She faltered for a moment--just a moment, nothing more. If he noticed, she was past caring. Julian was observant enough, and yet still he managed to miss what was under his nose, so obsessed was he with CASKET's welfare. Oh, it had infuriated her to the point of tears sometimes, receiving calls from him when she'd gone home early to get dinner ready, or prepare some other celebratory occasion. He'd cancel on her, no matter if their plans had been seemingly set in stone for a week, a month. It didn't matter to him, because CASKET always came first. Always. As much as Ariana had enjoyed CASKET finally being fully realized, she resented the club at the same time. It didn't matter that it was Julian's dream, because it had become his life.
The awful thing about it was that she wasn't the sort of woman who needed constant attention. It was ridiculous to think a man should have to cater to a woman's needs 24/7, and Ariana had not been raised with that sort of viewpoint, even though her mother harbored an ill affection for melodramatic tv sitcoms. In marriage, two lives became one, and yet each individual should still have been able to stand on their own two feet. But it shouldn't have been such a big deal to ask Julian to come home for dinner, or to not work all weekend--that's what the employees they'd hired were there for, to handle business when either of them couldn't be at the club, to keep things running smoothly.
How many anniversaries had he missed because he was busy with 'paperwork' at CASKET, or making sure that shipments were arriving punctually? Maybe they would have done better off not hiring any of their employees, for Julian had always thought he was the best to manage the club, that the floor couldn't be swept without him riding the tailcoat of whoever was doing it. God forbid there was a smudge on the counter for more than two point five seconds, for it might dissuade patrons from visiting again. (And yet he would berate Ariana for wanting to keep things neat and tidy at home, despite the amount of random knick knacks he picked up at who knows where almost every other week.)
It was a relief they'd never had any children together. They'd be as neglected as she'd grown to feel, because their daddy would have always been at work across town, too busy to see their first steps or hear their first words. Ariana remembered the disappointment her mother had expressed to her on multiple occasions--these were the results of marrying someone you barely knew, of disregarding common sense. Maybe her mother was right all along, and her father, too. But she'd had such an intense feeling in what felt like the very core of her soul when she'd met Julian. There was no other way to explain their instant connection. It was beyond words, beyond basic shallow attraction. And it was gone now, wasn't it? What had once been a wonderful, intense feeling had led to nothing but a marriage in shambles.
She did feel like he had used her to some degree, despite wishing otherwise. Julian's words made a weight drop to her stomach, as if there already wasn't one there. Ariana reminded herself not to let this show, because like hell would she break down in the middle of the hallway. He was not going to walk away from this fight thinking he had gotten one up on her, that he was right about everything. She clamped her jaw closed, refusing for once to speak up, to address his question properly. But her silence didn't last for long. Of course he'd mention work, how could he not? It obviously was the only thing that was ever on his mind, had been on his mind for years.
"You and your fucking club," she practically hissed, voice thick with frustration, hurt. "Go, enjoy your night. Take care of business. You're the man, after all." Her posture straightened, a way of trying to reassert herself in this little spat. "I didn't ask you to use one of your ridiculous pick up lines on me. You invited this fight, Julian. And for the last time," she said, struggling to control the level and tone of her voice, "you did not leave. I kicked you out and you damn well know it."