009: Changing Homes

Heather's POV

"Pack whatever you need, we're leaving now!" Those were the first things Alexander said to me the moment he entered the room. He was visibly annoyed, and even though I had questions, I diligently obeyed to avoid angering him the more.

"Is there a reason we're leaving? You just got back from the hospital, shouldn't you rest a little bit—"

"Just get your things ready and stop asking questions!" He scolded me.

"Okay." I whispered, hurt by his words and tone. Alexander didn't seem to care, he was clearly blinded by rage and didn't want to share his pain with me.

It didn't take long for me to be done with packing, I didn't have much anyway.

"I'm ready." I announced to Alex who could visibly see that I was ready. He let out a tired sigh before finally replying to me.

"Wait in the car, I'll be with you soon."

"Is everything alright—"

"Just wait in the car Heather. I'm alright, don't worry about me." Alexander interrupted calmly. His tone was a lot calmer now, but I could still tell that he was not alright like he had claimed. Something was bothering him, and I thought it was my responsibility as a wife to share my husband's burden. My parents might not be the best people out there, but they definitely had each other's back, and would never let one person carry the burden of a problem alone.

Alexander let out another short sigh before wheeling out of the room. I stood for a moment, unsure if I should get to the car like he had ordered or simply follow him to find out what the problem was. It definitely had something to do with his father, everybody in the house had heard them arguing a couple minutes ago. Perhaps it was something personal, a family matter? But then again, wasn't I part of the family now? Or did Alexander not consider me to be his wife just yet? He had definitely changed, but he never really addressed me like someone who was married, and he barely looked at me outside of a conversation.

Lifting my luggage off the floor, I followed him out of the room and headed for the car parked outside. On my way down, I saw Alexander at the end of the hallway discussing with a few of his escorts. I couldn't hear what he was telling them, but it definitely looked important from the looks on their faces and the seriousness of the air around them.

Sighting me, one of the escorts had walked forward to ease me of the luggage. With ease, he carried it to the car outside before informing me to wait for Alexander inside the vehicle.

Alexander showed up ten minutes later, his expression looked a lot lighter than before, but I could still sense all the underlying emotions he had kept bubbled up deep inside.

"We're moving out. I know you have questions, and I'll explain everything to you once we've settled at our new house." He said to me just before the vehicle roared to life.

"Thank you." I replied with a smile, glad that he hadn't completely disregarded my worry for him.

The ride was quiet, the tension in the air almost crippling. I wanted to ask him so many things, to demand why we were leaving so abruptly, why he had been arguing with his father, and if the argument was the reason we were leaving. But I contained myself, after all he had promised to answer my question when we got to our destination.

His focus remained outside of the window for the majority of the journey, his jaw clenched and his eyes still screaming of hurt and rage..

I studied his body language for a moment, from the way he would occasionally tighten and free his hands, to the occasional drumming on the car window. He was clearly looking for a means to distract himself from whatever that had happened earlier with his father but it really didn't seem to be working.

"Alexander," I called out in the most gentle and caring voice I could muster.

He didn’t look at me, but his drumming fingers stilled on the window frame. "I’ll tell you everything once we get there, Heather," he said, his voice low. "I just need you to trust me right now."

"I do," I replied quickly, just to make sure he didn't misjudge my intentions. I hadn't called out to him to worry him with questions, I just wanted to make sure that he was doing alright, and I made that fact known soon enough.

"I just wanted to make sure you’re okay."

His lips twitched, almost forming a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "I’ll be fine," he muttered, though it sounded more like a reassurance for himself than for me.

That was the last of our conversation, and the rest of the journey rolled out in silence. I would occasionally stare at him to make sure he was alright. And the few times we locked eyes, Alexander did his best to not worry me with a false smile that only stopped at his lips. The emotions on his face were very different from the one he was trying to portray with his expressions. But like he had said, I had to trust him and believe that he would share his problems with me in no due time.

The car came to a halt in front of a twin duplex building. It wasn't as large as the Forger's family mansion, but compared to the neighboring buildings, it was a mansion.

"Welcome home." Alexander muttered with a light smile. He stepped out first and held the door open for me.

I stepped out of the car and took a quick minute to stare the house up and down in admiration. Turning around to face Alexander, I showed my appreciation with a bright smile, before following the driver's gesture.

The interior was just as I had imagined. Just as expected, it reeked of luxury and was nothing short of immaculate to behold. However, the beauty of the house was the last thing on my mind at the moment. Now that we were home, my curiosity had grown even more, and I wanted to know the reason for the sudden change of home. We were home now, and that meant that Alexander had to keep his promise.