"But it is on you. I'm just being honest, Giselle. What do you want me to do?", Ian complained into the dark room. His wife sat up and turned to him, "I don't know? Maybe swindle just a tiny bit to make me feel better?". He said nothing, so Giselle asked, "What, don't you want to do that for me?".

"It's not that", he responded softly. "What is it then?", she asked, slightly annoyed at repeatedly asking the same question in different ways.

Ian took a moment to say something, "Guess you're too loud for my taste". His wife was at a loss of words. After years of sleeping with each other, now he decides to tell her. A grimace ran over her face and it ended in a frown. The darkness hid all of that away. In the dim light, only shapes could be made out.

"That just adds to everything, doesn't it?", she sighed. Her husband grunted unhappily. Hornets nest, again. She threw a glance at the ceiling with a mixed expression.

During their conversation the moaning had constantly increased in volume and then abruptly stopped. Silence swallowed their bedroom. Ian's shallow breathing told her he'd fallen asleep. Her face sank into her hands and she wondered, how she was supposed to fix this. Her husband seemed resistant to any of her approaches. Did she go at it the wrong way?

Time passed slowly. She went to the bathroom to pee, then drank some water in the kitchen and by the time she returned to bed, a faint gasping could be heard. A different voice. Annie.

Immediately her emotions were in turmoil. Her nails dug into her thighs as she sat on the edge of the bed. Why had this woman so much influence on her? On the positive end, it got her excited and adventurous, on the negative end, it brought up jealousy and endangered everything. She disliked it, yet there was nothing she could do now. While chewing on her lower lip, she grabbed phone and blanket and settled on the sofa. The lack of noises, especially those from Annie, let her drift into a shallow slumber.

A firm hand woke her, "You overslept your alarm, you need to get up!". Ian went into the bedroom and she sat up sleepily. A yawn escaped her. Outside the sun cast a bright morning light onto the building across the backyard.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

A glance on the phone revealed that she was running late. Very late. With a reluctant push, she went into the bathroom and did a quick routine. No shower, no breakfast, reduced make-up. When Ian passed by her, she mumbled, "Thanks for waking me". "Cel was too loud, so you slept here?", he wondered while giving her a weak smile. She nodded, lying to him. Again!

When Giselle put on her shoes, he appeared next to her, "Should we talk to them?". His wife shrugged, "And tell them what, that they are fucking too loud?". Ian looked thoughtful and agreed, "Yeah, guess I didn't think this far ahead".

She changed the topic, "Are you going to be here tonight?". The man nodded and got ready to head out as well. The brunette smiled at him, "Sounds good, maybe we can have some dinner and talk", but that just made him force a smirk. Giselle sighed with disappointment.

Time putting pressure on them, they left the argument behind, said their goodbyes and went out into the warm morning. Ian would take the car and Giselle was the first to hurry over to the bus. Luckily it was on time and she opened the side entrance shortly after arriving at the bus stop. It wasn't locked. Her lips curled into a bright smile at the realization that someone had unlocked it.

Laureen was about to open the shop, but she paused on seeing Giselle, "Morning, dear! How are you?". The brunette beamed at her, "I'm glad you're back! I'm okay, I guess. Ian came back yesterday". While unlocking the entrance, the coworker said, "Thanks! I do hope you made up!", but Giselle only shrugged helplessly. "Not that easy, huh?", the other woman said compassionately and both started to set up the entrance area together. "Annie and Celestine are making out, we can hear them", she offered as an explanation that made Laury pause and throw a glance at her, "Are you serious?". "Sure am, two nights ago and yesterday night. Ian confirmed it was Celestine. Annie I guess I know", she answered with an embarrassed smile. Her coworker shook her head and reached for her hand, "How are you holding up now?".

While the question did create turmoil within her, she calmed herself. With a grimace on her face, she shrugged. Laury assessed her for a long moment while holding on to the hand and turned on her heel to go back into the store, "C'mon". Giselle followed. Both sorted through the counter together, restoring some well-needed order. Mr Dean had left new items in a pile, new stock from a package that arrived the other day. Eventually her coworker sighed and looked up at her, concerned, "You're in love with Annie, aren't you?"