Chapter 10: Honeymoon.

Steven and Dua settled at the table the following morning for breakfast, with silence between them. Only the sounds of the cutleries could be heard. Dua kept stealing glances at Steven but he ignored her, acting like he was the only one in the room until, "good morning to you both!" Shane broke the silence as he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Shane." Dua replied while Steven looked at Shane and nodded.

"How's your ankle?" Shane asked Dua as he settled at the table.

"It's good as new." Dua smiled at him.

"And how was spending the whole of yesterday with your husband?" He asked again.

"It was..." she glanced at Steven and then looked back at Shane, "... something I shouldn't do again."

Shane looked at Steven, silently asking him, "what the heck did you do to her?" But the Steven he was looking at didn't even spare him a glance.

"So where will you both be having your honeymoon?" Shane asked, making Dua and Steven choke on their foods. He quickly gave Dua a glass of water and helped her calm down while Steven helped himself.

"What was the meaning of that?" Steven finally spoke, shooting glared at Shane.

"What was the meaning of what? You're both a newly married couple, so you should go for a honeymoon." Shane replied.

"Oh, my God, I totally forgot about the honeymoon...I have to escape this, what do I do to escape it?" Dua thought.

"So where would you like to go, Diane?" Shane sounded Dua out of her thoughts.

"Uhmmm...I don't wanna go anywhere, and if possible, I don't want a honeymoon." Dua replied.

"I support that." Steven added and received a glare from Shane. Then with a smile he turned to Dua, "As a couple, a honeymoon is a sacred tradition for newlyweds. So you can't exclude it."

"Yikes, this guy is hellbent on making sure I have a honeymoon with a man I never wish to be with. He's everything not my type of man. Well, except for his beauty," she thought.

"If that's the case then, let's do it at home here," she replied to Shane. "And I'll make sure it never happens," she added within herself.

"Well, I still stick to the 'No Honeymoon'." Steven said.

Dua scoffed, "listen here, knucklehead, I really don't want this honeymoon more than the way you don't." She stormed out of the kitchen, but then came back and took her food and left again. The food was too important to leave behind.

After she left, Shane slapped Steven's arm and "ouch!" Steven rubbed his arm. "What was that for?!" He glared at Shane.

"Put those eyes down, young man!" Shane glared at him too and Steven looked away from him in frustration.

"Now what was the meaning of the whole thrash you've been saying, no honeymoon?" Shane said but Steven was silent.

"I'm talking to you." Shane said.

"I have to be in the office early today, there's a meeting..." Steven was saying but was interrupted by Shane.

"Don't try to avoid this topic." Shane gave him a subtle frown and Steven sighed.

"You know I'll never be intimate with another woman." Steven replied.

"Oh, please that's in the past!" Shane rolled his eyes. "You've always wanted to have a son, if you don't go on a honeymoon and be nice to her, how will you get a son?"

"She'll bear my child no matter what." Steven replied firmly.

"How? Are gonna rape her to get that?" Shane said and Steven threw him an icy look which he rolled off.

"If you continue like this, believe me, bro, you'll never have a child in this life." Shane said, leaving the table and Steven sighed.

As he stood up to leave the kitchen, Dua came in with her empty dishes. "Hey, you," he called her but she ignored him and walked pass him to put the dishes in the sink.

"I'm talking to you," he spoke again but she ignored him.

"Hey, Diane, have you gone deaf now?" He said to get her angry on purpose. It was the only way he could easily get her attention. And it worked, she turned to him, agitation clearly written on her face. "No. If you were talking to me you'd call my name Dua."

"That's not the name I know you as. I know you as Diane." Steven replied.

"I told you what I need to tell you," she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. We need to talk," he said.

"I don't want to talk to you," she replied.

"That's not your choice to make," he said.

"So is it yours?" She asked.

"You're in my house, so you'll do as I say," he sneered and she scoffed.

"I'm your wife, not your slave," she replied.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he said coldly to her.

"I don't wanna talk to you. If possible, I want you out of my sight and out of my life this very second," she returned the cold tone to him and began walking out of the kitchen and he scoffed.

"Offend me and it's off with your head," he said with ruthlessness in his voice.

Hearing this, Dua paused, walked back to the fridge and took out a soft drink. Then she turned and faced Steven who was already facing her. "Hey, knucklehead, so what if you're the Mafia King?" She scoffed. "Offend me one more time and it's off with your entire life, including your soul," she hissed and walked pass him, intentionally hitting his arm with her shoulder as she passed.

"And here's who I'm supposed to be nice to," he scoffed.

He left the kitchen too to the bedroom where she was sitting relaxed in bed, sipping her drink and watching TV. They both ignored each other. But as he was leaving the bedroom, his eyes caught sight of an ancient looking hairpin in her hair which wasn't there when she was in the kitchen. She probably just put it as she entered the bedroom.

He stopped and looked at the hairpin carefully and it was one that was very familiar to him. "Is the hairpin yours?" He asked.