The morning was filled with noisy cutlery.
He was mad at her.
She could tell.
He was so dashing when he was mad.
His hair was still a bed hair mess, even though he had showered.
He looked so good in his work clothes, a luxurious, custom-tailored charcoal gray suit, sharp enough to cut through tension.
The crisp white shirt underneath was perfectly pressed, and the silk tie, a deep shade of blue, matched his piercing eyes.
His polished leather shoes reflected the warm glow of the chandelier above them.
She sat at the long mahogany dining table, its glossy surface gleaming under the cascading light of an opulent crystal chandelier.
The plates were fine bone china, rimmed with gold, and the cutlery was polished silver, heavy and elegant.
A centerpiece of fresh white roses and lilies adorned the table, sitting between bowls of exotic fruit and delicate glassware that caught the morning sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows.
The room itself was grand, with high ceilings, ornate molding, and large, abstract oil paintings that adorned the walls.
She listened to the sound of her teeth crushing the bones of chicken.
"You ate me."
"Why are you eating me?" the chicken fried between her teeth.
She closed her eyes and continued to chew. "I have feelings too, you know?" the chicken cried.
And she got really pissed.
She took the pen knife from her place setting and began to stab the chicken on her plate. "Shut the fuck up," she said calmly.
The knife crashed through its tenderly cooked bones, slamming against the delicate china plate. "Shut the fuck up!" she said louder now.
"You ate me!" it cried.
She now screamed, "Shut the fuck up!"
"Elizabeth!"
His voice was a calm in the noisy haze, and her gaze suddenly snapped up, locking into his worried, bright blue eyes.
"Are you alright?" he asked kindly.
Not act normal?
Not stop scaring me?
Not what the hell are you doing?
The usual reactions she got from her parents, family, friends, and colleagues.
No.
It was simply, Are you alright?
How could she share such a wonderful man with even oxygen?
She was jealous.
"I want your man too," the chicken said, licking its lips.
Elizabeth picked it up, tossed it on the ground, and stepped on it as it screamed to only her hearing.
"I thought you were mad at me," she said calmly, admiring his blue gaze.
"I'm never mad at you."
Her heart melted.
Fuck him.
Fuck him for being the only thing keeping her sane.
"...But."
Oh, there was a but, she thought.
His grip tightened over the silver spoon he held. "Did you kill her?"
"Who?" she asked, truly curious.
"That woman yesterday," he said.
She cocked her head to the side.
Ah, that woman even in the grave must still wish for death if she still dwells in your thoughts, she thought to herself.
Should she drag her back from hell and stab her again?
She said nothing but gave him a coy smile. "Does the sun rise in the east?"
That was all the answer he needed to turn pale.