The Workaholic

Chapter 4

The next morning, the girls woke up excited to open their presents.

Karen had offered them both the tablets they wanted and Eric gave them both new phones.

As for Annabelle, she had offered her mother a book on geometric art because she knew how much her mother loved to draw with shapes and for her father, she gave him a new suit.

Carla gave her mother a notebook and her father a watch to replace his old one.

"Thank you so much girls, I love them," said Karen, kissing and hugging her daughters.

Happy with his gifts, Eric also thanked them and kissed them before bringing out his gift for Karen. He had offered her a nice necklace with a dress to match and she offered him a new business case.

"Thanks, honey," said Eric as he kissed her.

"No problem, thanks for the gift," she replied coldly, pulling away from his kiss as soon as possible as if burned.

Even though they acted civil for the sake of their daughters, they hadn't fixed the rift that was getting worse by the day.

Karen wasn't going to lie to herself. At the point she was at, she found herself often wondering why she tried so hard for so long just to get the same result she didn't want, and why continue fighting for something that was as good as doomed.

With those thoughts in mind, she would often slip up in front of Carla and Annabelle and snap at Eric.

Her patience and determination to make things work were running dry and she felt extremely empty yet so emotional at the same time.

"Well that's not all," added Eric with a smile, snapping Karen who was staring at her gift blankly out of it.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at him confused.

"I got us a holiday in the French Alps," he announced happily, surprising everyone.

His announcement made, Carla and Annabelle were the first to react, their faces lighting up with excitement.

"Seriously!?" they asked with great excitement.

"Yep," he replied matching their excitement. "we take off tonight, so go pack your bags; we won't come back until the 2nd," he said, happily embracing them when they threw themselves in his arms in their excitement.

"Alright!" they cheered, storming upstairs to go pack.

Finally registering the news, Karen got up. "I'll pack your bag too," she said, not even waiting for his reply before she left.

"Thanks!" he replied loudly enough for her to hear it.

After packing everything, they spent the rest of their day enjoying themselves before going to Heathrow airport and taking off for France.

Once arrived late that night, they set up in their cosy chalet.

"Wow! It's so cosy!" cheered the girls as they lay on their beds. "Thanks, Dad!"

"No problem, go to sleep now," he said, kissing them on the forehead.

As they fell asleep, Karen and Eric set up for bed.

Karen hadn't really said a word since he announced that they were going to the Alps. She wasn't angry, she just didn't really have anything to say. She was happy to see her children happy, but she just didn't know how to feel about him trying to make everything great again with just this.

Leaving that aside, Karen made sure they had a great time there and it was now New Year's Eve.

"Mom can we go skiing with the other kids?" asked Carla, with Annabelle at her side.