Husband With Benefits
Chapter 657: Second guesses

Chapter 657: Second guesses

Erasmi sighed as he signed the deal, watching the woman walk away and wondering for the nth time if he had made the right decision. It wasn’t like him to second-guess everything, but he was unsure of what to do next as this was new territory to him.

Being a parent was hard. Even though he had gotten the hang of it over the past year and Caius was probably the easiest child to get along with, he couldn’t help but question his own decisions.

It wasn’t as if he had a problem with living here but he wanted to be closer to his brothers. Gabe’s incident and the time it had taken for him to reach there, had made him realise that while this place had given him a break, he was now ready to move back.

He had tried to broach the topic of moving with Avaon return, but she had shut it down completely, much to his shock. In the past, she had been willing to consider it when he proposed that they go back and live in the house that had been left to him by his grandfather.

And so, here he was, having bought the biggest building in town, not for himself, but to give to his soon-to-be wife as a wedding present. But he didn’t understand why she wanted to stay here. From what he’d seen, she’d come to love everyone in the family. So why did she insist on staying here? It was a mystery to him...

Grabbing the file, he smiled. Let it be a mystery then. If she was comfortable here and felt happier here, then they would stay here. Having adjusted his mood, he looked at the file again. Time to give his wife to be a gift.

With a feeling of excitement and apprehension, the file clutched in his hand, ready to present his soon-to-be wife with the gift he hoped would make her as happy, Erasmi walked home. But as he entered the house, he immediately sensed that something was off. Ava was standing in the living room, her posture rigid and her expression distant.

"Ava," he greeted, trying to keep his voice light. "I have something for you."

She jumped as she whirled, making his eyesbrows rise. Why was she so jumpy? It reminded him of the time when she’d been ready to run away with Caius but he shook his head. That couldn’t be. That was more than a year ago and they had come a long way since then.

"Whats up, Ava? You look like a cat on a hot tin roof."

Unexpectedly, instead of rolling her eyes at him as she would have done in the past, she looked away and instead extended a file to him. Placing the file in his hand on the side, he walked forward and took the one she extended, without opening it," What is this? A prenup? Ava, what is this about?"

"I don’t want anyone to think I’m marrying you for your money," she replied, her voice firm but with an underlying tremor. "I want to make it clear that I’m not after your wealth."

He stared at her, trying to understand. "Ava, I know you’re not after my money. This... this isn’t necessary."

" For me, it is. I need this.. It is a simple agreement. I have no claim over whatever you own and you have no claim over what I own while coming into this marriage. When we separate, you can have Caius on the weekends but he will live with me."

Erasmi frowned. What was this about? He reached out and gently took her wrist, hoping to calm her. "Ava, what’s going on? Why are you so afraid?Did someone say something?"

The moment he touched her,however, she jerked away, her eyes widening with fear. Erasmi froze, "Ava, what’s wrong? Why are you acting like this?"

She stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself. "I... I just need some space, Erasmi. Please, sign the document."

Erasmi’s mind raced. Something was deeply wrong, and he needed to understand what it was. They’d considered for a long while before even coming to the decision to marry. So, why was she talking about a divorce already? And that too... she said when and not if.

With a sigh, he placed the document on the side and shook his head,"I won’t sign this. Not until you tell me what this is about."

"Then I won’t marry you. If you don’t sign this, then you can call off the wedding next week."

Erasmi stilled then and shot her a look. With narrowed eyes, he picked up his own file," Ava. You should know by now I don’t take kindly to threats. So, either you tell me whatever it is that is bothering you, so that we can resolve it or if you wish to break off the wedding, then you are free to do so. Just be prepared to answer Caius’ questions."

With that, he walked off, feeling like a fool. Here he was, trying to do everything he could think of to make a stable home for Caius and Ava...And instead she was here trying to hold onto her fears and whatever it was that made her look at him as if he was a monster. What was wrong with her? Hadn’t they become friends. So why was she in such an odd mood today?

Angry and baffled, he kicked the small rock on the side of the house, before getting into the car and driving away, trying to cool himself down. As he drove, he couldn’t help but wonder what could have happened. Did something happen back home? She’d been stand offish ever since they returned... Determined, he made a call to Nora. If Ava was troubled because of something that the girls had discussed, she may know...

***

While Erasmi drove away, Ava continued to stand there, a note clutched in her hand. It was the note that had scared her into doing what she did...

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com