Chapter 14

" A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom. - Chinese Proverb. Ryan finished his painting and left the canvas out to dry. It had been a week since his journey to the South to Katrina's new place and inspiration had now seemed to have struck or had flooded in. Over ten canvases waiting to be framed filled now stood on almost every corner of his spacious studio and with the sale of these, Ryan was sure that his father would not have that much of a hold on him. He should have been scared, the man knew, but his father had been careless to dismiss his art as a useless hobby. A waste of time, he had called it, but Ryan knew better. This hobby was what was paying his bills and with the investments he had made out of his income, he was sure that he could continue to live a comfortable life despite his father's numerous threats. Ryan wiped his hands and walked out of the studio. He pauses in the corridor debating on what to do first until his mind was made up for him by the sorry state of his attire and he ended up branching into his room if only to get a fresh change of clothes. Clothes that were not stained with all manner of paint. After pulling on a pair of dark-colored jeans and an even darker-colored shirt the man walked up to his closet mirror and stared back at his appearance. He did not look bad and apart from a small splash of paint that remained on his lower left side cheek, his reflection was nearly perfect. He did not take that into account though. Lately, he rarely did with all the things that filled his mind he hardly had any time left for vanity. Maybe before, before all this mess had started but today, he had an appointment with Katrina at the doctor's office and that was all that mattered to him. Even then, he knew that he could not walk out with the smear of blue paint still sticking to his face. No, he smiled. Katrina would surely understand but not the doctor and loads of other people he was sure to meet on the way. Quickly he took out a tissue from a box and attempted to wipe it off the smear with it but it continued to linger. "Aarg... What am I thinking?" he said even as he opened his medicine cabinet to retrieve a packet of wet wipes. The paint was quickly wiped away and Ryan walked out to inspect the guest room for the third time that day. "Everything's in order," he muttered even as he closed the door behind him and moved to walk down the stairs where he took out a coat from the hallway closet and his car keys from the hallway table before moving out into the driveway where a sleek sportscar was waiting for him. It was black just like most of the other things he owned including a motorcycle with its glossy coat gleaming brightly in the midmorning sun. Like he had done so many times before, Ryan reached out a hand and traced the contours that marked its body tenderly. His pride, his joy, and a functional piece of machinery considering what his hobbies were. He loved its speed but a spacious back seat and trunk were also important considering the size of the frames that he usually had to carry his paintings on. Even so, he knew that it would not always work out. With the baby coming and a lot of things changing, maybe his choice of the ride would also have to change or maybe he could somehow work things out. "A baby in a sportscar?" he laughed at the thought but was it unheard of? It was still reckless considering the speeds that this vehicle was capable of and that is if Katrina even allowed it. Slowly Ryan pulled out his driveway and joined the main road that led out of the gated community. He slowed at an intersection before finally accelerating, pulling himself into the main highway before speeding to Katrina's new home in the South. *** "Really Ryan, I am not that fragile. I am hardly three months in and you are fussing this much?" Katrina complained even as a grinning Ryan took her overnight bag from her hands and deposited it in the back seat of his car. "And wipe that grin off your face. It is irritating." she growled even as Ryan quickly reached out to open the front passenger's seat to his car. She gave him a look but settled in nonetheless with the wide smile still plastered on his face. He could not help it and despite all her complaining Katrina knew that it was all from his excitement. She was excited as well, but also nervous. Not just about visiting the doctor, but the evening as well. Due to the distance and other activities that she had at the capital, Ryan had insisted on her spending the next couple of days at his house. She had intended on spending at a hotel but he had been quite an insistence and in on the end, he had won. His reasoning being quite sensible contrary to what she had come to expect in the years she had been married to him. They were still married but only in paper and for how long, Katrina did not know. She had never allowed herself to truly think about it and with her budding business that was taking much of her time and brain space, Katrina found that it was not hard as it once was. Business kept her mind busy and the fulfillment she got from it was another thing that usually kept her going most of the time. "I was thinking. After the appointment... We can go shopping..." "What for Ryan?" Katrina scoffed, but the man remained unfazed. "Baby stuff of course and I am sure in a few months you will need maternity wear?" she looked back at him in shock. "What? What did I say?" "No. Nothing." she shook her head still shocked at the man that was seating beside her. Was he the same man she had grown used to? What had changed in him? And how had he gotten so considerate? She shook her head again still skeptical of the changes she was seeing in him. After all, he was still that man who had broken her. "Ryan," Katrina complained. "I am totally capable of supporting myself!" she hissed even as she pushed his hand away, the one that was even now stretched out offering to assist her out of the vehicle. "You heard what the doctor said, you are not supposed to strain yourself too much." Katrina huffed as she rolled her eyes at him. "Let me guess, you are going to carry me now," "If you allow it, I am more than capable" he smirked back at her flexing his muscles in a show of strength. "No. Don't even think about it. She shoved him aside even as she proceeded to walk up the front steps of the two-story townhouse. She had never been here before, but she knew of it. The place where her reclusive husband had always retreated to. She knew that it doubled as his studio but also that it had been his sanctuary away from their arranged marriage. Now as she stood on the threshold, many thoughts crisscrossed her mind. Was she the first woman that he had ever taken here or was she one among many? She quickly rid herself of those thoughts, unwilling to wallow in the negativity that they brought in. After all, it no longer mattered. Whatever they once had was now as good as dead and poisoning her thoughts with such emotions would do no good for her state of mind nor for the baby who was now her highest priority. "What are you waiting for? Go in." Ryan encouraged even as he came in after her with her overnight bag and the rest of their shopping bags. Slowly, Katrina walked in still feeling hesitant. "You've never been here." She didn't know if those words were meant to be a question or a statement, but she nodded her head either way even as her eyes took in its plush interior. "Your bedroom is this way." He said to her again leading her from the cream corridor and up a flight of stairs with a polished mahogany railing. At least he had the mind to give her bedroom, who knew what sharing a room would lead to her this time. She shook those thoughts away quite unwilling to revisit that past but the memories persisted. She had been so naive, to think that he would love her. That he had somehow overcome that obstacle that had been placed in his mind? It was just a few months ago, but Katrina prided herself in having become wiser. She would not repeat that foolishness again and as soon as possible, after they had settled this baby matter, she would give him the papers that would finally end their sham of a marriage. "Here we are..." He said even as he pulled open one of the four doors present on the first-floor corridor. The door that was on the South Eastern side of the cuboid for that was what the corridor resembled. Katrina followed him into the room that was so unlike the rest of the house in that it lacked character. The walls were bland, painted with a bright white and apart from one blue grey wall...The surfaces within it remained bare. The bed was also white and so were the beddings and a fluffy white rug that was spread out in the middle of the room. There was also a window or a door that seemed to open out to a balcony and on the farthest corner of the room, she noticed another white door that had been earlier concealed by the white wall around it and Katrina found herself wondering where it led. "Is that..." She lifted a hand to point. "Yes...a bathroom and a closet." Ryan replied even as he walked over to yank it open. True his word, she followed him in to find a corridor that was lined with shelves and wardrobes, and on the farthest end, there was a huge bathroom with a double sink, complete with a shower cubicle and a hot tub. "Forgive me," Ryan said as he scratched his head nervously. "Why, what have you done?" He smiled sheepishly. "It's a shared bathroom." He said pointing to the other end where another door was connected to it. "But I placed a key here." He said even as he walked over to the door. "When you are using it, you can always lock it like this." He added turning the key. "Great to know that you won't be trying to seduce me while I am staying here, under your roof." Not that he ever looked at her that way, but she had to be sure. Katrina thought quite bitterly to herself. "No, I promise not to do that. I want you to be comfortable here. No stress and that is a promise you." The man muttered even as he moved further away from her. "If you need anything, I will be in the kitchen making us some dinner." He smiled. "I can help." "No, I think you should rest. Doctors orders!" "Ryan! I am not that fragile." She protested. "No but you are carrying my little princess and I want her to have the very best treatment there is." He smiled widely. "We do not even know if it is a girl or not." "No, but I have a gut feeling about it and I already..." he trailed off just as the doorbell rang and reverberated in the floor below. "Let me get that. I will right be back." What was he going to say? Katrina wondered even as she watched his T-shirt covered back retreat through her bedroom door. That he already has a son? Was that why he wanted a girl so he could have a couple? She thought angrily to herself.