It's 6 a.m., and Diesel will give up anything to get back to bed with Addie. Today's on-site meeting is too fucking early, but he cannot do shit about it.

Once, he had his secretary push his meeting back for twenty minutes just so he could take a quick coffee break. Hindi pa nga siya nakahihigop ng kape niya, nag-ring na agad ang kaniyang telepono sa sunod-sunod na tawag ng nanay niya. He knows she loves him, but she's ruthless when it comes to matters about work.

He doesn't even know how her mother found out about the schedule adjustment. From then, he just assumes that Anhelina Villaecija has her eyes and ears all over the walls of the building complex.

And now, he cannot even get breakfast with Addie! Again. How cruel.

"Anong oras ka uuwi mamaya?" Addie asks.

Unlike him, mukhang maganda ang gising nito. She doesn't have to leave as early as him, pero sumabay na ito ng gising nang tumunog ang alarm niya. She had told him earlier that it was because he wouldn't wake up unless she got off the bed.

She's right. He would rather find excuses and handle an earful from his bosses later than trade his morning cuddles with Addie.

He usually doesn't mind taking too much work. Hell, he doesn't mind his mom—the company president—having double standards when it comes to his team and his performance, but he hates this.

Hates that this job is making him wake up at six in the morning to deal with important clients arriving late. Hates that this job is taking too much of his time away from home and from Addie. Hates that he doesn't have a choice because as much as this job is cruel, it's supporting his family. His future family.

His Little Addie's on the way. Nadia's just waiting for a few months to pass.

"Di ko pa alam," he mumbles. He usually gets off work by six in the evening at the earliest, but going home doesn't mean that he can finally rest. He spends about two hours after dinner holed up in his study, perfecting a presentation for schematic design—making sure that everything is going smoothly and there won't be a need to adjust the project calendar.

"Sorry," he adds, his arms suddenly curling around Addie's waist as he pulls her closer to him, making her almost drop a spoon of peanut butter on their dining table. He drops a kiss on her arm. "You want anything?"

"Orange," Addie answers before taking a huge bite off her sandwich.

Diesel nods, hiding his frown by burying his head on the side of her barely noticeable baby bump—reminding him that he has little Addie to feed, so he needs to get ready for work now. "Okay."

Diesel pulls away halfheartedly. He is about to get up from his chair and head back to their room when Addie's phone pings.

Addie picks up her phone from the table, oblivious to how he suddenly wants to glue himself to the dining chair, and pull Addie back closer to him after seeing that text she had just received.

Diesel shakes his head, reminding himself that this irrational jealousy towards a young producer at the same company that Addie's working for is not cute. He's a grown man, wearing a matching ring with Addie, and has their daughter on the way. He bangs his head lightly on their bathroom door a few times before getting in the shower—hoping that it would wash this annoying feeling away.

Diesel knows it's wrong. He didn't mean to read the text that clearly wasn't for him; he's not the type to snoop on Addie's phone. He actually wishes that his eyes weren't that quick to catch the message from Kean—fucking lucky Kean—asking Addie to grab breakfast before he starts on the recording for today. Had he not seen that text, he wouldn't be whining like a twelve-year-old in the shower.

Diesel knows Addie would say yes. And he cannot complain because there is absolutely no problem with that. He should not be bothered, but God, he's so jealous he could feel the pulse in his head growing unbearably loud, threatening to crack his skull.

He tries to fill his mind with happy memories as he steps out of the bathroom to prevent getting a headache before he meets with a client in an hour or so. He thinks and focuses on the things that make him happy. The cold touch of his wedding ring. The bed he shares with Addie. Addie's flats look so small when placed beside his oxford shoes. Nadia. Addie's baby bump. Addie's early pregnancy boobs stretching her blouse. Fuck, Kean can see those. Every fucking weekday.

He pauses while buttoning up his shirt. Runs a hand over his damp hair and fights the urge to pull it out of frustration.

'Tang ina, oo. Kung nakamamatay lang ang selos, pinaglalamayan na siya ngayon. Actually, noong isang linggo pa dapat.

* * *

Addie had mentioned Kean to him last week when he picked her up from work. Lately, bihira siyang magkaroon ng oras para magsundo. So whenever he gets off work early, he makes sure to pick Addie up.

That late afternoon, Addie was all smiles. He thought it was because he finally made time for her after consecutive days of making her go home by herself.

Just a while after dinner, Addie mentions Kean. She says something about having a guitar on the filming set of a music video and playing it for a bit during breaks, when a young producer suddenly walks up to her—who says something along the lines of catching his attention because she plays the guitar well, then asks from what song the melody she's playing is.

Diesel does not remember the exact words nor the details of Adira's story. His mind blacked out when she said she had lunch with him and a few of his co-producers, and then he brought her to the studio to hear an early recording with one of Addie's favorite artists. He couldn't pick up her words well, but she looked happy, so he just nodded—smiling, convincing her that he was listening.

To be fair, he's trying his hardest. But as much as he hates the feeling, jealousy made its way to the depths of his brain, rooting itself in places where his rationality should be. He can't help it.

He's jealous that Kean, whoever that kid was, could get lunch with his Addie. Could talk to Addie about music. Could spend more time with Addie. Could see her any time of day he wanted because, apparently, his studio was just a few floors above Addie's office. Something inside him snapped when Addie told him that Kean had invited her for breakfast the next day, and that she had said yes.

After that, the only words that managed to get past the thick spill of jealousy in his head were arrangement, fret, intervals, and natural harmonics. He doesn't have the tiniest bit of an idea of what the last term meant.

He Googles it before going to sleep, then mentally smacks his head for not taking guitar lessons when he was younger and had a lot of time on his hands.

The next day, he wakes up in a foul mood, wanting to hog Addie to himself the whole day. Unfortunately, he has work to do and has no other choice but to send off his wife and watch her sit at a table for four at a coffee shop across from their headquarters.

Addie waves him goodbye as she settles on the chair in front of a girl with hot pink hair and beside a guy who looked like he had just gotten out of college—probably the Kean she was talking about. He can only return Addie's smile and drive away, ignoring the discomfort brewing in the pit of his stomach.

This job is awful. He's awful. They haven't had breakfast together for several days. He hasn't taken Addie out on a weekend date for three consecutive weeks now. And today, he has to take Addie to someone who can. This . . . this is brutal. He has to pull himself together and be careful not to crash his car and get into an accident just because of his blinding jealousy.

He's an old man, not fifteen. He knows he shouldn't throw tantrums or take his frustration out on his juniors. So he lets himself sulk for half an hour in his office, consistently texting Addie to keep himself calm.

* * *

Diesel pushes thoughts of Kean to the back of his head as he plants a kiss on Addie's forehead. He then places his hand protectively over her baby bump.

"'Yong orange ko, ha?" Addie reminds him before leaning back comfortably on his chest.

A bubble of laughter rises in his throat before he nods. "Dinner?"

Addie cranes her neck up at him. "May meeting ka ng 5 p.m. Anong oras 'yon matatapos?"

Shit, oo nga pala. Diesel frowns, remembering that there's a chance they wouldn't have dinner together this evening. Hindi na nga sila makapag-aalmusal. Hindi na sabay nagla-lunch tuwing weekdays. Pati ba naman dinner?

Addie tiptoes over and kisses his frown away. "It's okay. Sabihan mo na lang ako kung maka-cancel or move, then we can get dinner."

Diesel nods. "Okay," he says, secretly hoping that their client cancels.

* * *

Their client does not cancel.

The absolute worst happens. The meeting is pushed back a whole hour, and Diesel cannot say no because he would then be too tired to deal with an earful from his mom. He thinks of a way to have dinner with Addie given this situation. He can drive as fast as possible to get to Addie's workplace, grab the two of them a quick dinner, and come back in time for the meeting.

But Addie messages him a few minutes after his secretary told him that the client would be late. 50% na sa filming!! Dinner with team. Ikaw?

Had to stay late. Sorry :(

It's okay. Orange ko. Her replies are quick; it makes him smile. Pag walang orange wag ka na uwi.

He laughs, momentarily forgetting his annoyance towards the late client. Meron. Ano pang gusto ni bubby? he asks, referring to his Little Addie—the culprit behind the increase in her appetite.

Wala na. Uwi ka agad after.

Okay. Kumakain na kayo?

Addie replies with a group picture. At first, he was all smiles, long pressing on the picture to save it, before zooming into Addie's face. His smile quickly fades when he sees who is sitting beside her. Kean.

Diesel is tempted to ask what Kean is doing there; he knows that Kean is not part of whatever Addie's working at. He sighs, massages his temples, and tells her to stay safe, have fun at the dinner, and let him know when she's home. He keeps his phone in his drawer and doesn't bother checking her reply. He doesn't want to get in a foul mood right before a meeting.

The deliberation lasts for an hour. He ends up buying take-outs after, then eating in his car—alone—even if he doesn't feel like it. Addie would kill him if he skipped dinner. Plus, he knows he needs to take care of himself. Addie's pregnant. He cannot be sick and not be there if an emergency comes up.

Diesel can still taste the bitter jealousy in his mouth when he arrives home. He forces a smile at Addie, gives her a hug and a kiss, then walks to the kitchen to wash the oranges he brought. He peels two for Addie and sits with her on the living room couch after changing clothes, then pretends to be interested in the movie on the screen.

He buries his nose in Addie's hair, reminding himself of what he's doing all this hard work for.

"Akyat na ako," he says after a while of getting lost in her warmth and scent—it's his way of taking a rest.

Addie looks up at him, pressing a segment of orange on his lips. He takes it with his teeth. "Work?"

He hums, nodding. Addie nods back slowly, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. "Sa kuwarto na lang ako."

"Okay," he replies. They both head upstairs. Addie goes to their bedroom, and he enters his study.

Once alone, Diesel feels the crushing weight of exhaustion. His brain is tired. His body is tired. His heart is tired of being jealous. The first one can be fixed with a day off. The second, with sleep. The last one, he's not sure. He can't lash out at anyone.

Diesel trusts Addie. He knows the jealousy is wrong, but he feels it nonetheless. So he lets himself feel—let himself curse Kean in his head while he works, let himself imagine not taking any shit from any of their big-shot clients, let himself be sad about everything. He wouldn't be able to get rid of it if he hadn't let it sit for a while.

When Addie knocks on the door, half the sadness in his heart is already gone, and his mind is already too absorbed with work. For a moment, he takes his gaze off his keyboard and glances at Addie, who is standing by the doorway.

"Tulog na 'ko," she says before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. She walks up to his chair then pulls on the sleeve of his T-shirt.

Diesel pushes his chair away from his table, spreading his legs enough to make room for Addie to sit on his lap. The sleeve-pulling is a code for him to hold her like this.

"May ginagawa ka pa?" Addie asks, eyes on the monitor where a visualization software has been open for about an hour or so.

"Susunod na 'ko," Diesel says instead of answering her question. Addie presses her cheek against his chest, which draws a long sigh from him.

He feels bad for being jealous. Kean cannot hold her like this. Addie doesn't let him. Addie wouldn't let him.

"Okay . . . ," she mumbles, getting off his lap and dropping a kiss on his forehead before stepping out of the room.

Diesel ran a hand over his face when she left. The thing is, he wants to stay here and continue working. He knows it's unhealthy, but it's the only way he'd stop thinking of that producer guy. But then he remembers that he never lets Addie go to sleep alone—not when he's home. He's always on the right side of the bed, either checking his inboxes or working with his laptop on the bedside table if he's not holding Addie close.

He saves the project he's working on and waits for it to render, which doesn't take long, before reclining in his chair and closing his eyes. He stays there for a while, in the calm silence, trying to steady his heart and collect his thoughts. He wants to tell Addie that he's jealous, but has made up his mind not to speak a word about it before leaving his study.

He quietly pads across their bedroom floor, then carefully slips on the spot beside Addie. He places a light kiss on her shoulder before swinging an arm around her waist over the covers. It doesn't take more than a minute for him to relax and fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Addie's not asleep yet.

It's Diesel's absence that keeps her awake. She scrambles her brain for reasons why he's taking so long to go to their room.

She should have dragged him out of his office.

Should she go back there and tell him she needs a hug? He won't say no to that, right?

She closes her eyes the moment she hears the doorknob click. It took Diesel, what, about more than half an hour to get on the bed with her? That almost never happens. There has to be something wrong—something he refuses to let her know.

Addie tries her best to act like she's already asleep. She opens her eyes—just a tiny peek—and sees his hand on her baby bump, his touch light and his fingers relaxed. She waits for a few seconds, listening to his even breathing, before slipping one of her arms out of the covers to hold his hand—slowly interlacing their fingers together to not wake him up. Behind her, Diesel doesn't stir. He had fallen asleep.

Addie wonders if his problem is about work, but a part of her tells her to cross that option off the list. Diesel's whiny when he has problems at work. He'll rant to her about it for hours over dinner, then ask for a hug because he's tired, and his mother's being mean, and he misses going on dates.

Addie's thumb pauses on stroking Diesel's hand. Dates. He misses going on dates. She knows because she misses it, too.

She sighs, releases Diesel's hand from her hold, then slowly turns to face him. She inches closer and kisses the tip of his nose, before nuzzling the nook of his neck.

* * *

Addie knows what she has to do.

She dresses up for work while waiting for Diesel to finish taking a bath. Buong akala niya, wala lang kay Diesel ang pagtanggi-tanggi niya halos araw-araw kapag inaaya siya nito kung saan. Sometimes he would ask if they could have breakfast or lunch together, and she would say no and reason that she was busy. Kahit hindi naman talaga. She just doesn't want Diesel to go out of his way to treat her somewhere when he's always loaded with work.

She thought she was doing him a favor by always, always declining. Well, mali siya. She cannot believe she has forgotten how clingy he can be sometimes. And how he gets sad when he feels like he's being ignored.

"Hatid mo 'ko?" Addie asks the moment Diesel steps out of the bathroom.

Napatigil si Diesel saglit sa pagtutuyo ng buhok at natulala pa sa kaniya. He clears his throat, as if collecting himself, then nods eagerly. "Okay."

"Breakfast?"

Diesel pauses to button his shirt. Addie smiles at him and walks over to help with that. She smooths her hand over his chest when she's done, then picks up his tie on the bedside table. The sides of her lips quirk up when she feels his hands crawling on her lower back.

"Puwede ba?" Diesel asks. "You're not getting breakfast with Kean?"

Her eyebrows furrow before she looks up at him to meet his gaze.

Diesel looks to the right, avoiding her eyes. "Not like I have a problem with that, if you had plans," he mumbles.

Addie smiles because it's cute that he's pretending not to be bothered. "No. At kung mag-aya siya . . ." Addie notices the subtle rising and falling of his chest. He obviously doesn't like the idea of that. She wishes she had noticed it sooner.  ". . . I'd say, 'No, I would like to have breakfast with my husband, thank you very much.'"

"Psh." The childish response made her laugh. Diesel dips his head and claims her lips, shutting her up.

He grumbles in protest when she pulls away. Addie wants to grab some breakfast with him and make it to work on time. For them to be able to do that, they need to leave already and not spend the next half an hour kissing in their bedroom.

"Suit up already. Gutom na ako," she says, smacking him on the arm when he leans again to try for another kiss.

The morning traffic jam gets in the way of their breakfast date, but they somehow manage to grab some iced chocolate and bagels. They eat in the car, and since both of Diesel's hands are occupied—one on the steering wheel and the other on her thigh—she's in charge of feeding him. He lets her. It's not the most ideal breakfast date, but it is enough.

Diesel grabs his drink from the carrier as she takes off her seatbelt. He raises both his brows questioningly when he catches her looking. "Hatid mo 'ko sa taas?"

Dahil halos paubos na ang iniinom ni Diesel, rinig na rinig ni Addie kung paano siya biglang tumigil sa paghigop. Sinubukan nitong hindi matawa sa hitsura niya. She knows exactly what he's thinking. Alam nitong iniisip na niya kung makikita niya si Kean sa itaas at kung makapambabakod ba siya.

Addie doesn't think that Diesel's problem is Kean per se. She thinks he's more upset about not having much time like they used to when they were in college, and probably thinks too that someone is taking up the space meant for him. Which is stupid because, God, they're married. She carries his surname. She's pregnant with his child. And Kean is years younger than her and definitely not her type.

But in a way, she also finds it cute—how he tries his hardest to act mature, tough, and unbothered. She has never heard him, not even once, badmouth Kean or even ask why she hangs out with him—which are things he would probably have done if they were still in college. Maybe it's because of the "cool-off" thing—which barely lasted a day—that happened when he was in training and she was graduating.

She can see every day that he's trying his best to balance managing his work and taking care of his family (her and Nadia). He has not touched a stick of cigarette in years—not even when he's too stressed and almost at a breaking point. There was a phase in his first year of training where he turned to cigarettes when things seemed to not fall into place, and they argued about it several times because she doesn't like the smell. The arguments are the worst when they are both tired.

She's glad they're out of that phase. Their marriage is not perfect, and sometimes they still argue about who forgot to turn the garage lights off, but every day she finds a good side of him enough to make her stay. All the time, she feels so loved, and that enough reminds her why she keeps on choosing a life with him over and over again, above anything else.

"Ibang floor? You moved?" he asks, curious as they step off the lift.

Diesel doesn't notice, but Addie gives the intern—who was in the elevator with them—a stink-eye when she catches her shamelessly ogling her husband. She usually doesn't mind, and by now she should be getting used to it, but on the rarest occasions like today, a pang of possessiveness kicks in. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, who knows?

"May recording. Sabi ni Kean, puwede raw akong makinig," she says and lifts her head to see how Diesel reacts at the mention of Kean's name. She catches him frowning for a second before setting his jaw.

Napansin ni Addie ang intern na halos kasabay lang nilang maglakad. She knows who she is. She keeps seeing her around Kean's booth, kaya natural lang din na parehas sila ng direksiyong pinupuntahan. It annoys her.

Napasimangot siya nang mahuli ang intern na sumisilay na naman sa asawa niya. She will never admit it to Diesel, but part of the reason she rarely brings him to work is that she's certain that more than half the people in the building would be interested in him. And no, she's not only talking about the young interns. She means the talent scouts, sponsors, managers, and random tippers who have eyes and ears everywhere. It probably wouldn't matter to them if they found out that Diesel couldn't even hold a single note. His face is enough for them to sell.

Addie squeezes Diesel's hand. That prompts him to lift their intertwined fingers to his lips, then drop a few kisses on her knuckles before setting them down. The frown on the intern's face makes her smile.

They stop at a corner, just an equipment storage room away from Kean's studio. Addie smiles at Kean, who is standing near the door talking to an artist, when he waves at her. Addie turns to look at Diesel when she feels his hold on her hand tighten, but only for a fragment of a second.

Diesel tears his gaze away from Kean and shifts it to her. He smiles, and she knows him well enough to figure out that he's faking it. She closes her eyes as Diesel presses his lips against her temple. When she opens them, she finds the intern looking in their direction. Again. Bakit ba 'to tingin nang tingin?!

She tugs on Diesel's sleeve, then tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. She knows she's blessed to have him as her other half. And as they always say, share your blessings. Too bad because she doesn't want to.

* * *

Diesel thought the kiss would be quick, but Addie pulled on his tie to keep his lips at a level she could comfortably reach when he tried to pull away. She kisses him a little longer than he expected.

Reluctantly, he peels himself away from her with one last, soft tug on her lower lip. Just before his pants could tighten around the crotch area.

Addie fixes his tie. When she's done, she smiles sweetly at him as if she had not just transferred all her strawberry lip balm onto him a few seconds ago.

Then he remembers that they're out in public. And Kean's there, just a few feet away. He saw—probably even watched—them.

A grin stretches across his face. It's not petty to feel happy, giddy, and satisfied that his wife kissed him in front of the guy he's jealous of, right? If it were, he still doesn't care. He'll ask his juniors to get lunch with him later—his treat!—as a celebration for this win.

God, he loves being married to her. 

"I love you," she mumbles. "Ingat, and try to come home early."

"Yes, ma'am," he replies, nodding, his grin not fading for a bit. "I love love love love love love you."

Addie chuckles. He still hears the pleasant sound of it in his car as he drives to work.

He runs his tongue over his lower lip to find the sweet taste of their kiss, replacing the bitter jealousy that was there just yesterday.