I follow Maven out of the meeting. I can tell he's fuming. As soon as I mentioned Cal, I knew he would be mad. Suddenly he whips around to face me. His face is red and his fists are clenched.
"How could you do that to me Mare? You made me look like an idiot in front of my own cabinet! And I know you're right, and they know you're right! But you and I both know the reason you want to reach out to Cal. And I'm not gonna let that happen. You are my wife. It's time you starting acting like it instead of being off in your own world where you still love my brother and this marriage seems temporary. This is happening. This is permanent!" He steps towards me, still shaking with rage.
"And you may not believe it Mare, but sometimes I don't know if I made the right decision stopping the war in exchange for you." With that, he turns and walks away. All I can do is stand in the hallway, wondering if his words are really true.
For the next week, Maven and I don't say a word to one another. We pass in the halls and see each other in meeting or at dinner but we don't go out of our way to meet. I mostly stay in my room developing new plans for the tax system. I've begun working with some of Maven's advisers, without Maven around. They all think my plan is genius and that I should present it to him right away. But I keep putting it off. Anything I say to him right now could make or break our marriage and therefore the country. I'll wait until we've healed a bit from our last encounter before showing him the plan, or bringing up Cal.
So it's been awhile. I'm really sorry I'm just super stressed and overwhelmed with school and personal stuff. I'm trying really hard to get these chapters out. Also, I'm thinking about doing a Maven POV but idk it would be rly hard for me to write. Thanks for ur patience guys! - Just Jules