TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Not just one person, maybe about seven people. Uh, or maybe you could say that almost everyone there was looking at one table.

Located near the corner of the restaurant, the table was occupied by a middle-aged woman with a rather eccentric appearance for her age, two young women dressed in office clothes, and a handsome young man who seemed to be in agony.

It was not for nothing that all of the restaurant’s patrons were fascinated by this table. The problem was that from the moment they entered, the four people at the table were engaged in such an enthusiastic conversation.

“Seriously, Vonda, are you and Max coming over this Sunday? I will be cooking a lot. If you don’t come, I’ll send the food to disaster areas.”

“Yes, Mom. Yes, Mom. Don’t worry. Vonda will come,” Max said as he tried to get Riley to get up from her seat. “But that doesn’t mean you can cook a lot of rice. Vonda is still a person, not a giant.”

Ignoring Max’s words, Riley continued to address Vonda. “Dad can’t wait to meet you, Vonda.”

Vonda winced and nodded stiffly. “Y-yes, Mom.”

“Mom,” Max coaxed next.

Max felt so irritated that he wanted to carry Riley away. He did not care how people would perceive a son carrying his mother; he just wanted to get away.

“Come on. It’s embarrassing to be seen by people, Mom.”

Riley tried to wriggle out of Max’s grip. “Um, but actually, it’s not just Dad who wants to meet you, Von. Kitty wants to meet you too. Kitty’s kitten too.”

“Ah,” Vonda grumbled with increasing frustration. “Y-yes, Mom.”

Now Max was really annoyed. “Mom. Mom….”

Riley stared at Max, who was actually holding on to her to drag her out of the Mexican restaurant. She slapped Max.

“You, seriously. It’s a sin to forbid me from talking to her future daughter-in-law. If not with my future mother-in-law, who should I talk to?? The security at the complex?”

“Yes, Mom. Yes. But not like that. Aren’t you embarrassed in front of people? And Sarah was watching us the whole time.”

Riley looked at Sarah, who joined them for lunch that afternoon. It would not be polite for them to have lunch together without inviting Sarah after the surprising incident outside Max’s room. The middle-aged woman put on an innocent expression and asked.

“Is it embarrassing to talk to my future daughter-in-law, Sarah?”

Sarah, playing with the straw in her iced tea glass, smiled broadly and shook her head. “Well… no. Absolutely not. I was like that before. In fact, it was worse. I was asked to stay at least one night a month. If I didn’t want to, my future mother-in-law would pick me up at home.”

Max and Vonda both stared at Sarah. Then Riley said enthusiastically to Vonda.

“How about spending the night at our home, Vonda?”

At that moment, Vonda felt like asking the owner of the Mexican Restaurant.

Maybe the owner needs some internal organs to make a stew? There’s a creature that needs to be sacrificed as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, seeing the colorful expressions on Vonda and Max’s faces, Sarah just shrugged her shoulders. She grinned mockingly, as if to imply a little teasing.

Whose fault is it that no one was honest with me about such a big thing?

*

The strange thing was that Sarah acted as if nothing had happened. So, when she found herself being dragged by Sarah as they arrived at the parking lot, Vonda was not surprised.

“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” Sarah asked. “Like when exactly did you and Hernandez start dating? Or … when’s the engagement date? Or…”

“Stop!” Vonda glanced around several times, worried that someone might overhear Sarah’s words. “Yeah, I know. Relax. I will tell you, of course.”

Sarah folded her arms across her chest in a gesture of disbelief. “Oh, yeah? Then when? When will you tell me? When the invitations go out? Like that? Or when you’re about to go on your honeymoon?”

Sarah’s teasing look successfully caught Vonda off guard. There was no need to ask; Sarah really was in a demanding mode.

“If that’s the case, I’ll bribe HR to deny you honeymoon leave.”

Vonda shrank immediately. “Come on, it won’t be like that, Sarah.”

“How won’t it be like that?”

With a pout on her face, Vonda knew this conversation would never end. Finally, she took the safe way out.

“Shall we talk over cake?”

At least this offer might prolong Vonda’s life in Sarah’s eyes. They each got into their cars and drove to a cafe that was often their second choice when they wanted to relax for a while.

Two pieces of cake and cold drinks were served shortly after they arrived. Vonda prayed in her heart that the small fork in Sarah’s hand would not end up in her throat. At least not before she got to enjoy her honeymoon in the middle of a snowy landscape.

“So, are you ready to spill the beans?” Sarah asked without taking her eyes off the strawberry cake. The small fork in her hand cut a slice and she enjoyed a bite of the dessert.

Vonda had not touched her pie yet. Instead, she decided to start explaining everything to Sarah. From the first event where she and Max had met by chance at the CEO’s company reception. The meeting that made Riley think they were in a relationship.

To the point where Max asked for Vonda’s help to get out of an arranged marriage with Olivia. Of course, this was where Vonda omitted the fact that Max had threatened her with nude photos-photos that did not actually exist.

After telling the whole story, Vonda found Sarah sitting silently with the small fork hanging in the air. Sarah stared for a moment.

“By the gods, Vonda Teresa.”

She made a quick grimace and Vonda quickly corrected her. “Vonda Raveena Scott,” she said. “Besides, anyone would help someone in my position. Especially since I’m the one who caused the problem. If I hadn’t accidentally walked into his car, none of this would have happened.”

Sarah nodded as she took another bite, but shook her head. She was stunned, absolutely stunned. “Oh my God, really? But how could you help with something so important? This isn’t an ordinary romance.”

Vonda knew.

“Did you see how enthusiastic his mother was about your marriage?”

Sarah’s question made Vonda sigh deeply. Honestly, even without Sarah mentioning it, Vonda had already noticed.

“Well… we’ll find a way to end this relationship later. You don’t have to worry,” Vonda assured her.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“No, no, no.” Sarah shook her head, moving the fork in her hand as well. “I’m not really worried about it. Honestly, I’m more worried about something else.”

Vonda furrowed her brow. “Something else?”

Sarah confirmed with a single nod. She had hesitated to ask, but in the end, she was determined to voice the thoughts that had been troubling her since earlier.

“I don’t know if I should ask. But it’s better than wondering all the time, right?” Sarah took a deep breath. She looked at Vonda intently. “Are you and Hernandez only involved because of the arranged marriage?”

Vonda had a hard time understanding Sarah’s question. “What do you mean?”

Sarah considered her words, thinking there was no more subtle way to phrase her next sentence. Although, in reality, she still managed to catch Vonda off guard.

“Friend with benefits,” Sarah said. “You don’t do that, do you?”

Perhaps it was Sarah’s look, or her question, or both, that made Vonda freeze. She remained still, staring at Sarah without blinking, until her friend put down her fork.

Sarah slapped her forehead in shock. “Oh, shit! You did it.”

Vonda tried to deny it, but the events of the previous night were still fresh in her mind.

“Oh my God, Vonda. How did you end up in a FWB situation with him?”

Vonda winced. “I… it… it just happened. I mean… oh my gosh.”

Vonda gave up. She did not know what to say. Nor did she know how to defend herself, for she was sure that Sarah was about to offer her advice.

“Oh, my goodness, Vonda. Do you seriously lack a brain?” Sarah asked frustrated. “How did you end up in a FWB situation? You know what? No matter who the guy is, FWB doesn’t go with our culture.”

“Well… I know. It doesn’t fit the norm-”

“No!”

Sarah quickly cut Vonda off. She was so frustrated that she wanted to scream.

“It’s not about morality or anything,” Sarah continued, staring wide-eyed. “The problem is our culture, which is easily influenced by emotion.”

Damn it!

It felt like an arrow had been shot straight through Vonda’s heart.

“You know what, Von? Comments with kissing emoticons can set people happy for a week. So, what about the FWB thing?”

Vonda winced. Now her appetite for cake was gone. Replaced by various uncertainties swirling in her head.

“I’m not blaming you or anything, but I just don’t want you to suffer because of this FWB thing.”

“I see.”

Sarah took a sip of her soda. “Whatever you do is your responsibility. You’re an adult. So, you need to know what you can and can’t handle.”

In silence, Vonda nodded her head.

“If you think you can control everything, go ahead,” Sarah continued. “But if you feel things are getting out of control…” Sarah looked directly into Vonda’s eyes. “… end it.”

*