1

When I got home, Nathan was stripping the sheets off the bed in the master bedroom.

Vivian stood in the doorway hugging a pillow, two suitcases at her feet.

"There's a leak at her place. She's staying here for a few days."

Nathan made the bed with the pale green sheets Vivian liked.

"The master bedroom gets the best light, so she'll take it. You sleep in the study. I'll take the couch."

The study was piled with junk, and once the folding bed was open, there was barely room to stand.

Vivian said quickly, "Why don't I take the study?"

"Your back's bad. You can't sleep on a folding bed," Nathan said. Then he adjusted the AC for her and took a thin blanket out of the closet.

My mom had knitted that blanket for me herself.

I reached over and took it back. "She can't have this."

Nathan frowned. "It's just a blanket. She'll give it back in a few days."

I held back my anger. "It's mine. You both should have asked me before taking it."

Vivian apologized quietly, but Nathan's face darkened.

"She just moved here. She's only staying with us for a little while. Don't go out of your way to embarrass her."

I hugged the blanket to my chest. "I'm just taking back what's mine."

He tugged impatiently at his collar. "You've been acting weird since you got back from that restaurant. I had one dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. There's no need to be so petty."

"To you, it was just one dinner. Not to me." I looked at him. "When she wants dinner, you can always make time. When I ask, you say I'm bothering you over nothing. Nathan, you just don't want to spend time with me."

He was silent for a few seconds.

Vivian explained gently, "Leah, I don't have any friends here. That's why I asked him to keep me company. You two have been together for two years. Don't let something this small hurt your relationship."

Nathan latched onto her explanation as if it were the excuse he'd been waiting for. "She already explained it. We're done talking about this."

I shook my head. "I asked why you treat her differently from me."

Just then, Vivian's phone rang, and she stepped onto the balcony to take a call from her landlord, Martin Keller.

Nathan lowered his voice. "Just let her stay tonight. Don't make a big deal out of something so small."

He'd said the same thing every time he made me angry.

I used to think he was trying to make me feel better. Now I understood. He only wanted to brush it aside so I'd keep putting up with the way he hurt me.

I took a step back. "She can have the master bedroom."

His face relaxed a little.

Then I moved all my clothes, my pillow, and my skincare products into the study.

"Leah, what are you making a scene about now?"

"Don't worry. I'm done making scenes." I didn't explain. I just shut the door.

In the middle of the night, the folding bed left my lower back aching.

Nathan opened the door and set down a glass of warm water.

"Dinner was greasy. Your stomach meds are right here."

That small show of concern made me open my eyes.

But then Vivian called from the other room. "Nathan, my phone won't charge."

He turned around at once.

Through the crack in the door, I watched him crouch by the bed and check her charging cable.

Vivian said something, and he laughed and tapped her on the forehead.

So easy. So intimate.

I picked up the glass of warm water and poured it down the sink.

I didn't want his concern if I had to share it with another woman.