TAMINO 3

‎Even though Tamara was upset with her husband, she still pushed through with the simple surprise for their anniversary. ‎

Tamara was currently in the dining area. Delicious food she had prepared for Galvin was set on the table, complete with candlelight to make their dinner more romantic.

‎She sat on a chair waiting for Galvin, but the candle providing light on the table in front of her had already burned down to a stub. All the served food had gone cold, yet Galvin was still nowhere to be found.

‎She was absolutely starving, but she didn’t want to eat because she would only eat with her husband. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was already past ten-thirty in the evening, and he still hadn’t arrived.

‎She hadn't received a single call or message from him about whether he was coming home or not. She convinced herself to wait a few more minutes, but when eleven o'clock struck and he still wasn’t there, her tears finally fell as she walked away from the lifeless table.

‎She went up to her and her child's room. Nanny Leng was sitting on the couch, seemingly having fallen asleep upright while waiting for her.

‎She couldn't help but feel guilty because, while she was busy waiting for Galvin, someone else was staying up late waiting for her return to the room.

‎“Ma'am, you're back... Is Sir home?” Leng greeted her.

‎She offered a small smile and shook her head. “Go ahead, Nanny, I'll take over with Baby. Please go rest... I'm sorry you had to stay up late waiting for me.”

Leng touched her arm. “That's alright, Ma'am. Go get some rest too. Maybe Sir is just really busy with work, that's why he can't make it home...”

‎Tamara gave a faint smile and watched her nanny until she stepped out of the room.

‎

“I just hope, Nanny, that work is what's keeping him busy...” she said, on the verge of tears.

‎At that moment, Tamara just wanted to sleep and rest, but her child woke up and started crying uncontrollably.

‎She breastfed him, changed his diaper, and did absolutely everything she could, but he wouldn't calm down. She couldn't stop her baby from crying, so she ended up crying as well while cradling him in her arms.

‎“Hush... Don't cry, baby! Please stop crying...” she pleaded with him. “Mommy loves you. I love you, baby...”

‎A smile broke across Baby Gavin's face, as if that was exactly what he had been waiting to hear from her.

‎She laid her son in the middle of the bed before lying down beside him. She kept talking to him, and he looked as though he was ready to listen and could understand everything she was saying.

‎

“Why is Mommy's baby crying, huh? It's so late... You should be asleep by now so you can grow up to be a big boy right away.”

He blinked his eyes a few times, which made him look even cuter, causing her to smile gently.

‎“My baby is really handsome... Did you know that as you grow bigger, you're looking more and more like your Daddy? Huh?”

‎Tamara laughed when she saw him furrow his brows and pout his lips, as if he didn't like what she said, though doing so only highlighted his resemblance to Galvin even more.

‎“That's fine, Mommy loves you so, so much. I... Love... You... I love you.” ‎

Tamara showered her son's face with kisses. She also kissed his tiny hand repeatedly. She kept doing this until her son fell asleep, and then she stared intently at his peacefully sleeping face.

‎Watching her baby sleeping peacefully made her calm and flew away all the things that made her sick. She loved baby Gavin so much! Looking at her baby made her at peace and she fell asleep...

‎°°°

‎On the other hand, it was already very late when Galvin left his office because he had to attend to matters that couldn't be postponed until tomorrow.

‎When he arrived in front of the mansion, all the lights were out. He looked down at his wristwatch, and that was when he realized it was already midnight.

‎No wonder he had been waiting outside the gate for a few minutes and nobody was opening it for him—everyone in the mansion was already asleep.

‎Galvin punched the steering wheel before getting out of the car in frustration to open the gate himself. After parking the vehicle quietly inside the garage, he pulled the duplicate key to the mansion out of his pocket.

‎Upon entering the living room, Galvin stood with his hands on his hips and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking up as a wave of intense exhaustion hit him. He let out a heavy sigh before scanning his eyes across the dark expanse of the room.

‎Even though it was completely dark, he could clearly see that the furniture was arranged exactly the way Tamara liked it. His eyes drifted to the sofa, where he would usually find Tamara sleeping, waiting up for him whenever she knew he was coming home.

‎He felt irritated that the woman wasn't there; he had grown accustomed to her being the first thing to greet him.

‎Shaking his head, he started walking up to the second floor, but he abruptly stopped when he noticed a dim light inside the dining area, so he headed toward it.

‎The moment he stepped into the dining room, the very last candle illuminating the table full of food died out.

‎He took his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight. One by one, he inspected the dishes sitting there, which had gone cold and untouched.

‎“Well, look at this... A romantic dinner waiting for me!”

‎His appetite was whetted, and his stomach began to rumble repeatedly. He hadn't eaten yet because he wanted to finish his work first. He placed his cellphone on the table to serve as a light before carefully sitting down on a chair without making any noise. He also looked around to ensure he was alone before digging into the food.

‎Even though the dishes were already cold, Galvin ate because they were his favorites. He kept nodding in approval because it tasted delicious—vastly different from Luz's cooking that he was used to.

‎“What on earth got into that woman's head for her to prepare all this? Psh!” he muttered to himself like an idiot.

‎Galvin stopped eating when he noticed a cake box. He opened it. A strawberry cake greeted him with the words: Happy 3rd Anniversary, Hubby!♡

‎Galvin carelessly tossed the box cover back, causing it to fall to the floor. His irritation toward Tamara intensified, and he instantly lost his appetite. He drank some water and stood up in anger, realizing that this was the reason why she had been calling.

‎“Happy anniversary to you!” he hissed at the table.

‎Fuming with anger, he marched up to the master bedroom, only to find a room with no Tamara inside! He couldn't even see a single one of her belongings. With how immaculately organized the room was, you could tell it was constantly cleaned but never used.

‎From what he recalled, Tamara used the master bedroom—the room that bore witness to their intimacy every time he came home, or to put it more bluntly, the room he came home to use her.

‎

“Where on earth did that woman go? She was so itching to make me come home, and now she's the one who isn't here when I arrive?”

‎He threw his wallet, car keys, and cellphone onto the couch before stepping out of the room. He opened the door directly across from it, but there was no one there.

‎He was about to open another door when he heard baby noises coming from the room adjacent to the master bedroom.

‎He slowly cracked the door open and peeked inside. He was greeted by the sight of Tamara asleep on the bed, while their son Gavin lay beside her, wide awake and playing with Tamara's hair.

‎He approached the mother and child. Shaking his head, he gently untangled Tamara's hair from Gavin's grip. Gavin was practically pulling her hair, yet she wasn't waking up.

‎“Dude, don't hurt your Mommy...” Galvin whispered, his voice barely audible.

‎He tucked a strand of hair behind Tamara's ear, which was covering her gentle and beautiful face.

‎He stared at Tamara's face; she looked thoroughly exhausted, and it was obvious she had been crying because her eyelashes were still damp. He was certain that she had cried over him while waiting up.

‎He knew that Tamara had feelings for him; he knew she had loved him for a long time, which was precisely why she ticked him off—because she hadn't even refused when he offered her that contract!

‎He leaned down to plant a kiss on Tamara's forehead, but he almost lost his balance and bumped into Gavin.

‎He hadn't noticed that the end of his necktie was brushing against Gavin's face, so when the baby grabbed it, his grip was incredibly tight. It was as if he were a guard dog refusing to let an intruder get close to his victim.

‎Gavin was startled, and so was he. But instead of crying, Gavin smiled, and his soft chuckle sounded like music to his ears. A smile broke on Galvin's lips, and his irritation toward Tamara instantly melted away.

‎As he tried to pry Gavin's hand off his necktie, the baby pouted his lips as if he was about to cry out loud. Left with no choice, he placed the tie back into his son's hand while taking it off from his neck.

‎He sat on the edge of the bed. “Go back to sleep, handsome.”

‎Galvin caressed baby Gavin face and showered with kisses until the baby fell asleep, never once letting go of his necktie.

‎Galvin tried to retrieve it, but the baby started to stir, so instead of forcing it out, he just left it behind. He kissed baby Gavin on the forehead, adjusted his blanket, and made sure he was perfectly comfortable.

‎“Galvin... Galvin, wait...” Tamara muttered.

‎Galvin froze on his way out of the room and turned back to look at Tamara. His brows furrowed when he saw that she was asleep but talking in her sleep.

‎“Galvin, that tickles. Stop it...” She even arched her back slightly.

‎With his hands in his pockets, Galvin stared intently at Tamara, who kept muttering his name as if he were making her happy. He felt annoyed by this, realizing that she was fantasizing about him even in her dreams!

‎'What the fuck!' Curses swirled wildly in Galvin's mind.

‎He placed the item he fished out from his trench coat pocket onto the bedside table before walking out of the room in anger...

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