Chapter 4

Evadne was surprised one afternoon when she found Orion inside their house. He had arrived home before her, which was unusual. She was usually the one who came home first.

“You’re home early today, hon?” she said, giving him a kiss on the lips.

“Our meeting ended early,” he replied. There was no tenderness in his voice, unlike before.

She glanced over to the kitchen and saw Camila there, cooking. Orion followed her gaze.

“Tell your friend not to work too hard. She even did our laundry. And now she’s cooking dinner for us. You should be the one doing those things, Evadne. Why don’t you learn from your friend? Just stay at home,” he said before heading to their room.

Evadne took a deep breath to ease the sudden tightness in her chest. Now, her husband was comparing her to someone else. It really hurt to be compared.

She couldn’t leave the coffee shop she managed; it was out of the question. Besides, she was still fulfilling her duties as his wife. The only thing she couldn’t do now was be a full-time housewife. Maybe someday, when they had children.

She let her husband’s words pass for now before approaching Camila in the kitchen.

“Mila, you went through so much trouble,” she said as she got closer.

“Oh, you’re home,” Camila smiled at her. “I had nothing else to do, so I decided to cook dinner. I hope you and your husband will like it.”

Evadne sniffed the air. “It smells delicious already,” she said, giving Camila a thumbs-up, making her smile even more.

“Ready to be married?” Camila teased.

“I’ll rate it after I’ve tasted your finished product,” she replied playfully, and they both laughed.

“Go change, Evadne. I’ll be done here in just a little while.”

Evadne nodded. “Thank you, Mila.” She was about to leave the kitchen when she turned back. “You know, it’s embarrassing that you have to do the laundry and cook. I can manage that.”

“Evadne, it’s just a little bit. Plus, I know how to use your automatic washing machine. But if it were manual, I wouldn’t be able to help you,” Camila smiled. “It’s more embarrassing for you because I’m just staying here temporarily. Let it be. It’s my way of saying thank you.”

“Even so, it’s embarrassing because you’re our guest.”

“Oh, come on, Mrs. Ashford,” Camila playfully shooed her away. “Go change, and we’ll all eat together later.”

Evadne couldn’t do anything but nod. “Okay,” she said and left Camila in the kitchen, heading to her and Orion’s room. She found her husband engrossed in his laptop.

She walked up to him and hugged him from behind. It was her way of showing affection.

“I love you, hon,” she said sweetly.

“Wah really?” he complained in Spanish. “You even brought the coffee shop smell with you.”

Evadne reluctantly removed her hands from her husband. There used to be no problem when she smelled like coffee coming home.

“Of course, it’s natural for me to smell like coffee since I come from the coffee shop,” she couldn’t help but explain.

“That’s why, stop going there,” he said, stopping what he was doing and swiveling his chair to face her. “Just stay here instead.”

“Are we going to argue about this again, hon?” she asked gently. She didn’t want to engage in another heated argument.

“The reason you’re not getting pregnant is because you always prioritize other things!”

She bit her lip. “Hon, do you think I want not to get pregnant? If it were up to me, I’d want to give you a child. Do you think it’s easy for me?” She fought back tears. “It’s not. It’s so difficult for me not to give you what you want.”

He stood up and sighed. “Don’t give me a dramatic scene right now.”

“Where are you going again?” she asked as he walked past her. He grabbed his coat and put it on.

“To a place without the smell of coffee,” he sarcastically remarked before leaving their room.

She was left behind, tears welling up on her cheeks. Even now, he was still angry with her. Orion’s behavior was stressing her out even more. Orion couldn’t even understand her. She constantly had to lower her pride for him, but it didn’t change anything. He remained cold towards her.

Going to the coffee shop wasn’t much of a hassle for her. She usually went there at ten in the morning and came home earlier than her employees. She wanted to be at home before Orion arrived.

She wiped her tears and decided to head to the bathroom inside their room.

“Aren’t we having dinner with your husband?” Camila asked Evadne with a hesitant tone when she returned to the kitchen after her shower.

Evadne forced a smile and shook her head. “He has plans tonight,” she replied. “Come on, let’s eat,” she added, sitting down at the head of the dining table.

Camila shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t like the smell of my cooking, that’s why he won’t eat here,” she joked.

“No,” Evadne insisted.

Was it just that he didn’t like the smell of coffee on her, or did he use it as an excuse to leave and come home drunk again?

Evadne secretly sighed.

In the past days, Orion had come home early from work more than once. His reason was that he finished work early at the office, and it always ended in an argument.

“Your husband’s in a bad mood again,” Camila commented while she prepared vegetables for Evadne’s dish.

“Just ignore it,” she said to her friend.

“Evadne, if you and your husband have misunderstandings, talk about it. Maybe it’ll lead to something worse if you don’t,” Camila advised.

Evadne paused in washing the meat in the sink before continuing. “My husband wants us to have a child, but I can’t give him one yet. No matter how hard we try, I still can’t conceive. Lord doesn’t want to bless us with a child.”

“You’re only twenty-eight, Evadne. Your childbearing years aren’t over,” Camila joked and gave her a reassuring smile. “As they say, ‘Try and try until you succeed.’”

“Hmm,” she replied.

Evadne decided to focus on eating. She didn’t want to break down from the stress Orion was causing her.