Chapter 1

The street noises were unmistakable. Despite this late hour, the traffic was still heavy. Cars, motorcycles, lorries, buses and trams were driving through the streets of this part of the city. Squeaking noises, which occurred when wet tyres slid over the slippery asphalt, echoed through the air and hurt her ears. These vehicles beeped their horns, braked loudly or caused other annoying noises. The noises of traffic were unbearable.

Jaina Menethil wished she could cover her ears with her hands and make these noises stop but she couldn't because none of her hands were free. Her left hand held the hand of her son while the other rested on the back of her daughter who she held in her arm. Her two years old daughter pressed herself tightly against her, her head leaned on her shoulder.

Jaina couldn't prevent these annoying noises from ringing in her ears nor could she stop the rain from falling down on her and her children. At least Uther and Jasime wore waterproof clothes. Rain ponchos with hoods that protected their heads. Unlike their mother, they didn't get wet. Jaina had made the mistake to not look at the weather report before she had left the house to pick up her children from nursery and primary school. The only reason her children wore waterproof clothes was because their father had read the weather report for that day and for the following days before he had brought them to their schools.

Jaina had not put on the right clothes for the weather and now she had to pay the price for that mistake. Her clothes were soaking wet, so was her blonde hair which stuck to her head. Her skin could be partly seen through her white blouse and her middle-length skirt, which reached to her knees. She could only hope that her underwear could not be seen. That would be very embarrassing. But Jaina had worse problems than that at the moment.

Her blue high heels made it almost impossible to make quick steps as long as the ground was wet. She hardly got out of the spot. She was shivering, the rain ran down her neck and even over her back. Her lips were blue because of the cold, her bottom lip was trembling. She might catch a cold if she wouldn't get rid of her wet clothes soon. But there was no way for her to change.

The only place where she could change was her house but she was not even close to it. She was in an urban fringe district while her house was in the city centre. She would have to travel for at least one hour by car or for two hours by bus. She was certain she would catch a cold which could mean that she might infect her children sooner or later. She didn't want that to happen but there was nothing she could do about that. At least not at this very moment.

"I'm feeling cold mommy," whined Uther.

Jaina turned her head to look at her eight-year-old son, noticing that his face was wet and he was shivering a little. She softly ran her thumb over his knuckles. "Our uber should arrive at any minute, sweetheart. You will feel much warmer once we are in the car. Stay patient."

"But I want the cold to stop now," he responded defiantly.

Worry was reflected by Jaina's facial expression. "I can't change things, sweetheart. If I could make the cold disappear, I would have already done that. You will feel much warmer soon. Promised."

"Why doesn't dad pick us up?" Uther asked.

"Your dad is still working. He has much to do today, so he won't be able to pick us up," Jaina replied, remembering the message she got from Arthas an hour ago.

'I'm sorry, babe. I can't pick you up because there is so much work to do today. One of my co-workers reported himself sick, so I have to do the work he would have done today. I told Falric to pick you up. He will be there in an hour.

Sorry for leaving you in the lurch. Again.

I love you. *heart*'

"Dad is always busy," remarked Jasmine. She had the voice of an angel.

Jaina sighed out. "I know, princess. I know. Your dad has important work to do. Very important work."

"I haven't seen him for three days," replied the blonde two-year-old.

"In the past weeks, dad often comes home when you are already sleeping. I wish I could change things but I can't. If your father could change things he would. He doesn't want to be apart from you but he has no other choice. His work is very important."

Jasmine said nothing in return, she just merely nodded. Jaina drifted off in thoughts. Thought about her children and her husband. But she wasn't allowed to stay long in her thoughts. The loud horn of a car brought her back to reality. She turned her head to the left, noticing the black car that stood at the roadside.

For the first time of the past hour, a smile appeared on her lips as she saw the familiar man getting out of the car. He wore a black hat and a black suit, his face didn't hide his age. He was sixty years old, his skin was creasy and his hair was grey. He looked very fit for his age and was very fast. He passed the distance between the car and Jaina in mere seconds and took Jaina's daughter out of her arm before she could do anything about it. He brought her to the car quickly and Uther followed him. Jaina walked as fast as her high heels allowed it, arriving at the car half a minute later.

"Get in here really quickly, MsJaina. I don't want you to get wetter than you already are," said the man.

Jaina didn't hesitate to get in and sat down on the towel the man had put there for her.

"Thanks, Falric. You are our saviour. My car didn't want to start, Arthas is still working and you know how full the trams and buses are at this hour. I wouldn't know what I would do without you. I don't want to imagine how late we would arrive at home if we would travel by public transport.

Falric turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder as soon as he sat on the driver's seat. A smile could be seen on his lips. "No problem, Ms Jaina. I help whenever I can. Even if your husband wouldn't have asked me to pick you up, I still would have done it if you would have called me."

"I'm glad I can always count on you, Falric. I don't want to imagine what I would do without you at this moment."

"You would have probably ordered a taxi."

"They would have needed much longer than you to get to this place," said Jaina as she made sure both of her children were sitting strapped on their child safety seats. She sat between them and put the seat belt around her waist and right shoulder, looking at her children who were smiling at her. She returned their smiles, dried her hands with another towel before she caressed the heads of her children. She watched them silently when she dried her hair.

"You can put the wet towel on the car mats. I will pick them up later. You can also leave the towel, you are sitting on, on the seat."

"Wouldn't that be bad for the leather?"

"Even if, I can exchange the leather seats. Your husband is the one who pays the bill for the company cars. Even if this would be my car, I wouldn't mind. It's not that I'm lacking money. Your husband pays me very well. These days, I earn more money than when his father had led the company. Terenas was a good man but he was miserly. He only paid what he had to. Despite that, he was a wonderful boss. God bless his soul."

"Arthas only wants the best for his co-workers," replied Jaina.

"Indeed," said Falric. "He is a good boss."

Nobody said a word or made a noise in the next ten minutes. Not even her children. They sat silently in their seats, Uther looked out of the window while Jasmine sucked her thumb. She replaced it later with her mother's thumb, making sure she didn't bite her accidentally. Jaina smiled at her and caressed her cheek, looking out of the window a few minutes later. It had become much darker outside but the streets and the pavements were illuminated by street lamps. Unfortunately, there were still too many vehicles on the streets, so they weren't as fast as they had hoped.

Jaina looked at her watch when they finally reached the city centre. It was twenty-one o'clock. Usually, her children would already be in bed but due to the car incident, they will go to bed much later. Jaina was glad that they already ate. That way, she only had to bath them and dry their hair before she would tuck them in their beds. Things would be much easier if Arthas would be home but she doubted that. It was not unlikely that he will come home around midnight. Just like the past three days.

"Did you call the breakdown service already?" Falric asked after a while.

"I did. They said they would pick it up as soon as they can. They will inform me once they fixed the problem."

"Let's hope they will fix it soon."

"I have another car which I can use. It's smaller than the other car but it does its job. I don't really care how expensive my car is as long as it brings me from one place to another," replied Jaina.

"I like big cars. Big cars with loud engines. My company car is a silent one but my private car is a machine. I love it when it roars loudly whenever I start it or when I really step on the gas," explained the older man.

"I prefer quiet cars. Arthas is different. He also likes loud cars."

"Indeed, he does. Anyway, we are almost there, Ms Jaina."

Jaina sighed out in relief as the car turned off into the familiar street. They passed familiar houses until they came to their destination. A large house that was made of red bricks. It was not too large but not too small either. It was an old Victorian house with two floors, the roof was covered by black tiles.

There were lots of expensive decorative elements in the front garden which was not that small either. It was safe to say that living in that house cost a lot of money but Jaina's family had enough money. Jaina liked the look of the house, the only objection she had was that it was too big for her liking. They didn't really need all rooms on both floors nor did they need such a huge front garden. The size of the backyard was perfect. The kids had enough space to play.

As beautiful as the house was, it causes a lot of work. Cleaning, hoovering, tending the plants in the front garden and much more. Sometimes everything was too much for Jaina. She had to take care of the kids, do housework, go shopping so that they had something to eat and many other tasks.

Often, she didn't have much time for herself once she was done with everything. Often, she was so tired after all the housework that she went straight to bed. She rarely had the time to pursue her own interests and do something she loved to do. If only they had nannies. Her daily life would be much easier if someone would help her. But Arthas didn't want to have strangers in his house, so Jaina had to do everything alone.

As soon as the engine stopped, Jaina turned to Jasmine and unbuckled her, taking her out of her seat. She wrapped her arm around the girl's back, pressing her against herself. Jaina opened the right car door with the other hand, climbing out of the vehicle. She walked to the other side of the car, waiting until no car was in her sight and opened the door, allowing Uther to climb out. She closed the door and waved at Falric who looked at her through the car's left outside mirror. He turned his head and smiled at her, signalizing her that it was a pleasure for him to escort her and her children.

Jaina waved him goodbye and walked to the pavement, her gaze rested on Falric's car for a few moments before it wandered to the house. She heard the roaring of the engine, knowing that Falric would drive away at any moment. The car was almost out of her sight when she looked at it again.

Jaina checked her surroundings when she walked to the garden gate. It was much darker than before, the only sources of light were the street lanterns and the illuminated windows of the neighbour houses. The windows of Jaina's house were dark. She was not able to see much of the front garden until she had passed the first half of the path. The lights of the veranda turned on as the motion sensor detected the movement of Jaina and her son.

Jaina took her bunch of keys out of her pocket, cursing silently as it slipped out her hand. Fortunately, Uther picked it up and gave it to her so that she didn't have to bend down. "Thank you, big man," Jaina said and put the right key into the keyhole. Uther smiled at her but said nothing. He didn't even say anything when his mother tried to open the door without success.

"Why must this damn door always jam," Jaina cursed louder this time. "I told Arthas ten times to fix the door or at least hire someone to fix it."

Jaina got to her knees and set Jasmine on the floor. The girl looked at Jaina with big eyes, her hands pointed at her. Jasmine wanted to get in her mother's arm again. "Give me a moment, princess. I have to open the door first and then I will lift you up again as soon as we took off your wet clothes."

The girl merely nodded. Jaina stood up again and pressed her body against the door when she pressed the door-handle down again and turned the key to the right. She pressed harder, opening the door after a minute. She sighed out in relief as the door swung open. She turned her head and looked at her children who didn't hesitate to enter the house.

Jaina checked her surroundings once again, noticing that it was raining much heavier than before. She turned off the light of the veranda and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Her son had already turned on the light and started to take off his rain poncho. Jasmine, on the other hand, struggled to take off her pink rain poncho.

"Let me help you, princess," Jaina said softly as she stepped to her daughter and bent down, opening one button after the other. She helped her to remove her boots and her pair of trousers, noticing that the clothes beneath were dry. The poncho and the pair of trousers had served their purpose. Jasmine's hair was as dry as the pink pair of tights and the pink pullover she wore. Uther's hair and clothes were dry too.

She looked at Uther. "Will you go with your sister to the living room and wait there for me? I will make your bath ready in the meantime."

"I will."

Jaina smiled and caressed his head. "Thank you, sweetheart." She watched Uther taking his sister's hand and guiding her to the living room. Jaina went straight to the bathroom and put the wet clothes on the radiator. She turned it on the highest level and then walked over to the bathtub, turning it on. She put a few drops of their favourite bubble bath shampoo in the tub and then walked to the washbasin to wash her hands.

She lifted her head to look in the mirror, noticing that her skin was paler than usual. Her makeup was runny so that the dark circles beneath her eyes could be slightly seen. She removed the makeup and ran her fingers through her hair that was still wet from the rain. She untied the knots and then removed her wet clothes, putting them on the radiator. She even had to remove her underwear because it was also soaked.

She regarded her reflection in the mirror. Despite the facts that she was thirty-seven years old and had given birth to two children, she was still very attractive. She was satisfied with her body. There was only one thing that bothered her sometimes. Her breasts. They were too large for her liking.

They had the perfect size in matters of look but they were causing her back problems. They were too big and heavy for her back. Her back couldn't handle her d-cups. It was hurting from time to time and always at the wrong moments. They were a burden from time to time but she didn't want to make them smaller, knowing that Arthas loved them the way they were.

A quiet sigh escaped Jaina's lips as she pulled a towel from the towel rack and wrapped it around her body. She walked back to the tub, putting her hand in the water to feel the temperature. It was perfect. She left the bathroom without hesitation, walking to the living room. Her children were sitting on the settee, Jasmine was playing with her dolls while Uther read a book. They looked up as soon as they noticed the presence of their mother, their lips formed happy smiles.

"The bath is ready," Jaina said.

The kids jumped up from the settee and ran over to the bathroom, entering it without hesitation. Jaina followed them quickly and helped Jasmine to remove her remaining clothes. She lifted her into the tub and handed Jasmine her favourite bath toy. A unicorn with a rainbow-coloured mane. Uther's favourite bath toy was a lion with a brown mane. Watching her kids playing together made her forget all the things she had to worry about.

She could watch them forever but she knew that they had to go to bed as fast as possible. They didn't seem tired but they still needed their sleep. Especially Jasmine needed much more sleep than her brother. As much as she loved to watch them, she had to make their bath quick as possible. Jasmine and Uther were not happy when their mother told them that they would have to leave the tub in a few minutes but they accepted it. Uther knew that they were already longer awake than they allowed to so he didn't protest. Nor did Jasmine.

Jaina washed their hair and then dried them with towels.

"Mommy?" Uther asked innocently.

Jaina looked at him. "Yes, big man?"

He turned his head and checked his surroundings. "Where are my pyjamas?"

"And where are mine?" asked Jasmine.

Jaina searched the room but she didn't find them. She realized quickly that she had forgotten them. "They are still in your rooms. Wait here while I get them. Do not move away or do anything else."

They nodded at her.

Jaina hurried out of the bathroom, crossed the living room and reached the staircase to the second floor. She climbed the staircase, left the bordering corridor behind and arrived in front of Uther's room. She entered the room and walked to the other side, making sure that she didn't step on any of his toys that were spread all over the floor. She was still barefoot which meant that stepping on one of these toys would be quite painful. She avoided them successfully, reaching Uther's wardrobe without hurting herself. She took out his favourite pyjamas, the one with a toy knight printed on the chest, and walked back to the door.

She went to Jasmine's room which was completely tidy. She took her favourite pyjamas, which had a unicorn as a motif, out of her wardrobe and left the room quickly. She went down the stairs back to the bathroom, finding her children back in the bathtub. Despite the fact that they had not listened to her, Jaina couldn't be mad at them. They looked so cute with these innocent looks on their faces and Jaina was too tired and exhausted to argue with them.

She said nothing as she lifted Jasmine out of the tub and dried her again, doing the same with Uther. Jasmine was the only one who needed help with her pyjamas.

"It's bedtime, little ones. Prepare yourselves," Jaina said after she had watched them brushing their teeth.

"Can't we stay up a little longer, mommy?" Jasmine asked with big eyes.

Jaina chuckled and caressed her head. "You are already up much longer than you should. It's time to sleep, princess."

Jasmine sulked. "I don't want to go to bed now."

"If you will stay up longer, you will be very tired tomorrow. You will fall asleep in nursery school if you don't get enough sleep. You will miss playing with your friends. Do you want that?"

Jasmine shook her head quickly. "No."

Jaina chuckled again. "See. If you want to be awake enough tomorrow to play with your friends, you have to go to bed now, princess."

Jasmine nodded. Jaina wrapped an arm around her and lifted her up, taking Uther's hand. Together they went to the staircase and climbed it, arriving on the second floor.

"You can already go to your room, Uther. I will come to you as soon as I brought your sister to bed."

Uther nodded. "Okay, mommy," he said before he went to his room. Jaina watched him entering, then she brought Jasmine to her room and laid her in her bed. She pulled her pink blanket above her tiny body, caressing her cheeks carefully.

"Can I hear a bedtime story before you leave?"

Jaina looked at the clock above the door frame. It was shortly past twenty-two o'clock. She looked back at her daughter who looked at her with puppy eyes. It was hard to say no Jasmine when she had that look on her face. Not to mention that Jaina was too tired to argue.

"Fine but only a short one."

"YESS!" Jasmine yelled excited.

The little girl was deeply asleep when Jaina finished the story. She put the book on the bedside table, leaning over her daughter to press a soft kiss on her forehead. She regarded her for a few moments before she pulled the blanket over her body again and walked to the exit. She turned off the light, quietly closed the door behind herself and went to Uther's room.

She found him asleep in his bed, his arms were wrapped around his brown teddy bear, his head rested on his pillow. A small smile could be seen on Jaina's lips when she walked over to him and covered him up with his blue blanket. She kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair, regarding him for a few minutes. He was muttering in his sleep but Jaina was not able to understand any single word. He looked so cute when he was sleeping. Like an angel.

She turned off the light once she was done regarding him and left his room, closing the door. She went back to the bathroom, finding out that the water had gotten cooler in the meantime. She turned the water on and waited until it was warm enough for her liking. She put her glasses on the washbasin and the towel on the towel rack. She set a foot in the water which pleasantly warm temperature made her skin tingle in anticipation. She set the other foot in the water and slowly lowered her body until she sat in the tub. She closed her eyes and welcomed the comfortable warmth.

She leaned back and put her head on the left end of the tub, stretching her legs out. She had needed this so badly. A bath was all she needed at this very moment. She had a very stressful day, so she wanted nothing more than just relax. The bath had the desired effect. It allowed her to relax and forget all of her worries. Her job which could be stressful sometimes, her insufferable mother and the problems she had with her husband. She forgot about the recent arguments they had and just thought about the good things in her life. Her children, the book she was currently writing and many other things.

Jaina took her time to relax. She washed her hair with her favourite shampoo and made sure that there was no hair on her body besides the hair on her head. She allowed herself to relax for a few more minutes after she was done shaving, knowing that she had to leave the tub soon. She didn't want to leave it because she felt so comfortable but she knew she had to. She was still hungry and she also wanted to continue with her book.

She needed longer than expected to motivate herself to get out of the tub but she did it in the end and that was all that mattered. She grabbed the towel she had previously used to cover herself and wrapped it around her body again. She used a hairdryer to get her hair so dry that it no longer dripped. She combed her hair, set her glasses back on her nose and left the bathroom after she had let the water out and rinsed the bathtub.

She went to her and Arthas' room, which was also on the second floor just like the rooms of their children, and took one of her pyjamas out her wardrobe. A blue shirt with short sleeves and a blue pair of shorts. She put on socks as well and went back to the ground floor.

She went straight to the kitchen and made herself something to eat. Her dinner consisted of nothing more than a few slices of bread with cheese as topping and slices of cucumber and tomato as a side dish. The meal was tasty but it didn't quite satisfy her hunger. Nevertheless, she didn't eat more. She was on a diet so she didn't want to eat more. She liked her body the way it was at the moment, so she didn't want to gain weight. She was used to feeling hungry from time to time and she had enough willpower to not eat more than her diet allowed.

Jaina put the used plate and knife in the dishwasher and the cheese and the vegetables back in the fridge before she went into the living room. A loud sigh escaped her lips as she dropped herself on the settee. She did nothing but sitting there for a few minutes, looking at the clock eventually. It was nearly midnight. Jaina realized that she had spent more time in the bathtub than she had wanted. Jaina knew she had to go to bed to guarantee that she would get enough sleep but she wanted to write for a little at least.

She turned on the laptop on the coffee table in front of her and began to write. Only when she heard the sound of a key getting put in a keyhole, she averted her gaze from the screen. A few moments later she heard the door being opened. She had no doubt that Arthas just got home. There was no one except for Jaina's younger brother and Arthas' older sister who had spare keys. It could only be Arthas.

Jaina looked at the screen again to find out how late it was. Almost one o'clock in the morning. Time had passed rapidly. She remained on the settee and finished the paragraph she had begun before she saved the document. She heard Arthas coming closer to the living room but she didn't get up from the comfortable piece of furniture.

Arthas entered the living room half a minute later. Despite the dimed light radiated by the lamps on the ceiling, she was clearly able to recognize Arthas' facial features. He looked exhausted and tired and his skin was paler than usual. He wore a black suit and a brown tie, his long blond hair was loose.

"Good evening, Jaina," he muttered as he went over to the settee and dropped himself next to her. Jaina turned to her husband and looked at him. It was already the next morning so she had technically not seen him for a whole day. It was the first time she saw him since she had gotten up the previous day. She hadn't gotten the chance to spent any time with him because he had been away the whole time. She was too tired to argue with him about him being so late again.

She could tell him that she missed seeing him and that their children missed their father but she was too tired and too exhausted to do that. She just wanted to go to bed and asleep. Arguing with him would only mean that she would get to bed much later. She needed her sleep, so she decided not to approach him about the fact that he was always late at home during the past months.

"Good evening, Arthas," she said quietly and put a hand on his left knee. "How was your day."

"Stressful as always. I took on several employees, so work should be less stressful in the future. I'm sure I'll be home much earlier every day starting next week."

"I hope so. You always came home after midnight in the past few months. The children always ask for you. They miss their dad."

Arthas sighed out and ran his fingers over his tired eyes. "I know, Jaina. I know. I wish I could spend more time with them but there is so much work to do. I even had to ask Uther to help me out. He was in retirement for three years before I asked him. I wish he wouldn't have to work at his age but we don't have the manpower to do the necessary work in time. I mean, I'm the boss of this company so I can't just leave after eight hours of work. I have to work as long as necessary. I would change things if I could. But I can't unfortunately. I promise I'll do everything in my power to be there for the kids. As I said, things should be less stressful at work starting next week."

Jaina nodded. "I hope so. Not only the little ones want to spend time with you. I want to spend time with you too," she said and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She felt one of his arms wrap around her shoulders, making her feel safe and comfortable. She felt his hot breath in her neck which made her skin tingle in excitement. She enjoyed the warmth radiated by his body. She felt his hand on her right upper thigh, but said nothing when he caressed her exposed flesh. Only when he moved his hand further, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Arthas appeared to be less tired than before, lust was reflected by his eyes. His hand came to the area between her legs, two fingers pressed against her flesh. "What are you doing?" Jaina asked confused.

Arthas raised an eyebrow, a questionable look could be seen on his handsome face. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. He didn't remove his hand and continued touching her.

"I'm tired and not in the mood for that. I have a very stressful day behind me."

"So have I. This would help us to relax, honey," Arthas whispered into her ear.

Jaina put her hand on Arthas', removing it from her most sacred place.

"Ah, c'mon, Jaina. I can be quick if you want."

Jaina shook her head. "I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

A slightly frustrated sigh escaped Arthas' lips. "Fine."

"I will go to bed now. Feel free to join me once you are ready."

"I will."

Jaina pressed a quick kiss on his cheek before she got up and went to their bedroom. She laid down on the bed and covered herself with the blanket, closing her eyes. She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard footsteps. Her husband didn't need long to get undressed and lay down next to her. She felt his arms around her upper body and his hot breath in her neck. After a while, his hands wandered.

"Arthas," she said warningly. Her voice was low but sounded dangerous.

"Sorry," he muttered and put his hands back on her belly. He didn't dare to touch any of her erogenous zones again. His quiet snores, which she heard a few minutes later, told Jaina that he had fallen asleep. Sleep didn't let Jaina wait for too long. She fell asleep a few minutes after Arthas.