Is this how married couples act?

I checked the time for the fifth time. It was already eight O'clock, and my husband wasn't back yet. I glanced at the door, half hoping to see him trudge in, tired from working, but nothing happened.

Star was long done with dinner, but I was still waiting for Miguel. Aside from Fridays, I always have dinner with Miguel. It's one of the God damned rules he made.

I yawned.

“What's keeping him today?” I checked the time once more.

If only I had a cell phone, I would have given him a call, to check on him. Not that he would have answered.

The front door opened.

I instantly rose from the cushion I was sitting on and hastened to the door.

Though I didn't get to hear the car when he returned, I was aware he was the only one who enters the house by this time.

None of the guards does that. They knock on the door when they want to relay a message.

Miguel stood by the door. Though he didn't look as tired as I envisioned, he seemed to have run his hand through his hair more than once.

His blonde hair was at all places, and his brown cat-shaped eyes looked more golden today. It could only mean one thing; my husband had been staring at a screen for half the time.

However, his suit was as smooth as ever. There was no crease on it.

“Welcome.” I forced a smile at him, hoping to get a reply from him. Miguel only gave me half a glance before he headed upstairs.

Tonight, he didn't bother replying to my greetings like he does most of the time.

“I guess it was a bit rough for you.” I turned to watch him climb upstairs. “Do you need me to do anything for you?”

Maybe, he might ask me to come to the room? As much as I don't like the way he treats me, I'm slowly getting used to sex with him. Compared to the first night, and the morning in the kitchen, he doesn't take me that hard anymore.

“Get lost.”

Came his cold reply. I froze, but it was only for a moment before I forced a smile.

“Dinner is ready. I had Star prepare your favourite.” I called out to him once more, but like the first time he entered, he didn't reply.

“Well, I tried.” I sighed as I watched him climb. “But you could have at least replied to my words,” I murmured as I watched him.

Miguel didn't glance back until he reached the end of the stairs. Only then did he look back. And for a moment, I would have sworn I saw something akin to care in his eyes.

But who was I kidding?

There was no way Miguel can look at me with such care. The Miguel I knew isn't one to sprinkle love.

He's a heartless beast that knows no love languages. He only knows how to take, not give.

I went back to the parlour to continue the series I was watching. Miguel came down later that night; we had dinner.

This time, I didn't bother starting a conversation because I knew he won't spare me more than a glance should I do that.

I didn't pack the plates since I was too tired to do that. Moreover, I wasn't in the mood to listen to Miguel scold me.

Miguel was the first to leave.

“God. That was one intense dinner.” I sighed.

Most times, eating with my husband always seems like a death sentence.

With murderous eyes that can pin a person to the ground, he never ceases to stir my fears.

I strode into the parlour and sat on a cushion next to the one he was sitting on.

Miguel has already changed the channel I was watching, but I didn't complain since he was watching an animation. Though I never watched the type he was watching, I figured it was better than watching those discovery kinds of stuff and crime documentaries.

Miguel didn't spare me a glance when I sat down, and I thought that was how the night will be.

With the way he kept his entire focus on the TV, you would have thought, I was non-existent.

“I'm not returning on Friday.” He said after a few minutes of silence between us.

“Why?” I turned to him, shocked by his words.

This was the first time Miguel has started a conversation between us.

Most times, he acts like a grumpy grandfather. And other times, he only speaks with me when we are in the room.

“Do I need to tell you my reasons?” He snapped. His eyes darkened as he spared me a glance before his focus returned to the television.

“No, you don't have to.” I clenched my hands into fists. Though I wanted to stand up for myself by calling short on all the things he made me pass through, I was aware I couldn't do that.

Miguel might have decided to let my step-sister's crime go, but he threatened me with it. Should I so much as defy him, not only will he sue my family, but he will reveal a secret about Lilian, my step-sister. This was one of the things holding me down. I can't let him do all those things to my family.

Though they hate me, I'm not one to repay evil with evil.

“Don't wait up for me on Friday. I won't be back.”

He repeated the words.

I furrowed my brows at him.

This wasn't the first time he had stayed back on Friday; however, this was the first time he had informed me about it.

I felt like there was something more to this.

“I won't wait up for you.” I joined my hands together and turned my focus to the animation we were watching.

He rose from the cushion, prompting me to look at him.

“Are you going to bed?” I dutifully asked, but he didn't reply.

He only glanced at me before he stormed upstairs to the room. I could have sworn he wanted to say something, but he didn't make a sound.

With him gone, I released a breath I never knew I was holding.

“Is this how married couples act? Or is mine different from the others?”