Contract Marriage 18+ [A Hopekook Fanfiction] ✓

11.1🥀

Hobie headed down to the kitchen for breakfast three weeks later and found her husband already seated at the table, newspaper in hand. He'd already dressed Lily and had her little baby carrier placed on the table in front of him. Lily was asleep and Jeon was so absorbed in his paper that he didn't notice her at first. It was Nayeon's usual day off, so he'd fixed himself a bowl of cereal, toast and some coffee. She smiled at the sight of them, her heart overflowing with love for both of them.

"Good morning," she greeted cheerily, as she headed over to the breakfast nook. She dropped a kiss on the baby's cheek and then, after the briefest of hesitations, one on her husband's lean cheek. While Jeon was a lot more affectionate these days, she still felt a certain reserve around him, not sure if she could touch and kiss him as freely as he did her. She knew she was being silly but she seemed unable to overcome her emotional barriers. He told her he loved her every day but she still couldn't quite bring herself to believe him. She often cynically caught herself wondering if he meant the words or merely said them because he thought they were what she wanted. She didn't understand herself, on the surface it looked like she had everything she'd ever wanted but she still didn't quite believe it was real.

"Good morning," he smiled up at her and put his newspaper aside as she got herself some cereal and sat down opposite him. He did that all the time now. She seemed to have his undivided attention: the business section was set aside, the television switched off, phone calls terminated and stock reports carelessly tossed away whenever she walked into a room. He wanted to know how she was feeling, how her day was going, what her plans were... they talked all the time, they spent companionable evenings together and he was a hands-on father. They'd had a quiet family Christmas and had both delighted in buying hugely impractical toys for Lily, things that she wouldn't be able to play with for years. Jeon had surprised her with an emerald pendant and earrings and she'd given him a silver Montblanc pen with Lily's and her names engraved on. Their New Year had been equally quiet as they'd invited only Eunwo, Soobin and Eunwo's brother over for a poolside barbecue. They made love every night and he worshipped her body during those long, dark hours. They had a great life... so why couldn't she trust him?
She knew that her reserve was frustrating Jeon... hell, it was frustrating her but she needed something more. She just didn't know what.

"I thought I'd let you have a bit of a lie in," he was saying, as he sipped his coffee. "Between Lily's and my demands last night, you didn't get much sleep." She blushed and averted her eyes to her cereal.

"Thank you," she mumbled. Her cellphone rang and she retrieved it from the kitchen counter where she had left it to charge the night before. A quick glance at the screen told her it was Soobin.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey yourself Birthday Girl," her cousin greeted and Hobie started. It was her birthday. She'd completely forgotten. "Chaebin and I are taking you and Lily out to lunch. Our treat. But we're doing some serious birthday shopping first."

"I'm not sure..."

"No arguments, cuz. I'm sure Jeon will understand. He won't expect you to spend your birthday by yourself while he swans off to work... and he can have you this evening." Hobie glanced over at Jeon, who was playing peekaboo with a slightly groggy Lily. A helpless smile tugged at her lips as she watched him earnestly play with his daughter. Lily looked confused but at least she hadn't started wailing yet.
She refocused on her conversation with Soobin, certain that Jeon had no clue that it was her birthday and she wasn't about to inform him, not when she knew how angry this new Jeon would be with himself for never bothering to discover that information.

"Uhm... okay, what time do you want to meet?" She and her cousin quickly worked out the logistics of their meeting and she hung up shortly after they'd finalised their plans.