Chapter 25

I was naive to think that simply wearing my wedding band to work would prevent me from having to talk to Gabriel about Viktor and my job at Wales. Twenty minutes of blissful silence in my room after returning home were shattered by knocks on the door—knocks I knew weren't Luna's.

I opened the door, expecting him. My grumpy husband stood there. There was no point in blocking his entry, so I let him in, closing the door behind me.

"When were you planning to tell me you were working for my competitor?"

Uh-oh. Straight to the point.

I gulped, watching him cross his arms. "I didn't know you were competitors," I offered. "I thought your company was far above Wales."

"Caressing my ego might be helpful in bed, but it's not getting you anywhere in this conversation, Freckles."

I huffed, trying to ignore his reference to our bedroom. "Okay, I had an idea. But I didn't do it on purpose. I was furious with you when I said yes to the interview and when I got the job—which I didn't think I would—I don't know how to say no."

"I can teach you how to say no. It's two letters: N. O."

"Gabriel."

"Freckles, I wasn't too happy about you getting a job in the first place. I don't like the appearance of my wife being on someone else's payroll. I talked to you, understood your perspective, and agreed. But working for Viktor Hart?" He scoffed. "Hell no. Over my dead body."

"What do you want me to do? Quit?"

"Yes. Resign this Monday. End of discussion."

My mouth hung open. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"I can, and I am. You're quitting." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "If I could make peace with something I wasn't comfortable with, you ought to meet me halfway."

"I like my job, Gabriel. I like the people there. I've made friends. I'm supposed to be the interim head of my team for a week. I can't just quit."

"Yes, you can. You can join my company if you want, starting tomorrow. You can open your own company; I'll even invest in it if that keeps you happy. But you are not working for Wales."

"If you didn't want me working for Wales, why did you just spend hundreds of thousands on buying thirty rings?!"

"Because I want you to wear them wherever you decide to work, even if it's my company."

"But it can't be Wales?"

"It can't be Wales." He repeated.

I groaned. "You're insufferable."

"You're going to meet me halfway, Freckles. I made peace with you working. You make peace with not working at Wales."

"How about"

He cut me off. "No."

"At least hear me out—"

"No."

I clenched my jaw, annoyed. "Okay."

"Okay? As in you'll quit?"

"Yeah."

His expression changed, relief spreading across his face. "Okay. I didn't expect that. I thought you'd fight me on it a little more."

"You asked me to meet you midway, right? That's what I'm doing. But that doesn't mean I'm not so incredibly pissed at you right now that I could totally karate-chop you. So please leave me alone; I'm sure you have work to do."

"Karate isn't a verb, Freckles." He softly chuckled, and I glared at him.

"Work, Gabriel. What you love to do. Go, work." I continued glaring.

"Actually, I'm free for the day."

"No, you're not. I'm sure you have a meeting or two, or a file or two to glance over. Go. Work." I glared harder.

"Has anyone told you you're a little scary for a girl so small?"

I wasn't small. I was tall for a girl, but still shorter than him. I scrunched my nose, refusing to take his bait. "Bye, Gabriel."

He threw his hands up in defense and walked out of my room. Even though he gently closed the door, I opened it again just to slam it shut, to make a point.

Then I huffed and pouted for an hour while rewatching Gilmore Girls before drawing myself a bath to calm down before dinner.

The shower didn't calm me down as I'd hoped, so I ate dinner alone in my room in my striped pajamas. Part of me believed Gabriel would come to my room, but when he didn't, disappointment washed over me.

Maybe he did go to work. Or maybe he didn't, and he just didn't care about my grumpiness as long as he got his way. He had no reason to tolerate my tantrums, after all.

A little before midnight, there were knocks on my door. I quickly threw aside the file I was trying to focus on and got out of bed, giving my braided hair a quick glance in the mirror and putting on my poker face before opening the door.

Disappointment washed over me again when I saw Luna standing outside, holding an assortment of different colored roses, a card stapled to one, and a tub of ice cream.

Eyeing her suspiciously, I took the note without taking the flowers. It read: "Thank you for meeting me halfway!"

The handwriting was a pretty cursive, and the note wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be.

I huffed, took the note inside, and scribbled a response, then went back out and handed it to Luna. "Keep the flowers outside Gabriel's door and slip the note underneath," I told her. "This I will take," grabbing the ice cream and shutting the door behind me, leaving Luna smiling as she took back the flowers and the note.

I despised roses. I liked lilies. He would know that if he spent a little more time with me. And if he thought I would ever let go of my grumpiness because he gave me ten roses, he was wrong. It would take a lot more than that.

The ice cream, though that was the right path.

Binge-watching a comfort show while devouring half the tub of ice cream and leaving the rest to melt by my nightstand because I was too lazy to put it in the freezer, I slept. Sunlight seeped in between the imperfectly closed blinds when I woke up the next morning to an unfamiliar scent. I groggily opened my bedroom door after brushing my teeth, only to see the entire hallway covered in lilies, with a small path left clear for me to walk between them, leading to the stairs and down to the dining table where breakfast was set and my husband was sitting.