DLD.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Honey, it's almost noon. Time to get up. Are you unwell? Is there anything you need from me?"

The world must be coming to an abrupt end, because ain't no way was I being gently nudged awake by Alaric Downey Benjamin. Stretching dramatically, I rolled over and opened my eyes to face my husband who was beaming warmly at me. He genuinely looked happy to be in my presence, which was only creeping me the hell out. Since Alaric's ultimatum in the car regarding De Luca all those weeks ago, we've been sleeping in separate rooms so seeing him lounging comfortably in our master bed was certainly tingling my spidey senses. This man was certainly up to or on something, and it was only putting me on edge even more now that it's been a couple days after my De Luca encounter.

Speaking of that encounter though, it was such a shame I had to go on like nothing happen after that event took place. I was so bubbly and hype after a successful link up with the Italian businessman, I wanted to scream and shout to the world about what went down. It killed me not being able to share such spectacular news with my husband, and it crushed me further knowing that he probably wouldn't have cared. When I returned home that day I tried to be as nonchalant as possible, yet I still engaged with my husband so I wouldn't throw off the scent. Alaric and I ate dinner together as we've been doing recently, and then he retired to his study while I caught up on my Housewives shows. We didn't do anything out of the norm that evening, and the following days after that have been quite the same. So you could only imagine my bewilderedness at the sight of my husband now sitting before me, smiling brightly at me like he's just received some large scale epiphany.

"I'm fine sweetheart." I answered kindly with a small yawn. "Just having a lazy Sunday I guess."

"Well let's get up and at 'em." Alaric chirped. "Put on your finest, I wanna treat you to brunch. Was thinking we could head over to Henry's Countryhouse. Remember that place? It's where we had our first date. Thought we could take a trip down memory lane and even take a drive after."

I must be in the twilight zone, had to be. Because why is the man I called my husband, the same man I longed to regain any emotional connection with all of a sudden giving me exactly that? Why right now? What's this change of heart? I tried my hardest to keep a disturbed look from reaching my face, but my husband's rich laugh insinuated that I failed miserably. I mean, I guess this was a good thing, right? This is what married couples do, I suppose. I just wished it didn't feel so damn weird and uncomfortable.

As I prepared myself for this small getaway with Alaric, I slowly began to relax and look at the brighter side of things. My husband and I reconnecting like this was surreal, and I was still trying to wrap my head around this brisk shift. However, it was the perfect opportunity to jumpstart our dwindling marriage and I was all on board for that. Nobody gets into a marriage banking on it to fail so if Alaric wanted to take a shot at redemption, let's do it.

The hopefulness in me was front and center when I sashayed to my husband's car and hopped in his Lambo. We took off to old school R & B tunes, and I laughed majority of the ride as Alaric belted out some of the greatest hits of all time. He came correct with the playlist, for some of these songs were extremely personal to us and I couldn't help but sing along with him. Throughout our voyage I saw little sprinkles of the man I fell in love with, and I wished I could freeze this moment in time because I truly didn't want it to end.

Arriving at Henry's Countryhouse, I noticed it was undoubtedly the same as I left it. I didn't mind that though, as it brought back a nostalgic feeling I've been missing. So many memories filled me when my husband and I were seated at the said table where we had our first date, I was grinning from ear to ear because it suddenly dawned on me that my husband really took some time out to plan this. To this day getting a reservation at this Countryhouse was excruciatingly draining, and I couldn't disregard the fact that Alaric bought out the entire level we were on, so it was just me and him. One by one servers came out the woodworks to deliver our entrees, champagne and other goodies, and shortly after I heard the sounds of jazz music all throughout the space. Alaric knew exactly what to do to get my vibe going, so I decided to loosen up and truly enjoy the fruits of my husband's labor instead of jumping through hoops trying to dissect this exorbitant shift in Alaric's behavior.

Even though I was having a blast with my husband, probably the most fun we've had in years, my mind was doing this strange thing called wandering back to what we were doing here in the first place. I hated that it was in my nature to be a massive overthinker, but the more Alaric and I talked and laughed the more I needed to know what the fuck was on the horizon. He had to have something up his sleeve, right? Why did he wake up and choose this day to be a decent human being? As I sipped on my third mimosa, I gathered that my brain wasn't going to rest until I got to the bottom of this new and improved Alaric. Was my husband finally coming to his senses and viewing this marriage as a priority or was this all a set up because he found out about some of the foul things I've been doing behind his back? I sincerely hoped it was the former because I was by no means prepared for the latter, but there was only one way to carefully find out. Time to rip the band-aid off.

"So...all of this." I softly spoke, motioning our surroundings. "All of this is fantastic. Thank you, honey. It certainly caught me by surprise."

Alaric gave me a genuine smile. "That's kinda the whole point, I didn't want you to ever see this coming. I believe this is the perfect resurrection for our marriage, don't you think?"

I wasn't a master at hiding my facial expressions so I downed my entire mimosa so I wouldn't raise the eyebrow that was itching to make an appearance. Alaric was being coy and short with me, and I needed answers. I didn't care if I had to pull it out of him.

"Elaborate." I simply responded. "I'd love to hear more about this revitalization of our marriage."

Alaric chuckled. "Yeah, I should have known better than to think you'd just let me slide with that one. It's like I'm forgetting who the woman I married is. I'm sorry. Truth is, Dana I miss you. I miss us. I haven't been myself for a long time and I can't lie...this recent medical issue has been the wake up call of my life. It definitely changed my perspective on a lot, and made me reconsider the things I thought were important. Dana, I just want us to get back to where we once were. I'm still madly in love with you and I'm going to do better at showing it. I want us to be able to talk to each other like we once did, like we're doing right now. I don't want us to keep things from each other or even feel the need to. Congratulations on your partnership with De Luca, baby. Yes I found out, you know I have my sources. Taking him to that Italian restaurant was the icing on the cake, I'm proud of you. I should've never given you an ultimatum. I cannot express how sorry I am for putting you in such a stupid position. I have a lot of making up to do and I'm prepared to spend the rest of my life doing so. Please give me that chance."

I'd never predict Alaric's words being able to make my coochie wet and bring tears to my eyes all at the same time but hey, here we are. Leaning over to kiss him passionately, I tongued that man down like nobody's business so he would have a clear understanding of where I stood with his request. This was everything I longed for when it came to my romantic life and I can't believe it was finally happening right before my eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, I think I got my man back and I squealed excitedly at the thought when we returned to the car for our mini road trip. As we buckled in to start our next engagement, reality hit me like a ton of bricks when I gazed down at my pinging phone. Surprisingly, this was the first time I looked at my device for the day and in this moment right now I certainly wished I hadn't. I was having a time with my husband, and I really wasn't in the mood to be receiving missed calls and text messages from his younger brother about my whereabouts. Peering at the messages, I noted that Ace was going on and on about how much he needed to see me and that it couldn't wait. Unfortunately for him it was going to have to, because there was no way I was leaving my renewed romantic venture to sort out whatever his needs may be. Slipping my phone back in my purse, I carried on my day with my husband blissfully. We toured different scenic and tourist spots around the town and even returned to some of our stomping ground areas where we hung out back in college. The day was perfect, and it was only when we were on our way home that I started to give thought to how I was going to wiggle my way out of this messy affair with my husband's brother. Cutting ties with Ace was always in my plans, our charade couldn't go on forever. I just didn't see it happening this soon though, and I must admit I'll miss the guy. But I miss my relationship with my husband more and now that it's back on track I have to do whatever it takes to protect it. Ace always told me how much he respects and support my decisions, so he should be able to understand this...right?