Chapter 2

At 4:00 am, Marcus finally came home. I was still awake, my stomach aching more with every turn.

He dropped the stomach medication onto the bedside table. "You skipped dinner, didn't you? You did this to yourself."

Then he tucked the blanket around my shoulders. "Don't take your anger out on your body."

He always showed me a little affection at times like this. It was as if he knew I'd give in because I was in pain, or was certain that one small gesture from him would be enough to make me get over it.

"Are you done revising Cindy's proposal?" I asked.

Marcus paused, his fingers freezing against his tie. "She was stressed because the client changed things at the absolute last minute."

"So even though you're with her until 4:00 am, it still counts as work?"

Marcus glanced at me. "Juniper, don't get sarcastic with me."

Even though my stomach hurt badly, I sat up. "I just want to know why, when I had a high fever, you couldn't make a round trip in 29 minutes, but when Cindy cried, you could go back and forth to spend five hours with her."

Only silence hung between us for a few seconds.

Marcus walked over to the bed, his expression still calm. "You're my wife. We can talk about your problems at home. It's different for Cindy. She's alone in this city. She doesn't have anyone else."

My heart sank for a moment. So being married to him became a sin in itself.

By the next afternoon, my stomach hurt so badly I broke out in a cold sweat, but I didn't call Marcus. It wasn't 7:00 pm yet, so even if I did, he wouldn't answer.

I took a cab to the hospital by myself.

The nurse started the IV drip for me and asked, "Is your family here?"

I replied, "He's busy."

The nurse looked at my pale face and dropped the subject.

I never expected to see Marcus at the end of the hospital hallway.

Cindy sat on the bench with a bandage on her right index finger. Marcus crouched in front of her, carefully rolling up her sleeves as if afraid of hurting her.

I looked down at the back of my hand, where the IV was inserted. The whole situation suddenly felt a bit absurd.

It had never been about how deep the wound was. It was about whether Marcus cared enough to give in.

Cindy spotted me first. She pulled her hand back in panic. "Juniper, don't get the wrong idea. I accidentally hurt myself while opening the file folder. Mr. Bane insisted on coming to the hospital."

Marcus turned to look at me, his gaze dropping to my hand as his brows furrowed. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Will you pick up?"

Cindy's eyes reddened. "Is it because of me? Juniper, I didn't know you were at the hospital too."

Marcus stood up, and his voice turned cold. "Juniper, she has a presentation tomorrow. She can't hurt her right hand. You're already getting an IV drip. Don't make this a competition with her."

My stomach twisted, and the pain got worse. The nurse called me over to take out my IV.

From behind me, I heard Cindy ask softly, "Mr. Bane, why don't you go with Juniper?"

"She'll manage," Marcus answered without hesitation.

I lowered my head and laughed.

Yeah, I could manage on my own. I could come to the hospital alone, sit through an IV alone, and stay in this marriage until I had nothing left to hope for.