Chapter 2 2nd Chapter

Lim flashed a gaily smile as soon as he saw his wife. He had that rare dazzle in his eyes that always had a charm in it and filled warmth in the hearts of many. He drove through and parked the car in the garage. Later he would then go with shalom on a stroll as he had promised her.

As soon as he got out, Rose, who had been standing near eagerly waiting to greet him, crossed over and hugged him."Welcome, my love." She smiled broadly, "I missed you." She said softly raising her graceful face and giving him the eyes as she inhaled the inviting scent of his Jasmine perfume.

"You say the exact thing every time I return from work. Does it mean I am on your mind most times?" He asked with a propensity of humour.

"All the time, honey, every second." She said genuinely as she gazed into his eyes and smiled amiably, giving him a welcome kiss.

"I am blessed to have such a loving wife, hmh, come here," he said charmingly and kissed her with unbridled passion.

Rose prayed in her heart that he would forget about Shalom in the meantime. Perhaps she and Mia would return soon before he noticed his daughter's absence. "What can I do to distract him? I feel stuck." She thought and then remembered that she had prepared his favourite dinner; Lim loved soy sauce with macaroni and cheese. "This will surely work. He won't resist the savoury taste." She thought with a hopeful smile as she leaned on his shoulder. It would have been a perfect way to sway his mind off from Shalom for a moment but then she realised that it was offbeat. "Gee! How can I forget that he can't have dinner without his daughter?" She contemplated in exasperation.

She was tense but made a gallant attempt to retain her composure, biting her thumb that he would remain calm in case he learnt about Shalom's absence.

Moments later they disentangled, Rose clasped at the shopping bag in his hand taking it from him.

"What do we have here, honey?" She asked, bringing it close to her popping eyes and peeking through.

"Oh, that-it's Shalom's new pair of slippers. I hope she will like them." Talking of Shalom, he wandered his eyes around as if searching for something in particular. His face frowned until he asked," Where is Shalom? Why has she not come to greet me or doesn't she know I am already home?" Curiosity registered on his face as he craned his neck facing the direction of the entrance, "Shalom! One girl! Dad is home." He said excitedly with a broad grin. Rose stared at him as she trembled. "God have mercy on me. I need a miracle." She muttered and was scared to let it all out. Noticing that he was getting irritated with no indication that Shalom had heard his screaming, she tried reverting him to a different topic.

"Honey, let's go inside first. You can talk to her later." She said in apprehension, holding his hand and compelling him with her twinkling eyes. Although he took heed and submitted, the expression on his face was twisted and a lot of questions clouded his mind that generated a twinge of fear in his heart. "Where is she? I hope you are not hiding anything from me." He drew his eyes to his wife who seemed to be preoccupied with the sweet humming she had resorted to bolster her composure. "Is she taking a nap? no, this is impossible. It's out of the ordinary that she would at this time of the day." He thought and was confused. Rose made a flicking glimpse at him and smiled, but she already had an implicit feeling that the twist on his face was a harbinger of trouble that she'd predicted earlier.

Shalom's name was on his lips and as soon as he went in, all he wanted was to behold her. Rose noticed that his curiosity was heightening and she tried to calm him down with her usual pampering. "Come on, have a seat and relax first. I will remove your shoes." He obeyed but his heart was restless." My sweet husband must be tired after a long day's work." She said sniffing the shoe and then grimaced." Lim didn't stir. He was not in the mood to joke and wouldn't feel at peace until he had seen his daughter.

Wasn't it foolish to still try to hide the truth? Her being discrete might make matters worse? Perhaps she still believed that he would easily be convinced by her lies like a knife through butter.

Rose, like any loving and responsible wife, tried to make him feel the comfort of his home by doing the necessary things which did the least to please him who had a yearning for his only child. She got hold of the shoes and his tweed jacket and then made to climb upstairs to escape his indifferent gesture. She had just placed her foot on the staircase when he had him ask,

"She isn't here, is she?" The tone in his voice was solemn. It seemed the answer was lucid in his mind. Her heart palpitated. This was what she had feared. That he would ask

for Shalom and she wouldn't know what to answer. With nervousness, she halted and retreated slowly towards him, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. Lim stared at her, a frown forming naturally on his face.

She stood in front of him to explain.

His face immediately flushed with anger. Rose was scared to speak. Not once had she ever been at odds with him in all the seven years they had been married.

She stood dumbly, her legs trembling. "There isn't nearly a chance to give a valid excuse. I don't have any either. I have messed up this time." She thought and waited for her punishment. Lim was growing impatient and kept staring at her with accusing eyes.

"Why are you quiet? My dear loving wife, won't you tell me something?

Is my intuition right? And all this while you have been making a fool of me?" The tone of his voice changed. Rose stayed quiet as if her tongue had been cut. His eyes glistened with anger and turned carmine.

"How dare a woman lie to me? My wife is lying to me!" He asked himself and felt that his chauvinism was injured. He ballooned and hissed, gathering all his strength in his right arm and gave her a hard slap that made her slump obnoxiously on the sofa.

"Dad!" Shalom suddenly screamed up the stairs. He twisted and turned to look at Shalom and was consumed by shame. It was too late for him to undo the offensive action.

"You!"

Shalom looked at him with spite and seeing her mom sobbing on the chair broke into a stream of tears and sprinted to her room.

It was hard for him to discern where he got the audacity to lay a hand on his wife without thinking twice.

He stared at his defiant hand and then at Rose in return and then dropped. "It must be the small sips of gin I had earlier." He thought and hung his head in remorse.