Page 69 of Viktor at Sea

“Oh no.” I was quick to shake my head. “You don’t have anything to apologise for, Daewon. We’re family now, so there’s even less reason to apologise.”

“I’m not going to listen to you,” he denied. “I’ve had some time to think about it, and I want to apologise to you. You deserve it.” I opened my mouth to deny his need to apologise once again, but one sharp look from Daewon was enough to shut me up. “Astrid and Katarina were very calm and collected when they heard of Chara’s claim against you. I should have been the same way. Instead, I overreacted and instantly thought the worst of you. Instead of asking you or talking to you about it, I automatically assumed that you had cheated on Astrid and gotten Chara pregnant.”

“I slept with Chara only once,” I told him, feeling the need to explain. “It was when I was still in denial about my feelings for Astrid and definitely before I asked her to marry me. I spoke to Astrid about this before she agreed to marry me, and she knows how much I regret sleeping with Chara that night. Chara has been an absolute pain in my ass since then, constantly inviting me back into her bed. I want to make it clear that I only love Astrid, and I promise you that will remain true long after I take my last breath.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Viktor.” Daewon shook his head. “As long as Astrid knows and she doesn’t have any issues with it, then it’s none of my business.”

“I need you to know that I would never do anything to hurt Astrid, intentionally or unintentionally,” I spoke with the utmost conviction, meaning every word. “I know Astrid isn’t quite there yet, but I love your daughter. She owns my heart entirely, and hurting Astrid would only be hurting myself. I’m so grateful that she agreed to marry me, and that’s not something I intend to take advantage of. Ever.”

“I know you love Astrid, Viktor,” he chuckled. “I think all of Jorvik knows that you’re madly in love with my daughter. You walk around with it written all over your face like it’s your most prominent personality trait.”

“I don’t know if I should be happy or offended,” I laughed. “But thank you.”

“And just so we’re clear. We’re family now,” Daewon assured me with a warm smile, even going as far as to throw an arm over my shoulder. “You can call me father if you want. I know Katarina would love to have you call her mother.” His smile lifted at the corners, hopeful but not pushy. “But only if you want. There’s no pressure.” He added the last as if he was worried that he was pushing the boundaries a little too far out.

If only he knew that I wanted nothing more than to call Katarina and him Mother and Father. It had been so long since I had a family to call my own. And now, not only did I have a Mother and a Father, but I was also lucky enough to find siblings in Dustin and Freja.

“I’d love that,” I grinned, assuring him his request was most welcome. “I’d really love that. I’ve gone a long time without a family.”

“You won’t ever have to be without a family ever again,” he vowed.

After the elephant in the room had been addressed, Daewon finished the rest of his breakfast while I snacked on the apple. I fought the urge to try a piece of the freshly baked bread Daewon was eating which only fuelled my need to find Astrid even more.

After breakfast, Daewon saw me to the door. “If you’re still looking for Astrid, I’d try back at your hut.”

My hut?I thought to myself.

She hadn’t been there in the morning. Why would she be there now? As I had checked everywhere else, I traced my steps back to our hut.

“I was wondering where you had left to,” Astrid greeted me with a bright smile as I stepped into the hut. “I was hoping you would return before I finished cooking the bread. I wanted you to try it while it was still warm.”

“You were here the whole time?” I asked, laughing at my foolishness. I should have known better than to think Astrid would have been shy after last night.

She shook her head and paused while making what looked like strawberry jam.

“Not the whole time,” she said. “I woke up this morning and wanted to make breakfast, but since there was no food here to cook with, I headed to the market to buy some.”

“You didn’t have to make breakfast for me,” I told her, my lips tugging into a small smile.

I didn’t marry Astrid because I wanted her to cook every meal for me and slave away in the hut so I could come back at the end of the day and hardly notice how hard she had worked all day. A few couples were like that in Jorvik, but I didn’t want that for Astrid and me.

I married Astrid because I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Not just as my wife and lover but as my closest friend. And that meant that we would need to split everything through the middle. Including house chores. Living on my own for years and spending as much time at sea as I did meant that I didn’t shy away from household chores.

“I know,” she smiled sweetly at me. “I’m making breakfast for both of us, so stop with the questions and sit down. I’m nearly finished.”

“Well, since it’s for the both of us, let me help you,” I offered, not prepared to take no for an answer. If I wanted a wife that slaved away in the hut all day, I would have married Chara.

“When I was at the market, I ran into Gustav,” Astrid said. “I tried to say no, but he insisted that he gift us a block of his finest cheese as a wedding present.”

“I thought agreeing to cater the wedding was his wedding present to us,” I chuckled. “Do you want me to slice some cheese for us?”

Astrid nodded. “And then grill them lightly. Father does that sometimes, and it’s always amazing.”

She continued working on the jam that had started to thicken. With how sweet it smelt, I could already tell that it would be the tastiest, sweetest jam I would ever eat. But then, Astrid could cook me garbage, and I would be willing to eat it if I thought it would make her happy.

We worked like a dream team, her finishing the jam and me keeping an eye on the bread and grilling some cheese to go along with it. Once done, we plated our breakfast and sat down at the corner of the hut I used as a dining area. The dining table was small and close to the ground, just big enough for two people. It wasn’t as grand as Daewon’s or Barden’s dining tables, but I had picked it up on my travels and had been very fond of it ever since.

“I got you your very own pillow,” I grinned and dipped into the bedroom to fetch it for her. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s soft and very comfortable. I personally tried it out for you.”

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