[Bedroom]

After discussing a few more things with Owen, Andrew came back to the bedroom.

When he entered the room, Rachael had already taken a shower. She was standing in front of the mirror, patting her wet hair dry.

He smiled and quickly approached her.

"Did Owen leave?" Rachael inquired.

"Hmm, he left just now."

When he hugged her from behind, she stopped him and stepped away. "My hair is still wet."historical

"Do you think a couple of tiny drops of water can stop me from hugging my wife?"

When he tried to hug her again, she placed her hand on his chest to stop him. "Go take a shower first, it's already late. I'll go make dinner." She knew they had some unfinished business but they had a guest at home, they couldn't be late.

"Wait—" Andrew took the towel from her hand. "Dry your hair properly first." He then made her sit on the edge of bed and started carefully patting her hair dry.

At first she wanted to stop him but she decided to sit down obediently and let him do what he wanted.

"I have to go to Russia tomorrow." Without waiting for her reply, he added, "Justin and Owen are going too."

"Didn't they just come back today?" She frowned.

"Yes but it's work so they don't have a choice."

"When will you come back?" When he did not say anything, she looked at him. His silence made her feel very anxious.

"I don't know, it could be a couple of weeks, maybe more."

"Oh..okay. I'll help you pack later." She then took the towel from his hand. "Go take a shower, I'll be in the kitchen."

Without waiting for his reply, she hung the towel in the rack inside the washroom before walking out of the room.

...

After taking a quick shower, Andrew stepped out on the balcony with his phone. Since he would be away for quite some time, he had to make some arrangements.

He first called Ben and gave him a few instructions before calling George.

"Hey—"

"I won't be around for a few weeks starting tomorrow. Something came up so I have to fly back to Russia. Can you check on Rachael from time to time and make sure she is okay?" Without waiting for his reply, Andrew added, "Also, I don't have Emma or Tina's number. Can you send it to me?"

"You are leaving? When will you come back?" George inquired.

"It hasn't been finalized yet." Andrew pinched the space between his brows and sighed. He wasn't a big fan of the sudden separation. He was loving the flow at which his relationship with Rachael was moving. With him being away for a long time, he was worried things would change.

"If you are not gonna be there, Rach can come back. You can pick her up again when you come." Keeping quiet for a while, George added, "I don't think it will be okay to leave her alone in that house."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rachael has separation anxiety. It started after—you know what happened last year," he sighed. "Anyway, it was very bad at first. She wouldn't let anyone leave the house and would start getting super anxious if anyone was home late. Leaving on a business trip was tougher. She said she felt anyone who leaves would abandon her and never come back."

"Although, it got better later. She learned how to control it. But now that you are leaving for a long time, I don't know how she will feel or react," George added.

"Hmm..okay—"

After talking to George about a few more things, Andrew hung up.

...

[Kitchen]

To stop herself from overthinking, Rachael busied herself in cooking. She didn't want to think about Andrew's departure as it was making her feel very anxious.

After a year of trying to stay strong and brave, she had finally found someone she could be herself with. Someone she knew she could completely rely on without any kind of hesitation. But now with him gone for several weeks, what was she supposed to do?

Would he even come back if he leaves? What if he decides he doesn't want her anymore while he was away?

Even though she knew Andrew would never do that, he would never leave her side, a part of her heart was still very reluctant and scared.

"Rach, the soup—" Elsa rushed inside and reduced the flame on the stove.

This is when Rachael realized that the soup had simmered to the top and had almost overflowed.

""Hey, what happened? Are you okay?" Elsa placed her hand on Rachael's shoulder.

"I am fine, I was just thinking about something—" She then grabbed a paper towel and wiped the spilled soup off the counter.

"You sure?" When she nodded, Elsa offered to help her out with the dinner. "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to chop?"

"That's okay, you should go and rest. I'll call you over when dinner is ready."

"I think I have had enough rest." She then took the knife from her hand and started chopping the already washed vegetables. "My cooking skills aren't as great as Andrew, Owen and Justin, but it's edible."

Without waiting for her reply, Elsa added, "Did you hear? The boys are leaving tomorrow so it's just you and me in this house. We are gonna have so much fun."

"Andrew told me they are leaving—" Rachael briefly replied.

"Are you sad about your hubby leaving?" Elsa gave her a side hug. "Don't worry, he will be back soon."

"And moreover, in his absence we can have a lot of fun," she added. "We can go shopping, clubbing—we can do whatever we want."

Rachael gave her a weak smile and nodded, "I'll take you everywhere, don't worry."

"You have to, I don't know anyone here apart from you."

Contemplating for a while, Rachael inquired, "Elsa, what kind of business do you people have in Russia?"

...