Glancing around the room, Hiram opened all the closets, went under the sheets and even went under the bed to check whether Rachel was hiding under it. Finally, he turned his eyes on the curtains. Two dainty little feet were sticking out from under them.
He laughed to himself before striding over, covering his mouth not to make a sound. Suddenly he reached out his arms to hold Rachel tightly, still behind the curtains.
Rachel let out a delightful shriek and wondered why he got her so quickly.
"Gotcha! You were too easy to find! I get a reward for this, right?" Hiram asked. He pulled the curtain aside and gazed at Rachel passionately as he pinned her to the window.
Rachel looked back and said with a fake frown,"I heard you would give the kids a reward, but why are you asking me for one? I don't remember mentioning any reward before."
Hiram grabbed her waist and pulled her from the curtains. He looked straight at her without blinking,"I want my reward! It's been such long a time and I'm desperately missing you in bed. I need my reward now, honey!"
He pushed his body on her as his hand went up to feel her breast, at the same time kissing her on the lips.
Rachel moaned, kissing him back with closed eyes and savoring his lips. She also missed him so much. But she blinked and tried to push him away. "Can't it wait until tonight? The kids are waiting for us downstairs. They'll come for us if we don't show up soon."
"No! now is now, and the tonight is another thing!" Hiram replied without any hesitation. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed.
It all passed in a fiery blur. After having enjoyed the explosion of a passionate moment, Hiram walked out of the bedroom in high spirits as he hopped down the stairs.
"Daddy, where's Mommy? What took you so long to find her?" Jonny asked when he didn't see his mom coming down with his dad.
"Oh, I did find her, in more ways than one." Hiram winked at his son. "Your mommy fell asleep because she'd waited too long for me to find her. Don't worry. She'll come down when she wakes up." Hiram explained, tussling the boy's hair. He giggled inside seeing that the twins bought his story.
At that moment, Rachel was taking a shower in the bathroom, still feeling every touch of her husband on her skin. The tingle in her body still making ripples as she thought about what just happened. She closed her eyes and smiled as the warm water pleasantly hit her hair, her face and her body.
Afterwards, she put on a set of clean clothes.
That evening, Fannie prepared a special dinner - a table full of their favorite dishes.
Everyone was sitting at the dining table and enjoying themselves with good food and fun talk.
Jonny and Joyce loved the dishes that their grandmother made. They always got overstuffed because they couldn't stop eating until someone told them to stop.
After dinner, Rachel took the twins for a walk outside to help them digest all that food while Hiram went down from the third floor to his study.
The kids played with Rachel for a while before they washed up and went to sleep.
When Rachel returned to the bedroom, she found Hiram already on the bed lying on his side. He had already taken a shower and was waiting for her.
Rachel laughed as she walked to the bed, and asked,"You've just recovered, and I think it may be bad for your health."
Hiram raised his eyebrows disapprovingly and said in his ravishing voice,"It'll do me no good if I suppress my passion inside. I know that "exercise" before bed can help speed up my recovery!"
Rachel burst into laughter, but she didn't contradict him. His reasoning was impressive.
"Fine! If it helps with your recovery, then I have no choice but to comply!"
She said imitating his flirtatious voice and climbed on top of him, pulling her top off and kissing him passionately.
They had a crazy and long night, doing it a few times.
The next morning, Rachel was still sleeping when Hiram got up. There was a scheduled morning meeting to attend at the company. He felt energetic and refreshed. Everything seemed beautiful and perfect around him.
He had already left when Rachel opened her eyes.
She was lying on the bed catching a whiff of the scent that Hiram left behind. She took a deep breath as she hugged his pillow and closed her eyes again. She couldn't help but crack a smile. This was the life she had been longing for, her whole life.
She wanted nothing but live a simple and happy life with Hiram, sleeping together every night and waking up together every morning.
——
Hiram returned home as soon as he finished his work in the company. It was about four in the afternoon.
Fannie had left for XH Village early that morning, so he thought of taking Rachel out to dinner. Now, without her mother around, she might need some cheering up.
"Honey?"
Hiram called from the living room the moment he walked in. But strangely, Rachel didn't come out for him as she normally did. He went upstairs to the kids' playroom asking,"Hello kids! Have you seen your mom around?"
But Rachel was still nowhere in sight after he searched every corner of the house.
It was a tough night.
It was the toughest and darkest night for him since he was born.
He watched the clock tick one second after another. He watched until the dark of night turned into light, little by little. He had never thought that darkness could last so long. It felt like an eternity.
As the dawn broke, he couldn't believe that Rachel had left and couldn't think it through.
She left Jonny and Joyce at home. Usually she couldn't stop talking about them even if she was just out for a single day. How could she be so ruthless to leave her own kids?
Hiram left the house even before the sun came up.
He headed for XH Village. He kept in his mind the possibility that she might have gone back because she couldn't stand her mom living there alone.
It was still early in the morning when he arrived at Fannie's place.
Fannie answered the door and found Hiram standing there. "Hiram? What are you doing here?
But where's Rachel? Didn't she come with you?" She asked, surprised to see Hiram alone at the door. She cocked her head outwards scanning the yard, looking for Rachel. "What made you come here alone, Hiram? Where's my daughter?"
Hiram was going to ask whether Rachel was there, but he his heart froze upon hearing Fannie's words.
"What happened?
Come on in! Don't stand there at the door!" Fannie said as she moved aside to let him in.
He walked inside and searched every room, but Rachel was nowhere to be found, not even a shadow of her.
"What's going on, Hiram? What are you looking for?" Fannie asked him as she followed closely from room to room. She had never seen Hiram so distracted as if he lost the most precious thing he owned.
"Mom, I've looked everywhere, but I can't find her……"
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