ALANA

46

ALANA

I wake up to a feeling of being buried under something. I huff trying to twist my body away but it's no use, I am trapped. I finally sigh and open my eyes only to freeze in shock.

I find Ares sleeping right next to me, his scent invading my senses his arms completely enveloping my body. They are hard and heavy against my soft stomach but the warmth feels so nice. His face is very handsome up close aswell, the light stuble making him look more rugged.

But he looks peaceful. His guard is down, his hard expression notwithstanding. It's nice.

Suddenly, he begins to stir and in a panic, I decide to pretend I am still asleep. I tightly close my eyes while he moves around and a low, growl like sound leaves him.

I can't see much but after a few more minutes, I feel his arms around me tense and he curses softly under his breath. His voice is very deep. Slowly, he slips his arms away from my body then when he is free, I feel the bed lift with his weight leaving it.

"Fuck you Ares." he says, and I feel his presence for a moment more then the door opens and closes.

Why would he say that to himself? I feel heat rise to my cheeks at the thought of how we had fallen asleep after he soothed my nightmare last night.

I take in a deep breath and walk over to the bathroom to wash up.

After it is 8:15, I decide to go get some clothes from Ares' room since he should be done dressing by now. When I reach the floor of his room, I see his studies door is ajar and he is inside. So, I quietly slip away to the room and pick out a dress to change into.

Once I am dressed, I go into the bathroom to brush out my hair and put on perfume. When I am done, I begin reaching for the compact but stop myself. Ares said they are not ugly. I look at my reflection, scrunching my nose at the very faint but still there freckles. I sigh, deciding to leave them bare.

I walk out of the room and perhaps the click of my sandals makes Ares turn and look at me from inside his study, where he was talking on the phone. He looks at me up and down, perhaps he likes my dress.

"Uhm, will you be having breakfast with me?" I ask him. We haven't had breakfast together in a long time so I just want to make sure. He nods at me, then puts his phone back to his ear.

I walk down the stairs to see breakfast already served and waiting. I stand there, switching between my feet, waiting for Ares to come down. My feet feel a little tender this morning. So do my breasts. This happens on my cycle.

"Why aren't you sitting?" I hear his voice behind me making me turn around.

"I was waiting for you." I tell him. He nods, pulling out a chair for me to sit in.

We start eating in an awakward silence, I can tell that he is even more reserved than usual.

Soon we are done and I stand up to take my plate into the kitchen, when I get back, Ares is standing in the door way typing on his phone.

"You aren't going to wear a tie?" I ask him. He looks up from his phone.

"No, the familia is returning tonight, they'll be here around 8 so I will be home then," he says in a dismissive tone which stings. I nod at him and he leaves.

I sigh at his detached behavior. He was being so nice yesterday and now he's back to being his usual austere self. I decide to go to the kitchen and see if we can make a special welcome home dinner for everyone.

~

By 7 pm, I had made many dishes with the help of the kitchen staff. I had made lasagna, garlic bread, carbonara and ravioli. I also made cream salad and regular caesar salad. The chef had also made a roast turkey with vegetables and gravy. It seemed like alot of food, but looking at all the different pasta dishes, I felt that I could eat them all by myself.

When I was done, I had decided to go up and freshen myself up, I am very tired. My cramps had slowed me down all day and the uncomfortable leaky feeling had kept my spirits low. But I managed.

When I come back down stairs, I hear voices and walk quickly over to the living room.

I greet everyone and hug mama and papa.

We make small talk till my husband appears in the doorway also greeting everyone.

"Okay, let's go eat, Im famished." mama says. I nod with a smile, going to the kitchen to get everything ready and on the table.

"Oh my! This is a feast tesoro, you did not need to have this done." mama exclaims.

"Actually the young mrs has made all the pasta dishes and the bread." Maybel informs.

We all sit down to eat and everyone praises and compliments my food. I smile at their kindness.

When we are all finished, they serve dessert and we talk about their trip and other things then slowly disperse and start going to our rooms.

I help the servants clear away the dishes from dessert and as I am walking to the guest room, I remember that I need to get a nightgown from upstairs.

When I step into Ares' room, I stop by the couch, holding the back of it and swaying a little. It feels like a sudden head rush.

"Alana?" I hear his voice startling me. I hum distractedly, still trying to get over the dizzy feeling. I feel strong hands grip my waist on either side and I thankfully lean back into the warmth.

He directs me onto the bed and I sit down with a bounce. I laugh a little looking up into his eyes.

"Are you feeling light headed?" he asks, concern shining in his eyes. I nod. "Why were you in the kitchen cooking all day? You are supposed to be resting." he asks with a frown.

"You don't care about that." I say. He looks taken aback and stands up straight again.

"I don't care?" he asks, eyebrows knotting in an annoyed fashion. "So I didn't spend everyday in the hospital having nothing to do? You think I fucking wanted to sit there and look at your face?" he says sharply.

My eyes sting and blur at his harsh words. His face immediately softens and he tries to speak again but I stand up.

"Well I am sorry you had to look at my face, you won't anymore." I say, walking away into the closet. I quickly take a nightgown and some supplies then walk out into the room, without glancing at him, I walk to the door.

My hand gets stuck floating over the handle at his words.

"You cannot sleep out of this room, mama is back." I feel tears of frustration build up again as my steps falter. He's right. I still walk out, deciding to just get my pads from the other room, that way I can have some time away.