My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Forty-three

"In love, one plus one is one."

Midnight was when they had entered the house, brushed with exhaustion and frustration, and declared an end to the long and crazy day. Their ride home had been a silent one, filled with clouds of uncertainties and unspoken anger.

Jack hadn't uttered a single word to her since they began their drive home, nor did he allow her to explain anything to him. He was too tired and rather, in the silence, allowed his gentle smile to assure her that there was nothing to worry about. That perhaps - even unsaid, he was sorry for shouting at her over the phone as if she was some sort of child.

The first thing he had done when she had called was to vent out his anger. He couldn't hold it in, his worry for her had simply gotten him too frustrated to think properly and the sound of her voice - after many hours of constant calling and searching - had made him completely lose his cool.

Liz's message didn't make things any better.

She's with me; she's fine. The simplicity of the five words' message had initially brought peace to him but soon had created an itch in his skin. It had only driven him into further insanity, because straight after that, Liz had switched off her phone and even when he had driven to her place, he found no one. Oh, how he felt like hitting his head against a tree.

But now they were home, greeted by the presence of both Maggie and Daniel. As always, Maggie was the first to spot them. That was evidenced in the smile that curved the edge of her lips at the sight of them. She couldn't hide the excitement and relief that came with Perli being back home.

"Perli, thank goodness!"

The call of her name had raised Daniel's head, who had been too caught up in drinking his wine to notice the door open. He had been sitting comfortably on the couch, casually taking sips of the drink he had served himself. He had expressed little to no emotions, something that didn't quite surprise his son.

After all, he was an Onel.

Jack moved towards his dad as Maggie quickly rushed to Perli as if to examine her for any injuries. "You had us all worried!" There was both relief and concern in her voice, as she wrapped her arms around her, trapping her into a brief hug.

At first, Perli didn't react to the hug. Her eyes were too locked with her husband's, whose smile had been wiped off his face. He appeared tired, his eyes looking heavy and bagged. She had caused it; wasn't she always the cause of his worries, anyway?

What felt like an hour's worth of intense staring, ended with her slowly breaking eye contact. Only then, did she react to Maggie's hug, uneasily allowing her arms to embrace the older woman.

"I'm fine." She assured Maggie with a forced smile, to ease her worry. "Maggie, I'm fine."

Daniel cleared his throat, immediately having all their attention turned to him. "So, you're home now." He placed his glass on the table, appearing amused by all that was happening around him.

His reaction brought confusion to everyone.

"And where have you been the whole day?" He got up to his feet, allowing his face to mask the anger that his son had failed to express.

"Dad." Jack shook his head as if to beg him not to pursue that type of conversation at that hour. "It's late."

Daniel ignored him. There was a certain look in his eyes. It was not anger, nor disappointment, rather a little - an almost invisible spark, of his hatred towards the woman his son was deeply in love with. His eyes locked with hers. "I asked you a question." His intense gaze was fixed on her as if to break down any layer of confidence she might have had inside of her.