I was on my way down when the doorbell rang. I went straight to answer it.
 
"Hi, can I help you?" I asked, confused because I saw an unfamiliar woman in the porch. Her outfit and gestures looked elegant. I was sure I had never met her before. I thought I was the only woman in this place besides the housemaids at the main house. How did she enter the village too?
 
"Hi, I know we weren't introduced yet. I'm Bella, Aeden's wife," the woman introduced herself, offering a handshake. I shook her hand, even though I was still confused. I know Aeden was married and had two kids, but I didn't know I would meet her tonight. "I'm sorry if I came to visit you this late. I'm just too excited to meet you that I can't wait for tomorrow."
 
"Oh, okay. Uhm, do you want to come on in?" I said, letting her into the house, although I wasn't sure if I could trust this lady.
 
She seemed harmless, though, and I knew that no one could enter this place unless they were related to the Han family. I still put all my guard up, ready for anything worse that could happen. I had learned kick-boxing for self-defense, anyway.
 
"Do you want some coffee or tea?" I asked out of hospitality when we reached the living room.
 
"Tea would be fine, thank you," she said, taking a seat while I went to get us drinks.
 
I went to the kitchen and made myself a coffee and tea for her. I also put some of my baked, unfrosted muffins on a plate to serve. Then I went back to her in the living room.
 
"Again, I'm sorry if I came all of a sudden and unnoticed. The moment I found out about you, I felt excited to meet you. I just came back from Singapore. We're here for our annual vacation. I'm with our kids, and we always come here during their school break. I just wanted to come and say 'hi' to you," Bella added.
 
"Well, it's nice to meet you too. I thought I wouldn't see any women in this place except for the housekeepers at the main house."
 
"That's what I thought too. This place will only have women every school break: me and my daughter. We often come here with the kids. When I heard that the Han brothers have a sister, I was surprised but thrilled, in all honesty. I thought there would never be a daughter in this family."
 
"It's kind of weird, right? Me as the only daughter? Well, maybe you can have more daughters with Aeden soon."
 
"I also want that, but Aeden said he's already okay with our son and daughter. I bet he's just scared I'll have difficulty carrying our child again. He doesn't want to see me suffer. He’s already traumatized when we had Rhian; we almost lost her that time."
 
"Minwoo told me about your kids. Looking at you, you don't seem like a mother of a teenager," I was amused but at the same time doubtful if she was legit. If it was real, though, it was amusing to know that Bella was the mother of a 15-year-old boy, because she still looked young and pretty. People say it’s harder to raise sons than daughters.
 
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you. By the way, Aeden told me you were the one preparing for Jayden’s birthday tomorrow? Is there anything I can help you with?"
 
"Speaking of that, would you mind if we stay in the kitchen? I have to start frosting the cupcakes," I pointed at the kitchen.
 
She nodded. "You're doing the cupcakes?" She asked, amused, but followed me into the kitchen. "I wish I could help you with that."
 
"Maybe you can. Can you put the icing on the muffins?" I suggested, thinking it would be faster if she helped with that.
 
"Sure, but can you show me how to do it first?"
 
"Of course," I said, getting the icing from the fridge. I let her watch me put it into the piping bag, then slowly squeeze it on top of the muffin. "That's it."
 
"Okay," she nodded, and I handed her the bag. She started to do it on another one, and I thought she'd do a good job, so I let her.
 
I started to put the bread on the decorating pan and also started melting the caramel to put in between the two pieces of bread.
 
"These smells delicious. Can I taste one?" She said after a while.
 
"Sure. That might be your fee for helping," I joked.
 
She laughed but took the one without the frosting. I was waiting for her to say something because I couldn’t read any expression on her face. Well, how could I?
 
"So? How does it taste?" I asked curiously. I knew Iliana had done a great job, but it was her first time adding more cheese to the ingredients, and it might taste different.
 
"It's perfect. It's cheese, right? I literally taste the cheese. I love it. Is it the same flavor as the cake?"
 
"Yes. My friend put more cheese than usual, so I thought she overdid it. You're not just saying that to bluff, are you?"
 
"No. I don't lie when it comes to food. This really tastes good, but why cheese cake though?" She asked, scooping another one and eating it.
 
"Iliana read that Jayden loves caramel and cheese. So, we thought of making a cheese-caramel cake. Actually, Iliana was supposed to be the one doing the cake, but she had to leave for some appointment."
 
She nodded and took another bite of the muffin. "Oh, that’s a clever idea."
 
"Thank you."
 
“Who is Iliana, if I may ask?”
 
“Oh, sorry, she’s my best friend. Aeden asked her to come in the country, probably to make me feel at ease.”
 
She nodded.
 
"Guia, if you don't mind me asking, how are you feeling staying here now? Aeden told me you were the most difficult one to convince. You know, I hope you'll stay here forever though."
 
"Why do you want me to stay?"
 
"Well, when I first met his family, Mrs. Han was the only woman on the dining table. Just imagine how awkward that was. I always imagine that I would be a good sister-in-law to my soon-to-be in-laws. I always imagine that I would be like best friends with the sister of my soon-to-be husband, but when I met Aeden’s family back then, there were only brother-in-law’s."
 
"At least there's Mrs. Han," I joked.
 
"We live in a different generation, girl. How am I going to talk to her about new fashions, what's trending, or whatnot? When I was with her, we talked about the wedding and me being welcomed into their family. Sometimes she talks to me about business, and honestly, I know nothing about it. So, when Aeden told me they might have a sister, I went over the moon."
 
"You, what?" I asked amused.
 
"Okay, that's exaggerated, but I was so thrilled to know my husband's sister. At least there’s another woman here besides the housekeepers at the main house – like you said.”
 
"Well, you're not going to stay here anyway. Aren’t you staying in Singapore and just here for your kid's school break?"
 
"Yes, but one of the main reasons we came here is because we decided to let them continue their schooling here. Sometimes they misbehave, and I don’t know how to control them. That’s mostly Aeden’s job, and they mostly listen to him. They're both growing up, and Aeden said I might not be able to control them alone. I don’t interfere with how he disciplines our children because I know he always has a reason. Plus, I know I won’t win in any argument with him too. So, we decided that it would be better for us to stick together."
 
Having a conversation with Bella convinced me she was really Aeden’s wife. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t know I was here and wouldn’t have come in the first place, right? I thought I could lower my guard a little, but not totally yet, just in case.
 
"Kuya Aeden looks strict and firm when it comes to discipline. I wonder what he will be like as a father. Do your sons respect and obey him because they are scared of him?"
 
"No. They are not scared of their father at all. They do respect him, though. Especially Reese, our son. They know that everything he wants is for them. They knew how hard he tried just to have some time with them, even though he's busy with his work.”
 
We were both immersed in what we were doing while having a chat. It was nice, I guess. We didn’t notice how the time passed. I just didn’t expect her to tell some parts of their story in our first meeting.
 
"Aeden and I met in Seattle. We dated in high school, but then I got pregnant when we were in our second year in college." She started to tell their story, which was kind of surprising to me. I thought she was just very young looking. “He was already in his senior year back then, about to graduate. We didn’t expect it to happen, but he never left me; he still took care of me. After I gave birth to Reese, I went back to school, and he took care of our baby while working too. Aeden did everything for our family. It was the tough years of our lives, but we still managed to survive. Thanks to our family, who are very accepting and supportive.
 
“Our life was already stable when I had Rhian, but my pregnancy was delicate. We had to be very careful and regularly go to the doctor. When my dad died, we decided to settle in Singapore, to stay with my mom, and to let the kids be with their grandma. I didn’t hide that fact from our sons. They knew how big the effort their father did just for us to be okay.”
 
"Did you guys ever argue? I mean, it's normal for couples to have misunderstanding, right?" I asked.
 
"Of course. I remember our first big fight. I admit that it was my fault, though, because my insecurities got to me at that time. We were already in Singapore, but he needed to come here to help with his father. He’s the eldest son, so he must come and help with their business. He’s been very busy that he never visits us. All my insecurities got to me; like, ‘what if he doesn’t want me anymore because I’m no longer pretty in his eyes?’ or ‘What if he found another woman here?’ Then I started accusing him of that, which led to us fighting. It was when he came back from working here for the very first time. I know he was already tired from the trip and probably from work too, but I started a fight. I thought he was going to divorce me that time, but you know what he did? He brought me here and let me stay in the hotel for the whole day while he was working. I didn’t know what his plan was, so I was annoyed, but then I started to hear the other employees talking about how they respected him. They said since he came to the hotel, everything changed, everything went better. It was the male employees though. Then I heard mostly complaints from the female employees about how strict and cold he was. They said all he did was work and didn’t care about anything else."
 
"That’s a smart move. But what if he told them to do that?" I asked.
 
"That's what I thought at first, but when I went back secretly, I still heard the same thing. I also saw him ignoring all the advances of any woman approaching him. He even showed them his wedding ring and told them he was married."
 
"Nice."
 
"Right? So, I felt guilty and sorry for starting that fight."
 
After putting the caramel on both pieces of bread and securing their tops, I began trimming the edges to prepare them for frosting. Her phone buzzed, and she checked it for a moment.
 
"Uhm, I think I have to go home now. Aeden is already on his way, and he doesn’t know I came here first. He knows we arrived today, and the kids are asleep, so no one knows I'm here. I also need to prepare dinner for him. Is it okay to leave you here, though? Or should I just call someone to help you?" She said hesitantly, noticing the trays of unfrosted muffins.
 
"It's fine. You finished more than a dozen, and it’s already a big help. I was going to do this alone anyway, after my friend ditched me. I think I can manage from here. Thanks for the help. I bet your husband misses you a lot, too."
 
"I miss him as well. Thanks for letting me in and chatting with you. I had a great time. I’m sorry for not finishing what I started, though."
 
"It’s fine. And by the way, nice to meet you, Bella," I said, walking her to the front door. Then she hugged me before stepping out onto the porch. I could smell lavender and honey on her – a sweet scent.
 
"I’m happy to meet you as well, Guia. Call our house if you ever need my help again. I told you; I’ll be here from now on," she said.
 
"I will. Goodnight." I waved at her as she got in her car and waited for it to leave the driveway and the front porch before returning to the kitchen and continuing my work.
 
Come to think of it, I wasn’t even sure if that woman was really Aeden's wife. Even so, our conversation flowed smoothly, and I felt like she was genuine. Sometimes my gut feelings always tell the right thing, and now it was saying she was legit. She just came to chat with me, which was quite surprising because I don’t usually talk to people—I don't open up that easily.
 
As far as I remembered, Minwoo said Aeden’s family lived in Singapore, and that he had two children. The woman mentioned having two kids. Plus, how she blushed talking about their argument and making up couldn’t be faked. I guess she really was Aeden’s wife.
 
I finished decorating the cake, set it aside, and started frosting the muffins. I finished everything at midnight.