Never Underestimate The Good Husband

Unexpected Guests

The night we got back was more intense.

The drive home was so silent that even a pin dropping inside such a cushioned car could probably have been heard.

We reached the house, and I finally spoke.

“Well, that was intense,” I said, looking at her.

She only replied with a quiet, “Yeah.”

“How did I do?”

“Not bad,” she responded.

“Not bad, huh?” I smiled. “Then I have to give a second one to up my ratings.”

I expected her to move backward a little.

She didn’t.

So I went in and kissed her.

She kissed me back.

And that was it, whatever distance we’d been carefully maintaining disappeared.

We stopped thinking about the arrangement, the agreement, the one-year deadline, and everything that was supposed to make this simple.

For that moment, there was only us.

We could have stopped but neither of us did.

Before I could fully process what was happening, we had found ourselves in our room, caught somewhere between restraint and desire.

I knew we were crossing a line.

I also knew neither of us seemed interested in stepping back.

Eventually, exhaustion won, we began to unravel the secrets behind both of our body structures

I rolled my arms through her body, she pressed her hand into my chest.

We kept going on and on and in the back of my mind I knew it wouldn’t be advisable for us to keep going but in that moment, I couldn’t care less.

She could feel what she was doing to me pressed against her and I could tell she wanted it all, she wanted me and I needed her

Her and I were both in our under wears so I could feel the warmth of her body touching mine I just couldn’t get enough

We kept at it then suddenly she slid her hands down into my boxers right after swarming her palms through my chest and abs

I held her hand cause I knew there was no way we could come back from that once she did touch it and I clearly couldn’t control myself without her touching it so how in the world would I be able to control myself afterwards

She didn’t stop, she went fully in and started stroking it, at this point I couldn’t stop it, I just wanted her, I needed all of her and I certainly knew that she needed me too

So we gave ourselves what we wanted but clearly didn’t rethink how things would go after that occurrence……

…… (The next morning) ……..

The doorbell woke me.

At first, I thought I’d imagined it.

Then it rang again.

I opened my eyes.

Morning light spilled through the curtains.

Chiara was still asleep beside me.

I sat up slowly, trying to remember where I was.

Then the bell rang a third time.

“Who is that?” Chiara mumbled.

“I don’t know.”

I got out of bed and quickly made myself presentable before heading downstairs.

Another ring.

“I’m coming!”

I opened the door and froze.

A man and woman stood outside.

The woman looked at me.

Then at the house.

Then back at me.

The man did the same.

I had no idea who they were.

Then the woman smiled.

“Oh.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“Well.”

I stared at them.

“Can I help you?”

The woman laughed.

“You must be Victor.”

I blinked.

“How do you know my name?”

Before she could answer, Chiara appeared at the top of the stairs.

Her eyes widened.

“Mom?”

She hurried down.

“Dad?”

Her parents smiled.

“When did you get here?”

Chiara looked genuinely shocked.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have picked you up!”

Her father laughed.

“That was the point.”

“What?”

Her mother walked inside.

“We wanted to surprise you.”

“You surprised me.”

Her father pointed at me.

“And ourselves.”

I looked between them.

“I don’t understand.”

Her mother laughed.

“Your father and I had a bet.”

Chiara closed her eyes.

“Oh, God.”

Her father grinned.

“She said you’d be alone.”

Her mother immediately corrected him.

“I said you were probably seeing someone.”

“And I said you would have arranged everything perfectly before we arrived.”

Her father looked at me.

“Apparently, I lost.”

I couldn’t help laughing.

Chiara looked mortified.

“You two are unbelievable.”

Her mother hugged her.

“I won.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Then she looked at me again.

“And you must be the reason she didn’t have time to prepare.”

I nearly choked.

Chiara stared at her.

“Mom!”

Her father laughed.

I was beginning to understand where Chiara got her personality from.

They were nothing like the terrifying parents she’d described.

They were warm.

Funny.

Completely comfortable with each other.

I couldn’t understand why Chiara had been so stressed about convincing them.

Her mother noticed me staring.

“We’ve heard quite a lot about you.”

“Good things, I hope.”

“Mostly.”

Her father smiled.

“We’ve also seen the photographs from last night’s event.”

“So you’ve seen those?”

“Of course.”

Her mother smiled.

“You two looked very happy.”

Chiara looked at me.

I smiled.

“We were.”

She gave me a warning look.

Her parents laughed.

………….

Breakfast became an unexpectedly pleasant affair.

We sat around the dining table, and somehow, within minutes, I felt like I’d known them longer than a morning.

Her mother asked about my family.

Her father asked about my work.

They already knew about my previous business, thanks to Chiara and everything they’d found online.

Then her father casually asked, “So, how long have you two been together?”

Chiara paused.

I answered smoothly.

“Not very long.”

“Yet you’re getting married?”

“We move quickly.”

Her mother smiled.

“I like that.”

I looked at Chiara.

She looked relieved.

Then her mother asked the question that changed the mood.

“And what about your ex?”

Chiara’s expression immediately stiffened.

Her father nodded.

“Yes. We always liked him.

Her mother sighed.

“He was such a good man.”

Chiara rolled her eyes.

“Mom.”

“We’re just saying.”

“You’ve said it before.”

“I know.”

Her father continued.

“We honestly thought you’d never move on after him.”

Chiara’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth.

I noticed.

She wasn’t angry.

She was uncomfortable.

That was enough.

“So,” I interrupted, “I’ve been working on a new venture.”

Her father looked at me.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“What kind?”

I explained the concept.

The conversation immediately shifted.

I told them about the structure I’d designed, the mistakes I’d learned from, and the plans I had for rebuilding.

I carefully avoided mentioning that Chiara was the person funding it.

Instead, I simply referred to her as my business partner.

Her father listened carefully.

Then, without warning, he said,

“I just hope this one doesn’t fail as badly as the last one.”

The table went silent.

Chiara’s expression changed instantly.

“Dad….”

I touched her hand beneath the table.

She stopped.

I looked at her father.

“I hope so too.”

He seemed surprised.

I continued calmly.

“But I learned a lot from the first failure. Mostly about what not to repeat.”

He nodded.

“That wasn’t an insult.”

“I know.”

“I’m simply saying business is unforgiving.”

“I agree.”

“And if you’re putting everything you have into this…”

“I am.”

“Then make sure you protect it.”

I smiled.

“That’s the plan.”

Chiara looked at me.

There was something in her expression I couldn’t quite identify.

Pride, perhaps.

Her father nodded.

“Good answer.”

Her mother laughed.

“Your father was testing you.”

“I figured.”

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

Her father smiled.

“Then you passed.”

The rest of breakfast became lighter.

We talked about the business event.

They teased Chiara about her sudden engagement.

Her mother asked when the wedding would be.

Chiara nearly dropped her cup.

“We haven’t decided.”

“You should.”

“We will.”

“And I want to help with the planning.”

“Mom.”

“What?”

“Please don’t start.”

Her mother laughed.

Her father simply shook his head.

By the time they finally stood to leave, the awkwardness from earlier had completely disappeared.

Her mother hugged Chiara.

Then hugged me.

“Take care of my daughter.”

“I will.”

Her father shook my hand.

“Welcome to the family.”

I smiled.

“Thank you.”

When the door finally closed behind them, the house became quiet again.

Chiara leaned against it.

“I’m exhausted.”

I laughed.

“Your parents are great.”

“They’re embarrassing.”

“They’re funny.”

“They’re nosy.”

“Also true.”

“And they only seemed so sweet cause I suddenly appeared with a guy.” She said.

Then her expression slowly changed.

“Victor.”

“Yeah?”

She looked at me.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this morning.”

I frowned.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You did.”

She walked toward the living room.

“You could have made me look stupid when Dad mentioned my ex.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You didn’t have to defend me.”

“I wasn’t defending you.”

She stopped.

“What were you doing?”

“Changing the subject.”

She smiled faintly.

“Exactly.”

I shrugged.

“You were uncomfortable.”

“You noticed?”

“Of course.”

She looked down.

Then back at me.

“You’re getting good at noticing things.”

“I’ve always been good at noticing things.”

“Apparently not when it came to your marriage.”

That one hurt.

I didn’t respond.

She immediately regretted saying it.

“Victor…”

“It’s okay.”

“No. I didn’t mean”

“I know.”

Silence.

Then her eyes moved toward the stairs.

Neither of us mentioned last night.

Not yet.

But we were both thinking about it.

She finally spoke.

“About yesterday…”

I looked at her.

“Yeah?”

She hesitated.

“I don’t know what that was.”

I smiled slightly.

“I think we both know what it was.”

“That isn’t what I mean.”

She folded her arms.

“We’re supposed to be getting married for a year. There are rules.”

“I know.”

“And last night wasn’t exactly part of the plan.”

“No.”

“So what happens now?”

I looked at her.

“I don’t know.”

She exhaled.

“That’s not helpful.”

“I know.”

She stared at me.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then she smiled.

“Maybe we should stop trying to figure everything out.”

“Maybe.”

“We’re already doing a terrible job pretending this is fake.”

I laughed.

“That might be our biggest problem.”

She shook her head.

“Come on.”

“Where?”

“We have a wedding to plan.”

I smiled.

“Already?”

She started walking upstairs.

“My mother is going to kill me if I don’t give her a date soon.”

I followed her.

“Then we’d better give her one.”

She glanced back.

“And Victor?”

“Yeah?”

“Tonight, we’re sleeping.”

I laughed.

“Understood.”

“Good.”

She continued upstairs.

Then stopped.

“Preferably.”

I smiled

“Preferably?”

She turned around.

Her eyes met mine.

Neither of us said anything.

Because we both knew that was going to be harder than it sounded.