At the Princestone Village, there was a refreshing palette of pastel beach blue. The two-floored modern Victorian farmhouse-style house was in a perfect location with a few neighborhoods beside it, and it had a huge yard. It was the ideal house for Saison-Monsour, who had been married for a year already. However, something changed in their home when a song called Star A War by a K-Pop artist named Jennie Kim was played throughout. Luckily, the blasting music early in the morning hasn't affected their neighbors, apart from the rushing footsteps coming downstairs.
"WIFEY!" A bedroom voice from a husband, Vincencio shouted as soon as he saw his wife moving around the kitchen before adding, "You're not trying to cook, are you?"
"SHIT!" Skylar might be looking domestic in her dolphin pajamas and a messy bun, but she jumped as soon as she heard her husband's voice along with her blasting music. "Seriously, Hubby. You scared me to death."
The thirty-seven-year-old Vincencio Saison-Monsour, short for Vince, had always been the tallest one between them despite the three-year gap they had. He was effortlessly attractive like Adonis due to his semi-fitted build that goes with his fair brown skin tone from head to toe. But since he had brushed up his clean-cut hairstyle, making his reddish-black hair look intimidating. The charming element, however, was his genuine grin, which, combined with his gentle demeanor and those deep silver-grey doe eyes, always held a pool of emotions and mysteries that were difficult to uncover, capturing Skylar deeply.
"I don't think I could scare you that much when you're the intimidating one, Wifey." With an amused but teasing tone, Vincencio went beside his wife and kissed her head. "Morning."
"Morning." She smiled sweetly as she attempted to cook, but Vincencio quickly grabbed the pan and whisk, which were not a pair to begin with, making her pout.
"Don't you even think about trying to cook unless you want to burn the house with your zero cooking skill?" Vincencio bluntly teased his wife as he stopped her from whatever she was attempting to do.
"So mean." Skylar's intimidating façade faded as she adorably pouted to her husband and whined like a kid. "It's just a pancake; at least let me try."
"Cute, but not gonna happen." With fascination, Vincencio slightly pinched the bridge of Skylar's nose and started preparing their breakfast when he recalled something. "I'll prepare our breakfast, and you must prepare for your meeting."
"Meanie." She whined more. The intimidating CEO was being an adorable wife at the moment, but her husband was not buying it.
"I'm not mean. I just witnessed a horrifying scene back at the penthouse after a month of our marriage when I let you cook despite Medina's warning not to let you." With an amused sigh, Vincencio took charge of cooking pancakes and reminded his wife about what happened before. "It was just an egg, but you almost burned the penthouse."
"I didn't think it could be cooked in low heat." With grumpiness, Skylar glared at him.
"You also forgot the cooking oil or butter, so for now, stay away from the kitchen." Vincencio chuckled as he rebutted, making her groan.
"Argh, I'm the boss." With her frustrated tone, she reminded her husband about the power she held. But Vincencio's stern face made her gulp. She's soft around him.
"Not in our house, Wifey." He smirked and stole a kiss from her lips, making Skylar glare but blush.
"Fine, can I watch then?" With a defeated sigh, she sweetly wondered, making Vincencio chuckle.
"Sure, you can be amazed at how great your househusband is, Wifey." He winked, making Skylar blush, but she sat on the stool around the island.
Skylar calmly watched her husband work his magic in their grand kitchen, which she couldn't use without burning everything. But Vincencio, on the other hand, was a wonderful fit for it, and she was enthralled as he moved with ease like a true master chef. But her attention was cut short as Vincencio grinned at her, making her blush.
"Love what you see, wifey?" Even though it was obvious, Vincencio still teased her. Skylar blushes from being caught red-handed, but she won't back down.
"Oh, damn, you're right. I love it." With a wink, Skylar teased back, making Vincencio blush instantly. She found it cute, and she grinned like she won over something. "I love that expression."
"Oh! I almost forgot, go and check your email. I think Medina sent you something important." He changed the subject when he recalled something before rushing to the kitchen.
"Important?" Skylar wondered.
"It's in orange, so I think it's important." He hummed as he recalled what type of notification Skylar's work tablet had received.
"You remember. A green notification is for a report, orange for information, and red for a serious matter. Thanks, Hubby." With a grin, Skylar thanked her husband, but her eyes fixed on him, making him a little agitated.
"Wifey, get ready for your meeting. I'll prepare the table." He masked the warmness creeping over his neck on how fixated his wife was on him. But Skylar loves his reaction.
"Okay, I'll suit up then." With a winning grin, she gets off the stool and lets Vincencio prepare their breakfast, but she has forgotten something and stops in her tracks.
"Forgot something?" He noticed and asked, but Skylar just grinned, confusing Vincencio. "What?"
"Yeah, I forgot something." With slyness, Skylar quickly pecked Vincencio's cheek before skipping like a kid, leaving her husband blushing.
***
Skylar kept smiling as she removed everything she wore as soon as she entered their shared bathroom, including their walk-in closet. Covered with a bathrobe, Skylar was about to head to the bathroom proper when she saw something blinking over her section within their shared walk-in closet. She pressed a button that needed her fingerprint, and a hidden mounted screen on the wall showed an orange notification.
CLASSIFIED CODE ORANGE
Name: Emmerson Fisher
Code: Somer
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Day of Birth: January 11, 1975
Place of Birth: Avalon Orphan Medical Clinic
Hometown: Maestropolitan City
Address: Blk 10 Lot 40 MerVille Sigma Street, Maestropolitan City, Avalon Kingdom
Occupation: Employee at the Maestropolitan Building Construction Center
"Hmm, interesting…this time it's from a building construction center," Skylar mumbled coldly before pressing the same button, making the hidden monitor retract back to where it had been kept. As nothing happened, Skylar went to the tub and amusingly smiled. "Nicely prepared, Hubby."
Inside the bathroom, Skylar was loving her warm bath prepared for her. Her tensed muscles began relaxing, and with a slight hunger, she finished her bath. But she stopped in front of the whole-body mirror before sighing. Her battle scars that she could not remove or run away from a haunted past that she kept burying at the back of her mind.
"I'm simply happy with what I have. I never desired more than what I could have, and yet, this happened." Skylar scoffed sadly as she faintly looked at her past self before wondering. "What did I do to deserve this kind of life?"
But Skylar knew it was all in the past, making her shake her head and ignore her haunted past while finishing drying herself. As she was nearly done preparing herself with her chosen dark red jumpsuit and two-inch dark ankle boots, she began recalling what she talked about with Vincencio before they got married.
'Don't play on my heart and don't reject me—I mean, don't leave me because I'll do everything for you.'
"Sounds desperate and possessive, but he's making me love him more." With a smile, Skylar mumbled to herself while drying her hair but later got confused. "But what does he mean about it? Was he played at? If that's the case and I meet that woman, I'll give her a punch for hurting him."
Skylar almost broke her hairbrush from that thought when she heard a knock, making her snap from her mumbling, and she went to the door to open it. Vincencio looked at her stunned, making Skylar chuckle and pull his chin back up.
"We don't want that mouth to catch any nasty flies, do we?" Skylar teased, making Vincencio snap from his stare and fake his cough.
"Only you can invade them, but setting that aside, let's eat unless you want me to remove your sophisticated clothes now." He teased, making Skylar blush so red.
"HUBBY!" Feeling embarrassed, Skylar shouted as she threw the comb at him.
"Kidding. But one day for sure." Vincencio laughed as he walked out of the bathroom before Skylar could throw something else.
"Shut up!" Skylar groaned but was still blushing hard before heading to the kitchen as she finished getting ready for work.
***
Skylar's usual routine at work hadn't preoccupied her much, and she excitedly went home. She stormed out of the car as soon as she parked it in their garage and quickly entered their humble home. When she came in, she was greeted with a lovely aroma flowing from the kitchen, and she knew just where Vincencio was.
"Hubby, I'm home." Skylar sneakily went to his back and hugged him in surprise.
"FUCKSHIT! Wifey, I'm cooking." Vincencio almost hit Skylar with the saddle, making his wife chuckle amusingly.
"Payback from earlier." She sweetly teased before she pecked Vincencio's lips.
"Okay, I received the message. Now, clean yourself because dinner is almost done." He smiled tenderly at his wife and kissed her temple, making Skylar flush, before walking to their bedroom to clean up.
At dinner, Vincencio prepared everything with delicacies from appetizer to main course dish, but when Skylar tasted the stir-fried veggies, she began coughing and immediately drank plenty of water. On the other hand, Vincencio began laughing and handed me a tissue. They had a warm dinner and a comfortable conversation with some playful banter till Vincencio inquired about her job. Skylar's smile faded before sighing since it was slightly bothering her until she felt a hand over hers and gave assurance. She smiled and shared with her husband the trouble she encountered in the company.
"Hm, it will be alright. You're the boss, and if something goes wrong, I'm here to help you without hesitation. Just tell me if you need my help." He sincerely assured her, making Skylar smile.
"Thanks, Hubby. You're the best." With her sweetest smile, Skylar thanked her husband and kissed his hands dearly.
"And that should always be since I'm your husband." He winked, making them giggle.
"Sweet," Skylar thought. "But if you only knew, you'd run away, and I don't like that to happen."
"Oh, Wifey, since you're not allowed to do any household chores here…" When he recalled something, Vincencio teased his wife, who immediately glared at him, causing him to gulp, but he continued what he was saying. "…can you build the cabinets that we bought online? They just arrived this morning."
"Sure, I'm better at doing it than you." With a teasing remark, Skylar's glare faded as soon as she had something to do in the house.
"Hey, I can build some…" he adorably pouted. If Skylar was not good around household chores, Vincencio was the opposite; he was not crafty or had the builder's hands, causing him to almost break a few things.
"Right, just two or three, then the rest is disaster." She teased more, making his frown deepen, and she laughed but immediately controlled it before asking. "Where do you want me to put it?"
"The huge cabinet will be in the living room to divide the entryway, and the rest will be around the sunroom." With slight grumpiness, Vincencio finished his dessert like his wife before adding, "As a payback, the materials were all at the workshop."
"You did not." With disbelief, Skylar sternly reacted, making Vincencio grin in victory before picking up all their dirty dishes. Then she added in a whine. "Hubby, it's for my arts and crafts."
"Assembling its craft too, right?" With a teasing tone, he rebutted, making Skylar groan in disbelief. Then he added, "Do it tomorrow since it's your day off, and I'll help."
"No, thank you. I'd better do it than let you help." She grinned as she teased back, making Vincencio chuckle.
"I know. We're so reversed." Vincencio laughed at their position around the house, which made Skylar giggle too.