A Noble Marriage - Chapter 58

Chapter 58 – Akin to a Cat (1)

Karenin noticed his wife’s distraction during the meal. Before he got married, the dining table was always very quiet, except for necessary noise. Karenin was accustomed to such an atmosphere; spending an average of fifteen minutes eating the food in front of him, and spending another three minutes to rest his full stomach. After the meal, Karenin would go to his study to deal with the necessary documents, and then make time for this habit since he had his own independent house as an adult, until he got married.

Karenin was not completely sure what other people’s wives were like, but according to his observations, his wife loved to communicate with him, from what books she read to what desserts she baked with the cook during the day. Sometimes those things had nothing to do with them, but she kept talking so that Karenin would gradually listen to it.

There was too much unnecessary information in his mind, but Karenin never stopped his wife’s way of talking. His meal time had been extended by fifteen to twenty minutes, the speed of processing official documents increased, and the personal time for himself got less and less, but he never really wanted to stop all this change. Now, when he habitually wanted to listen to his wife’s words during the meal, but didn’t get it, Karenin realized that something might have happened.

“Did something happen?”

Anna, who was still immersed in her own thoughts, raised her head and blinked her eyes when she heard these words, and asked with some confusion, “What?”

Karenin knew clearly in his heart that he did not like his wife in such a mood. He controlled himself so that his tone would not show that kind of childish tone. Instead, he asked gently.

“I think you seem to have encountered something, what happened?”

Anna did not immediately answer him and when she did, it was to ask him something.

“I want to ask you a question, Alexei.”

Without a clear reply, Karenin frowned, but signaled her to continue.

“When you were a kid, did you think about what kind of person you would become when you grew up?”

The question was not difficult, but in Karenin’s memory, no one had ever asked him this way, so he thought about it before replying.

“Strange, in fact, this is not in my consideration. My father, my grandfathers, all of them are Russian government officials.”

“Do you like what you are doing now?” Anna thought she might know the answer to her own question.

Of course, Karenin loved his work, from the bottom of his heart. She was a little frustrated because Karenin’s next answer might not be able to help herself. This frustration seemed to accidentally stab Karenin’s self-esteem.

“I have always insisted that preferences should not affect your responsibilities or your job. However, I do like the business I am currently engaged in.”

Karenin’s voice was not loud, but very firm. He usually spoke to his wife more softly, but now he had picked up a little bit of his official tone. Karenin summed up his answer to Anna’s question in two sentences, and then continued with a slightly relaxed tone.

“For me at that time, the road ahead was not too confused. I think I chose a certain after the incident, just move towards the established goal.”

“If so, is there a big difficulty in the middle?” Anna asked.

“If there is a problem, find a way to solve the problem.” Karenin said calmly, and finally looked at his wife, and said: “I don’t think one should give into oneself before starting something. Set up all kinds of hypothetical obstacles. People who can’t move forward won’t even have the chance to fall.”

The last sentence was actually beyond Karenin’s original belief. After all, in officialdom, he had never said more. Sometimes, if you point out shortcomings to the weak, they will not appreciate you, but will be angry. It’s as if you don’t point it out, the fact won’t exist. But just as Karenin couldn’t help saying more things that violated his guidelines when facing his wife, his wife would never let him down.

“I understand.” Anna said, and she felt a sense of sudden relief.

After stepping out of an incident, her not stupid little head seemed to perceive the whole thing.

She smiled and said, “Don’t worry, nothing happened. Can I tell you when the dinner is over?”

Karenin nodded, although he still didn’t understand what was bothering his wife. With this guarantee, he was no longer worried. The ten conditions for marriage, husband and wife need to be honest with each other, share and communicate with each other, and now it seems that the rules were indeed very important.

After dinner, in Karenin’s study, the official documents were left out of the cold, the schedule was falling behind, and the originally quiet study room began to have conversations. Anna told Karenin what Mrs. Masacci had said in the afternoon.

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

Anna had never had this opportunity before, as if someone could listen to her when she was puzzled, someone could help her when she needed to make a decision. Maybe this was the case in this world. When someone decides for you and wants to control you, most people don’t want to be restrained. And some people, when willingly want someone to make up their minds for it, they always need to find out for themselves. It is impossible to follow one’s own heart in everything in life.

For a person of Anna’s age, she can live happier than ordinary people, probably because she understood this for herself too early. Therefore, with no one to rely on, take care of yourself and be responsible for yourself. But if there is such a trustworthy person by your side, you should seek advice from them, and take the initiative to attribute yourself to this person’s territory, which becomes their responsibility.