10. Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-Kace-
E very moment I spent with Annabella seemed to surprise me. I was not used to feeling this way. I was usually the one shocking other people, but it seemed the tables had turned. How many more surprises did she have in store for me?
“Maybe we should pick one together?” I asked her.
“We can do that if you want to, but it’s fine if you don’t give me one,” she told me, shocking me once more.
What kind of person was my wife? She seemed to be a bit of a mystery.
“Let me see that,” I commanded, focusing again on the ring she had subtly slipped off her finger.
“No, it’s just a ring,” she replied.
“Then why are you hiding it? I mean, if you like something subtle, then let me see it,” I urged.
“No, it’s a ring.”
“You slipped it off, though,” I pointed out.
“It was tight. I have fat fingers,” she shot back.
I looked at her fingers, but fat was an incorrect word to use. They were slender, and so I met her eyes again while she kept a fist around the ring, protecting it.
“Let me see. I'm not asking again,” I stated.
“You never asked!” she retorted.
“Why is the ring so important that you won’t let me see it?” I countered.
She opened her mouth to answer, but quickly grew silent again. Then she surprised me as she slowly moved her hand toward me, holding hers above mine before opening her fist and letting the ring fall.
“Thank you,” I said.
I grabbed the ring with two fingers, holding it in front of me and turning it from side to side. It was a gold ring and nothing of the cheap sort, but it did seem old, needing a touch-up after being used for years.
I turned to Annabella, who would not meet my eyes. “Who gave this to you?”
“My dad,” she replied, but my wife was a terrible liar.
“Can you say that while looking me in the eyes?” I challenged.
She turned her head, holding my eyes, then opened her mouth again. “My dad.”
“You’re lying. Your dad did not give this to you,” I stated.
“How do you know?”
“Your eye twitches a little, which means this must remind you of something painful, and from what I have heard, you have loved a man that can never be yours. Stalked him like an unhinged person. We do need to talk about that obsession of yours. I can’t really have a wife who stalks her sister’s future husband,” I retorted.
Annabella grew completely pale. I had seen nothing like it. It appeared almost like I had told her I was a psychopath who had a secret slaughterhouse in the basement. That was how terrified she looked.
Annabella’s eyes, for a split second, went to the ring. Then she turned around and walked out of there without saying a word. Well, that was incredibly confusing, I thought, before focusing on the ring again.
I had only heard rumors, of course. I had never spoken to Annabella before, but she had looked so scared when I brought up her obsession.
I thought about it for a moment. It was then that I realized what had been going on. I was her escape, as she had told me, but she had not been clear about what kind of escape. Was it from her family? She did say she didn’t like her family very much. Why was that? And what did this ring mean?
We didn’t even get to finish our conversation about the dinner. Yet it seemed like we didn’t have much choice because her family had already decided for us, and it would be a bad idea to get on my in-laws’ bad side. I was doing business with her father, after all.
Therefore, we were going to have this dinner. But would there be time to figure out what my wife was running from, or was this dinner going to expose her?
I put the ring down and continued my work, but it wasn’t long before someone knocked on the door again.
Cody poked his head inside. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey, I thought you wouldn’t come by until… ever,” I chuckled, getting up from my chair as he closed the door.
“You are right. I don’t like it, but you’re still my best friend, and I needed to see how you were doing. Has she arrived yet?”
“Yup,” I said and went to find two crystal glasses.
Cody sat down in the seating area further away, and I went over to him, pouring us both a glass of scotch before sitting down. He took a small sip before studying me. He always did that before asking me what he wanted to know.
“So? How is she?” he inquired.
“She is… complicated,” I answered.
“Oh shit? Like all your other girlfriends?”
“No, they were simple. I bought them a gold bracelet, and whatever shit I had said was forgiven,” I explained.
“And Annabella?” he pressed.
“She can’t be bought. So far.”
“So far?” he echoed.
“Well, the things I have tried to lure her with have not worked,” I explained.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I asked whether she wanted to plan a grand proposal,” I began.
“And?” he urged.
“And she said she would rather not do anything grand,” I revealed.
“Okay, it seems to go in the right direction then.”
“Mariam offered her a room upstairs, but she thought it was better to have one down here to be closer to me, and this was before we even talked.”
“Aha,” he said, nodding, enjoying this conversation even more.
“We agreed on having dates here, and when I asked her about getting a ring for her, she told me she was fine if we picked one together. But if it was a diamond ring, it had to be small.”
“Wow, anyone else you have dated would have asked for the biggest one there is,” he pointed out.
“Yes, they would have, but they also wouldn’t have made a headache appear,” I groaned.
Cody began laughing, looking satisfied.
“What?” I asked.
“She is giving you a headache?” he asked.
“That woman has a way of switching from cold to hot in seconds!” I snarled.
He continued to laugh, finding it all very amusing.
“Really?” he chuckled.
“Yes. She can agree with me to work on the marriage—she even asked me to eat breakfast with her—and then I make one small comment and she goes off on me.” I sighed, leaning back on the couch and groaning.
“What kind of comment was it? Was it a real Kace-comment?”
“What the fuck is a Kace-comment?”
“You know the kind where you just say how you feel, not considering other people’s feelings,” he pointed out.
I stared at him, feeling shocked by what he told me.
“I don’t do that,” I defended.
“Oh, you do, but I love you anyway, because often it benefitted me!” he chuckled.
“How so?” I inquired.
“Because you often said what I was already thinking, and then I came off as the good guy with a cold friend,” he explained.
“Oh, I'm happy I made people hate me on your behalf.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, winking.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
“So, was it a Kace-comment that set her off?” he asked again.
“Perhaps, it might… have been,” I reluctantly agreed.
“I see, then I'm on your wife’s side.”
“Aren’t you my friend?”
“I am,” he replied.
“And have you even spoken to her?” I asked.
“No,” he said.
“How can you be on her side, then?” I retorted.
He looked smug as he sipped his drink. “Because I warned you about this, and it has not even been more than twenty-four hours, and you already regret it all.”
“I'm not regretting it. She is just a very confusing woman!” I defended.
“Then make her less confusing.”
“How?” I asked.
“Maybe get to know her? Maybe keep the Kace-comments to yourself?” he suggested.
“I'm just being honest.”
“Sometimes people don’t need your honesty.”
I sighed and sipped my drink. Maybe I did have a habit of saying things a little too plainly, I concluded.
“We will have guests soon,” I told him.
“Oh? Who?” he inquired.
“Her family,” I replied.
“Shit, dinner with the in-laws,” he chuckled.
“You busy?” I teased.
“For that drama? Oh, definitely.”
I sighed, and he continued to laugh.
“We never got to talk much about it. Apparently, they have just invited themselves over here, and we kept getting redirected to other topics. Did you know I was Annabella’s escape?”
“Escape? From what?” he asked.
“That’s what I don’t know, but she was acting very weird when I brought up the stalker rumors,” I said.
“What? You just plainly asked her about that?” he inquired.
“Yes? Why not?”