Yeah, it’s big. It’s more than a little too big and too eye-catching. The other people gathered around me to stare at the ring. I started feeling a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t like I could agree along with them that the stone was too big with Reiner standing right at my side.
“I think it’s very pretty and I like this ring a lot,” I replied before Reiner would start worrying about the ring again.
I had too many issues to deal with already so reviving old issues such as the debate surrounding whether or not we should return the ring or get a new one was not at all necessary. While my colleagues continued gawking at the ring, I made a mental note to find ways to spend time with Kat outside of work. No matter what, I didn’t want to lose the bond that I had with her because she is my valuable friend.
At that moment, I realized that marriage life wouldn’t be a simple smooth ride without any needs to adjust myself. Although our lives haven’t changed dramatically since we got married, I was slowly learning that I was no longer alone in this journey through life. For better or for worse, Reiner was here with me now, and that meant that we had to do many things together and decide many things together. To put it simply, I learnt that I had to be less stubborn and less selfish. I had to be more considerate of Reiner and his feelings. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be too difficult for me to manage.
Reiner and I had a simple dinner at the bar. Reiner drank beer while I had a cocktail that wasn’t too sweet. Being a customer at the bar made me feel slightly strange inside and out of place. Usually, I would be taking orders and serving food and drinks and not the one ordering and eating the food or drinking the drink. It made me feel like I had evolved into another specie now that I was living on the other side of things.
“Should we head back home?” Reiner inquired when he saw that I had finished my drink.
It was getting a little late into the night, so it seemed like a good time to call it a day and head home. I flashed Reiner a bright smile before I nodded my head in agreement.
“Let’s head back. Thank you for coming with me today,” I thanked him sweetly.
Reiner returned my smile, but I didn’t think that my smile looked quite as sweet as the one that he gave me. Making profit off of him was so easy, I thought to myself playfully. Reiner got up and offered me his hand. I had to say that I loved the feel of his arm around my waist as we walked together towards the exit of the bar. I’ve walked out of the bar this way many nights before, but it felt very different to be walking out with Reiner. Also, I was heading home with him which was very different from heading back to my small and slightly lonely apartment all alone. Overall, I had to say that my life and happiness level had gone up exponentially.
Everything about that day was going great and smooth until we ran into a very tall figure right in front of the bar. I didn’t need to see the face of the figure clearly to figure out who it was. Based on various experiences, I could already sense who it was.
“Charles…” I whispered softly as I stopped in my track.
Something told me that he wasn’t here by coincidence. Had he been waiting for us to come out of the bar. Why was he waiting? Did he want to see me? Why?
I felt Reiner stiffen next to me before he pulled me a little roughly behind him as if to shield me with his body. It clearly never got through to Reiner that Charles wasn’t a dangerous figure, and he wouldn’t do me harm. I wasn’t surprised at Reiner’s reaction, though. He was always the overly protective type and there was nothing that I didn’t love about that…most of the time.
“What do you want?” Reiner asked without bothering with manners or pleasantries.
Why do I have a feeling like a fight is about to break out and for no good reason at all?
“Knight…” I called his name softly as I tugged on his hand.
Reiner eyes didn’t even flicker in my direction, and I could tell that his entire focus was on Charles, who was still nothing more than a black silhouette hidden in the shadow. Slowly, Charles approached us, and I could see him. He walked towards us with his hand raised above his head like he was some kind of criminal.
“I’m not armed or anything. Relax, Knight…” Charles said while keeping his empty hands up in the air.
“Why are you here?” Reiner asked sternly.
“I just want to talk to Natalia. Oh, and if you’re still wondering, the order’s been called off. There’s nothing for you to worry about anymore…” Charles said calmly.
“There were orders?” Reiner asked, slightly surprised.
“Yup, just in case…your old man is extremely cautious,” Charles said before chuckling.
“What are you two talking about?” I asked brightly as I tried to keep the mood light.
I did not have any clue about what they were talking about. What orders?
“It’s nothing. Just a separate project that Knight and I were looking into,” Charles replied smoothly before winking at me.
Oh, that’s all. If it’s a classified task or mission, then I was fine not knowing more about it. Work was work and even I understood that.
“Thanks for the update. If there’s nothing else, then we’ll be leaving now,” Reiner said coldly.
“I want to talk to Natalia,” Charles demanded bluntly.
I felt a chill run down my back as I felt Reiner’s mood further darken at Charles words. Why did he have to be so direct about it? I felt like I was standing next to a live volcano that was about to erupt.
“Why?” Reiner snapped.
–To be continued…