Mel POV
Mel got home late. She was amazed when she’d looked at her watch in the restaurant and realised that it was past midnight. It was had been a fun night, laughing, sharing stories about their lives and jobs with her old friends, she thought.She even told them about Harry and Aria but not the part that her marriage was a business arrangement. After waving goodbye and promising to get together again soon. Mel settled into her car and headed home, it was a pleasant drive home and her mind drifted around Aria, to her family and to Harry and for now, she was one day closer till be gets back from his business trip.
Pulling into the garage, Mel lets herself in and grabbed a bottled of water from the fridge. She was heading upstairs when she realised a light was on in the lounge room, Harry was sitting there, nursing a scotch and from the looks of it he’d been there for a while which was surprising for her because she wasn’t expecting him till the next day.
“Where have you been?” he asked quietly, almost warningly.If felt wrong to Mel in many ways.
“Out,” she responded simply. “Why do you asked?”
“Out where?”
But Mel shook her head. “Harry, I’ve never had to account for my whereabouts to you before. Has something changed?”
He looked at his watch. “You’ve never been this late before.”
“Good point. I need to check upon Aria, so excuse me.”
“She is asleep and I took her to bed three hours ago, she is fine and sound asleep.” Harry stood up then, approaching where Mel was standing. “Where were you, Rose?” he asked.
“What’s the issue, Harry?” she persisted.
“Were you with someone?”
“Yes, do you think I’d stay out till 2:00 I n the morning by myself?”
By harry wasn’t letting go. “Who were you with?” he asked.
“Harry, it late and I’m home safely, I didn’t do anything that would embarrass your reputation, so goodnight,” she added softly as she turned toward the stairs.
His hands on her hands stopped her,, she turned around and looked down at his grip, and up into his eyes. She was shocked at the raw anger she saw there. It froze her in place.
“You’re my wife, and I need to know because I came home but my wife wasn’t here. She left our daughter by herself,” he said evenly. “Were with a man tonight, Rose?”
“First of all, Aria was home with Lucy and I wasn’t out with a guy,” she responded quietly, hoping that it was calm his anger.
He ran his eyes over her slim form. “That’s not a friend or movies outfit,” he pointed out, with his eyes roaming over her lower cut dress, with anger still in his eyes.
Shaking slightly, Mel quietly responded. “No, it’s a girls-night-out outfit. We went to a restaurant and we talked and laughed.”
“Where is your wedding ring?” he asked with his eyes zoning in on her bare finger.
“Upstairs on my dresser,” she admitted, as her eyes flew up to his. They were both silence for a moment.
Mel was fascinated by the tick that appeared on his jaw line.
“So let me get this straight, you went out with some friends and you decided to pass yourself out as a single woman. Did you pick anyone while you were out pretending to be single?”
Mel would have laughed if she weren’t aware of his fury. “Oh, harry. I’m not the type of woman that picks men up in bars. And I don’t cheat on my in-name-only husband.”
“So you know about sexual need and pleasure something that ‘you’re so in-name-only husband’ is not giving too you.”
“Where are you taking this now, Harry,” she asked.
His look was intense and it was doing all sort of things to Mel. Slowly reaching out his hand, he gripped the small part of her back as he pulled her toward him. She thought of all the reasons for this to be a bad idea. She let herself be pulled slowly in to his embrace. The hand on her neck slowly tripped her face until she was looking directly at him as he lowered his mouth to hers; he whispered quietly, “If you want or need a man, you came to me, Rose. Is that clear?” and then he kissed her, sending her entire world to explore. Because her husband, Harry Styles, cold and heartless, has a passion burning inside of his that reached into her soul and send flames of desire burning through her veins as she opened her mouth to him, pulling him closer.
As he pulled away, he was holding on to her left hand as he fingered her ring finger. “Why did you leave your ring at home?” she asked quietly.
“Because I met some of my college friends and for the first time, I didn’t want to answer any questions about being married to a man that I just met,” she answered hi s honestly.
The anger had left his eyes, “I was worried about you, Rose.”
“There’s no need to worried because I can take care of myself,” she assured him.
He ignored her response. “Next time you’re out so late, let me know okay because I was worried and I didn’t want anything to happened to you while Aria is with us now. I didn’t know whether to call your parents police, Ronda...”
“My phone would have been the one you called.”
“Well you didn’t answer.”
“Oh I’m sorry.”
“Well goodnight, Rose,” he said, releasing her hand.
She nodded and gave him a kiss on his check before heading upstairs to check up on Aria, then headed to her room to sleep. Which she probably wouldn’t be getting any tonight.