SHE was in a bad mood because her hormones were acting up that day, which she had to endure since she had her period. It might look like a flaw, but that was how it worked inside a woman’s body, and there was no way she could control it. Aside from the bad mood, Yvonne was also suffering from severe dysmenorrhea, which she only tried to ignore because she had to cook Rohan a meal. And then their argument happened.
It was infuriating that Rohan told her he’d compensate her for last night’s service. What did he think she did? Since when did people start compensating others for that kind of service?
“Damn you, Rohan! I just took care of you because I’m concerned about you….” Yvonne buried her face in the pillow. “I did that out of love, moron!”
Crying wasn’t part of her plan, but she suddenly felt tears spring from her eyes.
“Oh, shit!”
Yvonne groaned as she sat up. That was when she saw her cat loafing across from her. It was looking at her intently for a moment before it stood up and walked toward her. Bean climbed on her chest and scrabbed his cheek on her. She knew it meant only one thing.
“Fine… Mama’s going to stop crying now.” She sniffed and reached for the tissue bag on the bedside table. “This is all Rohan’s fault. Did you know that?”
If her cat wasn’t there, Yvonne didn’t know whose shoulder to cry on.
Bean meowed and groomed her cheek afterward.
“He’s an idiot, don’t you think? Who in their right mind would think as he did?” She exhaled sharply. “I could’ve punched him right in the face only if I didn’t love him.”
Somehow, her emotions had ceased after venting to her cat.
“Thank you for listening, Bean.” She patted her cat’s head. “I love you.”
She hugged her cat and lay on the bed when she felt another painful cramp strike her down there. It was getting worse as hours passed, and she knew the most painful cramps were yet to come. Yvonne groaned as she closed her eyes. She couldn’t sleep at that rate, but she had to try because she forgot to take some pain reliever with her, and falling asleep was the only way she knew to get rid of that pain.
After a few moments, she felt her cat move away from her. Bean then jumped off the bed and went straight to the door. Her cat scratched it, and that only meant one thing. Bean wanted her to open the door for him.
“Bean, not now, please. Mama’s in pain.”
She turned to the other side of the bed and ignored her cat. Bean would stop soon, especially when he was ignored for too long. Yvonne didn’t have the energy to deal with her cat’s crazy antics at that moment because she was in pain.
Soon she heard Bean stop scratching the door, and not long after that, she drifted to sleep.
 
ROHAN just got out of the bathroom after a quick shower. His fever was finally gone, so he decided to take a quick shower to freshen up. He was surprised to see Yvonne’s cat on top of his bed, looking at him as though he wanted to tell him something. He couldn’t understand cat language the way its owner did, so all he could do was stand across the bed with his hands propped on his waist and stare back at the cat.
“I don’t know how you got here—” His sentence was suddenly cut off when he saw the curtains move as the wind blew outside his room. “Yeah, right… I left the windows open.”
He opened all his windows earlier so fresh air could circulate inside. That was better since he got the flu and stayed sick in his room.
“Fine, I’ll let you stay here if you want to.” He heaved a sigh. Rohan strode to his drawer to get clothes to wear. “I’m afraid your mother and I would quarrel again if I kicked you out of the villa. Where is she anyway?”
Yvonne skipped lunch. He thought she was still in a bad mood, so he didn’t call her. But he did leave something for her on the table.
Rohan jolted when he felt the cat between his legs, rubbing its body against him.
“God,” he whispered as he moved away from it. But no matter how he dodged the cat, it kept following him. “What the heck….”
Finally, it stopped and sat in front of him. The cat stared at him again, giving him that kind of look as though it wanted something from him.
“What? Are you hungry? Then go to your mother and ask her for food. She’s the only one who understands you anyway.” He gestured in the direction of the door. But then he realized the cat couldn’t open the door. “Look at you… You got here by yourself through the window, and now you want me to open the door for you.”
The cat meowed in reply, but it sounded more like a growl.
“You little chonky tiger,” he said, laughing.
Rohan never thought he’d ever have that kind of conversation with a cat. If someone was with him other than Yvonne, that person might think he was going crazy. In the end, he opened the door for the cat.
It immediately jumped off the bed the moment it saw the door open. But it stopped midway and meowed at him. Rohan didn’t know if he got it right, but it seemed that the cat wanted him to come.
As if the cat compelled Rohan, he followed it until they arrived in front of Yvonne’s room. The door was closed, so he thought the cat wanted him to open it too.
“This is too much,” he told the cat as he pushed the door open.
He saw Yvonne lying flat on her stomach, groaning.
“Yvonne, are you okay?”
Her cat jumped on the bed and nudged Yvonne’s head. She groaned again. Rohan couldn’t help but feel concerned about her. She must be in pain to keep groaning like that, so he strode toward the bed to check on her closely.
“Yvonne…” He removed the strands of hair covering her face. “What’s the matter?”
Worry was evident in his voice.
She slowly opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. And once again, there was this fluttering feeling inside his stomach.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said softly.
“I-I’m in pain….” Yvonne replied with a groan.
Panic rushed through his system.
“Where? What happened?”
“It’s the time of the month.” She let out a long sigh.
“O-oh, I see. Wait here.”
He stormed out of the room and headed straight to the kitchen. Good thing everything he needed was available. Rohan didn’t waste time and made Yvonne something that could help her ease her menstrual cramps. He then brought it upstairs after he was finished.
 
YVONNE had just gotten out of the restroom when Rohan returned to her room. He was holding a mug of, she didn’t know what.
“Here, I made you a ginger-lemon tea for your cramps,” he said as he put the mug down on the bedside table. “I put some honey in as well for a better taste, just in case you don’t like it raw. This is what my sister always drinks when it’s the time of the month to cure her cramps.”
She sat on the bed and grabbed the mug.
“Thank you,” Yvonne mouthed before taking a sip.
“Careful. It’s still hot.”
But his warning was a little late because she had already taken a sip.
“Aww!”
“Are you okay?” Rohan took the mug. “I told you it’s still too hot. Maybe you should let it cool down a little.” Sighing, he returned the mug to the bedside table.
“Yeah, right.”
Yvonne laid flat on her stomach again. It was the only position that made her feel better at that moment. But she didn’t expect what happened next. She felt Rohan’s hand gently patting her lower back.
“What are you doing?” She had no plans to argue with him because she didn’t have the energy to do so. And besides, what he was doing made her feel even better.
“My sister used to ask me to do this for her back then,” Rohan answered with a very calm tone she didn’t expect.
“Are you sure you didn’t do this to any woman aside from your sister?” she asked with a muffled voice as she buried her face in the pillow.
She heard him laugh, and the sound of his laughter was like music to her ears.
“Why?”
“Nothing. I’m just asking because I’m curious—”
“I bet you’ll feel jealous.” She didn’t respond. To say yes would make her look like a fool. “Silence means yes,” Rohan said afterward.
“That’s foul,” she groaned.
She heard his laughter once again.
“I think you should drink your tea now.”
“I’ll drink it later, but for now, keep patting my back.”
“Does it make you feel better?”
“Hm….”