Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
I let out a shuddering breath and got out of bed, dressing in my bronze pajamas and ordering the house cleaning robot to change our bedding.
I decided to go down and see Chili so I wouldn’t have to stand there uselessly while the robot did that. When I got there, Ollie was coming through the glass door that separated the habitat from the rest of the greenhouse and he had Chili in his little crate.
“I’m sleeping over at Daylin’s. Chili’s coming. Daddo said I can. High five and hug?”
“Sure, sweetie. Don’t forget to take your pjs and your toothbrush.”
“I won’t. Why are you sad, Tanya?”
“I’m okay, Ollie. Have a fun sleepover. Good night Chili Bean,” I put my finger into the cage and felt a furry paw touch my finger in a high five gesture I’d taught Chili. I heard him coo at me.
Ollie squeezed me tight and dashed off. I went to bed.
***
It was hours later when Zane came in. I was still awake.
I lay there, curled into a ball, my back to him, on the far edge of the bed. The ceiling retracted when he got in with me and I wanted to look. I loved to look at the ceiling each night when he opened it, in his arms, either before or after making love, and seeing the beauty there, the stars twinkling, the frequent star shows. But I didn’t move. And there was a hard lump in my throat.
A long time went by and I didn’t hear the steady breathing I typically heard lying next to him if he fell asleep first, so, I knew he was awake, too.
And I had only ever had one relationship and I’d never, not ever brought up things that bothered me. So, I figured I should talk this out with him. But, if it was true, if it was true that he had a thing for Elaina, not only would it be just about impossible for me to be friends with her, but it would gut me. I mean, they had spent a lot of time together working out the kinks in that translator software and he’d already told me that spending time with her made him decide to be matched with an Earth girl instead of one of the available Phallyx girls he’d actually ranked for by finishing in the top few spots in those initial competitions. He chose an Earth girl because of her. And it’d niggled at me but now it really bothered me.
I was willing to be married to him out of his pity when I thought I’d die otherwise, but it would’ve hurt.
I was willing to stay with him as his second choice, if that’s what all this meant, but the idea of it hurt. It hurt a lot. And I felt like I was changing. The Tanya Smithers of Earth would’ve dealt with being second best.
But, Tanya Zenith, new Phallyx resident, she was gaining confidence. She was finding herself over these past three months and liking what she was finding. Bravery. Confidence. Feeling secure in being in a relationship with a man she thought loved and wanted her. So, she showed her handsome, smart, catch-of-a-husband that she was angry at the notion of being second best.
And now, I had to decide how to play it next.
Cancel with Elaina tomorrow? Not go to Treya’s at all? Run the risk of losing out on potential friendship with the very limited number of women I’d have access to?
“I do not have the hots for Elaina,” Zane’s voice broke the silence.
I swallowed down that lump that’d been sitting in my throat.
“And I don’t appreciate being accused of being unfaithful to you. I would never accuse you of such a thing unless I believed it and that would mean trouble for our marriage and you saying what you said makes me believe we’re in trouble here, Tanya.”
“I didn’t say that you were having an affair with her…” My voice was scratchy.
“An affair in my heart. That’s what you accused me of, wife.”
Ouch.
“She’s attractive. She’s funny…” he went on.
Double ouch.
“She’s a handful. Sassy and opinionated. And she’s Quid’s.”
I rolled to my back and looked at the sky.
“I had Ollie look at other women intentionally. One that looked strikingly similar to Arla.”
I jolted.
“He still wanted you.”
“So, this was all for Ollie?” I accused.
“Stop talking. I gave you a chance to talk and you didn’t want to speak about this. Now, I’m fucking talking.”
Ouch.
I looked at him. He was staring up at the sky, too, but his eyes were furious. And it hurt.
“I wanted you. I wanted you like I’ve never wanted anyone. Everything about you appealed to me, including the thing that is now pissing me off.”
I pulled my lips tight.
“So, I chose you. If I wanted Elaina and found I simply couldn’t have her, I might have run for Jetta. Or that other outspoken one that kept making the jokes. If I wanted someone who looked like Ollie’s mother, I’d have chosen the one that bore an uncanny resemblance to her. I chose you because I wanted you. I showed Ollie the other women to see if I could decode what his fascination with you was and found I felt the very same. It was as if you were uniquely built for both of us. And in the first few days, wanting turned to more. And in addition to loving you, after three months with you, I need you. And you accuse me of being unfaithful in my heart with another woman just because I’ve spoken fondly of her because she’s a person I like, a person I’d like for you to have in your life so that you have someone who is likeable, who I know will stand up for you if Treya tries to knock you down when I can’t be there to shield you? This, this protectiveness of you earns me this treatment by you?”