The Marriage Bargain - ENGLOT

Chapter 39: Day 21 - 22

Emory's POV:

The next day was just as awkward as the day before. I knew that Cadence and I needed to talk more about our situation, but I didn't know how to bring it up without making things even more tense. I had made up my mind that it was better if we just left and go home.

So during a tense breakfast, I brought up the thought. "Hey Cadence?"

She looked up from her food and raised a brow, "mhmm?"

"I'm needed back at the office." I stated, waiting for her reaction. Obviously I'd love to stay and spend time with her but the awkwardness between us right now ruined things.

"Yeah okay." She said, "we better pack and go home then."

"Okay."

We finished our meal in silence before packing up our things and getting ready to leave. Ack to normal, I guess.

...

As soon as Cadence and I walked into the house after our trip, we collapsed onto the couch. I let out a deep sigh of relief, glad to finally be home.

But our relaxation was short-lived. Just as we were starting to unwind, there was a knock at the door. I groaned, not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. But when Cadence opened the door, she let out a surprised gasp and I sat up to see what was going on.

Teagan, Quin, Amaya and Nevaeh stood on the other side of the door, grinning from ear to ear.

"Cadence! Emory!" Quinn exclaimed, "We have a surprise for you."

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "What kind of surprise?"

"Remember that cabin we talked about renting for the weekend?" Quin asked, "Well, I went ahead and booked it for all of us. You guys need to relax after the week you've had."

At first, I hesitated. Spending a weekend with Cadence might not be the best idea considering our current situation.

"I don't know, guys. We're both pretty exhausted from the trip," I said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Come on, Emory. We just want you guys to have a good time and de-stress," Nevaeh chimed in.

Cadence sighed and looked at me, a small smile playing on her lips. "Maybe they're right. It could be nice to get away for a bit."

"I—I'm not sure if I'm up for it." I said, still hesitating.

But our friends didn't give up that easily. They spent the next half hour convincing me to come on this trip, and eventually I reluctantly agreed.

"Fine okay." I finally said.

"Fucking finally!" Quinn exclaimed, to which I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Great! This is gonna be good!" Amaya said, grinning excitedly.

I hope so Amaya, I hope so..

——————————-xx————-xx———————————-

The next morning, we were packing up our bags in the car, ready to head to the cabin. I couldn't help feeling a bit nervous about spending the entire weekend with our friends, while Cadence and I are technically not speaking to each other.

As we drove towards the cabin, the silence inside the car was palpable. The only sounds were the rustling of the trees outside and the soft humming of the car engine.

I glanced over at Cadence, who was staring out of the window with a blank expression. We hadn't really spoken more than a few words since Norway, and I wasn't sure how we were going to survive an entire weekend together without any awkwardness.