Chapter 562: Surprise
Autumn was in a bad mood. And that wasn’t all. The worst part was she didn’t know why she felt this way. The three women-Nora, Evana and Isabella had come to visit were extremely friendly to her, Arabelle, and Gabe. Even though they had shown up without warning, they brought lots of food and gifts for Arabelle, much to Arabelle’s delight and ’to not be a bother’ to her. The thing she had feared—that they would be snooty and stuck-up—had not happened. There had been an odd moment when Arabelle had introduced herself but she hadn’t been able to make that out.
Yet, she still felt unhappy with them. As she put away the dinnerware that Gabe and Isabella had washed and dried, she realized she felt envious of the easy camaraderie these women shared with Gabe. It was a sobering realization to understand that while she had started to consider her husband as her friend, she was not his only friend. All his sisters-in-law were his friends too.
And somehow, knowing she wasn’t all that different from others in his life left a bitter taste in her mouth. A sudden knock on the door of the kitchen had her turning around and she smiled at Nora who stood there, while trying to compose herself so as not to show the confusion on her face.
"Did you need something?"
"Nah! I figured I’d come get you since you’ve been here for a while. I was starting to think you were hiding from us. Not that I would blame you. I am sure if Ian had informed Gabe beforehand then he would have made sure to hide you. The se men are all like that.. super protective of their women."
And that is when she realised another thing.. taking a deep breath, she looked directly at the girl, " But that is the thing. I am not his woman. So I do not understand the reason for this visit and... "
"And us coming here to judge you? We know you are not the woman in his heart. But you are the first woman he has chosen to protect after his... wife. And we came here to not judge whether you were his woman or what not.. we came here to make sure that the woman he had chosen to protect this time did not end up hurting him."
"Why would I hurt him? He has protected me and stood by me when I had no one. I would never hurt him.. not even in my dreams! In fact, I hope some day I would be able to return the favour and...
She paused in her words when she noticed Nora staring at her with a slight smile. "What is it?"