Temptations

50. IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH

ELLIE

Dinner tonight was steak and mashed potatoes. Aria was asleep and the rest of us had gathered around the dinner table. And the good news was that Alicia had finally moved out of the mansion and booked a hotel for spending further days.

"I told her to stay but she said her trip has extended and she didn't want to be a burden for too long. Also, she apparently wanted a staycation in a nice hotel." Nathan informed.

"That's so sad. I loved having her around." I said and both Nathan and Catherine passed me a sarcastic look, as if they knew I was being fake. I looked down at my plate in embarrassment and continued eating silently.

Catherine then spoke, "Well, good for her. She is a nice kid but am not a big fan of hers to be honest. She is too..."

"Cunning?" I added and both Nathan and Catherine passed me another inquisitive look. "I mean, smart."

"I was going to say shrewd but cunning works too." Catherine said with a chuckle and I joined her, much to Nathan's dismay.

After dinner, I asked Jeff to send two cups of coffee and then walked towards our room. Nathan followed me too and once inside, he began watching me with curiosity.

"What?" I asked, feeling nervous under his attention.

"Am I delusional or you sounded really jealous back there?" He said and my eyes widened.

"Jealous? Me? Of Alicia? Why would you say that?" I said outrageously.

"I don't know. Maybe because she and I go way back." He said and I rolled my eyes while taking my seat on the bed.

"And that affects me, how?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Let me take a wild guess. Maybe you have some feelings for me." He shrugged and my nose scrunched up.

"Feelings?" I said and then let out a loud chuckle. "I do have feelings for you. Feelings like hatred and annoyance."

As if on cue, the cook arrived with our coffee. Nathan got silent and watched me closely while Jeff placed the tray on the bed. Once he left, Nathan walked over to his side of the bed and sat down beside me.

"You don't sound too convincing." He said.

"Yeah right. And what would you call the feeling that forced you to argue with Drake over a fucking rose?" I snapped back and his eyes widened.

"That was different. I didn't want others to know about your little rendezvous." He said.

"You don't sound too convincing." I smirked.

"Whatever." He said and went back to drinking his coffee.

I liked this occasional banter of ours and it was starting to become a ritual. Somehow despite all the bickering, I loved spending time with him at the end of the day.

Yesterday when I stayed over at Max, I missed him badly while lying alone at night.

One would think I was missing my sweet, loving husband when in reality, we had no such thing as love between us. Yet, I wanted nothing more than to curl up back in my bed, with my boring husband at my side.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, breaking my chain of thoughts.

"I was thinking how to get rid of you." I said to tease him.

"You can kill me during sleep." He said.

"Not a bad idea." I grinned. "Maybe I'll try that today. Should I strangle you?"

"Careful, Miss. Ellie. Strangling in bed could mean many things. It's not necessarily homicidal." He said with a suggestive smirk and my eyes widened.

"You're a nasty person, Mr. Byers." I said in annoyance and lay down, turning my back towards him. "Ew."