"I may not know what you want or what you like or whatnot but you have shown me that you want out of this marriage and that's one thing that I know I'm going to help you with it" Callum replied and Athaliah smiled mirthlessly. "That is what you want. That's what you've always wanted. You are the one who went to work on our wedding night without saying a word to me. You are the one who leaves the house before I wake up and come back when I'm asleep. You are the one who treats me like a plague, someone you can't stand for a long time, and you've done that for two years Callum and now you dare to stand in front of me and tell me I showed you I wanted out of this marriage" Athaliah said shaking her head. "How dare you?" she shot at him. **************************** Bound by a marriage forged in the crucible of misunderstanding, Athaliah and Callum found themselves tethered to a union neither of them wanted. Athaliah' compelled by familial duty and Callum, driven by his grandfather's desire. The union was doomed to crumble and fail. Within a mere two years, after his grandfather's death, the ties that bond them together snapped, and with two signatures, their paths were set separate and different from each other. Fate, that fickle mistress, intervened years later, bringing them back to each other's orbit igniting the spark and electric connection anew and the both of them dared to grasp at the second chance fate had offered. But then again, history began to repeat itself, patterns began to replay, and Athaliah and Callum are faced with their shared past, forced to confront the ghosts of their past. With new revelations and unfolding layers of complexity, the fabric of their relationship was stretching thin, and Athaliah's perception is shattered after unearthing a scared truth.
Chapter 1 One
In the whole Sinclair family, Athaliah's favorite was the old man and she knew he adored her too. He didn't allow any of the members to bully her or talk her down, including her husband. He always supported her whatever she did at all, invited her to his secret tea parties, where he gossiped about his old days and told her stories of his dead wife.
Athaliah had never found a more interesting old man, her own grandfather was boring and only knew how to fish. So when he had first slumped at home and rushed to the hospital, Athaliah had felt a bad premonition, that his time was limited and that she would soon lose HIM and the support and pillar she had always rested on would soon vanish without a trace.
Her fears were further affirmed when the old man always wanted her around him. He would reminisce about times when he was younger and make her laugh with him and with each passing day, Athaliah knew his time was getting near and then it came. She was there peeling apples for him.
"You know your sliced apples are the best right?" He asked delivering a slice of apple to his mouth and smiling widely.
"You said your wife's own was the best" Athaliah countered with a playful laugh.
"I get happy eating your sliced apples, I get really happy. But he gets even more happier than me" he muttered and Athaliah shook her head bending to pick up the fallen knife.
"Who's the other he you are talking about?" She asked with a smile but she received no answer. By the time she turned to look at the old man, his eyes were closed with a smile on his face.
Alarm bells went off in her head as she screamed for the doctor.
Athaliah had chosen not to speak at the burial much to her husband's parents' disapproval. Everyone spoke, telling the sweet and happy memories with the old man and how amazing he was when he was alive. People came up talking about how he had offered them assistance and help when he was alive and Athaliah knew they weren't lying, the old man was one sweet and happy fellow even till his last moments. He was indeed amazing and was very empathetic and would help anyone in need at least that was how she got to marry into the almighty Sinclair family.
The hall was swimming with people from all walks of the world, after it was Adam Sinclair that died, the owner and founder of the Sinclair Corporation, one of the biggest and largest Corporations in the world. Everyone wanted to celebrate him, even news outlets and bloggers kept writing blog spots and talking about his death as if they knew him.
Athaliah glanced at her husband who was standing beside her. His face had been blank since the start of the ceremony and she couldn't decipher what exactly was going on in his head. Her husband was one unpredictable person. One could never guess what he was thinking.
After her, he was the old's man favorite. They spent time with each other and everyone knew that at the old man's death, he would take over the corporation but Athaliah knew they had a bond that went beyond the father and heir bond. A bond that only reminded her that he was humanly to everyone else except her.
She sighed softly shifting uncomfortably in her heels. She didn't realise she had outgrown those heels and now her toes were in for some pain.
"Why don't you find someone to seat down? Silas would bring you slippers" he muttered and Athaliah glanced up at him.
His face was still expressionless but she could see and hear the irritation in his voice, in the way his eyebrows wrinkled. He didn't care about her, he didn't care whether her toes were hurting or not, all he wanted was to get the weird stares they had been receiving from people off him.
She chose not to reply to him and immediately walked towards a secluded table. She was even quicker to remove her shoes and wriggle her toes to try and relieve them of the pain they had been feeling. She watched as a couple walked up to Callum talking to him about something she couldn't hear. A slight chuckle escaped lips as she watched the wife of the couple stare at Callum like he was some kind of eye candy.
And in all honestly, Athaliah admitted that her husband was indeed an eye candy, especially in those suits that seem to perfectly accentuate his muscle and firm body. A body that never laid beside her or came near her in their two years of marriage.
"Ma'am" a voice brought her back and Athaliah immediately offered her husband's secretary a smile.
"Thank you Silas" she muttered slipping her feet into the leather slippers he had brought. This was the part of their marriage that Athaliah couldn't deny, Callum was creepily responsible. He made sure he provided everything and anything that would make her life easy well except making himself available as a husband.
She rolled her shoulders tired and sighed softly. The burial preparations had taken a toll on her than she thought it would. She hadn't even done anything that stand and take care of the old man's belongings. No one had been surprised when the butler had told the family that only she and her husband could touch his belongings.
She rested her back in the chair and yawned a little, she turned to check if Callum was still standing and she realized that he was still standing and talking to another set of people, she knew it would take him a while to be done considering the number of guests that were still around. She placed her head on the table hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep. But she was wrong.
The next minute Athaliah was opening her eyes, the large hall was empty and there was no single soul in sight, she blinked her eyes rapidly trying to adjust to the environment, and chuckled the moment she turned her face and found Silas standing behind her.
"When did everyone leave?" she asked quietly.
"About two hours ago" Silas replied and Athaliah pursed her lips.
"How long did I sleep?" she asked again.
"Over five hours" Silas replied and Athaliah wanted to smack herself across the face. She had fallen asleep at the burial. She winced imagining the amount of weird looks she must have been receiving while she slept.
She slowly rose to her feet "Let's go" she muttered. She wasn't in the least surprised that Callum had left her in the hall. It was better than waking her up in the most ungentlemanly way possible.
Silas peered at the woman seating at the back of the car with confused eyes. He just never seemed to understand his boss and his wife. He had been Callum's assistant for over five years now but some of his actions never made sense to him. Silas hadn't even noticed that Athaliah had fallen asleep even though he was standing behind her.
It wasn't until Callum had walked towards him and blocked the guest's view of her that he realized that Athaliah had fallen asleep. He had immediately asked some of the bodyguards to rush inside the hall and made them form a barrier around her allowing her to sleep peacefully while blocking her from the guests' view and preventing weird looks and rumors.
Athaliah woke up and didn't ask for her husband. Her chuckle when she woke up had sent chills down his spine. Something told him another misunderstanding had been formed and there was nothing he could do about it. He swallowed his saliva and opened his mouth to talk when his phone buzzed. It was a text from Callum.
Athaliah nodded her head at him "You can go back to work, I'm okay" she muttered and Silas realized that they had gotten home already. He nodded at her and got down from the car watching as the car drove into the compound. He scrolled his phone open and sighed softly rubbing his forehead. He couldn't deal with this couple one minute longer.
Is she awake yet? Ask the nanny to prepare her food and some fruits.
Athaliah laughed mirthlessly as she got down from the car, it had been happening for over two years now and nothing seem to catch her off guard no more. They just made her amused and made her laugh. She knew that since the old man had died now, it was only a matter of time. She had no idea how soon it would be, maybe two months or maybe a year but she knew that she would get home one day and find the envelope lying somewhere.
Her phone started ringing and a soft smile crawled up her lips as she picked up the call.
"Heyy girl" Athaliah greeted.
"I just got your text. Your husband does live up to his reputation. How could he let you sleep in front of some many people? He has always been a jerk and just lives up to that reality every single time" the latter on the phone complained and Athaliah laughed.
"Good news, I got enough sleep"
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