Inside a Tear

It's just apple pie.

The new house was huge. Beautiful and elegant and all that jazz, but huge.

I'd have been overwhelmed with picking furniture for the house if Charles hadn't hired an interior designer to help me. She did an amazing job.

It took us a whole two weeks to get properly moved in and I was still overwhelmed by the smell of "new".

I had never been exposed to so much luxury in my life, even when my dad was around.

I was currently sitting on the most comfortable couch in the world waiting for Charles to come down from our room when the doorbell rang.

Finding it strange because almost nobody knew our address yet, I quickly got up to go find out who it was. Curiosity is and has always been my weakness.

When I got the foyer, a man with a plate in his hand was standing on the other side of our huge front door. It was a mixture of expensive wood and glass that allowed me to see who was on the other side.

How did he even get past the guard? It was a five minute walk from our gate to the house. And an impressive driveway to make up for it.

I still couldn't get over all this fanciness.

I opened the door smiling and he immediately pressed the covered plate towards me. "Hi, its apple crumble. It's delicious. I'm Deacon by the way."

I was a bit startled by his forwardness but kept the smile on my face, receiving the plate.

"Thank you, Uhm if you don't mind me asking Deacon, how did you get through the front gate?"

He smiled. A set of pearly white teeth displayed, perfectly lined, just like the rest of him.

"Oh the guard let me in. Charles and I go way back, is he in?"

I found it hard to hide the surprise on my face. Charles and him went way back? He told me that he didn't know anyone in this part of town. Maybe Deacon just happened to slip his mind?

"Do you live near by?" I asked trying to feed some of my curiosity.

"Yeah, just by the next street actually. I met Charles last week when he was closing the deal on the house. I was just so excited to meet his wife and I must say, you don't disappoint. You're a natural beauty."

I blushed a little and became self conscious. I was in shorts and an off the shoulder jersey. I had no make up on and my hair was tied in a messy bun on top of my head. And no, it was not the sexy type of messy.

"Do you maybe want to come in and say hi? Charles is just getting ready to leave for a business trip. He should be down any minute now." I said realising that we had been standing at the door for a while. It was rude of me not to invite him in, seeing as he was Charles friend.

"Oh no no, I had better get going. I have quite a busy day ahead of me. But feel welcome to come by any time. I'm at house number 36, the next street."

"Okay. Thank you again for the crumble." I said doubting that I'd ever take his offer to visit, except if Charles wanted to of course.

I closed the door behind me and started walking towards the kitchen just as Charles came down the stairs. He had on a black polo neck, dress pants and a blazer. He looked delicious. "Who was that?

I got lost in his good looks until he clicked his fingers to get my attention. "Eyes up here."

I laughed. "Its not my fault that my husband has ravishing good looks."

Strangely, he didn't look too happy by my words. He loved flirting, what did I do wrong?

"Stop avoiding the question. I heard a man's voice, who was at the door?"

"He said he's name was Deacon, apparently you guys go way back? He brought me an apple crumble." I said lifting up the plate as if he hadn't seen it already.

"Deac." He said closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He did that when something stressed him out. "And what business does he have bringing my wife an apple crumble?"

I was shocked by his hostility.

"It's just an apple pie Charlie."

"No, it isn't just an apple pie. If you wanted one so badly you could've asked one of the maids to make one. He certainly had no business bringing it. And another thing, don't ever open the door dressed like that. A woman should be elegant at all times. Actually, I'll set up a date with a personal shopper for you."

Excuse me?

At this point, I was left speechless. Mouth agape from the shock. What the hell just happened?

"Sir, the car is ready for you." The driver came in to say and he acknowledged his words with a curt nod.

Looking back at me, his eyes softened and he walked over to me. Kissing my forehead and then leaning down closer to my ear.

"I know it sounded harsh but I'm looking out for your best interests." He kissed my neck, I was still immobile. "Are you going to miss me?"

I nodded, because I would. Maybe the person he was thirty minutes ago.

"Good." He said standing up straight. "I love you forever."

"Forever." I responded almost automatically.

He smiled, satisfied with my answer. "Behave yourself or else I'll have to punish you."

He smiled while saying this but I felt dread go through me. Punish me? He's just joking right?

After giving me a soft kiss on the lips, he walked out of the house leaving me standing with the plate still in my hands.

What the fuck just happened?

**