Page 26 of Karrington

The Next Evening

Coincidently,I was spending tonight with the crew and Eyela had gone out as well. I had Frasier sending me updates everythirty minutes. The last video he sent me showed her dancing with her girls, but as soon as they all sat down, I saw sadness in her eyes. I wondered if that was because of me… because of us. We had a slight disagreement earlier, and I hadn’t been able to get it out of my head.

I’d come home with plans to stay long enough to shower and get ready for the lounge. There wasn’t anything unusual about smelling dinner because we had private chefs that cooked three times a day when we were here. What did catch me off guard was the sight of Eyela in a beautiful silk dress with an apron around her. At the sight of me, her eyes lit up and she quickly pulled the apron off.

“Hi.” She spoke as I took slow steps in the kitchen.

“Hey. What’s this?”

“I made dinner. I was hoping we could enjoy it together.”

A tortured chuckle escaped me as I shook my head. “I already made plans, little one.”

“Oh.” Sadness covered her face as she looked back at the stove. “Can you maybe be a little late? I made your favorites.”

“Eyela, I—”

“I’m bored,” she blurted. “And lonely. And I know I can be with friends and family. I’m actually meeting up with the girls later. I mean lonely in here.” She took a small step in my direction. “Lonely for you.”

I wanted to tell her I was lonely for her too. That I’d been missing her like crazy. That it was hard staying away from her. But instead of any of that coming out I said, “You know this isn’t a real marriage, right?”

Her eyes rolled and she huffed. “I don’t need you to remind me of that.”

“Obviously you do.”

Eyela chuckled softly as her hands lifted. “I don’t mean to talk back but—”

“You shouldn’t even have to say that. You should have the confidence to speak freely without fear of it being taken as disrespect. The fact that you feel like you can’t speak your mind with me is proof this whole arranged marriage bullshit needs to end.”

“That’s not why I said that!” she yelled softly, and it was the first time I’d heard her raise her voice outside of the bedroom. I’d never heard her curse either, and that was actually kind of cute.

“Then why did you?”

“Out of my respect for you.” Chuckling, she turned and gripped the stove. “Just go, Karrington. I’ll make the guards plates, so this won’t go to waste.”

I should have told her it was fine. That I appreciated the gesture. Instead, I just walked away.

Me: Take my wife home. Call me when you get there.

After texting Frasier, I put my phone in my pocket and gave my attention to the guys. It was cool having a night out with them, but I wanted to get home and make things right with my wife. As soon as Frasier let me know they were pulling up, I headed out, determined to get back on Eyela’s good side.

Back Home

After a quick tripto the Russian market, I headed home. I was grateful they stayed open until one in the morning, because I needed to grab something that I knew would make Eyela smile. I didn’t know what all she wanted on the tray, so I got out all the ingredients we had at home that I figured she might want to addplus what I’d purchased then looked for her. When I found her in the guest bedroom pouting, I chuckled.

“What you doing in here?”

“Getting ready for bed since you summoned me.”

“It didn’t occur to you that I had you to come home for a reason? And I’m not sure why you think you’re going to sleep in here.”

Her eyes rolled as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want, Karrington?”

“To have a late snack with my wife since I ruined dinner. I heard it was really good.”

“Too bad you couldn’t find out for yourself.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll cook for me again when I’m back in your good graces.”

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