The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

79. Liam

     The reception was nice. My little girl sure seemed to enjoy it. But, at the age of one, she enjoys pretty much everything.

     It was late at night when the guests began to leave, long after my girls went to sleep. By the time it was two in the morning, I was finally allowed to go back to my room. Before I could leave, however, my wife catches up to me.

     "Liam," she says as I walk towards the ballroom door, and I turn around. She reaches me and joins me in leaving. "I've been thinking about something."

     "Yes?" I urge her to continue. It's been so long since I've spoken to my wife, she changed drastically after Penelope was born. "What is it?"

     She fixes her posture as we walk down the corridor. "I was wondering if we could share a room once more, like we used to."

     This surprises me. Tadia was the one who suggested we sleep in different rooms in the first place. I thought it was strange, but I didn't complain. It was around the time Genevieve was six months old. Tadia and I know that we don't truly love each other, so it just seemed easier to have different rooms.

     "What makes you say that?" I ask, genuinely curious. I don't think I want to share a room with her.

     She shrugs. "I figured that, since we are married, we should be sleeping in the same room, in the same bed. Also, I want to try and fix our relationship."

     I furrow my brows. "What?"

     "Well," Tadia sighs. "We rarely ever spend any time together anymore. It doesn't even feel like a marriage, to be honest with you. I'd like to change that, though. I'd like for us to be closer so we can be a happy family. Us, and our daughters."

     I honestly can't think of what to say. I certainly don't want to be closer to Tadia, not to mention that this is the first time she's showed any signs of caring for my daughters.

     "That doesn't seem like a good idea," I admit as we get closer to my room. Her room is merely across the hall.

     She huffs. "I'm trying to bring us back together so we can be a family again. Don't you want that?"

     I open the door and step into my room, knowing she's going to follow me. She closes the door behind us.

     "I'm just trying to say that you're idealizing things," I tell her, sitting on the edge of my bed. She stands in front of me with her arms crossed. "It's obvious that we don't get along and neither of us has feelings for each other, so why would we bother trying to live a lie?"

     "You might not have ever loved me, but I certainly loved you," she sighs. I immediately recognize that tone. She's trying to remain calm but she's beginning to get angry. "I think we can really make this work, though. I'll try to be nicer towards you from now on, I promise. I'll be a good wife."

     I shake my head, standing up. "Tadia, I'm sorry that I don't love you, but I can't control that. Besides, what about our children? You say that we can be a happy family together, but you aren't thinking about Genevieve or Penelope. You're obviously disappointed that neither of them are boys, but that doesn't mean you can ignore them completely. How can you expect us to be a happy family if you don't even care about our daughters?"

     Out of nowhere, her palm connects with my face and I stumble back. Stunned, I regain my balance and widen my eyes at her. My wife just slapped me.

     "How dare you say that I don't care about my children?!" She shouts. I've never seen her so angry, and it terrifies me. "I love my daughters more than anything in the world!"