Riley woke up with a jolt into the dark room, scrambling for the switch on her bedside lamp. Her fingers find the contraption and click it, shedding light on the milky blackness. According to her alarm clock, it was the wrong side of 3 AM.
She looks to her side and realizes she was sleeping alone again. Sighing, she stands up, puts on her robe and a pair of slippers and walks out the door. One of her bodyguards was standing out the door, but she did not speak with him, as she knew he would not answer her. She merely briskly walked down the large hallways with him dutifully in tow.
As she reaches the library, lo and behold, her husband's bodyguard was standing in front of the door, too. Hers took to the side of his, while she bursts into the room.
Everyone in the palace was asleep by now, there was no urgent matter that could not wait until sunrise. Hell, the cooks and pantry workers, the first to wake up, were probably turning on their beds at this hour.
"Why are you still here?" Riley bluntly asked her husband as she entered the study, finding him thrown over documents and maps, with his only source of light being a reading lamp over his hands.
"I still have loads to do." Liam replied without looking up from the papers on the desk, waving his left hand dismissively.
"And reading until your eyes pop out of your head will save Cordonia from socio-political colapse?" She asked, raising her dark eyebrows and crossing her thin arms.
"Maybe." Her husband replied. "My father hated reading. At this point, I'm trying anything."
She snorted derisively in response.
"Why isn't Drake helping you? He is Crown Attorney, after all. It's his job." Riley asked curiously while she was looking at some titles in Liam's private library, looking for a book to pop to her and she has not read yet.
"I didn't ask for his help. He is tired." Liam explained. "There are things I have to do alone."
"Anything I can help you with?" She asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing that you should concern yourself with."
"I'm going to read this." She said, motioning the book out of cordiality, and walked to the couch without receiving an answer from Liam. When he wanted, he could be most bitter.
With all her study and dedication, Riley could never hope to convince her husband of her academic credentials to deal with the hard and puzzling aspects of governance. It was a fact of life, like the blueness of the sky, that she merely accepted and worked around. Alas, she would not insist with him about her capacity to help him. He could tire his eyes all he wanted.
"I received three letters today from the Saudi embassy, pressuring the government to review the agreement they sent us." Liam commented, still without looking at his wife.
"I thought we agreed that it was a bad idea signing that thing." Riley said, stroking the cover of her book.
Saudi Arabia was looking for an ally on the European continent that would support its conservative policies and serve as a safe outpost for imports, and they were willing to throw a lot of money on whomever was willing to serve as such. The Greeks wanted it, but the German heeled them in already; Kosovo was out of the question, being a limited-recognition nation; and Croatia was embroiled in its own dealings with the EU.
It came down to them or Serbia, and they thought Cordonia would make for a more docile ally, given the monarchical tendencies of most of their politicians. Riley thought it was bad optics, but Liam said it would be hard to resist, especially since the EU had declined making a counterproposal.
"We did, but the Prime Minister does not agree with us." Liam murmured giving her a tired smile.
Riley curled up in the armchair and began her reading with no further words on the situation. The hours went by before she, after reaching a little after the halfway point of the book, fell asleep in a position that would surely give her great pain in the neck during the day.
Liam sighed. The same thing always happened, whether Riley was helping him or coming to drag him to bed like the night before. She always fell asleep before it was over.
He decided it had already been too much for both of them, his temples and eyes throbbing with the effort he was making to keep his eyes open. Liam came up to his dearest wife, took the book from her hands.
Looking at her like that, thrown on an armchair, he feels guilty about being selfish all those years ago and choosing to marry for love. Had he had a marriage of convenience; he would not submit anyone else to the heavy burden he feels he carries. He would be alone, but Riley would have a chance on having a husband that slept next to her every night, of a quiet life some corner of the world.
Sighing, he took charge, turning off the lamp on the desk before taking her on his arms and leaving the study.
"It's cold." She murmured against his chest
"It's winter." Liam replied as if it were answer enough. "You are in your nightgown and robe"
"You should come to bed earlier so I don't get sick from going to the study to look for you." She replied. "You also need to sleep over two hours if you want to live long."
"I know." Liam answered, opening the door to his room.
She opened one eye to look at him funny. "Did you just agree with me?"
"You make a good point occasionally." He said.
She chuckled. "And what an occasion that is!"
Liam rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay? I promise to be here more often at night."
He sealed the promise by kissing Riley on the forehead before laying her on the bed.
"I love you, but you have to stop making this a habit or you will arrive at 40 all wrinkled." She told him with your eyes closed listening as he prepared to go to bed with her.
"Are you telling me you won't love me wrinkled?" Liam asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I would love you, anyway." She answered, opening her eyes and turning to look at him with a small smile.
Liam got into bed and encroaching her with a hug. "I love you."
"I love you, too."