The Rise of the White Lotus

"My wife…" On a verge of weeping, Ethan frowned as he watched his men prepare the washboard in front of him.

"All ready, Madam." Jarred informed, standing straight on the side of the washboard as he faced Lexi. She was leaning in front of her desk, nodding upon hearing him.

"Wait for us outside." She muttered, causing Lyrick and Jarred bow their heads and retreat without a single word. Still, they could not help but glance at their boss whose life was now on Lexi's hands. Their eyes bore pity, but they already expected this would happen -- Ethan expected it too. That's why he brought these washboards with them.

Soon, when the two left, Ethan wept aloud. "My wife, please listen to my explanation! My knees haven't recovered from kneeling one week ago!" He cried, rubbing his hands against each other as he pleaded for his life.

"What's the purpose of bringing this if we're not going to use it?" Unfazed by her weeping husband, Lexi crossed her hand under her chest; her right brow arched.

"Huhuhu!" Ethan wept. As he did so, he reluctantly knelt down. "I know I made a rash decision and shouldn't have done it! I was just tempted since the twins turned one and before we know it, they're already adults! I just don't want them to get bullied!" When Ethan's knees touched the washing board, he began explaining.

One would take pity on him by the tone of his voice and his action at the moment. However, if they knew what it takes for him to be in this same situation over and over again, they would probably just sigh. To be honest, Lexi was also tired from his restlessness.

Sure, she admired her husband for his love for her and how he was whenever he was acting as the head of the Lu family. However, sometimes, he was just too much. He over thinks a lot; just like today, he bought a school just because the twins turned one.

If Lexi didn't know about his plan months ago, Lexi would've had a statue of herself! She only stopped him from doing so because that was just ridiculous on many levels. 

"Love, money was never a problem." As Lexi stared at his pitiful figure, she slowly drew away from the desk as she strode towards him. "I appreciate the thought, but…" She paused, squatting down to face him and another sigh slipped past her lips.

"But I want the twins to learn things on their own. That they would grow up knowing the reality of the society. They wouldn't achieve that if we kept sheltering them -- we talked about this." Unlike what he expected, Lexi's tone was rather gentle and tired. "I know time flies so fast and it's been a year already. However, can't we enjoy and baby our twins until then?" She added, her eyes softened, seemingly hurt that her husband had been going cray cray whenever he thinks that the twin grows so fast.

A moment of silence enveloped the two of them as they both stared at each other. Ethan who was faking his weeping slowly changed his expression, reflecting that he was once again being paranoid. "I know," He whispered, a deep sigh escaped from his nostrils.

"I'm just worried, that's all." He muttered, lowering his gaze as he couldn't look at her straight in the eyes. "It's only one year and a few months since that incident happened. I'm just afraid…" He sighed, not finishing his sentence.

Lexi sighed as well, shaking her head sideways as she knew that. "I know…" She whispered in distress. "Stand up." She said as she stood up and lent her hands for him to take.

Ethan, who raised his head and watched her stand, witnessed her smile as she reached her hand to him. "My wife…" He whispered, choking in the last part as the side of his lips curled down. Because of that, Ethan reached for her hand, but used his leg stretched so not to burden Lexi with his weight.

He dusted off the speck of dust that stuck to his knees before Lexi led him to the long sofa Jarred pushed to the side of the office. The two of them sat side by side, Ethan habitually placed his arms over her shoulder while she leaned to him.

"I'm tired." Lexi murmured, sighing as she didn't have enough energy to scold him. "The school is upsetting." She added, expressing her displeasure about the school. Not that it was a waste of money, in fact, it could generate money and be another source of income. However, what upset her about it was he decided for the twins all on his own again.

They could have discussed it. Why must Ethan do this over and over again? Deciding without talking about it with her? Even the washboard seemed to be pointless since he kept on doing it unconsciously.

"Love…" Ethan turned to his side, sighing upon the sight of her exhausted countenance. "I'm sorry, I know… yet I did it again." He admitted meekly, sounding apologetic because he knew what truly upset her as they had discussed it bazillion times.

Lexi remained silent, pouting as she hung her head low. "But you kept doing it again." She sighed for the nth time. "I know the trauma of that incident but we have to move forward, Ethan." Slowy, Lexi raised her head and sat to face him; her gaze fixated on his pair of eyes.

"It's hard, but we have to. The world continued to revolve. I'm not saying we should forget about it, but you have me. We can protect the twins and their peace together. Can't we do that?" Lexi slowly extended her hand and reached for his, squeezing it a little as she looked up once again.

Seeing her expression, Ethan pursed his lips on a thin line. "Mhmm… I'm sorry for giving you headaches…" However, before he could finish his sentence, the rest of it were pushed back as Lexi sealed his lips on a kiss.

"You were there when I was at my lowest. No need to thank me or apologize. Let's move forward together, okay?" The kiss was brief, and Lexi drew away, resting her forehead against him as she reminded him.

Before, Lexi was the one who was broken. He accepted her regardless of her issues, He was always there for her. Thus, although she was sometimes disappointed with his action, that didn't mean she would stop caring and loving. They were legally husband and wife, after all. 

Wasn't this part of marriage life? They would still have their highs and lows, but as long as they're together, the love would remain the same and that would never change. They might bicker, have a little misunderstanding, upset each other, and the list goes on -- that was just part of the forever they both sought.