Ok I am going to continue this series in the same book

(Wattpad username) the pug licked Mayanka's face to wake him up.

"Alkulb? 'Ayn 'umuk?" He slurred, petting his head.

He barked and hopped off the bed. Mayanka sat up and spotted him by the windowsill. (Wattpad username) wags his tail and panted, looking out of the glass pane.

Mayanka's blood ran cold, you went out?

Without eating breakfast?

He threw the thick comforter off him and jumped out of bed. Yelling angry curses, scaring your pug at the same time.

——

"Your phone is blowing up." Your girl best friend who goes by the name Miss G, sipped on her cup of sweetened tea. She eyed the ringing, vibrating gadget in your hand with concern.

"Yeah, knew that like a few minutes ago." You knitted your eyebrows at the messages Mayanka sent you.

>Where u go

>Why dont tell me

>Dont even eat breakfast

>i very hurt because of u

>u don care I feel

>i die the only u know

>*Then

>no body will cook fr u

>then u alone

>answer call

>answer call!!

>thick head u

>did u even eat

>pls eat something first

You flipped your phone around and showed her what he sent you.

"You might wanna... answer that."

"No way, all I'm gonna hear is his incomprehensible nagging." You switched your phone off. Now you're uncontactable.

"Damn annoying. I don't know what has gotten into him, he wasn't like this before I got laid off. I'm trying my damn best to find another job, why can't he be more supportive?" You ranted to your friend.

She hummed and her face twisted in discomfort.

"Listen, (y/n). You're a great friend and I love you. But you can be super dense at times." You furrowed your eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"From what you told me, Mayanka was hurt because you indirectly— actually, directly told him that you're going to fall out of love with him one day. You didn't assure him that you won't."

"But I really won't! I love him!" You defended yourself.

"He doesn't know that. Also, the fact that you kept rushing to get yourself back out there— in the working field made him think that you desperately wanna get away. Hell! It made ME think that you're trying to get away from him! C'mon, I know you mean well, but a week without working won't kill you. You literally spend like a maximum of three hours awake with him every day, of course, he's gonna demand for more time— you're his wife!"

You were speechless for a while.

"How the hell should I know? He never told me any of that!" Miss G rolled her eyes.

"He's probably trying to tell you, but you didn't listen— no, you chose not to just because he isn't as fluent in English! Listen, I'm not trying to side with him, but I really think you're the bigger asshole here by not being considerate about the language barriers that he's struggling to cross."

That relevation hit you like a pile of bricks, you didn't realize that you were such a bigot.

You scratched the back of your head.

"...Yeah, when you put it that way, I probably am the asshole." You avoided her eyes.

"I suggest switching your phone back on and call him to say that you're sorry."

"Yeah, doin' that now." You grumbled, fumbling with your gadget.

Once it's switched on, you're surprised to see that there weren't any new calls or messages coming in.

"I think he gave up." You told Miss G.

"It's your cue to call him."

You took a deep breath and punched in a few numbers.

It didn't take a second for him to answer it.

"(Y/n)!? Where are you!? I so worry, you not answer me!" Mayanka scolded between sobs and sniffles.

"...hey uh—"

"No! You tell me you where, I am at old house! Your old house!" You covered your mouth with a hand.

"What's wrong?" Miss G set her cup of tea down.

"He told me that he's at my old apartment, that's like... all the way to the other end of town." She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"Hello!? (Y/n)!?" Panic was evident in his wavering voice.

"I'm at Mo's Cafe, just a few minute drive away from our house— ah, he hung up." You shrugged.

"...He's gonna be pissed." Miss G commented.

"Yeah— how did he get there anyways? It's like an hour drive and I took the damn car..." your friend merely shook her head and took a sip.

——

Mayanka barged in through the front door, panting and wheezing. His usually neat hair is slightly frizzed.

"You not in Coffee shop!" He pointed at you.

"Yeah, I went home." You replied, focusing on your laptop screen.

"Why you did not call me!? I could have go home first!" Mayanka slammed the fromt door shut and locked it.

"You hung up! I thought you didn't want any calls!" You became defensive again, it ticked Mayanka off.

You wasted his time, his energy, his money and his effort.

"You— why you cannot understand the things you do very hurting me!?" He yelled, pointing at his own chest now.

"Oh, what did I do now!?" You fought back. His jaw dropped in disbelief, are you really that insensitive to not know what you did wrong? From running away, ignoring him and leading him on a wild goose chase? Or are you doing this on purpose to make him upset so he'll leave you alone?

"You— many things! What happen!? Why you are so bad to me!?" Here comes the waterworks again, this time it's worse than the last.

You don't know how to reply to that. You really did not feel like you did anything wrong, you felt that Mayanka was in the wrong for being so emotional. You're just 'naturally' reacting to his explosiveness.

You wanted to say something snarky, but for the sake of the relationship, you kept your mouth shut. Maybe let him win this one, seeing that he really wants to.

You stared at him as he bawled his eyes out, Mayanka felt that the love that he's been giving to you was severely under-reciprocated. He felt he was taken for granted and unimportant in your life— you're CURRENTLY looking at job listings again!

Mayanka wanted to tell you how he felt, he wanted to pour everything out, but you won't listen because it's not in English. He knows that you're just THAT ignorant of the world!

Slowly, Mayanka calmed down. Enough to look you in the eyes. He weakly brought his arms out, inviting you in for a hug.

You took a step back, feeling unnerved. That did nothing to assure him you truly loved him. He knows that you knew his love languages are mainly acts of services and physical touches. To have you reject BOTH of them is what really shreds his heart.

"...enough. I tired. Do what you want, go find job, I don't care. You also don't care me." He dejectedly dropped his arms to the side, turned around and dragged himself upstairs.

You don't feel like apologizing. You're planning to wait until Mayanka completely cools down, then only you'll try to understand what his problems are.

You also turned around to continue browsing options for work. You REALLY need to find one quick, ever since you were made redundant, everything was thrown off balance. Look what happened to Mayanka!

It's almost like you have forgotten the words of Miss G.

Meanwhile, Mayanka is crying alone in the hallway upstairs. He saw that you immediately went back to job hunting, you did not make an effort to chase him down whatsoever. Not even a pinch of hesitance.

Maybe... maybe a good nap will solve everything. Yeah, Mayanka is just going to sleep the day away and wake up, hoping that everything was just a nightmare. He trudged back into the bedroom, angrily slamming the door behind him.

Back to you downstairs, you flinched at the booming noise. You then shuddered, wondering when will Mayanka 'be himself' again.

Suddenly, your phone vibrated. Someone is calling you.

You picked it up and answered it.

"So, how's mission reconciliation going?" Miss G's voice rung in your head.

You gave yourself a face palm and grimaced when the memories from this morning came rushing back.

"Oh right! I was the asshole! Damn... yeah, I didn't apologize. Came back screaming about how I didn't call him to tell that I went home. How was I supposed to know that I had to do that?" You heard her tutting in disapproval.

"Dense as ever." She commented with a disappointed sigh.

"C'mon, help a buddy out here. What can I do to make it better?"

"Start off by saying sorry and DON'T make it sound like you're doing this because he wanted you to. Make sure to sound like you're really sorry of your own assholishness... Maybe learn a little Arabic for his sake? You have the internet, use it, my friend." You kissed your teeth.

"...myeh, I think I'll do it later. He went up to sleep and I don't want to bother him." You rubbed your arm.

"Have you ever considered that it was a damn test?" You raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"He probably wanted to see if you would go after him and hug it out. Which, you failed."

"You don't know that." You leaned back on the dining chair.

"Okay, tell me. Who gives the most hugs?" She asked.

"Him."

"Who gives the most kisses?"

"Him."

"Who initiated touches the most?"

"Him."

"Who... approaches the other the most? Especially during bad days?"

"...Him."

"Who cooks the most?"

"Of course, him."

"Who cleans the most?"

"Him, cause I'm usually too busy working."

"...And finally, who do you think put the most effort in this relationship?"

You sighed and rubbed your forehead.

"...For sure, him."

"See the pattern? He's trying to get you to do the same since you're not working anymore."

"Damn... I rather work than do all of that." Miss G expressed a frustrated groan.

"I'm not saying that you HAVE to take his place, but AT GODDAMN LEAST... you know what, if I don't give you a step-by-step guide on what to do, you guys are never gonna get better." You gave her an awkward giggle.

"Grab a pen and a note pad, we're doing scriptwriting today. I hope you know how to act seeing that you're this heartless bastard..."

——

Mayanka woke up to the sound of knocking. He turned his head to the side and saw it's nearly dinner time on the wall clock.

Mayanka sighed. You're here to remind him of his place as a chef and a maid. Well, it's his life now. He chose it and he has to stick with it.

"Coming, coming. Wait one hour, I cook for one hour." He picked the sleep off his eyes and pulled the covers off him.

"Uh... I already called takeaway for the both of us. You like eating that whole slab of roasted fatty, pork from that one chinese place, right?" Your muffled voice made his ears perked up.

You waited outside, there aren't any movements coming from the bedroom. Looks like he's silently questioning your intentions. You cleared your throat before continuing.

"You... worked... really hard to keep this relationship going—" you carefully scrolled Miss G's lengthy message down.

"—I really, appreciate that and I'm uh. Sorry. I didn't see what I did was hurting you, I shouldn't have made that bad joke especially knowing that... it targeted one of your insecurities." You furrowed your eyebrows, can Mayanka even understand these words?

"The thing about the cafe and me running away were dick moves. I can't— I can't really explain why I did that except maybe I felt overwhelmed by everything..." you gulped, wow, this is long. You're grateful that she helped you with this, if not, you would just stay silent.

"I didn't— I didn't check up on you because I was a huge...asshole..." That lady! You squinted at the script Miss G gave you.

"I promise to stop fussing about finding a job for a month—" you widened your eyes at the word. Why did she type month!? That's too long!

"—and wholeheartedly focus on you. On us. I'll admit, didn't spend enough time with you and I'll try to compensate that now." You dread the thought of being with Mayanka 24/7.

"I'm Sorry for making you feel bad about your English skills, I know you're trying your best to better yourself and I love you for that. I will not get tired of looking at your handsome face. I'm really sorry for yesterday, today and maybe tomorrow If I still decide to wake up and act like a... bitch... I hope you can forgive me." You felt that Miss G was trying to insult you through that message.

No response.

You rolled your eyes, kept your phone back into your pockets and shrugged.

"Oh well, I tried. Ain't nothing much I can do about it." You were about to walk away. But suddenly the door creaked open to reveal a softly smiling, teary eyed Mayanka.

He extended his arms out for you to walk into. You were about to step away again, but Miss G's words echoed in your mind:

"If you don't hug him, he will think that your apology wasn't sincere. You'll have to do it all over again." And you did NOT want to do it again. You made so many promises that you can't exactly keep.

So, you cautiously took steps forward to hug him. Mayanka gave you a tight squeeze as he sobbed on your shoulder.

You had to stand on your toes and he had to bend his back.

"Yes. I like the fatty pork. Thank you." Mayanka whispered, stroking the back of your head.

——

Everything went back to normal.

Miss G was right to tell you to order a lot more.

She told you to order enough food for dinner, next day's breakfast, next day's lunch and next day's dinner so that you could be less of a burden to Mayanka.

However, Mayanka managed to finish it all in one sitting. Two days worth of takeaway, all gone in two hours. And he's STILL hungry, Mayanka cooked three packets of instant noodles for himself and even offered to prepare three more for you.

You declined because you can't even finish your (favourite chinese dish). You didn't expect 'M sized' to be 'MASSIVE' sized. In the end, Mayanka had to finish off your leftovers for you along with the instant noodles he made.

You secretly gagged at the sight of him eating that much food. How much does a man need to eat!? How is Mayanka's belly not expanding?! Is his stomach a bottomless pit?!

He was absolutely starving, Mayanka skipped breakfast and lunch today.

God, you wish that you had his metabolism. But that comes with the price of his height...

Mayanka was elated to be rewarded with a feast, all his favourite foods were included. He's grateful that you bothered to remember that, at least.

He thought that you were just being sweet to him when you said you couldn't finish your (favourite chinese dish). Usually, Mayanka would refuse so you could eat more, but today, he decided to be a little selfish and accept it right away.

He'll make it up to you tomorrow seeing that you're adamant on not eating any more for the night.

Right now, Mayanka is cleaning up after you and himself. You're free to do anything you want now...

...And the temptation to scroll through an endless list of job opportunities is messing with your mind.

"Should I...?" Your fingers twitched as you stare at the laptop on the coffee table.

You promised to not think about it... but time is money. Every minute you're not working, is a dollar lost.

"(Y/n)."

You whipped your head around to see Mayanka sadly frowning.

You darted your eyes between him and the device.

"You are lying to me just now?" He asked with a disappointment evident in his voice.

"No— No, it's nothing." You kept your hands in your pocket and looked away from it.

The frown was replaced with a proud smile. Mayanka returned to do the dishes.

You grinded your teeth and scratched your arms, why is it so hard to control yourself?

You looked behind you and see that he's occupied. Maybe a small refresh won't hurt—

"H-hey! (Wattpad username)! What's up, literal dog?" Your pug headbutted on your legs and growled at you.

"Damn, what's the matter with you huh? You're fed, you're rested... huh?" Your pug returned to his friendly demeanour. Panting and grinning happily.

"Weird..." you stole another glance at your laptop—

He growled again!

"The hell..." He became friendly when you paid attention to him... or any other things except the laptop.

Did Mayanka train him to do that? You doubt so, it's just been a day and he spent most of today away from the house or sleeping.

Can your pug understand the both of you?

——

"You don't wanna do it today?" You asked. Mayanka shook his head.

"We already do sex two days ago..." He mumbled with visible discomfort on his ruggedly attractive face. You decided not to press on it.

"I only want to hug long time." He added, running his fingers through your hair on his lap. He trained his eyes on his daily soap opera while you're using his thighs as a pillow. Not a very comfortable one.

(Wattpad username) is asleep next to Mayanka. For a small body, he sure has huge snores.

Mayanka immersed himself in his favourite soap opera. You can't understand what it's about because it's in a language not your own.

He stopped stroking your hair and rested a warm hand on your cheek, stroking it rhythmically with his broad thumb.

You wanted to go to bed, so your fingers went up to gently remove his hand from the side of your face.

The soft push made him think that you wanted to hold hands too. Mayanka used his free one to gather both of your smaller hands.

You sighed. For the sake of not sending him into hysteria (and not giving you a headache), you stayed like that.

You glanced at the wall clock. It's almost eight, his programme should be finished soon.

You stared at the ceiling, thinking about your finances. One month... you already spent a chunk of your last paycheck on takeaway dinner. Sure, you can rely on Mayanka and his small business, but will it even be enough?

You know that you shouldn't doubt your husband's source of income, but you can't help but to think lowly of his 'job'.

With only one person, how many beanies can he crotchet in a week? Two? Three?

He must either have another job that he's not telling you about or he does not have any life savings. Have you SEEN how much he spends on food every month?!

You bit your lip, fighting back the urge to talk about work. It's so hard not to!

Mayanka yawned when the credits start to roll. He swiftly picked you up, bridal style and placed a kiss on your cheek before giving one to your pug too.

"Hey Mayanka."

"Hm?" He gently set you down on the bed, pulling the covers over you.

"How's your business going?" He seem slightly taken aback by your sudden question. Mayanka knitted his eyebrows in sadness.

"Are you going to talk about work?"

"No! No, just curious..." Mayanka got into bed with you and began cuddling tightly.

"My business is ok." He mumbled in your hair.

"How—" Asking how much he earns is a little too obvious.

"—how many things can you make in a day?"

You received no response.

"Mayanka—"