Chapter 9
James
Icouldn't seem to get anything right. While I was out at the park, swinging Sienna and chasing Kehlani around, I was smugly envisioning my wife having a nice lie-in or a long soak in the bath.
I didn't expect her to actually be scrubbing the bathtub.
Or mopping the floors and cleaning our breakfast dishes.
The shitty thing was, I would've left those dishes for Zara without a thought. I wouldn't have even noticed that the floors were dirty and needed mopping. My mind was focused on getting out of her way so she could have some alone time and not feel so overwhelmed.
Last night, while scrolling through social media, I came across a husband-and-wife podcast discussing their love language. The husband responded to physical affection while the wife preferred acts of love—cooking, doing the dishes, and cleaning.
It mirrored our marriage. I craved my wife and showed her that I cared through caresses, kisses and lovemaking. If she was annoyed or angry at me, my go-to move was to feel her up and kiss her until she gave in.
Except that, while I was getting what I needed from my wife, her emotional needs were not being met by me.
I'd slacked off and taken her for granted.
As much as it had hurt to overhear her discussing her grievances about me, I was also bloody grateful.
Knowing me, I would be the idiot served with divorce papers, claiming it came out of the blue.
"Thanks for taking the girls out." Zara slid into bed beside me, the scent of her expensive creams tickling my nostrils and causing me to salivate. I loved the absolute bones of my wife, but especially how she was now—sleep shorts, tiny crop top and skin smelling like an exotic flower.
"There's no need to thank me. You do it all the time."
She shrugged, then grabbed her reading tablet and settled back. "Mum's coming next month and she's offered to have the girls for the weekend once she's settled."
My hand rubbed over her knee, and for a brief second, I felt her stiffen before she relaxed. I was desperate to make love to Zara, but I wanted to prove my worth to her first. Sex came easily for us, and I didn't want to use it as a band-aid over our issues.
"Hey, maybe we can have a date night? I know I fucked up our other one, and I'm so sorry." I squeezed her leg. "Can we have a re-do?"
She paused for a brief second before she gave me a small smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, sure. If you want." Her attention returned to her book, and I bit back a frustrated sigh.
Okay, it wasn't the most receptive reaction. She usually jumped at the chance for alone time with me. In fact, she usually planned it first. Well, I wasn't going to let that deter me.
"I'll book it," I promised.
"Sure." She placed her book aside before reaching over and flicking off her lamp.