Husband With Benefits

Arabelle stared at her reflection in the mirror, her brow furrowed in frustration. For what felt like the hundredth time that morning, she let out a long, exasperated sigh. That man was absolutely crazy. Completely and utterly crazy. And the worst part? No one had thought to warn her about it. Not Cai. Not Dora. She would definitely be having words with them later—stern, unrelenting words. But first, she needed to deal with the mess she found herself in and make sure there were absolutely no consequences. None at all.

Her lips twisted into a mockery of a smile as she mimicked his voice, low and smooth, almost theatrical. "Oh, I always carry some as well," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Then, switching back to her normal voice, she muttered under her breath, "What’s even the point of carrying things and buying more if you’re not going to actually use them?"

With a huff, she tossed the hairbrush onto the table, the clatter breaking the stillness of the room. She pushed herself to her feet, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. She was late. By an entire day. And she was never late. Not once. Under any other circumstances, she might have felt a twinge of relief at being spared yet another round of cramps and discomfort. But not this time. Not today.

This time, the delay wasn’t a relief—it was a warning. A blinking red light that screamed of potential consequences she wasn’t ready to face. Consequences she was praying with all her might would never come to pass. "Please, please let this be nothing," she whispered to no one in particular, clasping her hands together as though the universe would hear her plea.

She flopped back onto the chair, running her hands through her hair in agitation. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She was too young for this. Too unprepared. Too... everything. Her life wasn’t supposed to take this kind of turn, not now, not when she was still figuring out where she stood.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, her voice thick with frustration and a trace of fear. "Now is not the time for consequences. Or complications. Definitely not complications." She clenched her fists, forcing herself to take a deep breath and calm her racing thoughts. Whatever this was, she would deal with it eventually. She had to. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified of what might come next.

She needed to talk to someone, but the question was who. She couldn’t possibly confide in Dora or Cai. Both of them were too wrapped up in their own love stories to offer anything helpful. If anything, they’d just tease her or call her foolish for over thinking about it. Plus, there was the awkward little detail that the person she was fretting over was Cai’s friend and Dora’s brother-in-law.

That made this situation far more complicated than her usual one-night stands. Walking away and never looking back wasn’t really an option this time. The odds of running into him again were uncomfortably high, unless she wanted to avoid family get together in the future.

She could always count on Autumn for good advice, but right now, her sister had her hands full with work and the kids. And knowing Autumn, she’d probably tell her to "give it a shot" or "see where things go." That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. She wasn’t looking for encouragement to dive deeper into this mess.

Then there was Gabe. Yes, Gabe. He was protective of her—sometimes too much so—but that might work in her favor. If she told him, he’d probably want to punch Rafe on principle alone. That was a good sign. Gabe would be on her side no matter what, and he wouldn’t judge her for feeling stuck. He’d help her sort through her thoughts and figure out her next steps. Yes, Gabe was the best choice.