly, Eden is clumsy now, because he doesn't know what to do with Andrew. As he thought about what topic he wanted to discuss with Andrew, Aciel suddenly came up with half wet hair and a citrus-scented aftershave. He looked so fresh and charming, making Eden feel unable to divert his attention from the husband who is very charming today.

            “It's been a long time since that day. You look good” Aciel doesn't need to get stale on Andrew at all. The man he had once beaten for daring to approach Eden in fact still dared to bring up his nose again after years the man disappeared from his woman's life.

            “I am good and will always be good.” replied Andrew with a bright smile. Not once did Aciel's unfriendly gaze affect his mentality that this time he had formed to be as strong as steel to face the terrible Aciel. “I just stopped by for a while. I happen to be giving a small gift to Ciara and Louise. At least, I also want to be closer to them.” added Andrew still with a charming smile. Aciel snorted not liking Andrew's reply. It was obvious that the man was seeking sympathy from Ciara and Louise. But at least Louise still could not be influenced by the man, because Louise still did not know anything. Unlike Ciara, the girl actually looks very happy with Andrew and continues to play her Barbie doll enthusiastically in front of Andrew. Aciel is now totally deserving

ciara's behavior that absolutely cannot be invited to compromise. Though they had agreed to keep Eden away from Andrew, but the girl herself was carried away by the charm of Andrew.

            “Ace, can you hold Louise for a second? I'll make Andrew drink.” Eden's pinta while standing from his seat. The woman was already preparing to throw Louise into her father's arms, but Andrew suddenly interrupted and offered to hold Louise, leaving the two men only to be able to sculpt strangely in front of Andrew.

            “Can I hold Louise? The baby looks cute and adorable.” Andrew interrupted Eden's movement, half-begging that he be allowed to hold Louise for a while. Aciel darkened his eyes not like. But because Eden felt bad for Andrew, she finally told her husband to give up and let Louise be carried by Andrew.

            “I'll drop Louise for a second. If he is fussy, just give it to his daddy.” Eden's message with an unpleasant tone. Andrew nodded in understanding and immediately held Louise in his arms. At first glance Andrew looks like a real father who is fondling his son. And that was enough to make Aciel feel annoyed.

            “Your children are very cute, they are sweet like Eden.” praise Andrew sincerely. Yet somehow it sounded like it was praising Eden.

            “Oh, of course. Ciara and Louise are a fusion between the two of us.” reply Aciel flat. Suddenly Ciara walked over to her father and invited her father to play barbie together.

            “Daddy, let's play barbie together. Ciara has a new barbie doll.” show off Ciara proudly. Aciel smiled faintly at Ciara while rubbing Ciara's long hair gently.

            “Darling, why is your mommy so long? Please get your mommy in the back. Poor uncle Andrew who looks tired holding Louise.” said Aciel distract. Honestly, he felt unwilling if he had to play let alone hold a Barbie doll from Andrew. Very fellow, right?

            “Mommy? But Ciara wants to play Barbie doll.” reject Ciara indifferently while still playing her doll. Andrew approached Ciara and tried to interact with the little girl.

            “What if uncle accompany Ciara play?”

            “Uncle want? Asiikkk.” shouted Ciara girang. The two men looked extremely happy while putting together some of Ciara's toys on the table. Looks like they want to play house-to-house. Aciel stands up and approaches Andrew to ask Louise. At least he did not want to look clumsy in front of Andrew by just looking at Andrew's closeness with Ciara.

            “Let me carry Louise. You want to play with Ciara, right?”

            With a smile, Andrew turned Louise to his father and after that he began to dissolve with Ciara while accompanying the girl to play. Aciel suddenly felt angry at himself. He felt defeated by Andrew, but he had always been superior to Andrew in every way. Especially in terms of conquering women. But why now does the man look more adept at approaching the woman he is after? Could his past experiences make Andrew even better now?

            “Wah, what are you doing? Andrew, please drink.”

            Eden walked out of the kitchen with a snack and a glass of drink. After Eden put the tray he brought to the table, Andrew immediately muttered a word of thanks with a sweet smile that was broken, making Aciel feel hot.

            “Mommy, when will we see the elephant?” ask Eden. Suddenly the girl became aware of their previous plans. However, due to Andrew's arrival, Eden became oblivious to their original plans.

            “Later darling. Now you play first with uncle Andrew.” said Eden softly. He didn't want to look like he was kicking Andrew out. However, Andrew has come and has good intentions for his family. So Eden didn't want to act as if she was an evil woman by driving Andrew away. Although actually in the heart of Eden was worried, afraid that Aciel would rampage like before.

            “What if we leave now? I'm afraid the central zoo will close soon if we leave too late.”

            I don't know what Aciel meant by saying that. Eden herself could only blow her hair patiently to face the behavior of her husband who was burning jealous fire. Then she quickly turned her brain to think about what response she should give her husband. At least he should make the atmosphere between them neutral and not too strange like this.

            “Kukira there's still time if we leave a little later. Take it easy, one of my friends works there. He promised not to close the central zoo until we come.” Eden said with a piquancy. Aciel looked at Eden with a frown dislike. He felt his wife now looked strange and ridiculous.

            “Ah, looks like I'm going back to the office. Sorry for interrupting your time. Ciara, uncle go home first. Sometimes we play again.” saying goodbye Andrew while stroking Ciara's head slowly. Eden looked at Andrew with a bad feeling, then he shook Andrew's hand as a farewell greeting. However

again Andrew pulled her into his warm embrace in front of Aciel. It was as if he did not care about the existence of Aciel there who was holding back furious with Andrew's annoying behavior.

            “See you, I'm home. Sorry for the inconvenience.” said Andrew while

nodding his head at Aciel. Then the man immediately walked away with Ciara waving behind Andrew.

           “See you uncle.” shouted Ciara loudly ushering in Andrew's departure. After Andrew disappeared from behind the door, Aciel immediately walked away leaving Eden and Ciara in the living room. It seemed like the man's mood had turned bad. Now Eden had to seduce the man again and let out all sorts of enticements to stop sulking like a baby.

            “Honey, it looks like we will not go see the elephant today.” said Eden frustrated at Ciara who was replied with a sad frown on Ciara's face.

-00-

            No events go anywhere, all of them are off due to Aciel's mood which has changed badly since Andrew's arrival to his home. Eden who realized his mistake was only able to stay resigned while trying to behave as usual in front of his two children. He did not want to make Ciara more sad because in fact the girl was canceled to see the elephant in the zoo. Thin breath just came out of Eden's lips. The day after tomorrow is Summer's wedding. He himself still did not know whether he would come or not. He was afraid that Aciel would forbid him to come on the grounds that Andrew would surely be wandering around the party as well. Hmm.. is this as bad as the fate of the Christmas holiday? inner Eden riled.

Tong

            “Mom!” Ciara who was busy coloring shouted out loud.

            “Iya, mom knows.” reply Eden who immediately stood up to open the door for the guest. A little strange, Eden glanced at the wall clock that had shown at nine o'clock in the night. It feels strange that he had a guest when he was in a foreign country that no one knew him here.

            “Hai..”.

            Eden was pecking on the spot, a little incredulous if that man who was tonight came to his house. His heart pounded instantly as Andrew was still waiting for him at the door to return the man's greeting.

            “Hai, what's up?” reply Eden as calmly as possible. Looking slightly clumsy into his house, Eden tried to make sure that Aciel was still busy with her phone in their room without even stepping her foot down to make things even more chaotic.

            “Nothing, just a coincidence passing.”

            “Oh.. okay.” Eden replied awkwardly, not knowing anymore what he had to say to Andrew. It felt like their togetherness some time ago was more than enough for Andrew to know his household life now.

            “Sorry, Ciara and Louise are still playing, so my living room is a little messy, you don't mind if we sit on the porch right?” Eden tried to reason that Andrew did not need to go into his house.

            “Sure, no problem.” reply Andrew lightly. Wherever he would sit, Andrew did not mind, as long as he could chat with Eden to treat his longing for her.

            “I'll work on.”

            “You intend not to come?” ask Andrew full of questions. Eden immediately shook his head, intending not to make Andrew speculate too far for something he could not confirm.

            “I mean I will work on it, but if Aciel has a sudden job that makes us have to go back to Vegas, then with a heavy heart we will not come.”

            “I wish you'd come Ed. Just this once, or maybe this will be the last time I see you at a wedding. I guess after all these years I haven't been able to forget you.” chuckles Andrew bitterly. Eden himself was not surprised by Andrew's confession, he still looks calm with a face

flatly. In the end, he must finish all the love stories of his past that he once let hang because he thought they would not disturb his calm in the future. But learning from Anthony's case, he didn't want Andrew to end up like that. It hurts to see those he used to only make as toys, now still has too much hope for him even though he has his own happy family.

            “Thank you for that, I appreciate it. Do you know, everything that happened in the past, it's just going to be the past. Everything has changed now.” Eden tried to give understanding to Andrew as gently as possible so as not to hurt the man's ego. It's wrong to have been a bad woman just to get her revenge on Aciel. But after he did all that, he never got any happiness at all. It is precisely that revenge continues to be entrenched in his heart until he has unconsciously injured himself. He loses all the love that people give him, and then makes his daughter's life almost threatened. The choice to make peace with the past is one of the most appropriate choices Eden can make now so that he can protect his family from anything that will bother them.

            “Yes I know. It won't change my love life, it's just that I want to make my heart a little more relieved so that I'm no longer overshadowed by the past.”

            “Seek another woman who's right for you, Drew. I don't want to hinder your life. You must be happy like Summer, she has found the right man for her.” Eden said wisely. Andrew just nodded small. Sick, of course his heart ached because he would not be able to get Eden. But this was much better than him holding it for too long.

            “I'm sorry for all of Aciel's bad attitude during this time. Years ago when Aciel beat you, I was really sorry. I used to be too indifferent and only thought of playing with anyone's feelings because of my annoyance with Aciel. You know that I fell in love with that guy from the beginning, but then he showed me, making me feel heartbroken for the first time which was so bad. Then I want to make proof to Aciel if he dumps me, then I'll get more men instead. Yeah, but none of that ever brought me happiness. It was just a momentary satisfaction.” stories Eden reminiscing about the past. Luckily his memory of it still perched sweetly in his brain. But he forgets a lot about Zyan, the poor man he had toyed with his life until death to pick him up.

            “You were a haughty woman back then, but I know if you hid a lot of wounds in your eyes.”

            “You know?” ask Eden chuckles. Though he thought his poker face could fool anyone at that time.

            “Of course, every time Aciel drags you home from the club or when Aciel spoils our night when we spend the night in your mansion, I always see you almost crying, she said, but you will hide everything with your haughty face, then you will be indifferent to forget the pain that plagues your heart.”

            Eden chuckled again. Andrew was right, all this time he had been hiding his pain behind his annoying indifference. Even he still remembered some of his sarcastic sentences that he deliberately threw just to reinforce the mask of arrogance that he was wearing at that time.

            “Then thank you for understanding me so well. Although our relationship was very short, but I never regretted knowing you. You're a good man.”

            “Wow, you're increasingly making me unable to turn away from you then.” joked Andrew with a crisp laugh. Eden smiled with relief at Andrew who was able to accept his decision well. Anthony's trauma was not evident to Andrew because basically everyone has their own nature.

            “Then I will wait for you at my sister's wedding.”

            “I told you I...”.

Bugh

            Suddenly a yellow taxi stopped in front of Eden's resting house and gave rise to a very familiar figure of Eden closing the taxi door. The bespectacled man looked tired carrying a large suitcase that he had just pulled down from the taxi. While a woman who just got off the other side of the taxi looks so tired while trying to stretch her stiff body muscles.

            “Who is it?” asked Andrew curiously. Eden, who knew the two men, immediately left Andrew to welcome his unexpected guest who today made Eden cheer with excitement.

            “Sian! Olive!” Impatiently Eden opened the iron fence that loomed in front of him, then immediately embraced Olivia who was no less enthusiastic than Eden. The two women had briefly made the previously deserted Piper Point area, now a storm just because of the excited cries of the two.

            “How can you guys be here?” ask Eden doesn't believe it. He continued to blame himself while on the plane because he had made Sian angry at Olivia because he accidentally leaked news of Olivia's pregnancy that was not fully known by Sian.

            “Why? Do you like our surprise?” The man immediately hugged Eden warmly after the woman finished with her excitement with Olivia.

            “Of course, you guys still can't believe that you've finally caught up with us. Is your content okay?” ask Eden to worry.

            “Let's just relax, the doctor told me that my womb is strong enough to travel long distances by plane, so you don't have to worry about Ed.”

            “Oh thank goodness. I'm really sorry for messing things up.”

            “No problem, Sian is not angry about it.” said Olivia glanced at Sian. While they were busy telling stories, Andrew suddenly approached Eden, making three people who had been horrendous, suddenly silent because of Andrew's presence in their midst.

              “I'm home. Thank you for everything, and I hope you come to Summer.”'s wedding

            “Hmm, send my regards to Summer.” reply Eden with a smile. Sian, who knew the man, kept staring at Andrew's departure until his car disappeared around a corner that led to another block in the Piper Point area.

            “It seems I know him.” muttered Sian who was heard by Eden.

            “Of course, he's Andrew, you remember?” Eden tried to dig up old memories of Sian about Andrew that maybe the man knew because Sian had seen Aciel beat Andrew first.

            “Ahh... yayaya, I know now.” Eden smiled faintly looking at Sian who had regained his memories of Andrew. Next to her Olivia looks so curious about who Andrew really is, but with the annoying Sian and Eden just makes her keep wondering in her heart

without wanting to explain the truth.

            “Am I the only one here who doesn't know who Andrew is?”

            “The story is long, and you don't have to think about it baby.” Sian said as he embraced his wife's warm shoulder. The three of them then went inside the house of Aciel to immediately rest because today Sian and Olivia have taken a very long journey from Vegas.

            Arriving at the family room, Eden saw that Aciel had just come down with a black shirt and shorts that always managed to remind Eden if Aciel was still an ordinary man. That is to say that Aciel who is seen using a house shirt looks more human in the eyes of Eden than Aciel who always uses after a suit that looks formal.

            “Finally you arrived too, I thought you were lost.” Aciel threw a question at Sian who was currently joining Ciara to watch television. Tiringly the man straightened his legs on the floor while leaning against the brown sofa behind him.

            “You already know if they're coming?” eden asked as he was about to go to the kitchen to make a warm drink.

            “Who do you think would have told my home address if it wasn't me?”

            “You didn't tell me.” reply Eden snorted. Aciel followed Eden to the kitchen and sat on a high chair in front of the pantry.

            “Just want to surprise you, after all I feel grateful for their arrival. I have reason to keep you at home.”

            “You mean?” ask Eden doesn't understand. Two cups now had Eden prepared to make hot chocolate. Aciel, who saw his wife prepare only two glasses, protested because she was not made either. “Why didn't you make it for me?” The man stood up from his seat, took the glass from the cupboard and lined it with Sian and Olivia's.

            “I thought you wanted to make coffee. So what do you mean by keeping me at home?” ask Eden to repeat the question.

            “If you want to go outside again with that jerk Andrew, I'll use Olivia to hold you back. You can't possibly just leave Olivia behind to have fun with that jerk, right?” search Aciel sucks. Eden just rolled his eyeballs lazily, and when Aciel felt quite disturbing, Eden immediately pushed the chest of the field of Aciel to get out of his way.

            “I want to take sugar, you don't get in my way. And by the way, the man you call that jerk has a name.” Eden's remembrance is fierce. He just doesn't like it when Aciel looks as rough as he used to be.

            “You desperately defended that man, what exactly did he do to you?” screech Aciel is upset. Since then it seems like the mood has been too bad because of the presence of Andrew on their unplanned Christmas vacation. The death of Mr. Kim made Aciel forced to come to the country he most avoided because

now all of Eden's friends, even her past, are here to celebrate Summer's wedding. Wait until Eden meets Tranz, then the woman will be more difficult to control.

            “Nothing. You're the only child, Ace.” replied Eden quickly. He had finished making a warm drink for Sian and Olivia. Two hot chocolates were now in Eden's hands, ready to be given to two of his guests. But Eden left one glass to remain in the pantry, and it made Aciel more and more careless because he was ignored by his wife.

            “Ed, why don't you bring me mine too?”

            “Ck, you can bring it yourself. Do not spoiled Ace.” reply Eden terribly and managed to make Aciel even more upset by his wife.