Married Without Love

Chapter 39

Hailey pov

Today, yet again I was late in arriving home after work. It couldn't be helped though. I was drowning in work. The staff had retired for the night. They were accustomed to my routine and knew not to wait for me if I were late but instead they would finish all their work, prepare my dinner and leave it in the microwave before leaving. I dropped my keys on the table and made my way to the hall. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings since I believed I was alone at home. So when I reached the hall and plopped down onto the couch and closed my eyes for a minute only to hear a voice call from behind me, I was scared out of my wits. 

"Hello," Nathan called. "Long day?"

"Ahhhh," I jumped. "What the hell? You scared me!"

"Sorry about that, not my intention," Nathan gave me a sheepish grin standing with a bowl of pop corn in his hands.  "Do you always get home so late? Its half past eight."

"Work," I said simply. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, what is wrong with me being here? This is my house," he said sitting down on an adjoining sofa.

"Not wrong, just unusual," I replied closing my eyes. "Its not like you to be home on a Friday night. Heck I hardly ever remember you being home on the weekends since we got married."

"Hm, coming to think of it, thats true," he agreed. "Well, I didn't feel like going out today. So I thought I'll have some fun indoors."

I snorted thinking about what his fun meant while remembering the initial months of our marriage when he'd come home with different women every night. If that was the case, I wanted to have my dinner and go to bed before he begin his "fun."

"Since you're home now, why don't you go and take a shower?" he suggested. "Get refreshed then we can have a fun night in. I was thinking about movie night like the one we had back then, remember? Now get going, bathe and change, I'll have the food ready."

I lazily opened one eye and looked at him to see whether he was serious or mocking me. Deciding he wasn't messing with me, I closed my eyes again and said, "When did I agree to that plan?"

"Huh?"

"I never said I would do a movie night with you," I told you.

"Why not?"

"I have work," I yawned. "And anyway I'm not obliged to watch a movie with you."

I remembered our last movie night all too well and even the morning after that and wasn't keen on a repeat show. Besides the only reason he was even home tonight was because he broke up with Hannah. Otherwise he would probably have been with her right now. Well I wasn't going to let him use me as a substitute now that he no longer had a girlfriend. I was familiar with his behaviour now. When it was just us, he wanted my company but as soon as anyone else came along, it was as if I didn't even exist. I was just someone he would fall back on when he was alone and because I entertained him all along, I had lost my worth. But not anymore. I wasn't going to allow this to happen anymore.

"Don't be a meanie," he pouted. "I gave you company during your movie night."

"I never asked you to," I said rudely. "You invited yourself."

After strictly and much rudely rebuking all his attempts to make me cave in, I left him alone sitting on the couch, dejected and sad. Served him right I guess. It maybe harsh, but it wasn't undeserved.

But that was only the first time he sought me out like that and definitely not the last. This game continued for some days with him searching for new excuses to spend time with me and I turning him down every single time. One day it was watch a movie, the other a picnic, then lets go clubbing or for a basketball game. Every time I returned home from work, he had something planned for the night. But much to his dismay, it only ended with me turning him down. At first I used to give excuses like I had work or was busy but as things went on I straight up said no without even giving an explanation. I felt that I didn't owe him an explanation or anything really and his recent behavior was really annoying me. And I didn't want to "hang out" with him either. What with my hectic work, prolonged feud with my best friend and Nathan's behaviour, I was on my last nerve.