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Claire woke up earlier than her usual and she doesn't know why, her phone shows it's only five o'clock in the morning. She suddenly stilled when she heard a noise, she tried to decipher what it is and where it came from. She gasped quietly when she recognized it, somebody is snoring inside the room with her! She slowly stood up and find the switch, the room is in complete darkness because of the curtains.

Light flooded the room and she saw someone is sleeping by the couch. She slowly and silently walked towards it and plan to remove the blanket covering that person. She was about to reach and remove the blanket when the person moved and the said blanket fell on the floor.

She froze for several seconds when she saw who it was and she felt like several gallons of freezing water was thrown at her. Her husband is the one sleeping but what really caught her attention is his appendage that is currently in 'standing ovation' welcoming the morning, she never saw a real one till now. Human anatomy and sex education at school felt inadequate for this moment. After several seconds, she did what anyone does when they found themselves in a situation that he or she is not prepared - she screamed.

---

Lucas jolted from his sleep due to the scream. He felt disoriented for a while when he suddenly stood but quickly recovered when he saw that his wife is the one screaming while staring at the lower part of his body. Instead of covering himself first he approached her and covered her mouth with his hand. He didn't notice the blanket on his feet so they went stumbling on the carpeted floor with him lying on top of his wife naked as the day he was born. He heard hurried footsteps coming and whoever it is tried to open the door, thankfully it was locked. Loud knocking came after when the door won't open and the voice of his butler came through the close door.

"Sir Lucas, Ms. Claire! Is everything alright?!"

"We are fine Alvin!" He answered near shouting. But his butler is insistent.

"But I heard Ms. Claire screaming!"

"I said she is fine, Alvin! She just saw a bug flying around the room!" He just said whatever came to his mind so that he will leave. He just hopes that his family won't hear the commotion, otherwise they will be banging the door as well. But he is not quite lucky, for the next voice that he heard where of his grandmother, so he didn't have a choice but to open it and face all the people crowding outside his door.

He got up first and without covering himself, helped his wife who is still quite shocked. He helped her sit on the bed and covered his lower half with the blanket and opened the door fuming.

"I said we are fine!" He cannot helped himself answering angrily.

"What happened Lucas? We heard Claire screaming?" His grandmother asked and was not perturbed even the least with his dark mood.

"She is fine grandmother. She just saw a flying bug inside the room and cannot helped herself but to scream in terror." He answered with less anger.

"Is she really okay?" His mother asked and all eyes were on him.

To answer their question, he open the door wider for them to be able to see his wife but with an order of "Do not enter." Even his grandmother did not push it for she knows how he is when he is at his limit. So from the doorway Helena asked Claire.

"Claire, dear, are you really okay?"

Claire looked at him first before answering apologetically. "Yes, I am fine. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Well, then, we will go. Everybody go back to your rooms." Helena ordered.

Lucas closed the door with relief and counted to ten before he turned to face the woman who bothered his rest. He paced in front of her to compose himself for he will rant especially now due to lack of sleep. When he knows that he is calm enough not to shout, he stopped and faced her.

"Why in the hell, did you scream?"

"You are not covered and I didn't know that you are going to sleep here." Claire answered in a whisper.

"And where would you think I'll sleep? This is my room." He said exasperated.

"I know this is your room, I just thought you will not use this one since I am occupying it." She answered defensively.

"Fine! I'm sorry I didn't inform you that I will use this room as well. My family is here with us, the very reason why we are living in the same house. How will you explain to them if they will come to know that we are sleeping in separate rooms?" He ranted which Claire only bowed her head in remorse. Several seconds passed before she lifted her head and looked at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to sleep with someone inside the room. That is why maybe I woke up even before my usual time." She explained in contrite.

Lucas sighed and stared at her. "Give me the explanation for the other reason why you shriek in surprise."

Lucas saw that her brows furrowed before her face became flushed and her eyes won't meet his'.

"Claire..." He said, impatience on his voice when Claire refused to answer him after several seconds.

"You are naked under the blanket and y-your..."

"My what?!" Lucas shouted again, when she stuttered and didn't finish what she was about to say, she even closed her eyes. He knows what she saw and how it looks right now.

Lucas sighed again before speaking. "Didn't you have a human anatomy and sex education in school?" Claire nodded as her answer, eyes still completely shut. "Then why does it looks like you don't know how it is in the early morning hour?" At his question he didn't know that it is possible to become even beet red because of discomfort and uneasiness, for how the way she is flushed. He scrutinized her and tried to read what is on her mind. He came up with two plausible answers. First, that since this is the first time them living together not to mention in the same room, she is reserved and timid. Secondly, though he knew it will be impossible considering her age, that this is her first time seeing it in person, which means that she has no experience whatsoever in terms of physical intimacy with another man. If the real reason is the second one, how will he proceed with this kind of set up between them? He pondered with himself for awhile how to ask what he thought, he opened and closed his mouth several times before he finally had the couraged to ask what seems to be a very personal question.

"Please don't tell me that the real reason why you are so shocked when you saw my member is because you are still a virgin?"

---

Claire couldn't quite meet Lucas' eyes for what she had done. She woke every person in this household, how ashamed she felt, how will she face them later? If it is possible for the earth to swallow her, she will welcome it with open arms especially now that Lucas is questioning her.

She thought he is already finished and will just let it go after she apologized, but she is not right, for he asked what she doesn't want to answer. The question made her cheeks go red and she even felt more flushed when he said that she should know how it looks in wee hours of the morning. The scene that she so wanted to forget came flashing back and she doesn't know how to answer his query. They both became quiet, him still waiting maybe for her to answer, and her, pondering how to answer his question without giving away the truth that she is still a virgin in every sense. She was about to answer but he beat her into it. She whipped her head towards him, jaw-slacked and eyes wide in disbelief. She thought of withdrawing into her shell called self and not to mind what he so bravely asked but she decided to face it now and tell the truth. Besides, he should know about it for they will share the same room for maybe a couple more days and will live at the same house for however it will take for the divorce papers to be processed. She steeled herself and stood facing her husband who took a step back at her sudden movement.

"And what if I am? What about it? Will there be a problem?"

She saw that Lucas raised his one brow and his face shows confusion. He cleared his throat first before clarifying what he said.

"You mean to say that you are a virgin? As in you never had any sexual contact with anyone?"

The question made her embarrased but it fueled annoyance rather than shame. So she answered him with the whole truth.

"Yes, I am a virgin in every sense of the word. No sexual contact with anyone, no exploration, no experience in kissing, no holding hands, no touching because you know what, I never had a boyfriend in my entire existence, not even a fling. Nothing, nada, mafi, rien. Happy?" Then she ran away from him and locked herself in the bathroom, leaving her husband who is now gaping and speechless.

---

Lucas still dumbfounded and confused at Claire's confession this morning. He cannot believe how she came at her age without having any relationship with a man. It amazes him how she maintain being pure with her body with all the peer pressure and temptations that a teenager and young adult experience. He decided to aplogize right after she walked out of him and locked herself in the bathroom. But she refused to talk with him nor face him to the point that she is avoiding him the whole day. He felt he is back to square one with her, she is the same as before they established a certain civility with each other. He thinks that all he have worked so hard in order to cracked her sense of cautiousness with him were all for naught.

Deep in his thoughts he do not mind what the females are discussing while they are in the living room. His focus just came back when Alvin announced that dinner is served. He let the women precede him and walk right after Claire, he tried to talk to her by catching her arm furtively but though as if she knew what he is planning, she walk faster leaving him behind in shocked countenance, that by the time he entered the dining room everybody is sitting at their designated place. He cannot do anything except to mentally shook his head and sit on his chair.

They were in the middle of their meal when he thought of something that may be able for Claire to speak to him. He will try to engrossed himself in their topic of discussion and find an opening. Good thing their topic is about her own business.

"Who is managing your shop Claire? Is it Penny?" He asked, subtlety immersing into the conversation. He just hopes that she will answer out of good manners since they are not alone. But his wife is really tough with her decision of not talking to him. Luckily his mother came into his rescue.

"Claire dear, your husband is asking you about something?"

"I'm sorry, I was in deep thoughts. What did he asked?" He watched as Claire asked his mother pretending not to hear him.

"He asked who is managing your shop, now that you are here with us." His mother answered her question accepting the excuse that his wife made.

"Oh, Beatriz is the one managing the store now, she is one of my employee. Though at first, I thought of asking Penny, my bestfriend to do it but unfortunately she is busy with some personal matters."

"How is the expansion going?" He followed a question that she attempted to deny hearing but since his family is also curious as to what she was about to say, she cannot make another lame excuse not to answer.

"It is still on the middle of construction. Maybe in a month or two, we can now install all the furnitures and equipments as well as decorating the whole area." She gave an honest answer to his question though still not meeting his eyes that made him quite unhappy and dissatisfied.

Their dinner finished with the women chatting and him just listening on the sideline. He is still thinking on how to make ammends and for him and Claire to become sort of friends once again the same way before the morning chaos transpired.

After dinner, he bid everyone goodnight and kept himself busy in his home office. Though busy he keeps on checking the time whether it is already safe for him to come to his room when Claire is fast asleep. Two o'clock came when he finally decided that he had given enough time for his wife to fell asleep, so he fixed all the documents that he's been studying, got up and went to his room. He slowly opened the door so as not to wake her up and silently walked to the bathroom and prepared himself to sleep all the while thinking of a plan to be able to talk to her and apologize. When his back touched the cold surface of the couch, and before sleep finally took over, he made up his mind and came up with a plot that he will do later in the morning. He just hopes that it will work, so that once and for all they will be able to talk and discuss the rules while pretending to be a happily married couple.

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What could be the rules that they will come up? Will they be able to follow it?

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Thank you for reading!

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