"Milady?" Darryl found his wife combing her long silky hair in the bathroom. She was wearing a casual night robe which he thought she brought with her from the mainland. Even with their distance, he could smell the scent of his own soap on her and assumed she must have used what's available in his chambers.

"Need help?" He asked as Xhemin muted. Without waiting for her answer, he paced toward her and gently took the brush from her and then started the chore. He used to brush her hair before and so, Xhemin just let him take over.

​​

"How's the children?" She inquired, wanting to break the tension that was looming in the silence. Even when Darryl wasn't saying anything, the way he carefully brushed her hair and occasionally touched her exposed nape was brewing up some sensual feels around the room. Besides, his silence was kind of unusual and so he knew he was busy on something—probably skimming all parts of her he deeply missed.

It took a deep sigh before Darryl was able to answer because Xhemin's suspicions were right. Darryl who was all planning to keep his wife awake all night was already skimming through everything at her back, like he was then surveying a once old property he had long to explore so much, "They were both sound asleep when I left them. The walk in the market this afternoon probably had tire them off,"

"Hmmm, we should go to bed early too," Xhemin announced and immediately excused herself from Darryl's care. She took the brush from him and put it in the sink carefully before she left the bathroom leaving Darryl with nothing but a huge frustration. Her announcement of going to bed early did shut off all his hopes of having a taste of his pretty smart ass wife.

However, he was not the kind of man who gives up immediately so he chased Xhemin to their bed and pleaded. "Milady, have you forgotten something?"

"What?" Xhemin was all too aware what he was talking about but she pretended to have no care on it when inside she was all laughing immeasurably hard at the face of her husband who seemed to have been robbed off his most anticipated wedding night.

"Milady, your promised 'later' had already come," He grinned and the mention on it flushed an excited look on his face and to set off the mood, he bite his lips under Xhemin's gaze to send a message that he was all looking forward to see what's behind her robe like it was some sort of desert he was all too hungry to devour.

The view of her husband pleading for a wedding night to happen sent shivers into Xhemin's spine but she was not ready to give in to him yet. So with an exhausted look, she crawled into bed and pretended to be sleepy, "Tatta, I'm so tired already. Can we delay that tomorrow?"

"You don't have to do anything you know," Darryl followed through and bent on the bed to pressure her. However, for minutes, Xhemin didn't answer and pretended to have dozed off so that Darryl could do nothing but just sit beside her and frustratedly lean on the headboard looking at his wife. He knew she wasn't asleep yet but knowing how their day went on, he did believe she was all too tired to do it.

Hopeless, he just pulled the blanket and covered her then tapped his hands on her sides as if tucking her to sleep. While doing so, he let off some frustrated signs that made Xhemin almost chuckle. Good thing she was able to cover her mouth before the sound escaped her lips. However, Darryl did notice her giggles and so sulking, he asked her a resentful look. "Milady, are you seriously going to deny me tonight? I had been denied my rights for too long already…"

"Was it my fault if you had been denied it for so long?" Xhemin rolled to his side to face him and raised a brow at his words.

"After you came back you were so mad at me, I can't barely have a kiss—"

"Excuse me I had let you exercised your rights even when things are not good with us," Xhemin cut him off completely, "How dare you nagged on how angry I was when I always let you have a good taste of it even when I was so mad at you,"

Darryl thinks through what Xhemin just spilled. She was clearly making a point and recalling what took place in the mainland she was somehow right. When Darryl did make advances, she did end up submitting to him even after how many times she told him she didn't want him anymore. Counting through it, he scored many times at her back then starting from when they were in the Loch after a terrible business fight, then to his apartment when he took her home but after that, they stopped doing it.

"Milady, you clearly told me many times you don't want me anymore so I tried to hold off myself," Darryl turned a bit serious now that Xhemin was making her point. Why does it feel like him holding off himself was his fault when it was her to push him away.

"But did I tell you precisely I don't want to have sex with you?" She said trying to prove her innocence although the truth was she was just bluffin him off—a payment for all the teasing he did to her all afternoon. "I clearly don't remember telling you that it's not my fault. Don't go on pointing fingers at me,"

"But you said you didn't want me. Of course I cannot force myself. I was just being gallant and a gentleman," Darryl insisted but Xhemin's next words caught him off completely.

"Ah there we are! When did the great Lagdameo heir become so gallant in bed? You are always wild as a beast and only a fool would attempt to stop a beast if he makes a claim," Xhemin retorted. "So don't make me take the blame for it my dear husband. Only God know how you cannot be stopped when you wanted it,"