Husband With Benefits
Chapter 464: Celebration

Chapter 464: Celebration

It feels... peculiar," Olivia murmured, her gaze lingering on the casserole dish Seb had just set in front of her. Seb, noticing her apprehensive expression, raised an eyebrow as he discarded his mittens and settled into the seat opposite her. "You haven’t even tasted the dish and you are calling it peculiar. You hurt me Olivia Brown-Frost!"

Olivia rolled her eyes as she watched him put a hand to his heart and pretend to be wounded. "Stop with your theatrics! You know I am not talking about the casserole!"

Seb chuckled, feigning innocence," Olivia Brown, are you saying that I feel peculiar?"

"Shu* up, Seb!! I am not talking about you! Stop doing that to distract me! I am talking about us!" Olivia grumbled as she took the serving spoon and helped herself to the casserole.

"Since when did you adopt such a pessimistic outlook? What are you worried about?" Seb asked quietly as he stood up to get the surprise he had prepared for her. Though he too, was worried about what she would say.

"Don’t you think that things are going too well for us? I mean, just a few months ago, we were avoiding each other like the plague. But now, we are together, married no less. And happy. Something just doesn’t seem right..."

"So, us being happy together is peculiar?", Seb asked as he returned with a bowl of her favourite baked mushrooms and babycorn dish, placing it next to her plate.

She was about to say something, irritated with him purposely misunderstanding everything when she caught a glimpse of the food in the bowl. The next second, she started crying, shocking both herself and Seb.

Hurriedly, he rushed around the table and knelt down in front of her, gathering her in a hug," Don’t cry, Olivia! Okay, okay. I won’t try to make this humorous. I know you are worried about us but everything will be alright! We’ve known each other a long time and can face everything together! Don’t cry!"

But instead of calming down, she cried some more as she shook her head against his chest, pointing to the bowl,next to her plate. "I am crying because of that."

Seb was speechless as he looked at the bowl she was pointing at. She was crying because of a few mushrooms and babycorns? How was he supposed to console her over that? As he patted her back, he reminded himself, that she was probably crying due to the pregnancy hormones. That had to be it! And she did not want to accept that so se was blaming the poor vegetables."

After a few moments, Olivia had calmed down a bit and she moved away from Seb as she looked into his eyes. He was clueless. She could see that. Guess she’d need to explain," Seb, when we were together then, we knew everything about each other. We thought we’d grow up and get married, since nothing stood in our way. But we did separate eventually, and painfully."

Seb stood up and walked back to his seat. He really had no wish to talk about the past. "So, I guess that I’m just worried about the future. We seem to be like ourselves from the past. But we are different now. And while we are getting to know each other, things are going too well.. And I... I guess I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop... or maybe fearing that."

Seb opened his mouth to speak but she silenced him with a shake of her head," I know I know, I am putting the cart before the ox! But, take this mushroom and corn for example. You remember that I used to love this. And I used to, but I haven’t touched them in years! So, my favourites have changed and maybe yours did too. Soon we’re going to have two babies in our world. How will we manage everything if we are still discovering things about each other?"

Seb sighed and caught her hand, slowly rubbing his thumb over her wrist, where he could feel her racing pulse. She was so worked up. "We’ll handle everything when the time comes. Yes, there will be times when things will be overwheliming, but we will overcome that. Together. We can do everything together, Olivia. That is where we went wrong last time. We were not together.. This time, we won’t do that."

Olivia looked at Seb and the silence promise in his eyes and nodded slowly. Even though, there was a peculiar churning in her stomach, she nodded at Seb’s reassuring words, feeling herself believing his words. As for her instinct, she would handle it when the time came. Finally, she nodded," I guess you’re right."

"I’m always right. Now dig in." Seb muttered with a shrug, making Olivia smile more genuinely this time.

As he watched her eat, not touching that, he could not help but ask," Why did you start hating them, by the way? I mean I understand that tastes change but you are looking at them as if they are your mortal enemy..."

Olivia rolled her eyes," They probably are. They almost killed me a few years ago! Or atleast I felt like I am dying..."

That was intriguing. "Care to explain, how these poor veggies did that?"

Olivia sighed," It was when I was in the Barista training school. We went out one night for drinks etc. I was..."Olivia paused. She was about to say that she had been broken up over leaving him, and had not been paying attention, but realized she did not want to bring that up anymore.

"You were?" Seb prompted, bringing her back to the present.

"I was not paying attention. I ordered a dish of mushroom and babycorn stir fried veggies. Maybe they were stale or rotten but that night, I emptied the entire contents of my stomach, and all I could taste were those two things as I threw up. I had food poisoning. And I was nauseous for the next three days with that taste lingering in my mouth and senses, making me want to die! That scarred me for life. After that, whenever I see something with babycorns or mushrooms, I want to throw up! Maybe someday I’d grow to love it again, but now is not that time."

Seb nodded," Yeah! I’m sure you’ll start liking it once you try it agian. Just like you’re my babycorn."

Olivia paused in the middle of taking a bite and then looked at him as he grinned and explained," Well, when you left me, you made me sick, making me want to die. So I avoided you for a few years. Then you came back into my life and pursued me, and see, I like you again already!"

Even as she felt her heart ache at the wounds she had left on Seb becasue of her own stupidity, but that he was joking about it meant he was healing, hopefully. This was opening she needed to explain the past, but she knew this was not what Seb needed right now. He was simply letting her know that he’d moved on without any grudges this time. So, she did exactly what he probably wanted her to do.

She stared at Seb and shook her head,"There are so many things wrong with what you just said, I don’t even know where to begin... Seb Frost, did you just compare me to a stale babycorn? And what do you mean that I pursued you? Who was the one who forced me into this marriage, without giving me a chance to gather my senses?"

Seb gave the most shocked expression he could muster and shook his head," Is that what you will tell our children? That we married bacause you were prengant? Our kids will be scarred for life! No no. We need to get our stories straight. See, you were the one who came to my room and seduced poor innocent me. So we’ll keep the story closest to the truth- that you pursued me and I fell and married you."

"Sebastian Frost! I will most certainly not tell our children that you were ’innocent’. Their world view will shatter when this lie will be revealed! When have you ever been innocent?"

Seb pouted. As they bickered and grumbled, teasing each other, Olivia soon forgot the worry in her heart, choosing to end the day in the happy way it had begun.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel