Chapter 3
I scrolled through more of the girl’s posts but found them uninteresting.
After washing up, I went to bed, intending to sleep.
But Byron returned just as I was about to drift off.
I heard his footsteps upstairs and pretended to close my eyes.
Then I heard him undressing.
After a while, I felt the bed dip as he sat down and pulled me into his arms.
His body carried the scent of the cologne I bought him, mingled with a faint fragrance of gardenias.
It wasn’t my scent.
I couldn’t help but think, was she also wrapped in his arms like this? Was she leaving her scent on him too?
The thought made me feel nauseous.
Without making a sound, I pulled away from his embrace and resisted his intimacy for the first time.
In the past, I would have snuggled closer to him the moment he lay down. I would have buried my head in his arms, greedily inhaling his scent.
But now, I couldn’t stand it.
He stiffened behind me, seemingly confused, and tried to pull me closer again.
“Don’t hold me. It’s uncomfortable,” I said, my eyes still closed.
He sat up, suddenly irritated. “What’s wrong with you? Did you hear something? Or is there something I’ve done wrong to upset you?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. What could I ask him? Who was that girl? Did he love me?
Right now, those questions didn’t matter anymore.
“I’ve worked all day and stayed up late to revise the proposal. I’m really tired,” I replied, my voice devoid of emotion. “Please, stop making this a big deal. I just want to rest.”
He exploded. “You’re insane! I just wanted to hug you, and now I’m wrong?”
With that, he slammed the door and stormed off, leaving me with his cold back.
In the past, I would have chased after him, clinging to his hand, begging him not to be angry.
But now, I just silently pulled the blanket back over myself and tried to sleep.
My rest was more important than anything else,
The wall between us felt thicker now, and neither of us reached out to the other.
We stayed like that in a strange silence.
For the next week, Byron didn’t come home for dinner or send me any messages. When he saw me at work, he only gave me a brief, indifferent
glance.
Colleagues whispered about whether we had fought, or if it was because of the events that day.
11:25 AM d
But the girl kept posting frequently on her social media.
I thought the cold war would continue indefinitely, until
one
evening, I received a message from home about a family dinner.
I realized I had to reach out to Byron, but my message was met with complete silence.
Reluctantly, I went to the house he had lived in before we got married.
It was where he always went after our arguments, and this time
was
no different.
