Chapter 167: How To Make Your Wife Happy
"Were you really hiding in there?"
"Mhm."
"Why?"
"...Force of habit."
Silence fell over Lucian and Ashley as they did the dishes together. He washed, and she wiped them dry before setting them aside.
Then she spoke to break the silence.
"Didn’t you say you couldn’t make it home last night?"
Lucian took a second before answering. "Nolan sent a message."
"He did?" She turned to him. "Did he curse you out or something?"
"No." He turned, facing her squarely. "However, he sounded very upset."
Her brows rose as she tried to imagine Nolan angry. She couldn’t picture it.
"I was curious," he added, gazing down at the sink. "And worried."
"Worried about what?"
"You."
Ashley blinked several times — long enough for Lucian to finish the last plate and reach for the cloth in her hand to wipe it dry.
"I’m glad I came," he added, holding her gaze as he wiped the plate. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known."
With that, he leaned over to set the dry plate on the counter. As his body drew close, Ashley lowered her head slightly.
She pursed her lips, tempted to pinch her own cheek to stop herself from smiling and blushing. But she couldn’t help it.
Last night, her heart had been torn to pieces. Her mind had been busy accepting everything and making sense of it all.
But now her heart was just too full — it was almost ridiculous. Just an apology and a warm breakfast, and she was already folding. Even when she tried to tell herself to guard her heart a little more, it just kept fluttering.
When Lucian drew back, she lifted her eyes to him.
He paused and met her gaze, their faces a palm’s length apart. Seeing her smile — even if it wasn’t as bright as before — touched something in him. If only he could hold onto that look forever.
Then his gaze drifted to her lips.
Lucian swallowed and mentally shook his head, telling himself not to rush. He hadn’t done enough yet to deserve a kiss.
"Do you have plans today?" he asked, snapping his eyes back up to hers.
Her brows rose as she snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? Uh, no — well, maybe. I’m looking at a few buildings again."
"I see."
"Why did you ask?"
Lucian was about to say "nothing" out of habit, but caught himself. Looking at her, seeing that she was waiting, he mustered the courage to share his own plans instead of defaulting to being "considerate."
"I’ve made plans for us," he said. "But I can reschedule —"
He stopped when she abruptly grabbed his arm. "Really?"
He nodded.
"Then let’s do them! Don’t you have work today? It’s not even the weekend yet." She blinked and watched him shrug. "How about you come with me first? I think I’ll be able to pick a building more easily with you there. Then we can go to whatever plans you have."
For a second, Lucian’s brows rose. He hadn’t thought of that.
He had only assumed that if she had other plans, he should reschedule his so she wouldn’t feel pressured. Or too tired.
"Okay," he said quietly, a quiet relief in his voice, while she bit her lip, smiling from ear to ear.
Before he knew it, he reached out and pinched her cheek lightly. The second he did, she pouted.
"Lucian, why do you keep pinching my cheek?" she asked. "It’s not even chubby or anything."
He let go, watching her rub her cheek with her palm. "Did it hurt?"
"Huh?" She blinked. "No, but I’m curious why you keep doing it."
"I don’t know," he said, resting his hand on the edge of the sink. He studied her quietly before starting, "About Emma..."
"What about her?" she frowned instantly, the corners of her eyes narrowing.
Even a blind person could have seen the immediate shift in her mood.
"Uh," he cleared his throat. "It’s not what you think."
"Huh? What do I think?" Ashley waved dismissively and stepped away from the kitchen. "Lucian, I don’t know what you think I thought about that woman. But as I said, I was perfectly fine with her!"
She looked back at him, scoffing. "It’s not like I was jealous or anything!"
"Oh..." He nodded slowly, watching her click her tongue at him.
"I’ll go get ready. You should too!" she said. "Use the other bathroom."
With that, she walked away, leaving him behind. Lucian watched her go, eyes narrowing.
"Not jealous?" he murmured, watching her mumble to herself as she disappeared down the hall.
The corners of his mouth curved upward. "It shouldn’t make me smile... but it does."
*****
Thanks to the food, the medicine, and the sincere apology, Ashley’s hangover was gone. The bitter thought of Emma had also faded to the back of her mind. She could deal with that later.
As Ashley finished getting ready, she went to the desk where she kept some of her accessories. She nudged the cabinet, and one of the laptops on it lit up.
She paused and stared at the screen, brows knitting.
"Is this Lucian’s laptop?" she whispered. "I didn’t notice there were two here."
Lucian didn’t usually use his laptop at home. If anything, she had noticed he tended to stop working once he was home, preferring to read a book or something else instead.
She was about to close it when she noticed the article on the screen. Ashley found herself scrolling up until she reached the search bar.
In it was typed:
[How to make your wife happy if I made her sad unintentionally?]
Lucian was not the type to search for things like this. But the fact that he had turned to the internet for this...
"...He’s really trying," she whispered, her heart warming as her eyes softened. "Goodness. How could I not forgive him?"
Ashley bit her lip, heart racing as she stared at his search. She let out a small breath, turned, and headed downstairs with a smile and a light step.
Once she reached the bottom, she spotted Lucian on the couch — arms resting on his knees, in casual clothes, flipping through a catalog of office designs. When he sensed her, he glanced up and rose to his feet.
"Tell me the address —" Lucian stopped when Ashley skipped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking down, all he saw was her wide smile and the flush on her cheeks.
His heart thudded as the scent of her hair and light perfume reached him. She looked happy, and seeing her happy made him twice as happy.
Rising onto her toes, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Hehe." She giggled and pulled back, eyes crinkling. "Let’s go?"
He looked down at her. "One more time?"
"Hmm... I haven’t forgiven you yet," she mumbled, then kissed his cheek again anyway. "No more! For now!"
Lucian straightened, already satisfied with that. He reached for her hand and held it.
"Let’s go," he said, her smile widening as they left the house together, hand in hand.
*****
"What the — what?" Red mumbled, craning his neck toward the window as he watched Ashley and Lucian leave hand in hand. "Did they make up already?"
At that, the rest — like the nosy neighbors they were — crowded the window, watching Lucian open the passenger door for her before climbing into the driver’s seat.
"The hell?" Red scrunched up his nose. "I thought she was going to give him hell. What happened?"
"Love probably happened," Vodka offered, drawing everyone’s attention. "They say love is blind — the Master already proved that. And they say love makes fools of us all — she’s proving that right now."
Their expressions twisted as they watched the car pull away. But despite everything, they each quietly exhaled in relief... because it seemed like things might just go back to normal.