The Rise of the White Lotus

"You will audition for Evalyn's role?" After their heart to heart talk, Rika ate the breakfast Jaime made for her while she showed him the script she read last night.

"Well," Chewing her food down, her brows raised briefly as she shrugged.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Before she could reply with a complete answer, Jaime inquired.

Rika furrowed her brows. When she swallowed down her food. Rika asked,

"How about work?" Her eyes never left him as she picked up the glass of water and drank it.

"Oh, right? I sent my resignation letter weeks ago. They approved it this morning." 

Rika nearly choked on the water. She coughed, letting out the waters that were forced out of her mouth.

"Hey, careful." Worried, Jaime patted her back as he looked at her worriedly.

When she recovered, Rika scoffed as she blinked her eyes and asked in disbelief. "You… resigned?"

"I want to surprise you, so I didn't mention it. I decided I want to spend more time with you. I can continue working in the clinic." Jaime explained with a smile, still stroking her back gently.

For a minute, Rika processed his last remarks in silence. Not that she wasn't happy. In fact, she was excited! But…

"The clinic…? You mean…" She raised her brows. 

Getting her hints, he could not help but chuckle. After all, they met at the same clinic; back when Lexi got pregnant and wanted to keep her pregnancy as private as possible.

"Honey," she sighed, bouncing closer to him. "It's not that I don't trust you, but you know... "

Rika tapped her forefinger against each other, casting him an adorable puppy eye. 

"You have a wife now and this might sound childish, but can you come back when your wife is ready to compromise?"

"Haha. I already planned to. Don't worry." He smiled, patting her head as he already thought about it long and hard.

Since Jaime had become busy with not just work but seminars during the past year, he wanted to take some time off. Obviously, that desire to make it up to her just grew stronger.

"Aww…" Moved, Rika squeezed herself into him. 

Hearing him say such words and knowing he still loved her made her feel everything was worth it. That holding onto him, believing in their marriage, and trusting this love was all worth fighting for.

"I love you, honey." As she embraced him, she whispered with a content smile. 

"I love you more. Sorry if I neglected you for a long time." Jaime's eyes softened, casually stroking her back.

Just then, a notification sound from her laptop reached their ears. Unconsciously, both of them gazed at the laptop where Jaime was reading the script.

"You have a mail. Wait, let me --"

"It's nothing." Before Jaime could break away from her embrace, Rika frowned and ignored it.

"It might be important." Chuckling, Jaime gazed down and left a peck on top of her head. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

He added with reassurance. Reluctantly, Rika let him go, and he grabbed the laptop before sitting beside her.

"You should check it…" He trailed off as Rika interrupted him.

"You check it. I'll eat." Since she wasn't hiding anything from him and knowing Jaime, who respected her privacy despite being married, Rika urged.

Rika had been receiving a lot of mails from Abigail and offers from other companies. Yet, she never replied to any of them, as she wasn't ready to make a comeback.

"Alright," Jaime nodded. 

He then checked the mails. Seeing it was Abigail's name, he glanced at Rika.

"Its three new scripts from Manager Fan." He informed and read the titles. "The Superstar's Bride, The Grim reaper and I, and Wild Young Princess: Mister, let's sleep?"

Jaime furrowed his brows and commented. "That's a long title."

"Trash the first one. But, let's read the rest?" With little interest at the first script, Rika's eyes brimmed with excitement as she cast him an expectant look.

"You don't like the first one?" asked Jaime, as he glanced at her.

"No, not that I don't like it. It just sounds cliché and just reminds me of Eli's problem." Rika waved and saw Jaime look at her as if he was waiting for her to fill him in.

She cleared her throat, taking a deep breath as she recalled her brief talk with Eli. 

"You see, Eli's grandma had a heart attack last night. You know her, she's been worried about her favorite grandson and wants him to settle down." 

Rika started explaining. Jaime listened in silence, nodding as he got the good grasp of their good friend's predicament.

"At the moment's spur, that stupid, idiot Mister Gong, lied and told her he's dating seriously now."

"Oh…" Jaime's eyes raised his brows, casting Rika a knowing, shocked look. Rika let out another sigh as she was as shocked as Jaime when she heard it.

"Yeah, I know. So, last night, he called me and asked me to find him a fake bride. Gosh… that idiot. He should have admitted it to her, but he couldn't. Afraid she would have another heart attack. The doctor said she might not survive another attack."

When Rika finished summarizing her dear but stupid's friend's dilemma, both husband and wife sighed. Eli was a dear friend to them. Especially for Jaime. He owed him a lot because Eli had been there for Rika when Jaime wasn't.

Also, part of Jaime felt bad because at one point, he looked at Eli as his competition. After all, Rika and Eli might bicker a lot of time, but their chemistry was perfect. If not for his wife's devotion and unconditional love, Jaime would have his suspicion.

"This is why I don't lie. It comes back ten times more stressful than ever." Rika muttered, and Jaime could never disagree.

"A fake bride… Did he think marriage is a joke? Gosh!" she added, clicking her tongue as she was torn between helping him or lecturing him.

"Maybe, Ethan knows a few… I'm sorry. Nevermind." With his strong desire to help, Jaime thought about Ethan.

However, as fast as the idea came up, the faster it faded away.

"Don't tell Ethan, honey. You know him. He will either tell it to Grandma Gong or straight up to bury Eli himself. But, I'll ask for Lexi's help." Rika replied, and both husband and wife let out a sigh.