An Argument

Chapter 1

"There is no way I will cancel the plans I made for our trip simply because you have a shoot in Denmark, Ursula. This took me time to plan for Christ sake!"

"And yet you never thought to tell me before you made your plans?"

"It's called a surprise for a reason, Ursula."

"And it's called work for a reason, Alex. I know the stress I went through to get this job, don't spoil it for me. Cole will kill me before I complete the sentence if I as much as think of calling him to cancel my shoot." She stalked towards their bedroom and started undressing.

Alex followed and stood behind her as she took off each piece of clothing, he gulped hard at the sight of her naked body, but he knew asking her for sex or even hinting at it right now would lead to another brawl. But he couldn't help his longing for his wife, so he stepped forward and wrapped his hands around her waist, savoring the feel of her warm body against his, and yet maintaining eye contact with her through the mirror to see if she was relaxed enough.

"We look so good together." He noted with a fragile smile, Ursula only nodded. Alex went on, "I know you have a tight schedule with work, filming and all, but this vacation will go a long way in strengthening our bond as a family, as a couple… And you can use the opportunity to reconnect with Finn."

"Alex, you seriously need to snap out of this." She tried to break free from him but he held her still, softly planting a kiss on her hair, "Finn isn't complaining, and once filming is completed, we can tour the entire world if you want."

"And when will that be?"

Ursula shrugged, "five weeks at most, we are only shooting the first few episodes of The Dream Series first."

"Five weeks!" Alex exploded, shoving her away from him, "I have to wait for another five weeks to be with my wife? When was the last time we had dinner together, babe? When was the last time we…"

"You are yelling," Ursula stated with a frown,"Don't wake the entire neighborhood because of a simple vacation."

Alex rubbed his forehead and sighed tiredly, "Babe, what happened to us? You are tearing us apart, can't you see?"

"How am I tearing us apart by working?"

"Your work takes all your time! There is no time for us to even…"

The loud ring of her phone cut him off and she didn't hesitate to run off to the table where the phone lay buzzing, she smiled when she saw the caller and picked the call.

"Yes, happy morning to you too Cole!" She said into the receiver… "Oh yes, I got all my lines straight the night before…" She waited, smiled, and said again, "I'm on my way as we speak, Cole, reserve a spot beside the male lead for me so we can rehearse our lines before we get to the location."... Silence and giggles, "Sure, see you soon!"

When she turned to him, her smile was replaced with an annoyed frown, "I need to leave for work. Now stop ranting like a woman and prepare for your own work."

She was still walking around naked, with zero knowledge of what that sight did to him. She walked past him and headed towards the bathroom, but he caught her in time and swung her around to face him.

"We were having a conversation."

Now Ursula was visibly angry, she swung her hand out of his grip and hissed loudly, "No, Alex, we were not having a conversation, you were telling me what to do!"

He grimaced, "What?"

She crossed her hand across her chest and shook her head, "What do you even want from me?"

"I want my wife back, Ursula. Look around you, you are walking in front of me, naked, and I can't even touch you? Dare I suggest sex, you would be throwing another tantrum this morning and giving me a hundred and one reasons why you can not and all of them will boil down to one thing; your work."

She smiled, "Oh? So you want sex?"

"We are married, Ursula, why would you even ask me such a question? I mean, when was the last time we did that as a couple?"

She looked thoughtful for a while, "Six months ago I think."

Alex shook his head, "Hear yourself, how does that sound to you?"

"Oh it sounds pretty fair to me, Alex, considering that you are a dog! Unfaithful and lustful!"

"What? Watch your tone, Ursula." Alex warned angrily, visibly annoyed now.

"See? You should be glad I'm still standing here listening to your bullshit after the nonsense you did to this family name."

She stalked away and walked into the bathroom, Alex followed behind her, his expression had softened now but his mood was more pensive. "Ursula, it's been one year, is this why you are treating me like this? Let's settle this once and for all please!"

She entered the bathroom and he made to join her, but she slammed the door in his face, he was lucky to have withdrawn his hand on time. For five minutes, he stood outside the bathroom, knocking on the door, begging for her to open up to him, both physically and emotionally, but he knew Ursula, and he knew he was wasting his time. But Alex also knew he had to keep trying.

When the door finally opened, she had a towel tightly wrapped around her breast and she practically pushed him out of the way and moved to her closet.

"Babe, let's put this behind us, please. Look, if you want I can even come with you to Denmark, we can bring Finn along with us. I'm willing to leave my work to assist you in yours until you come back, let's just mend this bridge between us, please."

He was surprised when she laughed heartily, and when she turned to look at him, he watched with a glimmer of hope, hoping that she had welcomed the idea, but what she said next shattered all that hope, "You are the CEO, Alex, leaving your work for me means nothing. And who knows, you might even meet another whore to cheat on me over there, so no."

Tired of her constant accusations, he snapped, "You know I am not a womanizer, stop painting me as one!"

"Oh? So what do you call a married man who went on multiple dinner dates with a famous female musician and ended up kissing her in a room full of people who knew both of them?"

"It was the spin of the moment! None of us planned it. What do I have to do to make you forgive me?"

"You brought shame to me, Alex. To your family name. You and your little whore caused me so much scandal that nearly ruined my career and I will never forgive you for that, not for the sake of anything."

"Not even for the sake of our son?"

"Oh keep the boy out of this, and spare yourself the embarrassment of begging me, it is of no use."

He nodded and watched her leave the room angrily. He knew he would not see her again for the next five weeks or even more. But that knowledge also brought with it the realization that his entire day was ruined, but he also knew he had lost the will to beg her anymore.