I'm not happy with this chapter but I didn't know how to fix it.


July 20th 2017

Regina was frustrated and it wasn't just because Emma's wrist was still weak and healing. Yes, she was unable to reciprocate all the intimacy that Regina had been giving lately but it was more than that.

She was frustrated with the way Emma had been acting. She'd been secretive. Texting and giggling. Leaving the room when her phone rang. Secret meetings.

Of course Regina trusted her fiancée… at least, she wanted to. She knew that Emma would never cheat on her. Right?

The past month had been a mixture of emotions. Emma had been doing reduced duties at work while her broken wrist was healing, and as it was her dominant hand, they had gone four weeks with limited 'couple time'. Well, Regina had been giving, it was the reciprocation that was limited. She was frustrated both because Emma hadn't been really trying and, well… physically.

Emma was frustrating. It wasn't just that she hadn't been the best partner lately, and that she'd been home more but still doing little, it was that she was either really bad at being sneaky, which Regina doubted, or it was that she didn't care enough to hide her behaviour.

The final straw came when Emma had gone into work early while Regina had decided to work from home. She'd asked Henry to do some of the household chores that Emma had been neglecting but there were still some that needed doing and her paperwork load was small. She'd done all the housework in the morning and had been looking forward to her leftover lasagne for her lunch before she got into signing permits and billing businesses.

She opened the fridge, expecting to see her plate of lasagne in the middle, with an already prepared salad separately wrapped. She was surprised to see the bowl of salad still there next to a piece of paper and the tupperwared bacon mac and cheese that she had made especially for Emma's lunch. "Where the hell is my lunch?" She knew she was talking to herself and she knew where her lunch was, she just wasn't happy with the answer. With a huff she picked up the note seeing Emma's messy scrawl, which for some reason frustrated her more. 'Hey babe, thank you for the lasagne! P.S. I love you!' "Of course." She rolled her eyes, scrunching the note into a ball before throwing it back into the fridge, slamming the door shut. With a sigh she reopened the fridge, picking out the salad and the scrunched ball of paper, putting both the note and the saran wrap from the salad in the trash.

She was frustrated that Emma was so clearly taking her for granted. She was frustrated at herself that she had allowed the behaviour to go on for so long, but more so because she couldn't be mad at her fiancée for doing less with a broken wrist.

xxx

Emma returned from work a little after five, and Regina was waiting for her in her study. She had managed to finish all the paperwork she had waiting, as well as booking a plumber to sort out the bathroom she'd asked Emma to fix two weeks ago, liaising with Mary Margaret about some of the details she and Emma had discussed about their wedding, including the venue choices they agreed with and possible dates.

Regina heard the door close and stood from where she was cradling a glass of cider on the sofa, moving to the entryway as she heard Emma whisper.

"I just got home, so I have to go, Gina might overhear me. I'll call you tomorrow ok, or I'll meet you for lunch at Granny's." Regina watched as Emma giggled at the reply from the other end of the phone and hung up, turning quickly to make her way back into her office, where she quickly turned the stereo on and sat at her desk, pretending to look over some forms.

"Gina, baby, where you at?" Regina sat silently, pushing her glasses up her nose, knowing Emma would look for her until she found her. She was right, a minute later, she heard the blonde coming back down the stairs, heading towards where she was. "Babe, are you in here?" Regina cringed at the nickname, not sure whether her behaviour was fake, as Emma popped her head around the door, grinning widely. "There you are!" The brunette was not sure how to handle what she was feeling, not even sure what she was feeling and so decided to give Emma the benefit of the doubt and stood, accepting the one armed hug that Emma offered, smiling when she pulled out some flowers from behind her back.

It was forced and she was frustrated. It seemed more that Emma was feeling guilty rather than she wanted to surprise her fiancée. "Good evening Emma. How was your lunch?" Emma's eyes were bright as she grinned, perching on the side of Regina's desk.

"It was awesome Gina, you know how much I love your lasagne. Can we have it at our wedding?" She seemed excited and her excitement seemed genuine and so Regina nodded, sitting back in her chair.

"Of course Emma, just tell your mother to put it on the list. And maybe tomorrow you'll want to add the mac and cheese that I made for you to take today, when you take it for lunch tomorrow." Her tone was light, but she wanted to see how Emma would react. Emma's expression turned guilty and for a moment, Regina's heart dropped.

"I'm sorry baby, I saw it in the fridge but I didn't realise it wasn't mine. You know how much I love your lasagne… I kind of assumed…or hoped that you'd made it for me." She pouted and Regina found it hard to stay mad at her, at least about this. She loved cooking for her family, and she loved when they enjoyed her food. She had noticed however that Emma had successfully avoided mentioning her lunch plans for the next day.

With a sigh she nodded and picked up the document she was pretending to peruse. Suddenly she was really tired and unsure of her emotions. "Alright Emma, why don't you go and take a shower and I'll get started on dinner. Maybe you can wash the dishes tonight?" Emma nodded and Regina could not see any reaction from her that demonstrated she was not happy to do so.

"Or if you're tired, maybe I can go to Granny's and pick up some takeout?"

"No!" Regina's reaction was loud and immediate and she recoiled at the look of confusion on Emma's face. "I just mean… we need to make an effort to eat healthier, and not be wasting money, you know… with the wedding coming up."

"Oh…kay…" Emma's raised brow reflected her disbelief at the comment and she walked slowly out of the room backwards, her hands raised slightly. "I'll just… go wash up…" She was out of the room in a moment and Regina sighed again, burying her face in her hands.

Emma was so frustrating.

xxx

Regina had made dinner for the family, pretending not to notice the amount of times while they were eating that Emma seemed to be texting under the table, grinning down at her phone on more than one occasion. She did see Henry notice what his blonde mother was doing and she caught his glance at her with raised eyebrows, as if questioning what was going on. Regina simply ignored it, pretending she had no idea what he was insinuating. When the meal was over, Emma stood quickly and made her way out of the dining room, answering her phone that had suddenly started ringing. Regina looked from the now vacant seat, to the doorway she had exited from and then to Henry, the look of confusion on his face matching hers.

"Mom… What's going on?"

Regina raised her brow, hearing a loud laugh from the other room. "I really don't know… your mother is suddenly really popular…"

Regina knew Emma was not stupid. It was clear that if she was doing something that she shouldn't be doing, she wasn't deliberately flaunting it to the brunette. Which led Regina to believe that something else was going on. She couldn't help but be suspicious.

"Go and do your homework Henry, I think your mother and I need to have a talk." The boy simply nodded and stood from the table, hugging his mother quickly before he made his way upstairs. Regina left the dishes in the sink and went to find her fiancée, who ended the call as soon as she saw the brunette. She smiled brightly, and Regina could see no sign of guilt in her features, which confused her all the more.

"Emma…" She couldn't believe she was really saying the words that were coming out of her mouth, it left a sick feeling in her stomach. "Are you having an affair?"


I struggled with this one and I had a bad weekend but I hope to get more chapters out soon.