MARA's POV
The days passed quickly. It's been two months since we brought baby Tanya home.
My husband and I were always lack of sleep. It's tiring, but it's all worth it.
Maru did not allow me to return to work in the meantime. I agreed because I want to give all my time to taking care of our child.
"Good morning, wife!" Maru whispered while hugging me.
"Good morning Maru!" I said, then I turn myself to face him.
He quickly kissed me on the lips and hugged me again.
I tap his shoulder. "Let's get up, Maru. I'm sure that baby Tanya is already awake."
He shakes his head and hugs me tighter. "Five more minutes, wife."
I shook my head.
Since we both agreed to be friends, we seem to have returned when we were just a newly married couple.
Now I can see that we should start as friends first. At least now, there is no pressure or expectation. We just enjoyed what is happening in our family.
Now I understand why some people don't want to commit. Commitment is too demanding and puts a lot of pressure on people.
I can't say that there is no jealousy or pain on my part every time Jana gets along or visits here.
And the closeness of Yelle and Maru. It looks like they've been close since that night.
All I know about them is that they already knew each other even before Maru and Jana became a couple. Yelle used to like Maru. So she made away before getting close to Maru.
Yelle did not know then that Maru was the one who arranged for me. She just stopped liking Maru when Jana became Maru's girlfriend. And that's the time when she secretly liked Alex.
Maru and Alex are on Yelle's crush list. That's why I know that she is not serious about liking them.
Suppose you will name it in a game; it's only seasonal. That is why I always rebuke myself whenever I feel jealous of them.
"Your five minutes are over Maru. Get up. Have a little shame to Manang! For sure, she is so tired from taking care of baby Tanya the whole night." I said, then forced to remove his hands that were hugging me.
Maru talked to Manang about taking care of baby Tanya last night because he was too tired from work.
Maru insisted on being the one assigned to take care of baby Tanya every night. He won't allow me to take care of the baby at night because, as per him, I have already worn myself out from taking care of our baby the whole day.
No matter how hard I tried, he would disagree, so I just let him be. But what we didn't know is that Maru is planning something.
It was our second-anniversary last night. I thought he did not remember because he didn't show any hint the whole day.
Flashback
"Manang, can you take care of Baby Tanya tonight for me? I was too drained in the office earlier." Maru pleaded.
"Sure, Andrew. All right, you two should rest now." Manang replied with a smile.
"But I can just take care of the baby," I answered.
Manang shook her head. "No, Mara. I know you are tired too because you took care of your child all day."
"But it's okay. I'm not tired." I insisted.
"No, hon. You need to rest because tomorrow, you will need the energy to take care of the baby." He said softly.
"I agree with him. Andrew, take your wife to your room so you can rest. I will take care of your child." Manang drives us away.
I had no choice but to agree with them.
I was shocked when I opened our room; it has full of rose petals all over the room. There are also rose petals that formed a heart shape on our bed.
The color of the room also changed, which added to the romantic look of the room.
Even our bathtub is full of rose petals. Just a few minutes later, there was sweet music playing.
"May I have this dance?" Maru said as he held out his hand to me.
I still feel confused; still, I accepted his hand and danced with him.
We were in the middle of our dance when he whispered something.
"Happy 2nd-anniversary, wife!" He said softly.
That's when my tears started to flow.
"I thought you forgot," I said, a bit shy.
He chuckled. "No, silly. I will never forget our anniversary. Because that's what I'm always looking forward to every year."
I just let myself hug him. I'm so overwhelmed. I don't know what to say.
He hugs me back.
"I love you, wife." He said in the sweetest tone.
I wanted to say I love you too, but I don't know what hinders me from answering him back.
Just like what I always do, I kiss him-hoping that with my kiss, he will be able to feel the love that I have for him.
Our kisses became deeper. I did not realize that Maru gradually removed our clothes. I was stunned when Maru suddenly lifted me.
"Let's take a bath first, wife." He whispered.
I feel my face heated because I could feel the heat of his skin sticking to my skin. He slowly laid me down in the bathtub. Then he immediately joined me there.
We just hugged each other while submerged in the bathtub. The music makes the ambiance more romantic.
He then kissed me on my shoulder, and then my neck, my ear. He faced me and kissed my forehead, both eyes, cheeks, nose, and finally on my lips. We kiss like there's no tomorrow.
"Hey, wife, are you okay?"
"H-huh?" He gave me an intense glare.
"It's too early to daydream, my wife." He said they gave me a quick kiss.
I was stunned when he suddenly carried me.
"Hey, Maru, put me down," I said to him.
He chuckled. "I thought you were in a hurry? Why were you daydreaming earlier? You thought I did not know what you were thinking a while ago?"
I blushed at what he said.
"You don't need to reminisce it because we can always do it again; you just need to say it, wife."
I gently hit his chest. "Stop it, Maru! Manang has been waiting for us for a while now."
"Okay, wife." He said, but he is still in his teasing mode.
When we got down, Manang was already in the living room, and Baby Tanya was also in her stroller.
"It's good that you guys have already woken up. Let's have our breakfast now." Manang said.
We immediately sat down and started eating.
It's Saturday, and Maru has no work, so we can spend the whole day taking care of our child. But for sure we have visitors that will come today.
Janna, Yelle, and James often visit us every weekend. But among them, Yelle visits baby Tanya more often. She never missed a single Saturday.
Just a few minutes later I heard a car arrive. Manang immediately opened it.
It was Yelle as we expected.
She went straight to my child. Yelle loves children, so I was not surprised why she is always here.
Then James came after a few minutes. He immediately went to me.
"Your friend is too early." He said suspiciously.
I glared at him.
He raised both his hands.
"I don't mean anything." He said with a laugh.
I just rolled my eyes. "I don't know with you!"
"Happy family." James tease me again.
He was referring to Yelle, Maru, and baby Tanya.
I gave him a soft punch. "Tease me one more time, and I will chase you out!"
"Okay, okay, I will stop. It's fun teasing you." He said, then he put his arm on my shoulder.
But if you'll look at Maru and Yelle now, they look like a family. Maru is the one carrying Baby Tanya while Yelle is playing with my daughter.
I felt pain in my chest, but I chose to ignore it. Yelle is my friend, my best friend. I don't want to put malice in her actions.
Maru suddenly looked in our direction and immediately met his eyes.
James immediately removed his arm around me.
I invited him to go to Maru and Yelle. When Baby Tanya saw me, she immediately raised her two hands as if she wanted me to carry her.
I immediately took it, and after a while, she raised her hand to his father. Baby Tanya is always like this every time she sees Maru and me.
So when she is like this, Maru and I always stick together; we should both hold her. When someone else takes her, she cries and only stops when she went back into our arms.
"It looks like the baby is feeling it too. Great job, baby Tanya!" James said meaningly.