The Pretend Wife

Twenty four.

"it's alright, i'll just have dinner at home. i feel a little tired. i might decide to turn in early." taeyong replied.

"okay, if you say so. just call me if you need anything." madame lee told her son.

↝

that night taeyong ate his dinner alone for the first time since he was married. jennie had given the maids instructions on what to cook for taeyong and although the lamb dish that the cook had prepared tasted good, taeyong still preferred jennie's cooking.

taeyong picked on his food until finally he did not have any appetite to eat anymore. the silence in the house was deafening and it made taeyong uneasy. all too soon he missed jennie's laughter and their lively banter at the dinner table. they usually enjoyed telling each other about their day and shared their opinions about the latest issues and news.

taeyong finally stood up leaving his half eaten meal and an unopened bottle of wine. he walked drudgingly up the stairs to their bedroom. as he turned on the light, the cold, empty room greeted him and taeyong unconsciously sighed.

after washing up, taeyong lied down and tried to get some sleep but slumber did not claim him. he tossed and turned several times but couldn't seem to find a good position. suddenly, the king sized bed seemed to be too massive for him and taeyong felt restless.

taeyong tossed aside the covers with a sigh as he stood up from the bed and padded his way to the recreation room. he had pretty much given up trying to get some sleep and decided to watch a few movies in an attempt to make his eyes sleepy. he headed over to their vast movie collection and started to pick out a movie. to his dismay none of the movies seemed to interest him.

finally his eyes came to rest on their copy of sleepless in seattle. taeyong debated to himself for a few moments but then after he let out a defeated sigh and snatched the movie from the shelf.

↝

jennie gazed in amazement as she stepped inside the apartment that madame lee had rented for her. it was a penthouse apartment in one of the swankiest places in new york and jennie could not help but be filled with awe at the opulence that she was seeing.

to say that the place was huge was an understatement. it seemed too big to be lived in by just two people. it had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. the huge kitchen housed all the state of the art appliances and the sitting room was arranged to face the floor to ceiling windows that dominated the entire side of the apartment.

jennie headed over to the windows and looked out into the city. she had to admit that new york was amazing at night with all its twinkling lights and giant skyscrapers. she wished that taeyong could see this. on second thought, taeyong had probably already seen this a dozen times but she still wished that he was there to share it with her.

jennie let out a soft sigh as she gazed out the window. she had to admit that she already missed taeyong very much. this was their first time to be apart for this long since they had been married.

the longest time that they had been apart was a day and now they wouldn't be seeing each other for an entire month. it's been barely 24 hours since she had left and she was already missing him very badly. jennie could not imagine how she would last the next thirty days without seeing him.

jennie finally turned away from the window and headed towards her bedroom. as she turned on the light she found a king sized bed in the middle and expensive wooden furniture arranged tastefully around the room.

jennie reluctantly walked inside and headed towards the bed. she sat on the edge as she looked around the room. the room was pretty but it was also too big and too cold. jennie could not imagine sleeping on the huge bed all alone. she had been used to taeyong sleeping beside her even though they had arranged dozens of pillows between them.

it had made her feel safe knowing that taeyong was just near by. but he was not here now and jennie wondered if she would be able to sleep at all.

her gaze fell on her purse on the night stand and she stood up to retrieve her phone. she scanned through her contacts and found taeyong's number. she had wanted very much to press the call button and talk to him but she remembered madame lee's instructions.

"don't call him. wait for him to call you first." madame lee had specifically told her before she left for new york. not wanting to irk her mother in law, jennie settled on the message button instead.

↝

taeyong was sprawled on the couch as he watched the closing credits of the movie. he regretted having chosen the movie in the first place as he felt his earlier worries rise again from within him. his heart jumped as he watched the scene where the heroine found her leading man on top of the Empire State building.

unexpectedly, in his overactive imagination, the heroine's face had transformed into jennie and he watched her as she ran towards an unknown man with blond hair and blue eyes. taeyong closed his eyes and tried to erase the scene from his mind but it had stayed there like a stubborn stain that wouldn't go away.

"fuck this." he groaned as he stood up and turned off the television. he checked his watch and saw that it was already early morning. he walked back to the bedroom intent in getting some sleep. before lying down he checked his phone and found out that he had one new message.

his heart thudded in anticipation and he couldn't help but smile when he saw that it was from jennie. she had just wanted to inform him that she arrived in new york safe and sound. taeyong had a strong urge to call her but he felt that she might be resting and did not want to disturb her.

he lay back down on the bed and attempted to get some sleep. his body was exhausted but his mind seemed to be alert and awake. his gaze fell on jennie's pillow on her side of the bed.

without thinking taeyong reached out and grabbed her pillow pulling it against him. he took a deep breath and caught the strawberry scent of jennie's shampoo. finally while hugging jennie's pillow close to him, taeyong closed his eyes and succumbed into much needed sleep.