Chapter 573 Serafina's Hidden Unhappiness 4
Jacob and Serafina dined in unusual silence.
The household staff, attempting to lighten the atmosphere with a few witty remarks, quickly fell silent when neither Jacob nor Serafina responded with even the faintest smile.
As they neared the end of their meal, Jacob set down his fork and looked across at Serafina, his voice measured and quiet. "Those were paparazzi shots. Nothing happened last night, and that actress won't be invited to any more corporate events."
Serafina recognized this for what it was—his explanation, his version of an apology.
She believed Jacob's account, not because she trusted him implicitly, but because a man in his position had no need to lie to her.
Yet this emotionless clarification felt like something offered to "the wife"—a role, a position—rather than to Serafina herself. She understood the distinction all too well.
"I see," she murmured softly, wisely refraining from asking why she hadn't been invited to the event.
Jacob appreciated her discretion, her understanding of boundaries.
In his mind, the storm had already passed. He reached over and touched her arm gently. "I need to handle some business in the study. Take your time finishing dinner—I'll join you later."
Serafina caught the implication immediately. Tonight, he wanted intimacy. She had never understood how Jacob could maintain such passion in bed when genuine feeling was so clearly absent.
Could men truly separate love from desire so completely? For her, such separation was impossible.
Later, as she soaked in the bath, the question lingered in her mind.
She reflected on the early days of their intimacy—there had been affection then, hadn't there? Without some measure of genuine feeling, she never could have accepted him, never could have contemplated creating new life with him.
But that affection gradually blurred with reality, until she could barely remember what it felt like.
The bathroom door opened softly.
Jacob approached the bathtub and knelt beside it, cupping some of the warm water in his palm, his eyes fixed on her. "You've been soaking for half an hour. Feeling lightheaded?"
Though Serafina's body was concealed beneath the water, her damp hair and the delicate curve of her shoulders, gleaming with moisture, held an undeniable allure. As her husband, he could easily imagine what lay beneath the surface.
Since their marriage, their intimacy had been restrained, conventional. Moments of abandon were rare.
Serafina had been raised as a proper lady in a traditional household, and Jacob himself possessed little inclination toward wild passion. Moreover, he preferred not to let her witness him losing control. But tonight felt different—there was a charged undercurrent that seemed to heighten their connection.
He was unusually tender tonight.
In the dressing room afterward, Serafina remained pliant throughout, her cheek resting against Jacob's shoulder as she gazed at their reflection in the mirror, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.
Was this what she truly wanted—a marriage where they shared a bed but not their dreams?
"What are you thinking about?" Jacob noticed her distraction and looked down at her.
Serafina gathered herself and shook her head slightly. Jacob didn't press further, wrapping her in a bathrobe and carrying her from the dressing room.
His gentleness tonight was extraordinary, the way he handled her with such reverence. Yet Serafina understood the truth—everything he did was for the sake of the Windsor family heir.
Perhaps she should be more pragmatic, she thought. She should cooperate with Jacob to conceive quickly, providing the Windsor elders with the grandchild they expected.
Then, perhaps, he wouldn't need to invest so much attention in her, and she wouldn't need to expend energy accommodating him.
It would be a relief for them both, really.
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