Divorce Anxiety
Chapter 76

As Samuel's arm cradled Kathleen's slender waist, he grandly declared, “This is our house. It's wherewe'll stay from now on.”Kathleen was confused by his statement and asked, “Isn't this the place youprepared to stay in with Nicolette?"Samuel didn't reply, so Kathleen turned to look at himexpectantly.”If you truly knew her, you would know that she doesn't like the style of this place.Furthermore, when I made my preparations to move into this house, I didn't consider her at all,”replied Samuel calmly.That wasn't a lie. Indeed, Samuel had designed the place with only his likesand dislikes in mind.”I started designing and building up this place before we got married, but theconstruction work didn't complete in time. That condominium unit is far too small, and it doesn'thave a yard. Thankfully, they wrapped up the work at this place just a few days back, but there's stillsome essential furniture that still require about a month or so to arrive. I gave the word yesterdayfor them to expedite the delivery and paid a fair sum for the delivery fees alone,” explainedSamuel.Kathleen pursed her lips as he spoke."However, what's most important is that you replace theplace and the set-up comfortable. Go in and take a look,” added Samuel as he lifted her in his armsand stepped out of the car.Just like that, Kathleen was cradled in his arms as they both disembarkedfrom the car. Inmediately, the housekeepers stationed within the mansion rushed out to welcomethem. A middle-aged man led the charge. He was Sebastian, the butler here Sebastian greeted thepair with a smile and said, “Welcome home, Mr. Macari and Mrs. Macari."Kathleen was taken abackby how formal everyone carried themselves. As Samuel continued to guide Kathleen into themansion, the latter saw that the interior was nothing short of grand and opulent. Even then, itmanaged to retain a sense of style and refrain from going overboard with the grandeur. Kathleencouldn't help but be amazed by the sight she took in."The first floor houses the living room anddining area, along with the kitchen and the housekeepers’ residences,” explained Samuel. “You don'thave to rush to take everything in for now. There's plenty of time for you to familiarize yourself withthe layout of the place. Let me first take you to the bedroom.”Kathleen froze where she stood as shewondered why Samuel was so insistent on escorting her to check out the bedroom. As he stoodbeside her, Samuel could visibly pick up on her now stiffened frame.The doctor had instructed thatKathleen focus on her recuperation for two whole months before they would be allowed to share abed together. Although Samuel wanted to skip ahead, he had no choice but to take Kathleen'sphysical condition into consideration. He didn't want to put her into a spot, after all. With that, thepair headed up the stairs.The entire mansion consisted of three separate levels, each as expansive asthe one that came before. Just a single bedroom alone could occupy about ninety square meters,and there were four of them on each level. On the second floor, only the master bedroom and guestroom remained untouched. The remaining two rooms had been converted into Samuel's study andKathleen's workstation, respectively. When they reached the second floor, Samuel guided Kathleentoward the master bedroom. There, Kathleen saw that it was spacious and well-lit by naturallighting. The fixtures within the room had a muted extravagance to them and had features tailoredto each of the occupant’s needs. For example, the walk-in closet was huge and packed full ofclothing. Almost all of Samuel's clothing seemed to be formal wear, and they consisted mostly ofdarker and more muted colors.The rest of the space was dedicated for Kathleen's use. Itaccommodated a range of outerwear, shoes, and even small accessories that she could useimmediately. Everything had been prepared meticulously, and the sheer quantity of items presentmeant that it took up a sizeable bulk of the walk-in closets space.The master bedroom also boastedan expansive bathroom that even contained a twin bathtub equipped with a massage function. Intotality, the entire tour so far simply screamed of luxury.“Are you satisfied?” asked Samuel Kathleencould only nod numbly in reply.Samuel curled his lips and said, “You're the lady of this house. Feelfree to let Sebastian know if there are any areas in which you feel need to be changed." It's alreadygood enough,” replied Kathleen numbly.Samuel smiled faintly as he stated, “Ultimately, the key iswhether you like it or not.”“While we were on our way here earlier, I saw that this place is locatedrather close to the Macari residence. Is it?" asked Kathleen in confusion."Yes, it is. I was afraid thatyou would have no one to chat with when I'm not around. That's why I purposefully picked alocation closer to the Macari residence. That way, it would take a mere ten minutes by car for you toget to the Macari residence if you ever need to,” replied Samuel.Kathleen paused for thought andrealized that this was finally an aspect of the place that she was fully satisfied by.Samuel reached outand gently cradled her head in his hand as he pulled his thin lips closer to hers. He planted a lightkiss on her plump lips before he added, “You don't seem particularly happy at all.”“I'm notunhappy,” replied Kathleen with a shake of her head. While it was true that she wasn't unhappy, shewasn't particularly overjoyed either.Samuel didn't pick over the finer details. Instead, he stated, “Ihave other matters to deal with in the afternoon. Stay here and wait for me obediently.”“Okay,”replied Kathleen as she pursed her lips."Aren’t you going to ask where I'm going?” asked Samuel ashe shot her a long and meaningful glance.”Aren't you heading to work?” asked Kathleen inconfusion. She didn’t understand what he was getting at. Normally, he wouldn't inform her inadvance even if he were to head into the office. She had no idea what was going on with himtoday.Samuel sighed and remarked, “I can't even tell if you trust me this completely or if you simplydon't care about me."Kathleen picked up that it was because she hadn't asked where he washeaded. She replied, “I used to ask, but you found me to be too annoying and controlling.”Samuelwas rendered speechless as he realized that all this was of his own making.”If that's the case, I'll takethe initiative to report my movements in the future,” promised Samuel as he reached in and plantedanother light kiss on her lips. He continued, “I'll have the staff prepare some food for you. You cango ahead and have a good rest once you've eaten. Don't fret over anything else. What's mostimportant right now is for you to take good care of yourself and recuperate. Do youunderstand?”Kathleen nodded obediently in response.“Good girl,” stated Samuel withsatisfaction.Samuel reflected that she really was obedient if not a little cold and distant from him. Hecouldn't help but feel a strong urge to shrink her and tuck her into his pocket to keep her with himwherever he went.”I'm heading off,” he declared. He didn’t have that much free time to spend withher. After all, he was a truly busy man, especially toward the end of each year.Kathleen was fullyaware of how busy Samuel was. As such, she found it hard to believe if someone were to claim thatSamuel spent each day in Nicolette’s company, day in and out. She knew that she couldn't bank ona workaholic like him to waste so much of his time just lounging around in someone else'scompany. Regardless of how much he loved Nicolette, that was a sheer impossibility.Suddenly, thesound of the doorbell ringing interrupted Kathleen's train of thought. She called out,"Sebastian?”“Mrs. Macari, Mr. Macari instructed us to prepare some food for you. Here's someoatmeal. Do have it while it's still warm,” stated Sebastian warmly as he carried a tray into the roomand gently place the bowl of oatmeal on the desk.”You don't have to be this polite with me,Sebastian,” commented Kathleen as she fidgeted uncomfortably.”You're the lady of the house, Mrs.Macari. It's only right for us to treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve,” replied Sebastianin an upright manner.”Thank you for the meal then,” she stated.He smiled and said, “Enjoy yourmeal, Mrs. Macari. Please feel free to shout out to us if you need anything."Kathleen nodded herhead in acknowledgment, and Sebastian headed out.As she stared at the warm bowl of oatmealsitting before her, Kathleen couldn't help but sigh once again.After she finished her bowl ofoatmeal, Kathleen slowly drifted off into a deep sleep. When she finally woke up, she made her waydownstairs and bumped into Sebastian. He said, “Mrs. Macari, Ms. Staines is here."Kathleenimmediately headed to the living room, where she saw Wynnie seated on the couch as she sippedslowly at her cup of coffee. Kathleen entered the space and greeted her, “Mom, you're here."Wynniepursed her lips and said, “I went to the hospital to check on you, but they informed me that youwere discharged. I headed to the condominium after that, and that's how I found out you no longerlive there."Kathleen came to a sudden realization and asked, “Didn’t Samuel inform you?"“Don'tbother mentioning him. He was barely willing to let me know about this place, let alone that youhad moved over. I don't know what's on his mind!” puffed Wynnie angrily.Kathleen had no ideawhat was on his mind either.”Are you feeling better?” asked Wynnie as she eyed her with afrown."Yes, the doctor said that I'll have to recuperate slowly,” replied Kathleen.”I see... Then youshould get a good rest,” replied Wynnie. Her tone darkened as she continued, “Kate, do you stillintend to divorce Samuel?”Kathleen was a little taken by surprise, and she clenched her fingers asshe looked down nervously.”It's all right. I'm not here to force you into anything. I'm just worriedthat you feel burdened. It would be great if you no longer feel like getting a divorce. That wouldallow Samuel to take good care of you as you recuperate. Otherwise, I would replace it difficult to relaxif you were to end up in the care of a random stranger. I would be so worried that you would getbullied!” explained Wynnie.