"Well, looks like my family's coming. Why don't you make us one of those little village dishes you are so popular for."

That was what he said before casually dismissing me from his office, leaving me to my own affairs. He had come home early, luckily the garden hadn't taken too much time. I practically stumbled down the staircase in my anxiety, the amethyst beads weighing heavily on my neck. I almost felt like they were mocking me, but that would remain with me. I also thought over whether I'd see my own family again but he only mentioned his family. Either way, a dinner was needed.

I knew a dish that would go over well, with what little ingredients I had at my hand. The maidservants were already there and one wanted to help me but she understood the more sensitive nature of this whole ordeal. She came to realize that it wasn't so much an issue about the meal but more so straightforward coping, the desire to have some part of me.

I don't know whether it was fear or understanding that made the head of the kitchen accommodate me. She gave me my own little section to work with where I started the dough. It was a mindless experiment, all things coming together based purely on muscle memory. The dish itself was a pastry made with nuts, raisins and some other dried fruits. What we had was raisins, some small amounts of cherries, zest, almonds and walnuts which were fine. They were separated into their little packages, each mixture of the fruits and syrup left in a small satchel of dough. Sealed with a fork, they were then thrown onto a pan and put into the oven, they'd be taken out later but I took to working with the other servants.

It felt more homely with them, like we were back in the village. One girl needed help with the descaling the fish and, although a small frown was earned from a conservative elderly servant, I helped her. Of course, no one dared to deny me or speak against me doing the work. Again, that dichotomy of classes came to mind but I hoped that they just understood that I needed this space away from the role I was barely given a chance to fulfill.

In that same hierarchy, my husband stood over me and when he burst into the room and saw me working on everything except my own dish, he frowned. He more particularly noticed how I was teaching one of the girls the proper method of descaling and filleting a fish. To him, however, she was slacking off and so he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to the side of the kitchen.

"That's her job, not yours."

"She needed help and -"

"Then she must get someone else to help her. You're not them, you're now in a higher class, act like it."

"But-"

"I am your husband, you will listen to me and that is final."

With that, he left. The silence in the kitchen was mortifying and I didn't dare look around when I walked back to my station and patiently waited for the pastries to finish cooking. They all got to their own work, and when I looked at the girl who needed help, she didn't meet my eyes.

The pastries were prepared and I was in the room getting changed. Raiel had not been in view for most of the day, still in his office. There were two maidservants attending to me at that point but I tried to keep the clothing minimal. The applied sandalwood paste to my feet, wrists and neck before putting on the clothes which were simple, baggy to accommodate the recent heatwaves.

Eventually, we were called to go wait in the foyer to meet the family and Raiel was there front and center. He looked at me from the corner of his eye, awkwardly wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close to him. There was a stiffness to his actions but when we came closer to each other, I could feel the heat in his body. I could feel his fingers digging into me and that's when it hit me, the pheromones. They had tried to cover it with the sandalwood paste, but he apparently still smelled it and it had begun to have an effect on him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

His family, mother and father, entered. Raiel greeted them before looking at me, his eyes warning me to keep shut. I smiled weakly and bowed my head to my in-laws. We left first to the lounge where I sat at Raiel's feet on a cushion.

I suppose it could be seen as a distinction between an Alpha and their omega, but it also made me feel comfortable. I enjoyed sitting on the floor and some of the chairs here had a strange feeling to them that left me with a backache if I sat in them for too long. While they spoke, my father-in-law looked at me, his eyes sympathetic. The bell was rung, and the in-laws left to go to the dining hall but Raiel had not moved. When I turned to look at him, he was eyeing me curiously. His breath was heavy and he was rubbing his thigh, or something near his thigh.

A/N:

Alright, so Raiel is the name of the husband. I was trying to make a name and ended up misspelling Rafael. You might note a few more key points here, that's the points of conflict between Edam and Raiel but there's the issue of Raiel's emotions when it comes to Edam. You might note some classist ideas with Raiel, something, something character redemption arc.