CHAPTER 141. CLAIRE

CHAPTER 141. CLAIRE
It disappointed me that he grew colder throughout the auction. He sat next to me, but I felt like I was alone at the event. His gaze was fixed on the stage, as if he were listening to every word the host said. But I knew for certain that his mind wasn’t there at all. His palms played absently on the number pad in his hands.
“You really don’t want to bid on any of those items?”
“I don’t need any of them.”
There was no point in us staying at the auction if Raviel didn’t want to buy any of the items.
"Do you mind if we go home now? Emma's shift ends in half an hour. Emma doesn't mind working overtime, but I feel bad for forcing her to work longer than she has to."
“I don’t mind at all. There’s no point in hanging around if we don’t intend to buy anything.”
We returned to the apartment in the same silence as we'd had before we'd gone to the atrium. Raviel had become even quieter since we'd talked about the ring. He wasn't just quiet, he'd become completely cold to me. He was a complicated man. Living with him for so long still made it difficult for me to read his behavior. I didn't even know what his motives were. At first, I thought he was trying to win me back by suddenly showing up at my door. But everything I'd seen of him so far didn't support my suspicions at all. He seemed more like he wanted to be a better father to Aiden, rather than win me back.
I admit it was a little disappointing.
I might have shown hostility towards him if he'd acted like a jerk in front of me, but he didn't. That was why I had no reason to kick him out of my life and Aiden's.
"Thanks for being my partner tonight."
"Never mind. It was a new experience. It turns out rich people don't just waste their money on fun. They also donate by buying those antiques."
"Not everything you see is what you think. You need to look deeper before judging something."
"I think so too."
I glanced at my tightly closed apartment door, not wanting to end the night too soon.
“Would you like to stop by and see Aiden?”
“Maybe next time. He’s probably asleep, and I don’t want to disturb him.”
“He must be.”
I couldn’t help but wish him goodnight. I was afraid I wouldn’t see him again once I stepped into my apartment.
“I meant what I said in the elevator before we went to the atrium. I’ll cook you dinner.”
“Okay. When do you want to do it?”
“How about tomorrow night? Do you have any plans?”
“No, I don’t have any plans for tomorrow night.”
“Perfect. I’ll come by your house around six. How?”
“I’d be happy to welcome you both to my apartment.”
“Okay, great. Good night.”
I smiled awkwardly before turning to open my apartment door.
I took a deep breath and pushed the door open before stepping inside.
“Wait, Claire.”
My breath hitched as Raviel grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. My heart was pounding in anticipation of a goodnight kiss from him. The Raviel I knew always did that to me.
But to my disappointment, he didn't do anything. He remained standing where he was, his back straight.
"Yes? Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Maybe you want to tell me what you're cooking tomorrow so I can prepare the ingredients you need."
"Oh."
Hiding my disappointment from Raviel was getting harder. It took me a moment to regain my composure.
"I'll cook whatever you have in your fridge."
"Okay. I hope I won't disappoint you with what's in my fridge. Don't expect too much from me."
"Why? As far as I can remember, your fridge was never empty," I teased him.
"Bertha never left my fridge empty, and I don't really care what's in it."
“Yeah, may she rest in peace. I miss her and her cooking. She taught me a few things, and I’ll never forget her.”
“Me too. It’s hard to find someone like her, and I haven’t found a replacement yet.”
Raviel stared at me for a few heartbeats before he bid me goodnight and walked away to the elevator.
I watched him until his back completely disappeared behind the elevator doors. He didn't even glance at me as he stepped into the elevator.
I felt a sudden ache in my chest. I would have preferred him to be rude and mean to me, rather than gentle, but he seemed to ignore me.
As soon as I entered the apartment, I felt incredibly tired and just wanted to walk straight to my bedroom. Emma was waiting in the living room. She greeted me with her usual cheerfulness. I paused to listen to her report on some matters concerning Aiden. I gave her her week's salary before letting her go home.
I locked the door after Emma left. I removed my makeup and changed into my most comfortable pajamas.
I was getting ready for bed when my phone rang.
I felt too lazy to answer it, so I let it continue ringing and tried to fall asleep. But then it rang again.
I kicked the covers off my body in exasperation and forced myself out of bed to grab my phone from the dresser.
"Yes?"
"Hi, honey. Are you asleep yet?"
“Umm... Yes,” my voice softened.
Anthonio must have noticed the roughness in my voice when I first picked up the phone.
It was odd, because I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. Usually, I always missed his calls or texts, but I’d forgotten about even those rituals tonight.
“Sorry to bother you. I miss you so much, and I can’t wait until tomorrow morning to talk to you.”
“It’s fine.”
I lay in my bed with my phone still pressed to my ear.
“I miss you so much, but I’m not going back to LA until next week.”
“How are things going in Washington?”
“Suck, as I expected.”
He sounded very upset. It could have been because of the things he was dealing with in Washington or because I wasn’t very responsive to his affection.
“Whatever you’re doing in Washington, I hope it gets resolved soon.”
“Thanks, honey.”
Then we fell into an awkward silence.
We weren’t usually at a loss for topics of conversation. I was usually always eager to talk to him about anything, but this time I wasn’t in the mood. I blamed my tiredness for that. But secretly, I was starting to worry that it might have something to do with Raviel’s return to my life.
“How’s Aiden?”
“Happy as usual. He had a banana and apple juice for dinner, then played with his favorite toys before bed.”
“And how’s my favorite woman, hmm?”
“I’m fine. I’m a bit tired after working all day.”
I couldn’t hide my sleepiness as I yawned spontaneously.
“Do you have a lot of projects?”
No.
“Yes. I worked late and got home late.”
What the hell is that? Why did I lie to him?!
I didn’t understand why my lips said that to Anthonio. I had no intention of lying to him.
“Okay, you should go to sleep then. Good night. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
“Yeah, night too.”
Anthonio seemed to be expecting me to say something else because he didn’t hang up for a while. He finally hung up after saying “I love you” in a lackluster and bland voice.
I sighed softly as I put my phone on the nightstand.
I stared blankly at the ceiling of my room before falling asleep, Raviel's face dancing in my mind.