॥The Wrong One॥

 "Are you ready Kayana?"

Vodia's voice floated throughout the whole apartment they now shared. 

The night before ended early with Vodia leaving Kayana the only bedroom, making a makeshift bed on the couch, remaining stubborn against all of Kayana's protests. 

Kayana had been unable to sleep as she was not used to being in an unfamiliar place alone and had spent the remainder of the night lying awake, listening to the crashing of the waves on the beach. 

At one point she had even ventured out onto the terrace, gaining a clear view of the area that she wanted to explore later, with Vodia's permission of course.  

Swiftly giving the bathroom mirror one last look, Kayana ran her hands down her thighs, pressing down and straightening out any creases that she may have missed when she ironed both hers and Vodia's clothes earlier that morning. 

Picking up all of the dirty laundry on the floor, she nimbly wrapped them up in a used towel, exiting the room with her bundle. 

Vodia was folding his sleeves when she emerged from the hallway, a small dimple on his right cheek on show from the lazy grin he was sporting. A feature that Kayana had never noticed.  

As his eyes settled on her, his grin was replaced with a nearly emotionless expression, that was until he saw the clothes in her hand.

"What is that?" He questioned, lifting an eyebrow. 

Kayana's cheeks flushed red. "It's the clothing I need to wash. Where are your clothes?" 

Although she was trying to make an effort to be Vodia's friend, she was still his wife at the moment, and still needed to follow her duties.  

Letting out a small smile, Vodia stepped forward, his arms reaching out to grab the bundle of clothing when Kayana stepped back. 

A look of hurt flashed through his eyes before Kayana explained herself. 

"You shouldn't touch these Vodia ji, they're dirty." She spoke quietly. 

He nodded, turning around to fold his other sleeve. 

"Leave them in the bathroom. Housekeeping will know what to do." 

Kayana was appalled. Letting someone else touch her dirty clothing? She was taught better than that. 

"Vodia ji, I'd like to wash these myself."

He turned around to watch her with a calculating eye, then shrugged slightly. 

"As you please. Leave them in your room and I will show you the washing area when we return." 

Satisfied, Kayana hurried graciously back the room, folding the dirty clothing neatly and replacing them back into the corner in the bathroom.  

Coming back into the living room, Kayana saw that Vodia was standing in the doorway, his phone against his ear. 

He held up a finger towards her, smiling apologetically as he faced away from her, continuing his call. 

 Once he finished, he glanced at Kayana. "Time to go Kayana." 

Kayana could barely contain her excitement. She was going to see Raian!

Following closely behind Vodia, the pair exited the resort. It turns out, Vodia was speaking to the concierge to call them a cab to take them to their destination, so as they emerged from the building a shiny black limousine was waiting for them, complete with a personal driver clad in a pale blue suit. 

Looking at the vehicle in awe, Kayana did not notice Vodia speaking to her until her nudged her lightly. 

Looking down shyly, Kayana made her way forwards, stepping inside the spacious vehicle, moving over more to make room for Vodia beside her. 

Settled in, Vodia brought his phone out, tapping a few buttons. 

"Do you like it?" 

Startled, Kayana just looked at Vodia, face neutral.

"The limousine Kayana, do you like it?" He repeated, light amusement lacing his voice. 

Blushing, Kayana looked down at her lap, wringing her fingers together, thoughts of Raian taking over her mind.

"Ye-yes Vodia Ji." Kayana's voice came out meek as she returned to looking down at her lap. 

She heard Vodia's clothes shuffle slightly as he sighed, and glancing over, saw that he had placed his phone away again. 

"Are you okay?" 

Kayana simply shook her head, afraid that if she spoke she'd give freedom to the butterflies that rioted within her. 

She jolted slightly as a warm weight was placed upon her shoulder, and tilting her head slightly, she saw that it was Vodia's hand. Smiling lightly, she looked up into his eyes before she looked away, shaking the arm hand off gently.

With a dejected look on his face, Vodia let his hand go limp on his knee. 

"We're heading straight for Balu Sand's main office. Would you like something to eat first?" 

Placing a hand on her stomach, Kayana gulped slowly, trying to calm herself before shaking her head once again. She really wasn't in the mood to empty the contents of her stomach in front of Raian. 

Silence reigned within the limo after that, both Vodia and Kayana looking out their respective windows.

All too soon, the limo came to a smooth stop, pulling the couple out of their reveries. 

Taking a deep breath, Kayana tried to settle herself down, her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as she thought about what she was going to do.

She'd finally be seeing Raian. 

॥The Wrong One॥ 

Seated in a hard plastic seat, Kayana tried her best not to squirm to be comfortable. Her back straight and ankles crossed, she had a magazine placed across her lap, though she wasn't reading it. 

The reception was quite simplistic, with numerous versions of the same chair she was occupying around the room with a half-circle desk on the left of the door. A nearly dead plant stood in the corner, unrecognisable, it was the only half vibrant colour in the room. 

Vodia took up the chair right beside her, after speaking to the receptionist in hushed tones. His presence was reassuring inside the nearly bare room. 

No other person was in sight apart from the petite blonde receptionist who sat behind the desk, the top of her black-roots only showing over the waist height bench. 

Kayana felt the urge to do something, anything to occupy herself, but reigned the desire in, knowing that here, whatever she did would be reflected on Vodia. 

So she kept to herself. 

Her eyes skimmed over the paged of the magazine, seeing but not understanding as she pretended to be interested. 

The sound of a rolling chair caused Kayana to tilt her head up, pulling her scarf over her hair. 

The blonde girl stood in front of her, her arms crossed as she chewed a piece of gum open-mouthed. Kayana bit down on the urge to compare her to a cow and rose from her chair. 

She sensed rather than saw Vodia rise with her, standing close enough to her that she could feel the heat emanating from his shirt. 

"This way Mr and Mrs Lakin." She commanded with a roll of her eyes. 

Kayana looked up into Vodia's confused gaze, smiling slightly when he shrugged and gestured for her to go first. 

Taking a step forward, Kayana's steps were small and so she soon found herself walking alongside Vodia, trying to match his steps so she wasn't left behind. 

Gazing around the hallway they were led through, Kayana tried not to let her eyes linger on any specific object, instead, she concentrated on matching Vodia's steps, his larger, calm form helping her ease her nerves. 

"Take a seat, Mr. Hury will be with you shortly." 

With one last pop of her gum, the blonde had left Vodia and Kayana to seat themselves in matching plastic chairs, very similar to those they had just vacated in a sparesly decorated office. The walls dripped with a grey colour, and, was that a fist mark? 

The sudden thought that this would be near the end of her journey with Vodia had Kayana turning to face him, opening her mouth to say something, when his phone went off again, an apologetic smile spread across his face as he answered the call with a soft,  "Hello?" 

Turning away, Kayana concentrated on what would happen next. 

Would she see Raian straight away? Would she be led to where they were practising? Would she have to wait until the end of the day? Would she get to spend more time with Vodia? The final thought confused her, though she wasn't quite shocked. She glanced at Vodia, noticing the slight dimple again. 

"Good morning Mr and Mrs Lakin. How can I help you today?" 

Standing to her feet, Kayana's train of thoughts were disrupted as she caught the eye of an older man, his hair streaked with white with a matching moustache. 

His black glasses sat half way down his nose, twitching lightly as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down, gesturing for Vodia and Kayana to be seated also. 

From the corner of her eye, Kayana saw Vodia lean forward in his seat slightly, intending on taking charge of the situation. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kayana's fists relaxed slightly. Laying one hand a top the other, Kayana adjusted herself so that she was facing Vodia slightly, watching the way he explained their visit. 

"Good morning Mr Hury, I'm Vodia Lakin, and this is my wife, Kayana Lakin. I was looking for a friend of mine that I was told would be under your team."

Mr. Hury pushed his glasses further up his nose, also leaning forward to place his clasped hands on top of his desk, his eyes hardening slightly at the mention of the word team.

"Would you like something to drink Vodia? Kayana?" He offered before standing up and turning towards his filing cabinet. Looking over his shoulder at the two who shook their heads, he leant his hand into the drawer, pulling out a plastic cup and a bottle of whiskey. 

Pouring himself a glass, he settled back into his seat, leaning back this time as he took a large drink, finishing nearly half of the glass at once. 

"What's this friend's name?"

Kayana saw Vodia's eyes narrow at the question, noticing that his jaw stiffened and he seemed to sit straighter, more alert in his seat.  

"Raian, Sir." 

"Ah." 

Mr Hury leaned further back in his seat, any further and Kayana feared he'd go tumbling down from his chair, the size of his waist not increasing her faith in the strength of the chair.  

Swirling his drink in his hand, Mr Hury seemed to be contemplating something, before it seemed her finally made a decision, placing his beloved cup on the table. 

"What team is this?" 

"Balu Sands, Sir." 

Vodia and Kayana exchanged a quick glance of unease as the man before them thought the answer over. You would never guess this man was the owner of a multi-million dollar sports team.  

"Vodia, can you keep a secret?" 

Kayana scrunched her face up from the smell of the whiskey from his breath, leaning to her side to breath daintily into her open scarf. 

Vodia nodded, his face expressionless, the only telltale sign of his frustration was the small twitch of his nose as he smelt the alcohol. 

 "There is no more Balu Sands." 

Kayana looked up, shocked at his words, her eyes meeting Vodia's own wide ones. 

"Sorry?" Kayana's voice surprised even herself as she spoke in-between the two men. 

"The Balu Sands are no longer a team." 

If Kayana listened really closely, she could've heard the small tone of remorse hidden within his drunk confession. But Kayana wasn't listening.  

Kayana began leaning forward, to do what, she didn't know, but she was too angry to stay sitting. 

She felt a hand on her wrist, keeping her still. Looking at Vodia, she saw him shake his head lightly at her. 

Tears burned behind her eyes as the reality of the situation sunk in. 

"What do you mean?"  

Vodia's voice was low and smooth, leaving no room for any other subject. 

"I'm bankrupt, and the Balu Sands have fallen apart."

Mr Hury's sudden laughter filled the room, almost immediately followed by small sobs, followed by a whisper, "I've lost everything."

Vodia stood, and turned to leave, Kayana following right behind him. She could see the tension on his shoulders as he walked in front, his strides long and confident as he headed back towards the receptionist. 

"Could you tell me where Raian Nalad currently is?" 

Popping her gum again, the blonde replied, "Sorry, personnel information is private. I cannot give that out." 

Sighing, Vodia leaned over and whispered something to the girl, making her hurriedly start typing something on the computer in front of her. Moments later, she handed Vodia a printed sheet of paper, her eyes not meeting his before she sat down, and her gum all but forgotten. 

Folding the paper, Vodia handed it to Kayana before leading them outside to the awaiting limousine. 

Holding the door open as she got in, Vodia closed it after himself, already having told the  instructions to the driver for their next destination. 

Kayana's eyes were brimming with tears when she noticed Vodia look towards her. 

He patted his breast pocket, producing a sky blue handkerchief. He pressed it lightly on to her cheeks, moving closer so as not to hurt her. 

"Don't worry Kayana, we'll find him." 

They were so close. So close. 

"Trust me sweetheart." Vodia's voice whispered lowly. 

Nodding, Kayana tried to lift both her hands to wipe her eyes, but found one immobile. Looking down, she realised it was the same one Vodia had held back in the room with Mr Hury. 

His hand had not left hers. 

Slowly disentangling her fingers from his, she dabbed at her eyes, turning to face Vodia slowly. 

She looked up at him through her lashes, and said the words she never thought she'd say to anyone else. 

"I trust you."

॥The Wrong One॥