Page 65 of Viktor at Sea

“We found out whose baby Chara is pregnant with me,” she told me. “After you left, we grilled her some more until finally, Chara admitted that she was pregnant with Crosby’s baby.”

“Crosby?” My lips parted in momentary shock. “She’s pregnant with Crosby’s baby? Are you sure?”

“I couldn’t believe it either,” she chuckled, snuggling further into my chest. “She admitted that she’s been sleeping with Crosby regularly for close to a year. She knew she was pregnant with Crosby’s child the whole time, but she thought she’d be able to get away with passing it off as yours since you’re a bettercandidatethan him.”

“Candidate?” I asked, chuckling, surprised that I was able to find any humour in the horrible set of events that had transpired this morning.

“Her choice of words, not mine.” Her nose scrunched up at the bridge to show her distaste. “Barden tracked down Crosby who confirmed everything. And now, they’re set to get married.”

“They’re getting married?”

“Sometime next week, I believe.”

“They deserve it, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know if they deserve it exactly,” she murmured into my chest, her eyes fluttering closed. I pulled the blanket higher over us both and rested my hand on the small of her back. “But I’m hopeful they’ll leave us alone now that they’ve got each other and a baby on the way.”

“I really hope so,” I murmured and pressed a kiss to her hair.

Even though we only had a thin blanket to protect us from the cool wind, and Astrid was all but forced to lie down on top of me due to the lack of space, I couldn’t have asked for a better end to our wedding day.

CHAPTER THIRTY

It wasn’t part of the plan, but Astrid and I spent the whole night out on the boat. I awoke to the feeling of my right hand wet and something nibbling on one of my fingers. My first thought was that marriage had brought out the kinky side of Astrid, so I was more than a little disappointed to open my eyes and find a small fish nibbling on my finger and not my wife.

I woke Astrid up, and after we rowed back to shore, we walked hand in hand back to my hut.Ourhut.

We were both tired and groggy from spending the night out on the rowboat but as soon as we arrived back at our hut, Astrid immediately perked up. I suggested that we get a few more hours of sleep before getting started with our day, but Astrid had all but run from the hut as soon as she had changed out of her wedding dress.

That was the last I saw of her until she came to find me later during the day at the shore, telling me that her parents had invited us both for dinner that evening. I was excited because I knew Astrid couldn’t hide from me there, but she had refused to look me in the eyes the whole evening.

To say that Astrid was nervous would be an understatement.

Someone could hang a banner in the square saying exactly that and it wouldn’t be any more obvious.

By the end of the night, Astrid fake yawned more times than I could count. When it was time to leave, she hinted that she was too tired to head home. I knew she was waiting for one of us–Daewon, Katarina or I–to suggest that she stay over in her old room, but I wasn’t going to allow that to happen anytime soon. The only way she would sleep in her own room was if I was in there with her.

Now that we were married, I planned to spend every night with my wife in my arms. If only she would allow her nerves to melt away long enough for me to show her how great it could be if given the chance.

If Astrid planned to avoid me, she could do it within the four walls of our hut where I could at least observe her. Even though it had only been a day, I missed my wife.

“Is there anything you want to say to me, Astrid?” I asked as I closed the door of our hut and headed to the bedroom, already tugging my tunic over my head.

“No,” she squeaked from behind me.

“Are you sure?” I chuckled, not believing her for a second.

“Yes,” she remained adamant, though her voice didn’t sound as close as it ought to have been if we were both in the bedroom.

Glancing over my shoulder, I was surprised to find her in the kitchen area of the hut. Shirtless, I moved to lean against the doorway, watching curiously as she began organising and re-organising the few cooking items and utensils I owned.

“Aren’t you coming to bed?” I asked in a gentle tone, suddenly very much aware of what she had been so nervous about all day. “It’s been a long day, and you kept yawning earlier, so I know you’re tired.” I left out the part where I knew all those yawns were fake.

“I’ll be right there,” Astrid told me, not glancing up at me even once. “I’m just going to finish tidying up here.”

“Don’t take too long,” I said and headed back into the bedroom.

While I had no intentions of having sex with my wife–not that I desperately didn’t want to–until she was ready to go that far, I really wanted to fall asleep with her in my arms. I wanted to wake up in the morning with her hair all over my pillow and her face snuggled into my chest.

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