Chapter 1
Rachel
Ican hardly believe it, but for the first time in months, my husband is coming out with me.
My phone pings, distracting me from my search for the perfect earrings. Tania’s name pops up in our group chat.
Tania
I seriously CANNOT wait, you guys better be ready
A hint of glee bubbles from my stomach. Oh, I am ready. I go back to rummaging for earrings in the jewelry box I keep on my wooden dresser and finally snag the simple emerald-studded ones I was looking for. Karan got me these for our thirteenth anniversary last year, saying he thought they’d bring out my eyes.
I adore the fact that we celebrate the anniversary of the day we first kissed and not the day we got married.
I hate that he forgot about it this year.
But tonight’s different. He’s making time for me. For us. As I put on the earrings, I’m so elated I could float away.
And yet, I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Now fully ready, I step out of our bedroom and stop short at the sight of Karan’s broad back in the middle of the hallway. He’s facing away from me, standing still, his head hunched over. It looks like he’s checking his phone.
He’s already got his deep navy winter jacket on, and no hat to cover the thick black hair he’s pulled back into a bun. Raised in Abitibi, this stubborn man won’t wear a hat unless we intend to spend some real time outside.
“Ready to go?” I ask, placing a hand on his shoulder and moving past him to grab my own coat.
But his locked jaw, guilty eyes, and lack of a response as he looks away from his phone turn my elation to ashes on my tongue.
“Rachel…”
He gazes back down at his phone and starts typing a quick response to whoever he’s chatting with.
I can already guess who’s name is on the screen.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to bail.”
I knew it.
I should never have gotten my hopes up.
“You’re seriously not coming?”
My husband stares back at me with an apologetic look. He may take up nearly the entire entry hallway with his tall and broad shape, but at this moment, he’s never looked smaller.
Karan knows what he’s doing to me. And I know he hates it as much as I do.
So, why does he do it?
“Mom’s internet is down again, and she tried fixing it, but she can’t,” he starts with a sigh. “If I don’t go and help her now, they won’t have internet for the whole evening. Worse, my dad might try to fix it himself and mess it up more. Mom won’t have her TV, she’ll get bored, and she’ll blow up my phone anyway.”
“Okay, but we haveplans.” I cross my arms, attempting to stand tall. “Tania and Nolan made the drive to make it, too. Don’t you think it’s rude to blow them off?”
Karan's jaw tightens, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. His fingers drum once against his thigh before curling into a fist. Those brown eyes dart away from mine, then back, then away again.
Our gazes lock. We share a strained look.
After seven years of marriage and twice that time together, we can read each other like a book.
