My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Fourteen

"No one knows everything. Love knows it all." Unknown

"So, dinner?" she repeated, her smirk turning into a full grin. She took a seat next to him. With eyes widened, she patiently waited for him to answer. The silence from him was a beautiful indicator that maybe, just maybe, he was considering saying yes.

In the silence, she studied him. His bored expression amused her. Somehow, it always managed to make him look a bit playful. She knew that expression was only reserved for her; hence, felt special about it.

Besides the boredom, Jack felt annoyed. Taking no for an answer was something he knew Natalia was not good at. Hence, it would have been useless to answer her. He saw the glitter in her eyes. There, in her eyes, shone excitement and eagerness, like a little child waiting for a present from Santa on Christmas Eve. But he was not Santa and neither did he want to give her any present, and, above all, he hated Christmas. He hated it for a plain reason because it was a day when stupid people pretended to be a happy family. However, his hatred for the day was deeper than that, Christmas also was that one awful day, when everything in his life changed for the worse and he lost the one precious person in his life.

He sighed. He didn't know how long he kept quiet and drawn to his thoughts. Looking at Natalia, he could tell it was long enough. The smile on her painted face began fading and she expressed impatience.

"Yes?" she inquired with hope. "Please?" she added sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

Jack shrugged, not knowing what exactly to say to her. He watched a grin form upon her face. Her sudden liveliness made him slightly amused.

"Great." Her eyes shone with triumph. She adjusted her skirt and dusted it. It was a gesture that made her look like a schoolgirl. "So tomorrow it is," she concluded formally, stretching out her hand for a handshake.

Jack couldn't get himself to shake her hand. He allowed the blinking of his eyes to serve as a confirmation before turning his attention down the corridor. Joel and his associates were taking way too long. Nearly ten minutes had already passed, and they were still discussing. What was there to discuss, anyway?

He got up to his feet and drew his wristwatch close to his eyes. It was already hours into the late afternoon, and he didn't have the patience to wait for them until they decided to come back. Their answer was already known by him. Besides, who could ever not be persuaded by Natalia's intelligence, charm, and way of speech?

He glanced at Natalia. She looked at him with raised brows. "Give me feedback on their answer, yes?" he requested, then glanced at his wristwatch again. "I have another meeting to attend in forty-five minutes."

"Okay." Natalia nodded with a confident smile. She sat back down on the chair and crossed her legs.

With that, Jack smiled briefly at her. He pulled out his phone to text Perli as he walked down to the entrance. It was a regular thing he did after most of his meetings. He didn't know exactly why he did it; it was not like she cared about the outcome of his meetings. However, it felt satisfying to have someone to tell things to; to know that at least he tried to make their marriage work.

Their marriage.

Many people didn't seem to agree with their union. It was obvious; the tension that existed in his family since his announcement of being engaged to Perli had left him and his father on little to no talking terms. His younger sister also had joined the silence, openly expressing her dislike for Perli by not attending their wedding at all.