What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 100

Finnian paused, then looked at Kaia. "I'll go take a shower and come back."

Kaia immediately replied, "If you don't want to, you don't have to. You can go sleep in another room."

Finnian shook his head. "It's not a big deal. Brynlee wants us all together, so we should stay together."

Looking at the absolute hope in her daughter's eyes, Kaia didn't argue. In Brynlee's innocent little world, the three of them sleeping in the same bed on New Year's Eve was an unbreakable family tradition.

After showering, Finnian returned wearing a gray bathrobe. Seeing him come in, Kaia got up to take her own shower, leaving him to play with their daughter on the bed.

Around 10:00 PM, Kaia finished showering, changed into a conservative set of pajamas, and lay down on the far side of the bed.

Finnian looked at her, his expression unreadable, but he didn't say anything. He just turned to Brynlee, who was still full of energy. "Mom is tired. We should go to sleep, too."

"Okay, but I want you to sing me a lullaby first," Brynlee negotiated. She was too hyped up and needed to be coaxed to sleep.

"I'll hum a little," Finnian replied. For some reason, he felt inexplicably awkward singing a lullaby tonight. The stark shift in Kaia's attitude toward him made him feel a strange sense of shame.

"Okay!" Brynlee agreed.

Finnian tucked his daughter into the crook of his arm and hummed a low, soothing melody. Brynlee's eyes grew heavy, and she was just about to drift off.

Suddenly, Finnian's phone buzzed with an incoming text. Then another. And another. A rapid-fire barrage of notifications lit up the screen.

Brynlee's eyes snapped wide open, clearly annoyed by the noise.

"Dad, turn your phone off! It's too loud," she grumbled crankily.

Finnian quickly grabbed his phone and checked the screen. He immediately shot a nervous glance at Kaia.

She was facing away from them, her breathing steady as if she were already asleep.

Finnian typed a rapid reply and flipped his phone to silent before turning back to coax his daughter to sleep.

Hearing the rhythmic sound of her daughter's breathing, Kaia eventually rolled over. In the dim glow of the nightlight, she found herself staring directly into Finnian's intense, watchful eyes.

Kaia froze. He was still awake, and he had been staring at her in the dark.

As their eyes met, a tense, suffocating atmosphere filled the space between them.

Finnian hadn't expected her to turn around. He looked slightly flustered and cleared his throat softly. "Can't sleep?"

Kaia didn't answer. She simply rolled back over, presenting her back to him once again. This time, she forcefully willed herself to fall asleep.

Finnian's Adam's apple bobbed. He stared at the back of her head for a long time before finally closing his own eyes.

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