Dear Diary

The merger party was a day before yesterday. It was a grand event and we had a ton of fun . I got to know that Asher and Ava are dating. After mom, Asher had completely thrown himself into work. It's good that he is finally focusing on his personal life, I am really happy for them.

At the party, I had a mild anxiety attack right before giving my speech, something that happened to me years ago. I went to Dr. Martin yesterday and she helped me sort through all this. She said that everything that I had refused to share previously is coming to the surface due to all these changes around me. I couldn't tell her everything about the marriage ,of course ,but she essentially told me that something is lacking and I know what it is, I'm just not ready to admit it to myself.

This incident also brought out a side of Ethan ,I had never seen before. He actually helped me through it and calmed me down. I think he cared because he also sent Ava for me! But I cannot let all of this go to my head, he said that he did all this to save the company's reputation.

Being a fool, I had pushed him away.

I wonder what mom would've said to me. She came in my dream last night , with that angelic smiling face of hers. But what she said was very vague and confusing , "I'm so happy you've found it , I hope you realise it soon as well."

S.

I shoved my journal in the lowermost drawer and decided to go for breakfast. It's weird , I've never written this consistently in the journal but something in me is compelling me to do so. Since Madeline was on a leave it was our own responsibility to get breakfast. I walked downstairs and decided I would grab some from the nearby IHOP. I decided to take my car with me to drop it off for servicing since the house was nearby I'll just walk back.

Back from my walk, I still didn't see Ethan around. Nothing unusual, I barely saw him around.

I went to the kitchen and before I could decide something else , I saw a shirtless Ethan ready to whip up breakfast with all the ingredients on the counter. His hair was messy screaming that 'I just got out of bed' look , but I knew he worked out every morning. He smelled fresh like he just showered and his sweatpants were hanging loose on his waist, making his 'V' line very visible. He looked at me with his deep eyes and an annoying smirk but before I could let my thoughts run wild and embarrass myself any further, I cleared my throat and muttered out a "Good morning".

He nodded at me, again with that annoying smirk.

"You don't need to make breakfast, I went out and got some pancakes for the both of us. And please put on a shirt at least try to be decent."

"Alright then, I'll make the coffee. Would you like some?" He offered while searching for the pot and ignoring my remark for the shirt.

"Sure." I said as I handed him the pot, which was right beside me.

We had the breakfast in an amiable silence with him reading the newspaper and me staring at the tv. He did put a shirt on after making a stupid comment along the lines of being 'irresistible'. But what made this boring breakfast special was that we were having it together for the first time.As husband and wife.

It was Sunday so we didn't have to go to work. Ava was busy with work and Em was still in London, she'll fly back for Aunt's birthday on Friday. I didn't want to disturb Liam and Zach on such a beautiful day so I decided to spend the day in here. At our house.

After we were done, I cleared the dishes and Ethan washed them-- surprisingly domestic of him.

I decided to go in the library and explore. It was filled with early editions of all the classics and of course I found my favourite book in there, Wuthering Heights. Despite being tragic, it was my comfort book and I loved to read it time and again.With that in hand, I further discovered new titles and came across some of the new books that I had been dying to read but never got to.

I decided to curl up on the comfy couch and started reading after some time my eyes felt droopy. I was deep in slumber soon enough.

When I got up ,it was raining. I internally cheered. I loved rain, the cool breeze ,it's sound and the smell of earth.

I immediately sat up when I saw Ethan on a desk positioned in the midst , going through some files. Oh no, this was his home office.I got up and left without saying anything.

Since it was 1 pm already, I decided to cook some lunch. But to my surprise all the cabinets were almost empty. The fridge didn't have anything much either. We were so dependant on Madeleine that we didn't even realise we had to restock. Going to the store was the only option left because I knew Ethan didn't like take out much. He always made a face.

I walked back into the devil's den, "Can we go to the store? There's nothing in here for lunch and I dropped my car off for servicing this morning." I knew he wouldn't let me take his car alone, he was weirdly possessive of them.

"Yeah, fine." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand without even looking up at me, still engrossed in the file.

I cleared my throat twice to grab his attention but to no avail.

"You should really get your throat checked out, you did this in Hawaii too."He again added in a bored tone.

"If you don't come with me now , I'll take your car myself and spin it around on all the wet roads and maybe some puddles too."I tried to keep my face straight as his jaw ticked and he got up from the chair.

"Don't you dare."

I just made an innocent face and shrugged. He walked out of the room, grabbed his coat and we were out of the condo. He was acting like a petulant child.

As we got in the car, he didn't let me play some music. God, I hate him. I just wanted to listen to a sad song, lean my head on the window while looking out at the rain and act as if I was in a music video.

We reached the store and I got out of the car with the umbrella, after a few moments Ethan joined me and took the umbrella from my hands without saying anything.

"Do we need a cart or a basket?" He asked looking at me.

"I just need to grab a few things for lunch." He bent down to take the basket.

"Oh you know while we are at it, we should get some snacks as well. And your wine shelf needs serious restocking ,oh, look they're selling those candies at half off and I think we should get those mugs as well, they look cute plus I don't really like your mugs they're all plain--"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed a cart , "I will not buy my wine from here."

We both then went around and grabbed the stuff. "Would you like pasta for lunch?"

"With this rate, I'd be thankful if we made it to dinner.So yes, I'd like some pasta for dinner, Skylar."

I rolled my eyes and put everything in the cart.

We went to the self checkout and paid for the stuff. All the nearby employees were staring, is something wrong?

We walked out with the bag , and I heard 2 employees "God, that's Ethan Carter and Skylar Evans, they look so cute tog--" before I heard something else I hurried back into the car.

We started driving but not towards the apartment.

"Where are you taking me? This is not the way home."

He didn't answer. I'm so tired of him.

He stopped in front of an antique looking shop with the words 'Thelma's' carved in the wood above.

He got out of the car and expected me to do the same.

"I told you I won't buy my wine from there." And we walked in together.

The place was dimly lit with wooden shelves full of bottles of wine. The smell in here was heavenly. We sat at a table and were given samplers.

Ethan twirled it around in his glass and smelled it before taking a sip. He looked like a connoisseur doing all those fancy attributes. I wasn't really an expert but appreciated good wine when I tasted some.

"It's kind of oaky, I like it."

"It's Bordeaux, they import this from France." Ethan told me as he flagged down the person who served us. "We'll take a bottle of this Bordeaux and two of Sauvignon blanc, thanks."

"Do you come here often?" I asked him as we were seated in the car with the three bottles carefully placed in the back.

"Yeah when I feel like it and when pesky people remind me that my shelf needs restocking."He said in his signature bored tone and started driving. I rolled my eyes at him but I was also smiling. Grumpy pants is finally opening up to me.

When we reached home, it was still raining.We were soaked, I took a hot shower and wore my oversized beige sweater with some tights.I got a head start on dinner. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right, It was 7 pm already I had put on the spaghetti to boil and was working on the sauce . As Ethan walked out, he started on the meatballs which he insisted on making.

We had the dinner and talked a bit-- a rare occurring. While having dinner, we poured the wine I had liked and later sat by the fireplace, both of us immersed in our work.

This Sunday would be memorable for me. We were so domestic today--having breakfast together, going shopping, making dinner and now sitting down casually. Might be normal for others but for us, it was special. Almost too real.

"I'll have to borrow one of your cars for tomorrow to get to work."

"It's fine, I'll drop you. I have to be there tomorrow anyways." This surprised me.

"What for?"

"Did you forget? We have a meeting with Anderson Co. tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, right. That completely slipped my mind." I put aside my wine, being a lightweight I've already started forgetting things.

"Be ready on time then. I don't like laziness--it's not cute." He scrunched up his nose.

"It's not cute." I say mimicking him. Our conversations were incomplete without petty fights."Oh and before I forget, Aunt Eden's birthday is on Friday and Dad wants both of us to be there. So what should I say?"

"I don't know, I have a pretty busy week.Maybe you should go alone." I expected this answer and cursed myself for even asking.And as I looked up, the normal distant Ethan was back.

I nodded my head solemnly and decided to go to bed.Feeling a bit dizzy, I grabbed the mantle to steady myself and exactly then Ethan stood up and held me. We were very close, his breath was fresh and minty as he was chewing gum just a while ago.

"So you're a lightweight, huh?" His annoying smirk was back.

I freed myself, "No, not usually. Now, good night." The white lie was clear in my tone.

He didn't say anything, but I could feel his stare on me as I went up to my room.