Such a Rude and Noisy Woman

"The library? What are you doing up there at this hour?"

Rachel asked, puzzled. But she went to the staircase anyway and wondered what Hiram was up to.

When she got to the third floor, she heard someone playing the piano, and the sweet melody coming out from the library.

Was Hiram listening to music in the reading room?

Rachel was shocked by what she saw the moment she opened the door. She froze from where she was standing and forgot to step inside.

The melodious rhythm made Rachel feel the passion that the music was about.

Right in front of her was Hiram playing the piano, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

He was sitting in front of the grand piano, and his spidery fingers were sweeping the ebony and ivory keys with such grace and perfection. Hiram was wearing a white shirt and his profile looked like that of an ancient Greek God, handsome and masculine. Rachel was spellbound, lost in the music, staring into her husband's eyes.

Soon he completed his piece.

She was still standing at the door.

"Why don't you come in? You chose this place, but why did you make me wait for so long?" Hiram asked smiling broadly as he looked at his stunned little wife.

Rachel then remembered what she had said in the car. It was a joke but he took it for real.

"I believe that you're ready. Am I right?" he asked and cracked a smile. He noticed that Rachel had changed into her nightgown and he could smell the fragrance of her bath soap. She must have taken her shower already.

Rachel coughed as if she didn't hear him. She walked to him and sat beside him in front of the piano, reaching out her hands and pressed the keys. "I was wondering why there is a piano here. Since you know how to play, why didn't you ever play it for me before?" she asked seriously.

"Bad timing!" he replied matter-of-factly. He wanted to spend time with her after they got married, and he had even less time to think of it after the twins were born. He would rather have more time to spend with them than play the piano.

Rachel raised her eyebrows and said expectantly, "Well, that makes sense. Can you play another song for me? I want to listen some more."

Luke told her once that Hiram was musically talented. She should have known that he could play the piano.

Before Hiram resumed playing, she played 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' first. She once saw its piano score in one of Jonny's books.

After that, she made a quick glance at Hiram and said, "Don't laugh at me! You know my mother couldn't afford a piano when I was a little girl."

Hiram frowned and laughed. He said, "Okay, I'll play a classical work for you, and I believe that you've heard it more than once before. Let's see whether you can remember the name."

"Go ahead!" Rachel replied excitedly.

She moved back a little to give him more space.

One second later, a familiar melody came out from the piano as his strong yet delicate fingertips glided over the keys.

Rachel closed her eyes to appreciate it. Lost in the music, she felt like that she was wandering among the clouds with her lover, and every note Hiram played sounded like a gentle touch onto her heart. "Mariage d'amour!" she burst out upon realizing the name of the song.

"Honey, you know what? I once dreamed that my husband could play this on our wedding, but you never told me that you could play!"

She was sort of disappointed as the opportunity to do that was lost forever.

If there was any regret about their wedding, it was that her husband didn't get to play 'Mariage d'amour' for her in front of all the guests, which was her childhood dream.

Their wedding could have been more than perfect had she known it earlier.

"Sorry, but I can make it up to you. From now on, I'll play it for you anytime you want to listen to it."

Hiram said affectionately and held his hands back from the piano.

Rachel laughed and grumbled, "That sounds fair enough for me."

Hiram stood up, took her up in his arms, and then carried her to the red sofa.

"What are you doing? Are you serious?" she asked, a bit alarmed. He laid her down on the sofa. She took her hands back from his neck and looked at him, blushing.

"You told me that you wanted to do it here. As your husband, I think I'm obligated to do what you ask me to do," Hiram replied impassively as he reached out for the remote to dim the light in the room. Then looking at her with misty eyes, he cracked a smile and said, "Honey, don't be shy. We'll take it easy."

"No, I'm not being shy," she answered and bit her lips hard. However, she felt so awkward that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet.

"You're not? Then go ahead and let go of my shirt. Actually, you can unbutton it if you want." Hiram teased her and couldn't help but laugh. Rachel was clutching the button at the bottom of his shirt.

"Oh, that!" She giggled and let it go right away. Maybe because she'd never thought that they would actually have sex in this room so she was a little nervous and couldn't compose herself.

Hiram raised her chin softly with his hand and kissed her lips tenderly. "Honey, relax and try to enjoy," he murmured between their kisses.

Gazing at his dark eyes, Rachel felt that she couldn't breathe and that she was floating and flying in the sky. She always knew that Hiram was a good kisser, and she always went blank the moment he put his lips on hers. She didn't try to pull away. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back selflessly.

Hiram opened his eyes to look at her, and smiled even more widely.

After such a long time, his beautiful wife finally knew how to respond to his passion and he really enjoyed it.

Rachel was as busy as a bee, working hard in the past few days. She couldn't believe that her competitor made their bet public, and now the whole industry was waiting for her to trip so they could laugh at her.

They were wondering why she switched to another industry when she had earned a good reputation in the old one. The grass always looked greener on the other side of the fence, and they were waiting to see her knock her nose into the ashes. After she completed the day's work, she stretched herself and found that it was already dark outside. She planned to take a taxi to go home, but gave up when she thought of what had happened the last two days. She decided to call Carl to pick her up. She had a feeling that somebody was following her, but she saw nothing when she turned around. It felt creepy.

"Hello, Carl? This is Rachel. Could you come and pick me up? I'll wait outside the building. I forgot to call you earlier. Okay, see you later!" She hung up after talking to Carl, and then left her office.

When she came out of the building, a cycling team was passing by.

"Move! Move out of the way!" they yelled.

Rachel jumped sideways and avoided the first bicycle, but she didn't see another black and red mountain bike wheeling towards her without slowing down.

"Mooove!" The rider in team uniform shouted.

Rachel's attention was on the first bicycle and didn't notice the one that was unable to slow down.

When she saw it, it was just one or two meters away from her.

"Oh my!" Rachel screamed out and closed her eyes, frozen where she stood. Suddenly she felt somebody push her from the street, the bike missing her by a couple of inches.

Then she heard somebody groaned miserably. She opened her eyes immediately and found a man standing in front of her. He had saved her from a collision with the bike.

She was still trying to get herself together after the near-miss with the bike. The man wearing a mask dragged her to the stairs quietly. After she regained her composure, she grabbed his hands and asked, breathing quickly,"Are you hurt? Let me take you to the hospital!" The man shook his head and brushed off her hands. The next second, he turned around and walked away without saying a word.

"Stop!" Rachel shouted but he kept going without looking back.

Seeing what happened, the cycling team stopped and apologized to Rachel before they went on with their ride.

Standing rooted to the same spot, Rachel looked at the direction the man went and wondered why he left so hurriedly after he saved her. She even had no time to ask his name.

In a lane not far away, the man bent over with both hands on his chest. He started to feel the pain from the heavy impact with the bicycle just now. It really hurt but he tried his best not to cry out. He just clutched the aching part and grimaced in pain. He pulled his mask up and stumbled ahead although he couldn't stand straight. 00000000