Chapter 88: Love Confession
>Mallory
Ugh... I felt so tired.
The moment we stepped inside the house, I bent down and slipped my shoes off, letting them fall near the door without caring where they landed. My feet ached, and the cool floor felt good against my skin. Behind me, my husband followed quietly, my sleeping son resting carefully in his arms. He reached back and closed the door, the soft click echoing through the quiet house.
I was worried earlier at the office because of how cold his sounded when he called me over. My chest had felt tight the whole time and I felt really guilty for omitting information from him.
Still, when I acted like nothing was wrong, he didn’t push or ask more questions. Maybe he trust me? But I’m sure he already had a rough idea of what was going on.
"I’m so exhausted," I groaned, lifting both arms over my head and stretching until my shoulders cracked slightly. "I didn’t know your grandpa’s house was that big."
Honestly, it wasn’t even about the size. It was the walking. Long halls, wide stairs, endless rooms. You could probably finish your daily steps just by going from one end to the other.
"Do you prefer it?" he asked as we walked upstairs toward our room.
I slowed down for a moment, then stopped and turned to face him. I pretended to think, tapping my finger lightly against my chin before smiling.
"Nope. I prefer this house." I smiled wider before turning back around and continuing up the stairs. "It’s really cozy. It brings us together. And I like that we don’t have to make an effort just to see each other."
Partly because I’m not athletic enough to live that kind of lifestyle—but I kept that thought to myself.
"I see," he replied shortly.
When we reached our room, I quickly opened the door and stepped inside. I walked over to the bed and patted the comforter gently, signaling where he should place Asher.
He moved carefully, lowering our son onto the bed like he was made of glass afraid he might wake him up. He adjusted Asher’s position, pulling the blanket up slowly and tucking it around him. Asher let out a small groan, his face scrunching for a second before relaxing again as he settled into sleep.
My husband stayed seated beside the bed for a moment, watching him.
"Would you like to have some tea before we go to bed?" he asked quietly.
I wanted nothing more than to fall face-first onto the bed, but I knew my body would just ache more if I did. I don’t want to wake up with my muscles feeling tight and heavy.
"Sure," I nodded.
We stepped back into the hallway and closed the door gently, careful not to make any noise. He walked ahead of me.
"I’ll make us some tea," he said.
I sat down on the sofa, sinking into the cushions with a tired sigh. I picked up the remote and started scrolling through a streaming site without really paying attention.
My eyes moved, but my mind felt slow.
A moment later, he returned and placed a teacup on the glass table. It made a soft clink as it touched the surface.
"Thank you," I said quietly, lifting my eyes to him.
He sat beside me, close enough that I could feel his warmth. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The silence felt heavy, so I decided to say something.
my
"Do you want to watch something?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Hm," he nodded.
"What would you like to watch?" I asked again when his response didn’t go anywhere.
"Your favorite movie," he said.
I turned my head toward him, the remote still resting in my hand.
"What?" I asked, unsure if I heard him right. His voice was low.
"I want to watch your favorite movie," he repeated, meeting my eyes.
For a brief moment, everything seemed to slow down. The tiredness faded into the background. The way he looked at me—soft, calm, and gentle—made my throat feel dry, and I forgot what I was about to say.
"Uhmm...Is that so?" I turned my head away, my gaze dropping to the side. Smiling awkwardly to try to silence the loud drumming of my heart, my lips trembling slightly.
Then all of a sudden I felt his hand brushed in my cheeks, his fingers lingering for a brief second. The slight contact of our skin enough to send tiny jolts of electricity all over my body, making my breath hitch.
"I wanted to know everything about you." he started, his voice low and steady.
"Your favorite movies..."
"Your favorite colors."
"The flavor of tea you like."
"Your favorite flower."
His words tugging deeper and deeper inside my chest until it hurts to breath, my fingers curling against my palm. "Why?" I asked unable to stop myself, my voice coming out quieter than I intended.
"Because you’re my wife." he replied without hesitation. "I wanted to know everything about my wife."
I clenched my hand hard until my knuckles turned white, my nails digging into my skin.
Is it alright for me to feel this way? Am I really allowed to take risk with someone?
I don’t even know the answer.
I’m not dumb. I well aware about my feelings for him. I know how much I started craving the very presence I swore to be just for convenience, how my chest tightens whenever he’s close.
But I’m still broken beyond repair myself. I’m not even sure if I can love him the way he loved me. I’m not in any position to give love, something I never even received.
How do you even properly love someone? I have no idea.
"I...why are you doing this?" I asked, biting my lower teeth as I looked down, my shoulders tensing. Refusing to even looked at his eyes, afraid of what I might see.
"I don’t even know if I deserve to have to affection. As you can see...I have nothing to show. I only have myself and even that was broken." I finally snapped, every words felt heavy to my chest, each one scraping my throat on the way out.
I didn’t even notice the tears that was streaming down my face until I felt the warm liquid dropped into my hands, my vision blurring.
"I don’t even know if I deserve love...how could I?"
Then all of a sudden his hand pulled me towards him, his grip firm but careful, his soft lips slipping through mine. I felt like every courage I had until that moment slowly melted away and all I can feel was him, his warmth, his breath.
He gently pulled away, bringing our heads together, the noise from the TV blurring inside my ear, my chest rising and falling unevenly.
"Just stay with me." he whispered. "That was enough, you have nothing to prove. As long as you promised not to leave my side, I’m willing to wait until you’re ready to reciprocate my affection. No matter how long it takes you."
His words dug deeper inside my cheeks, the tears turned into a full blown sobs. My hand quickly wrapping inside his chest, clutching his shirt. It was as if I was worried for nothing, my body shaking.
And with that, all the pent up feelings started spilling our from me.
"I don’t even want to divorce you...It was frustrating!" I cursed, my voice breaking.
"Seeing you have better choice aside from hurts so much that I wanted to disappear! I felt so small...I felt so insignificant..."I cried, my shoulders trembling.
His hand rubbed my back to try and comfort me, slow and steady, my tears wetting his shirt.
"Shhh...I didn’t even see any other choice. In my eyes....you’re only one." he whispered, his deep voice soothing my ears.
I quickly pulled away from his hug, my brows knitting together, my eyes still wet.
"But why did you tell them that you’ll think about their offer?!" I questioned. His eyes turned from shock to a chuckled.
"I’m sorry. It seems like my little joke hurts my wife quiet a bit." he explained, his hand lifting slightly as if to reach for me again. " I promise not to do it again."
"You promised?" I confirmed, sniffing between my tears, wiping my face with the back of my hand.
"Yes." he replied before pulling me towards him for another hug, holding me close. "I love you too much to even think about that."
"I can’t say it back." a hurt thug in my chest.
Not because I am unsure of my feeling but because I’ve only ever saw the bitter part of life. Afraid that if I ever acknowledge my feelings, I might start to pull away.
"That’s okay. I’ll say it how many times you’d like until you learn how to say it back." he replied before leaning a kiss at the crown of my head, his lips warm.
"Now let’s watch your favorite movie. I like us to start from there."
