Till The Clock Strikes Gone

o3 | darling

But now, she was lying there, pretty obvious how much she had been hurt and he didn't need an expert to figure out that Eliza was crying because of him. He gulped before taking a step out of the kitchen and moved towards her. As he walked closer, he felt his feet grow heavier; they were begging him to stop and not care but he didn't listen to them. He knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

He wanted to shake her awake but when he recalled the events of last night, he immediately changed his mind. Eliza was a heavy sleeper; she wouldn't be up unless the alarm damaged her ears, which was a problem he had to suffer for because she always woke up at an hour too early for William.

When she slept, she slept peacefully, lost in her dreams.

With a pinch on the bridge of his nose, he tucked an arm under her knees and the other on her waist, scooping her up. She stirred a bit but didn't wake up. He looked at her and was surprised, just as always, at how perfectly she fit in his arms; she loved being there. She would often play games with him much to his annoyance and if she won, she would ask him to carry her to bed and never let go. When he won, she would allow him to do anything with her. It was a good deal and a benefit for both of them. These little games were how he managed to survive his marriage.

He placed her on the couch, laying her down in a more comfortable position than she was before. He would have taken her to the bedroom but then she might have woken up. He would deal with her later after he had taken a shower. He turned back to go and do the same when he felt fingers circle his wrist.

He turned back instantly and looked at her. She was awake, staring at him with her green eyes. She got up and he helped her by pulling her by her arms and making her sit. She was still staring at him, her hand was still on his wrist. He cleared his throat and she immediately let go of him as his skin burned.

He took a moment to notice that her hair was no longer in a bun which it was before. It was falling on her shoulders and the messy strands were all over her face as her eyes studied him with an unfamiliar expression, or more appropriate to say — no expression. She was blank and she was looking at him like a wax statue.

William knelt before her, touching her knees in the process but she got up and pushed him away with a jerk and he hit the floor. He looked at her in amusement. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was towering over him like a professor in college. He felt nervous when he managed to stand up to face her, no longer feeling intimidated by her height, but this time he was intimidated by her eyes. They were blazing with anger and something else he couldn't put a finger on.

"Where the fuck have you been?" she shouted at him and he twitched.

She just swore, she hated swearing and from her mouth, the word sounded so...good.

He stared at her, awed. She was never upset with him. For the first time in a year of marriage, she was angry at him. As much as the situation denied it but seeing her angry made William so hot. He wanted her to use that word again. Fuck. He would beg her to say it again when they were between the sheets.

He mentally slapped himself for his inappropriate thoughts before replying to Eliza's question.

"I was at the bar," he told the truth. There was no use of lying, she had the talent of somehow reading through every lie. It was a gift that she had received from her late mother, Cassandra Scott.

Cassandra had died birthing her and Eliza was just a copycat of her mother or so his father-in-law always told him. The man was mental in his own ways but loved William like he was his own blood. William had no idea why.