Chapter 3 The dinner

Chapter 3

"Sweetie, I tried to cook your favorite. I want to make it up with you. I really regret having an affair with Sera. Please give me a chance to fix our relationship? For the sake of our daughter."

She had just come from her boutique, her mind adrift, when Tyson greeted her as soon as she stepped into their home. He was wearing an apron, clearly fresh from cooking, as it was dirty and covered in sauce. Tyson looked disheveled with messy hair. Her husband was actually handsome, but if she compared Tyson to Erin, Erin would win by far.

That guy had a dark and intense aura that made her knees weak every time their eyes met. His eyes seemed to drown her in another dimension. His beautiful eye color captivated her, and she couldn't help but fixate on them. It was as if they were magnets, and no matter how hard she tried to resist, her attention was always drawn back. Erin's dazzling amber eyes effortlessly left her stunned in awe. Eyes like his were rare; her own eyes were pure black, as were her husband's, because she was purely Filipino. Erin's eyes, however, hinted at mixed heritage, clearly not purely Filipino, and his accent confirmed he was a foreigner.

"Sweetie?"

Tyson's touch on her cheek brought her back to reality. She flinched and moved away. His touch didn't elicit any feelings within her, unlike Erin, whose mere glance made her heart race. It felt weird, but she liked it.

Tyson seemed puzzled by her reaction and moved closer. She allowed him to hug her around the waist and kiss her cheek. She realized it was wrong to pull away since he was her husband, and it was normal for Tyson to touch her.

"I'm sorry. I know you're still mad at me. Sera and I are done. I told her we needed to stop because I want my family more than her. I made a mistake by getting involved with her; she only made me happy temporarily, unlike you and Easter. You two make me happy without doing anything. I'm deeply sorry for breaking your trust. I know my reason for cheating isn't enough, so I'm doing my best to change for our family. I promise I won't do it again. I learned my lesson, Sweetie."

She took a deep sigh. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to forgive him and give him another chance for their daughter's sake, but her heart wouldn't cooperate. It longed for something else, for reasons she couldn't understand. She was ready to give in to her husband, not for herself, but for their daughter's sake. She wanted her daughter to grow up with a complete family, just like she had.

"Let's talk about that some other time. Where's Easter?" she changed the subject because she wasn't ready to answer him. Her mind was too confused, and Erin was the reason for it. His words left her dazed at unexpected moments. She hadn't been able to draw a single design today in her office because Erin occupied her thoughts. Erin was making her question her life decisions.

"She's upstairs sleeping. Don't worry, she already ate her dinner. She has school early tomorrow, so I fed her and put her to bed. Also, I wanted this night to be our alone time." He sniffed her neck, making her uncomfortable, so she pretended to stretch and yawn.

"Let's eat. I'm so tired. I want to rest early," she said as an excuse and sat down at the table. There was spaghetti with too much sauce, hotdogs, and cheese. Her mouth watered because it was her favorite, but she hesitated to eat it because it didn't look edible. Some ingredients were burnt, the hotdogs seemed undercooked, and the cheese was sliced into large cubes, about the size of a Rubik's Cube. She would choke if she ate it.

Tyson sat next to her while serving spaghetti on her plate. She didn't know whether to refuse or just eat it because she didn't want to erase the happy smile on Tyson's face. This was the first time her husband had cooked for her because he was always busy and had no time for other things. "Try it, I'm sure it tastes delicious like you always eat," he urged, holding the spoon at her mouth to feed her.

"U-Uhm, I can eat using my own hands."

He shook his head. "No, I'll feed you," he insisted.

His face showed determination. She was too tired to argue, so she just went along with his wishes.

"It tastes good, right?" Just one bite and she felt like fainting from the taste; she didn't know how many spoonfuls of salt he had put in the spaghetti sauce. She could even feel solid bits of it, as if it hadn't dissolved because he might have rushed mixing all the ingredients.

She forced a smile and nodded, wiping her mouth. "I actually already ate dinner, so I'll just eat a little now," she excused, even though she hadn't eaten and was very hungry. She preferred to go hungry than force herself to eat what he had prepared for her.

"That's okay, at least my cooking isn't that bad as you say," he said happily. She wanted to complain as she continued to eat, feeling like her stomach was about to turn, so she quickly stood up.

"I-I n-need to go, I'm really s-sleepy. Thanks for the dinner. It's g-good," she struggled to speak because she was holding back from vomiting in front of him. She felt her face growing pale as she began to sweat.

He smiled at her. "Are you not going to finish your food?" he asked, looking at what was left.

She quickly shook her head. "N-No, I mean-I need to sleep early because I'm exhausted." She didn't wait for his response and immediately went to their room, running to the bathroom to vomit everything she had eaten. She sat weakly on the tiles, having spent several minutes expelling everything from her stomach. Damn, her husband was really a terrible cook. That's why he never cooked, aside from being a workaholic, he didn't know how to cook. She had thought earlier that he had improved, but his cooking skills had only gotten worse.

She bathed, changed her clothes, and quickly lay down on the bed, covering herself with a blanket after completing her skincare routine. While mulling over what Erin had said, she didn't realize she had fallen asleep.

"Mi Reina,"

She groaned, wondering why she was hearing Erin even in her dreams. Couldn't he leave her alone for one day?

"Mi Reina, I know you're already conscious. Get up, you need to eat a proper dinner."

She sighed, realizing she wasn't dreaming as she felt him lift her and sit her up, causing her to open her eyes and see his profile. The lights were off, but she could still see his side profile and dark gaze, making her gulp multiple times.

"E-Erin?"

"Hmmm?" he responded while busy putting food on a tray. It looked like homemade food, not takeout. She looked around and beside her, searching for her husband.

"He's not here, he went out somewhere. Your maids told me that. They also said they saw that you didn't eat properly because of your husband's terrible cooking. So I came home early to cook for you. I was very busy when they called me, but I still left my unfinished work because you're my top priority."

She was shocked at his words. "What? You're busy? Why did you leave your job? Your boss might fire you for leaving suddenly. Prioritize your job, not me. We're just strangers to each other, why do you care about me? Besides, my husband might catch you here in our room, he might get angry-"

"Why are you afraid that he might catch us? He cheated first, you're just making him taste his own medicine. You don't love him, why bother hiding my presence?" He stopped, his eyes devoid of emotion. "I have flexible hours, so I can leave my job whenever I want. Our business can survive without me. Did you forget that we're not strangers anymore? We already know each other's names and I know everything about you."

All the hair on her body stood up because of what he said. She sensed something in the way he delivered those last words.

"You're asking why I'm so attentive and caring to you? It's because that's part of my responsibility as your other man. I can give you the attention and love that you've been yearning for years that you can't have with your own husband."

She looked at him in confusion. "What are you trying to say?"

He smiled faintly. "I'm in love with you. It may sound sudden and unbelievable because we've just met, but I'm telling the truth. My attraction towards you became something I didn't expect. It happened so fast, and I don't know how."

To Be Continued...