She smiled warmly, taken aback by his hug. Reluctantly, Anna hugged him back and she rested her head on his chest, “Hey, is everything alright?” She asked with a tentative voice and Jack shook his head while he placed his head on top of her head. She smiled, wondering whether he was fine or not because this was the first time Jack had ever shown her any sign of affection. She didn’t want to betray herself that it was a sign of affection. She knew better than anyone to know that it was just something. And the way he had hugged her didn’t feel like it was lust either.
He broke their hug slowly and she smiled while she entwined their hands, “Jack, is everything alright?”
“I thought I had lost you when I couldn’t find you outside the restaurant, Anna. And you aren’t answering my calls.” He squeezed his hold on her and she smiled.
“I'm so sorry please, my phone is on silent mode. I should’ve waited for you until you’re out, right?” She said sweetly and he turned her back to face the mirror while he pulled her closer to his body and hugged her from behind, his hands wrapped firmly around her waist as they stared at each other’s eyes through the mirror.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” She asked and he chuckled.
“What have you seen, Anna? Can’t I be sweet towards my wife in peace?” She shook her head, and he lifted the gown to her chest again, “This looks beautiful on you, should we buy more?” Before she responded, Jack turned to look at the woman that stood behind them as she waited for them to say what they want and not. “Can I see more gowns of her size?”
She nodded her head and guided him toward the row he could find even more beautiful gowns. Anna smiled from where she stood as she watched him chose the gowns he thought would look beautiful on her. She wanted to argue with him that it was too much, she knew they were both used to spending lavishly especially when it came to shopping for they both had that gene in them that loved to shop. The sweet feeling of Jack a few feet away from her as he chose beautiful gowns for her was appealing.
She walked up toward him and touched his arm, “That’s enough, Jack, don’t you think? I have more than enough gowns as it is already.” He shook his head and held her wrist as he guided her toward the changing room.
“Can you wear this? I’m contemplating on the size.” She was about to argue with him when he pushed her inside and the locked the door from outside. Anna smiled, shook her head before she wore the gown and when she was done, she knocked slightly on the door and he opened it for her. His mouth nearly fell down at how she looked, so beautiful and utterly gorgeous. “Anna, have you always been this beautiful?” Why was it that everything she did today was beautiful in his eyes and he couldn’t even control himself even if he wanted to? What was this woman doing to his heart?
“Let’s go and pay for everything, they might think we’re a weird couple.” She chuckled and he pushed the cart until they were on the counter and that was when the fight begun. “Don’t worry, I'll pay.”
The look he flashed her made her tilted her head backward as she softly whined, “Come on, Jack. I didn’t mean anything, I’m just used to paying things myself, that’s all.” He didn’t even stare at her when he handed the woman his card and she made the transaction with that. He took all the bags to the back of their car and wasn’t looking at her as she begged him to.
They sat in the car and he was about to start the engine when she placed her hand on his which forced him to turn to look at her, “Can’t you see that I'm going to drive, Anna?” His voice was firm and straightforward to tell her that he wasn’t ready for any type of conversation. She felt bad, because he didn’t have to make his voice sound this way for her to know that he wasn’t going to listen to her anymore.
“I’ve been apologizing to you since in the car, Jack. Why can't you please listen to me?” She narrowed her eyes and flashed him her best puppy eyes. Even though she wasn’t sure whether he would speak to her because of the way she looked now.
He placed his hand on top of hers and just when she thought that he was going to mend things with her, he took her hands off and drove off. She sighed and turned to look at the road, because she knew if they kept talking she might distract him enough and cause a permanent damage on them. When they arrived home, he took all the bags inside and she walked in to have him already seated on a sofa as he watched a movie on the tv. She sat down beside him, but he didn’t even make the mistake of showing her that he knew she was there beside him and Anna knew it was only one way to get his attention on her; she turned off the tv.
He furiously turned to look at her when she lifted her hands up while pouting her lips, “This is the only chance to get your attention on me, Jack. I'm so sorry, please.” She held his arm as he apologized, and she watched the way his Adam’s apple bubbled up and down in his throat. She wished she could know what was going through his mind. “I promise you I won’t do that again, okay? Please Jack.” She drawled in a whiny voice and Jack sighed.
“It’s fine, now stop giving me that look.” A grin immediately pulled over her whole face and she smiled brightly at her.
“I wanted to shop for you, Anna. I didn’t choose all those gowns just so that you could pay for them. They all look beautiful on you, and I want to see them on you so that it will gladden my heart that the whole Anna Brayden has worn something I bought for her. What you did crushed down my ego...” She didn’t even let him finish when she spoke calmly, tilting her head to the side to show him sincere and unharmed her gesture was.
“I didn’t do it for anything, and it’s not because I want to show you that I have the money, I'm just used to everything, that’s why. But I promise I won’t do it again, I promise.” She flashed him her best puppy eyes and her smile was the most innocent he had ever seen on her. He sighed and nodded his head before he pulled her to his body.
“That’s fine, will you stop apologizing already?” She giggled and rested her head on his chest while he turned the tv back on. This was the best night she had ever had with Jack. It was peaceful and the most romantic night of all, without any sexual acts, just a night filled with peace. Her head on his chest as they watched and after they were done with the movie, she was already asleep. He took her to bed and slept beside her in the most protective way ever; her head on his chest with his hands wrapped around her. She had missed the Jack they fought with, the Jack they sought revenge from each other, but this new Jack with whom they had petty fights over who paid for something was the best version of Jack Roberts she had ever seen in her life.
❦
He hardly ever went out even though she knew that his Father had given him a job in his company just like he had promised he would if he got married. But Jack was so stubborn to the point that he hardly ever went to the company unless he wanted. She walked out of her room with a determined expression because she had already told her mind that she would be forcing him to go to work from now henceforth. His Mom called specifically to ask that of her. No one was in the living room and the kitchen was empty as well, if not for the meal that was already on the dining table. They would eat together, she told herself as she walked to his room.
“Jack?” She called out as she turned the doorknob and walked into the room headfirst because they were in the stage that they both could enter each other’s room without anything or feeling anything. She had ever slept in his room for times she couldn’t even count because most of the nights as he watched and she laid on his body, she slept off and he carried her to either her room or his. “I'm famished, Jack. Can you come out so we can eat, and you know you’ve promised me that you’ll...” What she saw made her made her choke on her words and her knees nearly went south if not because she had taken a hold of the door handle.
He wasn’t even hearing her, because he was fully immersed into what he was doing and with whom he was doing it. She couldn't believe her eyes; she didn’t even have to ask to know it was Clara and what brought her to his house? She gulped down a lump in her throat but the huge churn that stood in her throat was there and Anna knew it might take forever before it walked away. She cleared her throat to get them out of their mood and for Jack to know that she was there, and she had to leave as immediately as she could. “I'm so sorry for the interruption,” she began, not even staring at the way Clara was trying to get herself covered with a duvet.
Her eyes were fixed on Jack, or rather, her bloodshot eyes were fixed on Jack as he stared back at her as though all the blood in him had been drained out. “I came here to tell you that you should go and have your breakfast and don’t forget to go to work like you’ve promised me you will.” She turned to her feet and none of them tried to call her.
She was walking in fast strides, glad for the day the driver had brought one of her cars. She only took her phone and the car key before she walked out of the house. She knew he might get agitated when she wasn’t there, oh, who was she even joking? How could he get agitated over that? There, was a woman he loved and wanted in his bed as he got what she couldn't let him have, Anna had never been so proud of herself for resisting the temptation the way she did. She drove furiously out of the compound and didn't know where she was going. He was her comforting angel, she reminded herself when she thought of going somewhere so that he can come and give her the peace Jack had hijacked from her.
Home, she needed to see Mom and maybe talk with Kate. She swerved the steering wheel and drove directly home, trying so hard not to cry until she was in the comfort of her room. Oh, how she missed her room so much. It looked like the maids were all glad to see her for the smiles that were on their faces. “Mom isn’t home, she has left to New York to search for a befitting wedding gown for you.” Oh, so that wedding still existed? Were they sure that the bride wouldn’t likely get changed?
She nodded her head and walked up to her room. The moment she closed the door behind her, Anna slid down to the floor and she took her face into her palms as she broke into melancholic tears. She had never thought that when she found Jack in that situation it would hurt the way it did. Did he know that she would see them? Can’t they even have a private place to do that? Not when she was in the house and could walk in on them at any minute?