Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Aaron closed the car door a bit hard, then walked towards his house after making sure the car alarm was activated. He gently pushed to open the brown door, but it didn't open. He tried again, this time harder. Furthermore, it didn't work.

Oh, he remembered something. Recently, he asked Helena to always lock the door. It was to prevent unwanted scenes because his wife was alone at home while he was working. He reached into his briefcase, looking for the house keys he had kept inside.

The dark condition of the house welcomed him after successfully opening the brown door. His brows furrowed. It was getting dark. It was ten past five, yet none of the house lights was on. Where was his wife? Was Helena going out? But she said nothing to him. Besides, her car was still parked neatly in the garage.

All his questions had been answered when his eyes caught a woman who was fast asleep on the sofa. A smile graced his face as he realized that the woman was Helena, the wife he loved very much.

His legs swung towards that place. He crouched down to align himself with the height of the sofa so that their faces were facing each other. Helena's face looked so peaceful in her sleep. He didn't know what dream she was going through. He just hoped that it wasn't a bad dream.

His hand gently stroked the top of her head. Then he carefully kissed her lips. He was clearly trying hard not to spoil Her deep sleep.

Slowly, he moved from his position. He walked to several corners of the house to turn on the lights to make up for the growing dimness. Then he continued towards his room. He had to take a shower.

--

"You've got up?" asked Aaron after seeing Helena's appearance in his line of sight. At the moment, he was in the kitchen preparing for their dinner. He did not cook but only heated the leftovers his mother brought this afternoon.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Helena replied with another question for him. She stumbled a little towards the dining room. Then she sat herself down in the empty chair there. Apparently, sleepiness still dominated, so her head felt heavy to rise up. Finally, she laid her head on the table with her eyelids slightly closed due to the drowsiness that refused to go away.

"If you're sleepy, just sleep in your room," He commented while placing several plates of food in front of her.

Hearing those words, Helena immediately got up from her half-sitting position. She stretched her body to get rid of the drowsiness. "Could you make a cup of coffee for me?"

"It's late. How about some tea?" Aaron offered her another drink. As he said, it was already getting late. He was afraid that she would have trouble sleeping if she drank coffee at this hour.

"Yes, please."

He smiled, amused at his wife's behavior, which had been talking without opening her eyes. After that, he walked into the kitchen to make her drink.

Before long, he came back with a cup of tea with him. "No need to push yourself. Just sleep in your room." The second time, he gave the same advice to her. He also couldn't bear to see Helena and the drowsiness she was trying to suppress. Remember, their marriage contract could be skipped as long as they had an agreement about that.

She shook her head. Besides replying to his words, she deliberately moved her head slightly hard to make her more awake. "If I sleep now, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to sleep again till tomorrow morning." Her hands reached for her teacup, then began to blow air over it.

"It's okay. You can sleep all day until you're satisfied. I won't bother you," he promised. Since their relationship got better, he always took the time to exchange short messages with his wife in the middle of his busy office days. But if she wanted to rest for a full day, he was determined to fulfill his promise.

She shook her head for the second time. "Tomorrow, I have an appointment with Fynn," she said, then slowly sipped her tea.

Aaron raised his eyebrows after hearing his wife's plan. "At The Houston mall?" he asked for sure.

"Yes."

An idea instantly crossed his mind. "How about we have lunch together afterward?" Yes, what else apart from having lunch together. He certainly would never pass up that opportunity.

Helena nodded silently. She agreed to the idea but was too lazy to comment on it. The words 'lunch together' somehow reminded her of a similar incident that had recently taken place in her husband's office. It was undeniable that the incident had made her mood worse. Only thinking about it gave the same effect. Then she recalled the conversation she had with Sophie this afternoon.

"Why didn't you tell me that Mom wanted to come?" Instead of voicing her curiosity, she asked another question regarding the sudden arrival of her mother-in-law.

"Mom told me not to tell you. She said it would be a surprise for you."

Her forehead wrinkled. She questioned which part deserved to be a surprise. They lived in the same city, so it was normal for them to visit each other. Unless she and Aaron lived outside the city for tens of kilometers away, that activity was not as easy as she said. It might surprise her. Well, although she had to admit that it indeed surprised her to see his mother's visit to their house. Perhaps what she felt was a mixture of shock and guilt because they had never been to each other's parents' house in the one month since they had been married. She was alone every time she went home to pick up her belongings for additional information.

"I just found out from Mom that you two have been close for a long time," said Aaron as he started his dinner.

She followed his movements by taking a few spoonfuls of rice and side dishes onto her plate. "That's why you should have found out about your future wife first. Instead of hating her for no apparent reason," she quipped sharply without taking her eyes off of her meal or pausing her activities.

Her satire hit him hard and brought back his memories of the months leading up to their wedding. He almost choked when all the memories came back. "You're still mad about that? I was wrong. I'm sorry. And I'm still waiting for you to forgive me." The regretful words were sincere from his heart.

Helena gave a low mumble in return. Even though she hasn't fully forgiven him, she wanted her husband to know that she thought about that.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. The topic was apparently still sensitive for both of them, especially Helena.

"What did Mom tell you?" he asked, changing the conversation.

"A lot. Mostly about you. Mom showed me your photos since childhood. She also said that from childhood, you had rejected this matchmaking," She said, trying to keep her tone as relaxed as possible. Although her heart was pinched knowing that, she could understand it. Who liked to have their life arranged? Luckily, her family didn't tell her about the arranged marriage since she was little. At first, maybe, she would like it and imagine a fairy tale romance. But, she believed that the feeling would gradually disappear and be replaced with hatred. Who knew, right?

"Why is that issue being discussed again?" he didn't like it. He had tried to change the conversation, but why did it again come back to the same problem?

Helena shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm just saying what Mom told me." Then, she started to devour the food on her plate without heeding his reaction.

And their dinner went on in awkwardness.