Chapt. 7 - Bridal Night on The Couch

"You are useful for maintaining my pride. Do your job well, and whatever you ask, I will fulfill. Except for one thing: freedom." -Mike-

***

It wasn't only Angie who was quite depressed after the incident at the hotel that caused her father-in-law to undergo intensive care. Her mother-in-law and Mike also felt the same way. Interestingly, no matter how hard Mike was on Angie, the man still showed concern for the family, which was admirable.

Unfortunately, only Angie and Mike knew about the purpose of the marriage, so when the thing they feared the most happened, neither of them could escape.

"You'd better take your wife into the room and rest. I'll keep your father company," the mother said to Mike, who was helping carry their things.

Mike looked at his mother. He could tell she was forcing a smile, even though her head was worried about her husband's condition.

It wasn't the first time Mike's father had experienced something like this. The man had even taken dozens of bullets. Like a cat with nine lives, he was alive today and could intervene before Mike was convinced to hand over the organization's leadership to him later. However, that didn't mean the same thing would happen this time—his father's life could be in danger. That was what made him anxious.

Mike tugged Angie's arm towards the room, anticipating that she might speak up about anything. Arriving at the room, he locked the door and looked at Angie with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatever you want to ask my mom, you shouldn't. You can ask me, especially if it's about this marriage. Learn to pretend."

"Do I have to do it in front of your parents, too? They seem to know that their son is not much different from a demon, so this daughter-in-law is reluctant to get too close to him. Why should I pretend?"

Mike clenched his fists and tightened his jaw, intending to answer his wife's statement that sounded so annoying. However, he abandoned the idea and chose to rush to the bed and flop down on it.

Angie followed Mike onto the bed without changing her clothes or cleaning herself up. She shifted the man until he had little room.

"This is my bed. You're sleeping on the couch!" Mike commanded, shifting his body so that Angie fell to the floor.

Angie got up, wincing, rubbing her sore butt. "No, no, no. I'll sleep here, you on the couch. You're a man. Give in. After all, I'm your wife now, honey. Be nice," Angie replied, raising the hand on which the ring rested on her finger, doing as Mike had done.

"You have no right to control me, or–"

"Wait!" Angie held up a hand, knowing Mike's mannerisms and habits, if they were arguing. "You can't pull out a gun, or I'll scream, and you know what will happen if I do."

Mike was about to pull a gun out from behind his back, but decided against it, then gave a lopsided grin when he came up with an idea that he was sure would work to get Angie to give in and agree to sleep on the couch.

He got up, pulled Angie up, and pinned her down by locking her arms, looked intensely into her eyes, and flashed a mischievous grin while glancing down at her lower body.

"I just remembered, you are now my wife. How about you give me what's rightfully mine tonight?"

"Wh-what do you mean? Don't mess around, Mike! I'll scream if you dare touch me even a little." Cold sweat began dripping down Angie's forehead, and Mike enjoyed the expression that seemed ridiculous and adorable at the same time.

"Scream, darling. I'm sure no one will dare enter this room because they'll be able to figure out what we're doing." Mike teased Angie so much that she pushed him and pulled the blanket away.

"Fine! I'll sleep on the couch. Satisfied?"

Mike chuckled, ending their night with a loud laugh before they fell asleep in different places.

Tonight, Mike was the winner.

***

"Good morning, Ma," greeted Angie with the sweetest smile. She greeted her mother-in-law, Vivian, who enjoyed tea at the dining table. She was still reluctant to start breakfast as her only son had yet to come downstairs.

"Morning, darling. How did you sleep last night?" The woman smiled meaningfully, seeing her daughter-in-law, who looked radiant that morning.

Angie understood the meaning of Vivian's smile but pretended not to understand because what happened last night was the most annoying thing in life. She would probably continue to fight over the bed with Mike, but there was no telling who would win.

Her body ached from sleeping on the narrow sofa. Mike seemed like a man who was too simple regarding matters of taste. Even the sofa was so minimalist and old-fashioned, according to him.

"Mama, can I change the sofa in Mike's room?" asked Angie, which made the middle-aged woman put down the magazine in her hand and focus on the dark brown-eyed girl with a furrowed brow.

The more Vivian looked at the girl, the more she liked her. She found her pretty, funny, and adorable. She loved how Angie called her "mama."

"What happened, honey? Did Mike make you sleep on the couch? That's outrageous! Let me punish that brat."

"Ah, that's not it. I'm just not used to such a small sofa, Ma. I usually spend my free time reading novels on the spacious sofa at home. So, even if I fall asleep, my back won't hurt," Angie replied, trying to keep her expression calm even though she was eager to complain that her annoying husband didn't allow her to sleep on a bed but a narrow, hard sofa.

"Hmm, so that's... no problem. We'll buy a new sofa, okay? You can also redecorate Mike's room, according to your taste. He's very lazy to make changes, so his room has remained like that since he was a teenager." Vivian said, then looked thoughtful. "I don't know how many years he's been like that, but I just realized my son is weird."

"There's no need to redecorate my room," said Mike, who had come downstairs looking presentable, grabbed the cup of coffee on the table, and took a sip. Angie and I will live in an apartment soon, so you don't have to bother buying her a couch or whatever she wants. Just leave my room the way it is."

Vivian glared at her son's statement. Out of the house? Just now, she had intended to enjoy girl time alone with her daughter-in-law. Shopping, cooking dinner, even getting a mani-pedi at the salon—things that in-laws and daughters-in-law used to do, just like what she saw on her favorite reality TV show.

Mike always managed to spoil her fun. However, there was another reason why Vivian had to force Mike and Angie to stay for a while and not rush away.

She had noticed this since the girl first set foot in their home.

"No, you can't. You can't move, at least not until we're sure of something," Vivian said. "You two already did that before the wedding, didn't you? So, I've decided to take you to the doctor to see if Angie is pregnant. If it turns out that she's not pregnant, you can leave this house and live wherever you want. However, if otherwise, you must be willing to stay here until the baby is safely born."

Mike and Angie looked at each other with a look in their eyes that only the two of them knew, as if they were communicating even though not a word was spoken. This time, they were both in big trouble.

Angie was worried about her in-laws' suspicions, while Mike was busy thinking about his questionable manhood.