Her Viking 2

Chapter 8: Fall and Spill

*Clears throat.*

"I made you pancakes with hash browns," Kage announces while gently sliding the plate over.

Mariana just nods as she continues to rub her eyes. She grabs the syrup bottle and starts eating. Kage eats his food without much desire. He cleans causing making her eyebrow raise.

"Do you need anything?"

"No," she answers and leaves.

Kage hurriedly puffs up a pillow and sets it behind her back. Mariana rolls her eyes and sits back to watch tv. Not receiving any kind of response makes Kage go back to cleaning.

Two hours later Mariana was working on her laptop while Kage peeks from the staircase. A heaviness settles on his chest but he knows he's to blame for it.

"Maybe coffee will help her," He wonders. "Or should I buy her pastries?"

Kage quietly makes his way to the kitchen to begin making her coffee. It took a lot out of him to be silent with his movements. The male even forgot how to breathe for a moment. Grabbing the cup contently he brings it over to the coffee table in front of her but she was too deep in thought to notice. Sighing he heads back to the room with his head down.

The following day he makes breakfast, heads to work, comes back from work, and cooks dinner. No glance, no "thank you", no word from Mariana the whole time. The same routine happens the following day, except this time he had to do laundry and then scrub the floors. This continues on and on. Kage is being worn out from all the work and chores he has been taking on. So much so that when he comes home, the supplies for what needs to be done are next to the front door.

Groaning Kage rolls out of bed and heads to the bathroom. Mariana is spooked by the sudden opening of the door. She goes back to brushing her hair after seeing who it was.

"Sorry... I-I didn't realize you were in here."

No response.

"Do you want anything specific to eat?"

No answer.

"Are you just going to keep ignoring me?"

"I'm making you feel what you made me feel," Mariana grinds out and leaves.

Another week flies by and Kage can barely keep his eyes open. Work has been taking a toll on him. Sleep seems insignificant compared to all that has to be done. There's a new appreciation for what his woman has done for him. He's sweeping while Mariana is preparing to go to the store. His head starts to spin and he feels frustration bubbling up.

"Communication is key."

"She's like your wife."

"Beg on your knees and spill everything."

"Don't let her go."

"DON'T

LET

HER

GO!"

"Ah!" The broom is slammed on the floor and Mariana jumps around scared. "I can't take this anymore. Everyone's been telling me that I'm wrong when I already know that. I have been trying to please you and do everything for two weeks. I can't sleep at night. The more you ignore me, the more I feel like I'm losing you. Please talk to me! I can't handle it anymore! Please."

Kage begins to cry. Mariana chokes down her emotions. She walks her to him and hugs him. Kage quickly returns the embrace and shakes with his sobs. Eventually, they move over to the couch where they can gather their thoughts.

"Are you ready to talk?" Mariana questions gently.

"Yes."

"Go ahead," she whispers.

"As you know, I did some stuff when I was younger. I had to take over my father's illegal doings at the age of 14. I had no choice. I did it to protect my family. Before that, I took beatings from my father to protect her and my mom. He was an alcoholic and started that business because we barely had enough money to live on." Kage pauses and tries to push the flashbacks out of his mind.

Mariana rubs his shoulders to soothe him. "I'm assuming everything that's been going on is because of that illegal business."

"Yeah... When I found out that your ex was coming, I made some calls to the people I left in charge when I stopped my involvement. I left the business after 8 years. Jakob is in charge, Olav handles all the fighting, and Isak does the tracking."

Kage gives Mariana a moment to take in all the new information before continuing. "I had them keep track of Estaphan and have men prepared to attack just in case. That's how those men showed up quickly after he found us. The night I disappeared for a week, I went out of town to take care of things as repayment for asking for help. I had to help Jakob fight another group since they were trying to take his position and kept attacking. That's why I came back bloody and bruised."

"That doesn't explain why you ignored me and treated me the way you did."

"No, it doesn't... A few of those people knew about you. They knew I had someone in my life. I had to make sure no one would hurt you and that the problem won't occur again."

"Okay. But why did you ignore me."

"I was angry with what happened and what was said during that time. I didn't want to be bothered. I was livid and wanted to be left alone. There were some other things that had to be taken care of as well. I pushed you away so you won't have knowledge of the situation and won't have any involvement. I pushed you away because I always figured the closer people are to me, the more risk I put them at. I-... I was still wrong for acting that way..."

"You were a jerk," she whispered.

Kage chuckled lightly, brushing a few remaining tears away. "I was more than a jerk, honey. I'm sorry."

The sincerity in his voice and on his face warms her heart. "Who was that woman...?"

Kage took in a deep breath before responding. "She was my ex. Ex-classmate. Ex-girlfriend. We were like a couple in high school but never made it official. She betrayed me after graduating. She saw someone else and said unforgivable words. The person she saw was an enemy of mine."

"Why were you guys so close to each other at the mall? Why are you talking to her again?"

"Don't worry. I didn't talk to her willingly. I don't want anything to do with her. I own a construction company and need the help of another's with architecture and design. My company is small."

"Dang. I knew he owned a few things and ran this town. I didn't know he owned a construction company. Should have known with how he's able to fix everything."

"She works for the other company, huh?"

"Yes, she does. She does interior designing. I had to act a certain way to ensure the deal went well. She holds a lot of power in that company."

"What was the deal about?"

"Well it was supposed to be a surprise but I guess not anymore... I want to expand the house. I know that you worked hard to save enough to buy it and didn't want to move you out. I figure why not expand the house to have more room. I wanted to make sure we have extra room, especially now that we're expecting. You deserve it. You deserve everything."

Mariana's eyes soften as he pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. Kage smiles at her in adoration.

"I'm really sorry. I know there's so much more detail but it's hard to talk about. I'm sorry for hurting you."

"It's okay now. You've cleared up a good amount of questions. One more though."

"Anything my love."

"Why didn't you fix up your old house if you do construction."

"I... felt like I deserved to live in the past. I deserved the pain. I've done bad things while being in the business."

Mariana frowns at his answer. "But you don't. You deserve a warm, loving home. You're a good person."

"I'm so glad you think that," Kage says and takes her face in his hands to kiss her for the first time in weeks.