Freya didn’t turn around, continuing to tidy up the books inside. “Some of them are indeed important, things I wrote down before that might still be useful to me now.”
She pointed at the stack she had sorted out. “I need to keep these. Can I put them in your study?”
Elijah watched as Freya placed the diary in the stack without looking at his expression. She didn’t notice how unpleasant his face had become. Still oblivious, she went on, “Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take it as a yes. But don’t worry, I won’t take up too much space. I’ll get rid of the things I don’t need, so it’ll only take up a couple of shelves.”
Elijah didn’t say anything and walked away.
Freya finished organizing the books, some of which belonged to Elowen. She gave them to her. After bathing her eldest son and changing her youngest son’s diaper, Elowen reminded her, “You can name your youngest son now.”
Freya said, “I’ll have Elijah think of a name for him. It can’t be as random as Kai’s name.”
“But Kai’s name isn’t bad.” Elowen said.
Freya smiled. She went upstairs, took a shower, and got into bed. As she lifted the covers, she said, “It’s time to name your son.”
Elijah didn’t respond as if he hadn’t heard her. Freya knew he wasn’t asleep. Normally, he would cling to her like a sticky plaster, but today, not only did he not initiate contact, he even turned his body away from her.
This was something new.
Was he angry?
She tried to please him by snuggling up to his back and hugging him. “Are you still upset because of Sacha?”
Elijah pushed her away. “I’m tired.”
Freya was taken aback by the push. This was the first time he had pushed her away like this. Carefully probing, she asked, “Are you really tired?”
Elijah closed his eyes and feigned sleep. Freya lay on her side, unable to fall asleep with her eyes wide open. Every now and then, she would turn her head to look at the back of Elijah’s head. She wasn’t oblivious. She could sense that something was off with Elijah’s mood. But she just couldn’t figure out why. She pressed her temple, telling herself that maybe he was just tired, and she was overthinking things. Freya tried closing her eyes and, as she lay there, she eventually fell asleep. Before long, she started making light and even breaths.
Elijah sat up abruptly. He stared at the woman sleeping beside him with eyes filled with disbelief.
She had fallen asleep just like that?
She didn’t even comfort him.
Without asking why he was upset, she had just fallen asleep?
For some reason, the more Elijah thought about it, the angrier he became. And thinking about the contents of her diary made him even more furious. In a fit of anger, he covered himself and intentionally rolled up the blanket, pulling it off her.
Freya was deeply asleep, and she only shivered slightly when she felt the cold. Elijah couldn’t bear it and covered her again, tucking her in to prevent her from getting cold. But then he felt that he had no backbone.
She didn’t care about him?
Why did he still feel sorry for her?
He was tossing and turning. That was a sleepless night for him. Freya, on the other hand, had a good night’s sleep. When she woke up in the morning and saw the man still lying in bed despite usually waking up earlier than herself, she thought, he must be tired. Thus, she carefully got out of bed, trying not to disturb him. Freya casually tied up her hair and stood in front of the sink to brush her teeth. Elijah leaned against the door, staring at her intently. Freya turned her head and saw the dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept all night.
“You couldn’t sleep?” Foam still in her mouth, she asked with concern.
In his mind, Elijah thought, Who sleeps as carefree as you?
He let out a cold snort and walked away.
Freya was stunned.
He hmphed at her?