"But after you know, you have to tell them eventually," Victoria said.
"I will when the time is right," he replied, turning his attention towards the window.
Neither of them said anything after that.
The night passed quickly, and a new day began.
At Jason and Annabelle's home, another morning had arrived.
As usual, Annabelle found Jason already eating breakfast in the dining hall.
Lately, seeing him there every morning had become a normal part of her routine.
"Good morning," she greeted.
"Morning."
"I am going to work," Annabelle said as she walked towards the door.
"Breakfast?"
"I will skip it."
Jason didn't say anything after hearing her reply. He simply continued eating.
A few moments later, he heard the sound of high heels approaching.
Annabelle appeared at the entrance again.
"Mr. Grayson, I need your help," she said hesitantly.
Jason looked at her.
"What is it?"
"My car just broke down, and I need to get to work in the next twenty minutes."
"You can take any of the cars in the garage."
"Um... I can't drive a manual car."
Jason looked at her for a moment.
"Oh."
He stood up from his seat.
"Then I will give you a ride."
"Thank you."
They both left the house and got into the car.
The drive was quiet.
Annabelle was already thinking about the meeting she had at work when Jason suddenly stopped in front of a café.
She looked at him in confusion.
"Why are we here?"
"To get some breakfast."
Annabelle stared at him.
Breakfast?
He had already eaten.
Why did he suddenly want to get breakfast?
Before she could ask, Jason got out of the car and walked into the café.
A few minutes later, he returned with a cup of coffee and a sandwich.
"You can have this on the way."
Annabelle stared at the food in his hands.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
He had gone back into the café to get breakfast for her.
Why?
"Thank you."
"It is not good to skip breakfast. It is an important meal."
"Oh."
Annabelle took the food from him.
She didn't say anything else, but she couldn't help wondering why Jason had bothered to get it for her.
The rest of the drive was quiet until they finally arrived at Annabelle's office.
"Thanks for the ride."
"You're welcome."
Jason drove away.
Annabelle turned towards her office and walked inside.
The moment she entered, she saw Kel sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.
She stopped.
"Why are you here this early?"
Kel slowly lowered the newspaper.
"Don't you have an explanation to give me?"
Annabelle's mind went blank.
How could she have forgotten?
She had seen Kel at the banquet the previous evening.
And now he knew.
"I... I'm sorry, Kel. I can explain."
"Explain what?"
He stood up.
"Explain that you got married to Jason Grayson without telling me?"
Annabelle remained silent.
"Or should you explain that your company was in trouble and you didn't bother to tell me?"
His voice became more serious.
"I thought we were closer than that, Annabelle Bradford."
He paused.
"Or should I say Mrs. Grayson?"
"Don't speak like that, Kel."
"I didn't know how to tell you everything," Annabelle said quietly. "The situation with the company happened unexpectedly, and I didn't want to burden you."
"But you could burden Jason Grayson?"
Annabelle lowered her head.
"Wow, Ana. Wow."
She knew Kel was angry.
On a normal day, she would have argued back, but she knew she had made a mistake by keeping everything from him.
Kel was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"Is this marriage some kind of repayment?"
Annabelle looked up.
"What?"
"What do you owe him?"
He stared at her.
"Whatever you owe him, I will pay it back on your behalf."
"I agreed to marry him willingly."
Kel's expression changed slightly.
He was silent for a few seconds before asking,
"So... you are in love with him?"
Silence filled the office.
Annabelle stared at him.
She didn't know what to say.
She had never asked herself that question before.