There's an eerie silence on the dining table, as the couple eats dinner. The atmosphere hangs heavy between Adrian and Anita. Anita couldn't believe Adrian found her secret stash of photos. A mischievous smile is spread across her face as she savors her perfectly prepared meal, a mixture of delight and guilt mingling on her face.

I swore to myself I was gonna find myself a better spot to hide those photos, but Adrian beat me to it. I just...couldn't stop myself from pulling that box out and reminiscing about the past from time to time.

*heh*

I snicker to myself, as I cut the piece of salmon on my plate with a butter knife, before using a spoon to douse it with the juice exuding on the plate. I decorate it with a bunch of cilantro that's sitting on the steak before I put the delicacy in my mouth. As soon as it makes contact with my tongue, it melts like butter, before a cocktail of flavour explodes in my mouth, making me moan involuntarily.

I look up, and face Adrian. I didn't lash out or yell at him for finding my secret stash. His eyes are nervously going to and fro from the plate in front of him and looking at me with an uneasy face. I bet he has a lot of questions going through his mind right now, and his heart is racing. I gulp and finally break the silence.

"I was going to tell you about my uh... obsession. Sooner or later."

Adrian snaps up, with his frown deepening even further.

"Oh really? When would have that been, huh?", Adrian slightly raises his voice.

"When you'd be on your deathbed, drawing your last breath, THEN you would have confessed? Hm?", Adrian pokes even further

"Answer me, Anita."

I put down my fork and look at Adrian, who has an angry expression.

"Nothing of that sort, honeybee."

His eyes twitch at the mention of the cute nickname before he goes back to eating the half-eaten piece of meat sticking on his fork, with a slight blush showing on his cheeks.

"I just...didn't find the right moment for it, you know?", I state my reasoning.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You'd start hating me for it...and I was right.", I sneak a glance at his angry face.

"I mean, look at you right now...You're giving me a nasty look...", I plead, lowering my gaze.

I feel tears well in my eyes as I grip my thigh as hard as I can, digging my nails even further so the pain cancels out the emotions I'm going through.

"Please...don't give me that look...it aches my heart to see you hate me...", I gulp, swallowing all the tears building up behind my eyes.

Adrian snaps back up, his demeanor easing up seeing me vulnerable. He takes a deep breath, leaning back into this seat, and crossing his arms.

"I'm not angry at you, okay? I'm just..."

Adrian, looked down like he was finding a proper word to use, before looking up at me.

"I'm just disappointed.", Adrian declares.

I bite into my lips and look down at my plate shivering and grabbing my knife and resuming dinner. My vision becomes cloudy and tears uncontrollably start rolling down my face. Some drop into my plate, as I bite into the steak.

Adrian exhales a deep sigh, unbundling his arms and leaving his stance open. He gets up from his chair, walks up to me and leans onto the dining table. I feel his arms running through my hair, comforting me as they reach behind the back of my head. His other arm is wiping my tears off. This feels like therapy, but my emotions are all over the place.

"Listen", I snap my head back up and look at Adrian as he resumes speaking.

"No more stalking your hubby behind his back, okay?", Adrian declares with a light playful slap on my cheeks.

A smile breaks out on my face as I slightly nod.

"Of course...I won't ever do something like that, okay...?"

Adrian smiles before patting my head. His caring touch resumes as he tears a piece of the meat and feeds it to me.

"Oh, that reminds me~", Adrian notices as he glances at the clock.

"Isn't it time for you to go back to work?"

I check my watch and sure enough, I'm running late. I smile in relief as I resume eating.

"It's okay...I want to spend today with you. There's no way I'm going back to work. At least not in this state."

"I understand.", Adrian comforts me with a caring tone, surprising me. I thought he'd be angry or mad that I took a day off for such a silly reason.

Adrian takes Anita's phone sitting on the dining table and opens up a messaging app, before typing away seamlessly. He puts a finger to his chin before nodding and pressing another button. Anita keeps her eyes on him with curiosity brewing on her face.

"There. I messaged your annoying boss that you're taking a half day off today. I'm sure she won't mind since you have a lot of paid leaves stacking up, right?"

A smile breaks out on my face as I hear his caring and responsible tone.

"Yes!"

As they continued their meal, the couple embraced the shared moment, leaving behind the weight of anger and grievances.