Punishment for a Reason (1)**

The next day, Jayra was the first to wake up as she made her preparations. She and Bartos had to leave early, with the latter having to drop her off at the castle first before he would proceed to the arena for the commencement of the tournament.

Taking a bit of a stretch, she was about to get out of bed when Bartos's arm firmly held her back, refusing to let her go.

"Husband? Are you awake?" Jayra whispered as she felt Bartos's breath land on the crook of her neck.

"I am," Bartos whispered out. "You took so long last night with Bella, leaving me out to dry like that... I should scold that brat…"

Jayra chuckled at her husband's words. She indeed took so long talking with her sister-in-law last night that the moment she arrived inside their bedchamber, Bartos was already soundly asleep. She contemplated waking him for a bit of fun, but she quickly decided against it, what with them still having a few responsibilities to uphold the day after.