Perplexed

When we took off, Bram and Connor started to chat using the headsets that were provided for us. I was wearing one too and I was enjoying the scenery from above the clouds. I pretended that I was not listening to them, but I was actually all ears for what they were saying.

"What brought you here, man?" Connor asked as he momentarily glanced in Bram's direction.

"I came to take my wife home," I heard Bram respond to the headset.

"I never thought you would get married," Connor said, and followed it with a laugh.

"Yeah, me too!" Bram commented back to Connor.

"You look tired, man," Connor told Bram.

"I didn't get enough sleep for two days," Bram said as he looked out his window. He was on the right side and I was on the left.

"Why?" Connor asked Bram again.

"I couldn't sleep without my wife," I heard Bram say, which made me turn to him.

"Newly wedded problems?" Connor asked and he laughed again.

"You could say that," Bram responded to Connor. He was still looking outside.

I turned to the scenery again because I did not want to get my hopes up that Bram was falling for me.

"You could have called her though?" Connor suggested, then added, "Ever heard of a video call?"

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, you idiot?" Bram asked Connor, then his shoulder shook as he laughed at Connor.

Connor laughed and responded, "I had a girlfriend before. We just broke up."

"Aw, did she realize you're a dumbass?" Bram continued, teasing Connor.

"No, she said that I was not mentally present most of the time," Connor answered with a laugh.

"So basically a dumbass," Bram commented, and they both laughed together. I just shook my head and smiled at them.

Glass House, Laguna

We arrived at the house around four in the afternoon. I was standing in my mini living room as I followed Maria with my eyes. There was something different with her today. Her smiles were gone. She was unpacking my bag for me.

"Do you want to change clothes now, Madam?" Maria asked after she was done clearing my luggage.

"I can manage, thank you," I responded to her as I stared at her face.

"Will that be all?" Maria asked again.

"Yes, Maria," I responded to her. Then she started to walk out of my room. I bit my lower lip and spoke again, "Maria, is something wrong?"

She turned back to me and asked, "What do you mean, Madam?"

I sighed and asked her, "Your attitude towards me has changed. I want to know why?"

Maria straightened out and faced me. She clasped her hands together in front of her and spoke, "Master Bram was furious when he found out that you left. I almost lost my job."

I placed my right hand on my chest and asked, "But why?"

"I don't know the answer to that, Madam. It was a very difficult couple of days when you were gone," Maria explained to me.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Maria. But everything is okay now, right?" I told Maria as I massaged my forehead.

"Yes, Madam," Maria responded and added, "Madam Credence talked to Master Bram. She convinced him to change his mind."

"That's great! I will call her later to say thank you," I said as I nodded my head.

"Thank you, Madam. I will go now," Maria said, and she left my room.

I untucked my shirt and ungraciously sat down on the sofa. I bit my lower lip as I got my phone from my sling bag. I dialed my mother-in-law's cell phone number. I got nervous when she answered on the first ring.

"Hello, Madam?" I said to her,

"Dear, you should not call me Madam anymore. You are already married to my son. You can call me Credence or mama," Madam Credence responded to me.

"I'm sorry. Um...I just called to say thank you for what you did for Maria," I said to her. For some reason I was running out of breath as I said it. Maybe because I was so nervous talking with my former employer.

"It's nothing, sweetheart. Maria had been with us for so long. And my son was just under a lot of stress. That's why he said those things," my mother-in-law explained to me.

"What did he say?" I asked my mother-in-law.

"It's nothing that you should worry about. Just make my son happy, that's all," she added.

"I'll do my best, mama," I responded carefully.

"Thank you, dear. Talk to you soon," she said, then we hung up. I released a long breath and stared outside the balcony.

Later that night, Bram woke me up when he kissed my neck. His hand went under my pajama top and kneaded my left breast.

"What time is it?" I whispered to him as I wrapped my legs to his waist.

"One in the morning," Bram responded, then he kissed my lips.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and responded to his kiss. He was unbuttoning my top when I asked him, "Bram, can we talk about Maria?"

"No," he responded. He successfully opened my pajama top and he sucked my right breast.

"Please?" I said as I caressed the back of his head.

He stopped what he was doing, and rested his chin on the middle of my breast, "Fine, what is it?"

"Did you make her leave?" I asked as I looked into his eyes.

"Her job was to keep you safe. And going with your brother and mother is not safe," Bram said as he stared into my eyes.

"But, I was safe. I was with my mom and my brother," I reasoned to Bram.

"I don't trust them both. From now on Maria will answer to me if anything bad happens to you," Bram said with finality.

We looked at each other for a moment, then he slid his hands inside my pajama bottom and touched me down there. I blinked quickly as the sensation hit me. Bram sucked my left breast and whispered, "I dreamt of this when you were gone."

I was surprised by what he said. And I was about to say something but he claimed my lips possessively. I closed my eyes and savored everything.