Chapter 2

When I got home with Mom, the sleeping mat she had been using for the past two weeks was still spread across the living room floor.

The couch was buried under Alex's jackets, laptop, and gaming console. There wasn't even room to sit.

Mom bent down to pick up her blanket. "Don't be angry. I can sleep anywhere. Alex is a guest. He should be prioritized."

I looked at the closed guest room.

When Alex first moved in, Emilia said he had just returned from overseas and had nowhere else to stay, so the guest room had to be kept for him.

But he had only slept there three times in the past month. The rest of the time, the room sat empty while Mom slept on the floor.

And I wasn't better off.

Emilia claimed I tossed and turned in my sleep and might accidentally hurt the baby, so she had put a mattress on the floor beside our bed for me.

I had been sleeping on the floor for two months.

One night, I'd gotten up for some water. As I passed the guest room, I heard Alex's muffled voice through the door.

"I know you two are married. But staying in your home and watching you two sleep in the same room is hard for me."

Emilia gave a soft chuckle. "What are you thinking? I made him sleep on the floor. We don't even touch. There's nothing here for you to worry about."

At the time, I had stood outside the door and actually tried to reassure myself. She was only worried that Alex, having just returned, might feel uncomfortable.

Looking back, I realized something absurd. Whether I, her husband, got to sleep in my own bed depended on how her first love felt.

I pushed open the guest room door.

The bed was neatly made, and the closet was filled with Alex's clothes. On the nightstand was a photo of him and Emilia from their college days.

I turned the photo face down and carried all his belongings outside.

Mom hurried over to stop me. "Forget it. Don't fight with Emilia because of me again."

I then carried her bedding into the guest room.

"Mom, this is my house," I said. "You can stay in the guest room as long as you want. You don't owe anyone an apology."

She froze for a long moment, her eyes slowly welling with tears.

At 9:00 pm, I heard laughter from the front door. Emilia walked in carrying the baby, with Alex behind her carrying the gifts from the celebration.

The moment they saw his belongings outside the guest room, they both stopped.

The smile vanished from Emilia's face. She stormed inside and demanded, "What are you doing? First, you refused to pay at the celebration, and now you're throwing Alex's things around?"

I remained seated on the couch and didn't look at her. "I don't want to argue tonight. Whatever you have to say, wait until tomorrow, when everything is settled."

Emilia stared at me blankly for a moment. Maybe because it was the first time I hadn't rushed to explain myself, her tone softened. She handed the baby to Alex. "Wait here for a bit."

Alex glanced at me, then stayed in the living room with the baby.

Emilia pulled me into the master bedroom and closed the door behind us. She rose onto her toes, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed my chin.

"Are you still upset over the baby's name?" she asked. "Alex and I dated once. But that was years ago. If I really wanted to be with him, I wouldn't have married you."

I caught the familiar scent of her perfume, and despite everything, my heart softened for a moment.

When we first met, Emilia had once waited for me in the rain for three hours. She had also spent an entire month learning to bake a cake just to celebrate my birthday.

She hadn't always been incapable of loving me.

I was about to speak when she smiled and patted my chest.

"Come on. There's nothing to be jealous about. Your mom is getting older. It is indeed better for her to have the guest room. So tonight, you can sleep on the living room floor."

I thought I had heard her wrong.

Emilia continued, "Alex will sleep in our bedroom. He's more attentive with the baby than you are. If the baby wakes up at night, he can help. Don't worry. He'll sleep on the floor. Nothing will happen."

The part of my heart that had just softened instantly hardened.

I pushed her hand away. "Emilia, what exactly are you trying to do?"

She frowned. "Haven't I already explained the arrangement? I'll sleep in the bed, and he'll sleep on the floor. What could happen? Can you stop filling your head with dirty thoughts?"