Uncomfortable

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The maids were busy preparing food while Anton and Ariella were talking.  He mentioned that the next day would be his grandmother's birthday, and he still wanted to invite Ariella to attend the said grand celebration, but Ariella had doubts and Anton knew that.  He also didn't want to cause trouble at the party and divert attention to Ariella, so he didn't force Ariella to attend.

"If you don't come, I won't either," said Anton.  He had made up his mind not to attend if he wasn't with Ariella.

Ariella forced him to attend even though she wasn't with him, but he said, "There's no point in me going there if I'm not with my wife."  He looks directly into Ariella's eyes and it causes her chest to feel electrified in a tickling way.

After a while, she looked away and turned her attention to something else.  She hid the smile so that Anton would not notice.

She asked in mind, 'What is wrong with me?  It's normal for me to feel this, but why does it seem to be getting worse?'

She put her question aside in her mind so that nothing else would disturb her mind.  She wants to focus and doesn't want to think about anything.

But...she was really afraid.  She is ready to fall in love with Anton especially because they are together every day.  It is not unlikely that she will like him forever but she is afraid that Anton might not really love her.  Anton makes Ariella feel that he loves her and she admits that she feels his love for her, but there is still in her heart and mind the fear that she will be hurt.

It's normal to get hurt when you fall in love, so you have to be prepared for the risks when you love. Be a risk taker.

All of a sudden, she suddenly felt Anton's cold palm holding her hand.

She looked at it for a moment then quickly returned her gaze to Anton

"Are you okay, my wife?"  he asked softly.

She nodded and then said, "Yes, honey."  Then, she smiled.

"But why it seems like..." he said and paused for a while then parted her hair behind her left ear.  Ariella was shocked for a moment by what he did but she didn't say a word or even move.

She kept her chest calm so that a smile wouldn't form on her red lips.

"Did you put on make-up?"  he asked while observing and examining her face.

Her soft palm touched her smooth cheek, and she felt it warm.  The question came to her mind, 'Am I blushing?', and immediately pushed that question out of her mind because she didn't want to admit to herself that her cheeks were blushing because of him.  If you think about it, her pride is high when it comes to admitting her feelings.  She is deceiving herself.

Stammering, she says, "Yea-yeah. Is it a hundred percent obvious?"  then, she raised her left brow, showing a bit of a smile on her face, while waiting for Anton's answer.

Anton replied, "Half percent of a hundred."

Ariella didn't say a word and remained silent for a while.  She doesn't know what to say, seems like her mind is somewhere and left her body to where she was sitting on right now.

She didn't notice a smile on her face while she was staring at her husband.

Anton tried to talk to her mentally through looking at her, signaling what's wrong.  He also called her and after a few moments, Ariella was overwhelmed.  Then she realized that she was staring at him, and he was still smiling like a madman.

He laughed a little at Ariella while she was still a little ashamed of what she did.  She didn't expect it and didn't even realize it.

She turned her back and tightly closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and bit her lower lip.

"I want to take a rest now, honey butter," she said.

"Okay. Goodnight, my wife," he replied softly.

Before she stepped forward, an unexpectedly sweet smile appeared, but she immediately took it back, and then  went straight to her room.  Right now they are in separate rooms.

They discussed not sleeping together in the same room because Ariella mentioned that she was not ready to get pregnant.  Anton agreed and respected her decision.  She can't force Ariella to sleep with him to get her pregnant.  It was only temporary and he could bear it.

Ariella was restless when lying down as if she was not comfortable in her sleep.  She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling, when she realized something.  She asked herself, "Why don't I feel like I'm not used to not sleeping next to him?"

Since they got married, they have been sleeping next to each other, so maybe now she is not used to Anton not sleeping next to her.

She added, "Could he be the same?"  While she was thinking about that, she heard a knock on the door.  That was probably from Anton.

She turned her gaze to the door, and  could still hear the knocking but she didn't seem to hear anything.  It was as if her mind was floating.

After a few moments, she stood up.

When she opened the door, Anton appeared in front of her.

"What's….wrong?"  she asked.

He was looking around and he was not sure if he should focus on Ariella or turn his attention to something else.  He also could not speak properly as if his tongue was bending.

"I..." he stopped and caught the word he was going to add to what he said.  "...I..."

Ariella doesn't understand him but she laughs at Anton.  She just stifled a laugh.

"Actually, I just want to check if you are okay here," he finally said.

Nodding, she says, "Yes, I am."

"Do you need anything else? You want some coffee? It's very cold."

"I don't drink coffee, remember?"

Anton remembered that Ariella didn't like to drink coffee, so he just said, "Want some milk?"

Ariella couldn't stop laughing anymore.  Apart from the fact that he was changing her, Anton just now offered her milk.

She laughed at him.  Anton also couldn't help but smile while watching her.  Now he could see the smile on her lips that he rarely saw before.  Because Ariella always insulted him as if he was her mortal enemy in her life.

She stopped laughing when she realized that Anton was watching her.  Her feeling was so strong that she knew Anton was watching her even though she wasn't looking.

She felt a little lost.  "Are you not yet sleepy?"  She asked.

"I haven't been sleepy when…"

"When?..." she also asked.

"...when staring at you," he answered weakly that she heard.

"What?"  She asked as she clearly heard what Anton said.  Even though Anton whispered to himself softly, she still heard it.  She just pretended that she didn't understand what he said.

"...when I can't drink coffee," he replied even though he doesn't like to drink coffee either.  It wasn't his sleeping pill either.  He just couldn't think of an excuse.

She just agreed with what Anton said.

Silence enveloped the surroundings again.  They were both still standing.  No one tried to speak first.  It was as if they were trying to decide who would speak first among the two of them.

A few moments passed before they thought of speaking but they both laughed at the same time.

Anton laughed and said, "Alright, go first."

She shook her head, saying, "You go first."

"Ladies first," he said.

"I'll go inside," she said.

He almost laughed at what Ariella said.  He didn't expect that Ariella had to say that.  Because he expected something different.

"Goodnight, my wife," he said softly.

Upon hearing this, it was as if Ariella's whole body was covered in ice.  It was as if something suddenly pierced her chest, but it didn't hurt, but it felt like a relief.

She just heard Anton say that right in front of her, eye-to-eye.

In her eyes now, he seems to be an angel that is pleasant to look at.  So she didn't realize that she was smiling.

"Go inside. Take a rest now," he said, making her faint again.  She closed the door again but before she was even in bed, she heard the knock again.  She wondered what Anton needed or forgot to tell her.

Again, she opened the door,  Anton appeared again, still smiling..

"What's wrong?"  she asked again.

"I forgot something, my wife," he replied.

"What is it?"

He smiled again, then quickly kissed Ariella on the lips, then softly said, "I forgot to kiss my beautiful wife."  He immediately left.

Ariella was left stunned as if she couldn't believe what he had done.

Since they got married, Anton has not been able to do that.  If they kiss, it's whenever they are making love.  Anton just did that today.

Kissing her on the lips and calling her 'my wife' felt so good.  It's as if she achieved the world peace.