The Best Friend's Contract novel Chapter 33

Aidan

Truth be told, when I walked in on Kenna, I didn't expect to see an angel. The way she stood there confidently in the red lingerie which complimented her tanned skin and highlight her long legs, she was a breathtaking sight. At first I was confused and almost mistaken her as a Victoria's Secret angel; if you get what I mean. By far the only thing that made me forget about the whole stress at work.

From the moment I stepped inside, I was trying hard not to make her notice how my knees were growing weak just by seeing her look back at me; maybe it was my consciousness that kept on reminding me to be sober because I would've never kept my hands away from her if I followed my own lustful thoughts.

My lips curve up into a smile as I take a bite of my pancake, remembering back about last night. Even though we had dinner afterwards, things were pretty awkward between us and somehow quiet because we didn't have much to say—we were just trying to make the silence as our friend.

''Kenna, are you up yet?'' I shout from the kitchen before walking out towards the hallway, gazing to her room; the door closed and not a single sound passing through which confuses me.

Kenna has never been the one to be late for anything, especially work. She might procrastinate here and there but being late for work is so unlike her, she's always punctual. That is one of the things I like about her; it's hard to find someone who can go through the same thing, everyday without complaining because as far as I've been with Kenna . . . she has not complained about her work but then again, she loves her job.

''Kenna . . . are you in there?'' I ask, this time slower as I knock onto her bedroom door.

Sound of coughs are heard from inside the room, making me hold onto the doorknob, realising that it is unlocked as I push the door open; seeing her wrapped around in her comforter like a burrito as she frowns, her nose red and her eyes somehow swollen and a little bit teary.

I immediately make my way towards her before placing the back of my hand on her forehead, feeling a warm sensation creeping up my own skin; instantly making me realise that she's actually unwell. My hand goes down to feel underneath her jaw after pushing her hair away from her face—wiping away the prickling beads of sweat.

''Need . . . to get to work,'' She groans.

''You're not going anywhere,'' I reply before sighing, seeing her blue eyes are droopily piercing into my brown ones; they are red and somewhat tired and instantly, I feel a slight sympathy in my heart, knowing that she's never the one to care for herself even though she's good at caring about other people.

''I'm fine, Aidan.'' She coughs, ''Just let me go to work. I have to get to the hospital,'' The way her voice sounded different than usual, it worries me; knowing that her throat must be sore and swollen, too . . . not just her eyes.

As soon as she sits up straight and starts to get off the bed, her body begins to lose balance; causing her to fall onto the ground but luckily I manage to grab her by the waist, stabilising her feet on the ground than letting her hurt other parts of her body from falling.

''For god's sake, Kenna. Don't be stubborn and listen to me for once,'' I say before placing her onto the bed, letting her lay down; her eyes are closed shut and her eyebrows remain furrowed. ''You have a fever. You can't force yourself,'' I add.

She groans again, ''You don't understand. I have a lot of work to do,''

''I do understand and I'm also worried about your health. You need to know that it's my responsibility to take care of you—how can I just let you off to work when I know that you're not feeling okay? You need to rest,'' I unbutton my sleeves before rolling them up to my elbows, without looking away from her figure which has turned sideways due to the discomfort.

''You worry too much,'' She mumbles.

I press my lips into a thin line, ''About you.''

Within seconds, I'm already walking down the stairs to get a basin filled with cold water and a clean cloth before taking prescribed pills in the kitchen cabinet, making sure that she gets the exact dose for a speedy recovery.

Kenna took care of me when I still had the cast on my left arm, she cared for my health, my work and even my happiness while I was almost begging for my cast to be taken off earlier than decided. She was there for me and I want to be here for her.

''Siri, call Flynn.'' I turn towards my phone, seeing it light up before dialling Flynn's number; hearing it ringing for a few seconds as I put on my ear.

''Yes, Mr. Ashton? Is there anything that I can help you with?'' He picks up the phone, causing me to stop moving all at once and focus onto the sound of his voice. ''Mr. Ashton?'' He calls out, again.

I clear my throat, ''Kenna's not feeling well. I can't be at the office today—I certainly can't go through with the meetings. Can you forward them to tomorrow? Also, can you please send me those files that I was going through yesterday through email?'' I ask, tapping onto the kitchen counter as I wait for his respond; hearing him typing off on the computer.

He stutters at first, ''Are you sure, sir? You have a meeting with Mr. Otawaki at three and he has came all the way from Japan just to see you in order to confirm the final details about the tender. We might have a higher risk of losing it if you don't attend,'' He replies.

My mind wanders off to Mr. Otawaki—the same man who appears to be strict when it comes to work but at the same time, I can't help it knowing that Kenna needs me. Even though the meeting with Mr. Otawaki is important . . . but Kenna is much more important to me. There's a risk of losing the tender but I can't just leave to tend for herself when she's just laying in bed with no strength at all to go through the day without me.

Besides, I'm also her husband; not just her best friend.

''Yes, I'm sure. Send my sincerest apology for this unexpected matter to Mr. Otawaki and just call me if anything happens,'' I reply firmly, imagining Flynn taking notes before nodding his head; something he would do without even bothered to say otherwise, even if I'm making the wrong choices in life but sometimes, it's wiser to go with the most important one.

''Of course, Mr. Ashton. The files will be sent directly through email within five minutes. I also wish that Kenna would get better soon,'' He says in which I respond with a light chuckle before ending the call; placing it on the kitchen island.

Then, I grab onto the basin and a clean cloth with the prescribed pills as I walk towards her room; seeing her still wrapped around in her comforter, soundly asleep. The way her hair is being tied up in a loose ponytail, it's quite a sight to see her as messy as this—she's always the type to dress up well and look pretty almost all of the time.

I place the basin and clean cloth on the bed stand, pushing her hair away from her face before tying them up into a neater but loose bun but as long as her hair stays away from her face; hopefully it'll make her feel much more comfortable. My eyes remain still onto her face, seeing her lips puckering to the front as she continues to sleep, unable to stay awake due to the fever.

My hand reaches out to grab the remote in order to raise the temperature in the room as I turn on the air purifier, wanting to make sure that she gets as comfortable as she can—not even letting her shake anymore as the weather is getting colder because of the snow.

''Mmm,'' She mumbles in her sleep.

I chuckle softly as I find it a little bit amusing before putting the clean cloth into the basin filled with cold water—then, placing it on her forehead, causing her eyes to squint at the sudden coldness before she turns to look at me.

''It'll help you get better,'' I smile down at her as I soothingly run my hand on her head, receiving myself a weak smile from her; instantly leaving me to eye the paleness of her complexion, the swollen and red eyes and even her running nose. ''This will all be over as soon as your temperature goes down, okay?'' I assure her.

''Can't wait,'' She tries to smile but the coughs that escaped her lips were making it hard for her.

''We have to get something into your system before you can take these pills. I'll go ahead and make your favourite soup,'' I say, gazing one last time down her face as I receive another smile from her; making me smile back. ''What?'' I ask, confused—did I say something funny?

She shakes her head, ''It's wanton soup.''

''Yeah . . . and? What's so funny about it?''

''Nothing. You just rarely cook anymore—ever since you got busy with work and it's surprising to hear that coming from you,'' She clears her throat, adjusting her body onto the bed to make herself much more comforter as I laugh; can't deny the fact that she's right.

We both look at each other, ''Hey, I'm still a pretty good cook. Making you your favourite wanton soup? That's easy—I can even serve you some Italian dishes,'' I end with a wink.

I've always been the one to say that Kenna needs to spend more time with herself than spending her time at the hospital but I'm just the same. We're both the same. My work is just as important as Kenna and for some reason . . . earlier this morning, when I had to choose between work and Kenna, it was an easy choice.

It was an obvious choice.

Maybe . . . I am giving in to everything when it comes to her. There are these urges, forcing me to just hold her close to my body and kiss her softly, the urge to feel her lips against mine and her fingers gripping tightly onto the tips of my hair or if she snuggles close near my heart.

The kind of urges where I can just want to relive all over again even if we have never done any.

''You don't have to. Just give me the pills,''

I grab onto the pills away from her grasps, ''Aha, Kenna . . . you know better than anyone to consume these pills with an empty stomach. You can't simply break the rules, can you? It applies the same for everybody,'' I say as I see her rolling her eyes yet remain still at the same spot.

''It's fine. Besides, I'm not hungry.'' She tries to reach the pills from my grip but I begin to stand up, taking a few steps away from her as she sighs in defeat—leaving me grinning. There's no way for her to get away with this just because she's perfectly beautiful, with that pretty smile, hopeful eyes, luscious lips and—wait, where am I getting with this?

''Just let me make you something. Just wait,'' I add before quickly stepping out of the room, heading towards the kitchen to prepare for a simple chicken soup instead of a wanton soup—since we don't have the ingredients because the last time I went grocery shopping was a few months back; Flynn has been the one to help me restock the fridge last week when I was too busy being in the office while Kenna was in grief. She needed space and I respected that.

I quickly prepare the ingredients for a delicious yet warm soup, making sure that it'll match her taste. She's not much of a complainer when it comes to food, even if it tastes bad . . . she won't complain much. Then again, my cooking will, of course, be as delicious as it'll look.

''Just a few more,'' I mutter to myself before putting the ingredients in the soup after chopping off a couple of potatoes and some bell peppers. ''Just like that . . . '' I smile as the aroma hits my nostrils, leaving me to taste the soup.

The chicken soup with a few potatoes tastes just as good as I said it would—making me smile down to myself, proud of my achievement even though it has been awhile since I've cooked but my talent has not faded away.

I walk up the stairs with a bowl of soup and a glass of water in my hand, slowly entering the room to see her sleeping with her comforter pulled up near her chin. Slowly, I place the bowl and glass onto the table beside her bed, eyeing her features again; something I can never get bored of.

''That's not my favourite soup,'' She says before slowly opening her eyes, catching me staring at her; making me clear my throat.

''It's going to be,'' I grin.

She smiles as I start to place one hand around her back and one underneath her arm, letting me lift her to sit up straight and lean her head against the headstand—earning myself a groan from her; the headache probably getting worse.

''Here,'' I mutter as I lift the bowl closer towards her, picking up the spoon and moving it closer to her lips.

Her eyes widen at my sudden and spontaneous gesture, leaving me to realise that I've never done this before; not to anyone, not to Kenna. Maybe, to Mia once when she was sick but that's considered different—she's my sister. Kenna's . . . well, I don't know where we stand. Are we still friends? Are we somehow more than that? Are we capable of something more than being friends?

Both of our eyes won't look away from each other as I remain frozen, not knowing whether I should pull away or just feed her but it's all answered as soon as she leans her head forward, letting the spoon enter her mouth; a smile plastered on her pale face afterwards, leaving me to pull away.

''So . . . what do you think?'' I ask, slightly worried if she might hate the taste.

She furrow her brows for a few seconds, making me feel uneasy but as soon as her lips curve up into a wider smile, ''It tastes good. You're right—my new and current favourite soup.'' She replies.

I chuckle, ''You're cute.''

''What?'' She raises an eyebrow as she tries to make me repeat the words I said; as she did not hear them properly or correctly.

''I said you're pretty ugly right now,'' I change the words, leaving her chuckling. Another fun fact about her personality, one of the reasons why I'm beginning to fall for her—one of a kind girl. My one of a kind girl.

''Well . . . yeah, look at me. My hair's a mess, I probably have a couple of zits and my head's hurting. It's horrible,'' She run her fingers through her hair, making me watch her every movement. ''I'm sorry you have to look after me in this condition. You don't have to,'' She adds.

I let out a sigh, if only she can understand how much I want to say about her beauty. If only she can understand more just how her flaws are what perfects her. She doesn't need a flawless skin or a straight, perfect hair because all she need is to flaunt her beautiful smile—she'd stop the entire world just by that damn smile. I call it the smile of an angel.

''I want to,'' I reply without hesitation.

She smiles. ''That's why we're buddies.''

My heart sinks at the word 'buddies' before watching her taking another sip of the warm soup, making me think of how I want this to change, confirming it with my heart—I don't need to think hard about this, I just have to move forward and see where it'll take us.

''Kenna . . . I want to tell you something,'' I frown.

She raises an eyebrow, ''Are you okay, Aidan?'' She asks, concern written all over her face; something I appreciate her to show even though she's probably concern because we're friends to begin with; nothing too special or spectacular with our current relationship. Married but only legally.

I clench my jaw, ''You know what—you need to rest. You have to get better. I know how much it's killing you to stay home instead of being at the hospital but don't worry, I called your colleague and told him about your condition. You just need to worry getting better,'' I run my right hand on her head and down to her cheek as she stares at me, her eyes showing something I've never seen before with a few other emotions.

''Here are the pills,'' I put them on her hand before handing her the glass of water in which she takes, consuming them afterwards.

My phone starts to ring from downstairs which causes me to break the trance and glance at Kenna for a couple of seconds, ''That's probably work. Get some sleep,'' I say before quickly stepping out of the room and walking down the stairs; leaving her without a second glance even though I know she wanted to ask me why was I acting like that.

I pick up the phone, ''Flynn, I told you—''

He stutters, ''—Mr. Ashton, I'm sorry!'' His voice surprises me as I place my hand on the kitchen counter, waiting for her to continue. ''We—we lost the tender. I'm sorry,'' He adds.

I stay quiet for a few seconds, knowing this was a risk I took and now I must face it. I begin to pinch the bridge of my nose before running my fingers through my already thickening hair, starting to feel stressed out about this matter. Not because of the decision I made to disappoint Mr. Otawaki but because of the losing the tender when he could've agreed to sign it and go through it later. Unfortunately, he doesn't trust me enough to go through the process informally.

''Have you sent the files through email?'' I ask, changing the subject.