Chapter 2

Jillian came home at 4:00 am.

I was still awake. The pain in my stomach was so intense that even the slightest movement hurt.

She brought home a box of medicine for my stomach and set it on the nightstand.

"If you skip dinner, you have no one to blame but yourself when your stomach hurts." She leaned over to tuck in my blanket, her voice softening. "Don't take your anger out on yourself."

At times like this, she would always find ways to soothe me.

Maybe she knew I was hurting and was willing to give a little.

Or maybe she was sure that a little effort on her part would be enough for me to fix everything between us.

I asked her, "Did you finish revising Jesse's proposal?"

She paused while taking off her watch. "He's under a lot of pressure. The client changed their mind at the last minute."

"So anything before 4:00 am counts as working hours?"

She glanced at me. "Steven, I don't like it when you make snide remarks."

I sat up, fighting the pain in my stomach.

"I just want to know why 29 minutes wasn't enough for a round trip when I had a fever of 102.2°F, but the moment Jesse acts helpless, you can spend five hours going back and forth to keep him company."

There was a brief silence.

Jillian walked to the bedside, her expression still calm.

"You're my husband. We can talk about your problems at home. Jesse is different. He's alone in this city, and he has no one here."

My heart sank.

I never thought that being her husband was something she could hold against me.

-

The next afternoon, my stomach hurt so badly that I broke out in a cold sweat.

I didn't call Jillian because it wasn't 7:00 pm yet. I knew she wouldn't answer.

So I called a cab and went to the hospital alone.

As the nurse inserted the IV needle into the back of my hand, she asked, "Where's your family?"

I replied, "They're busy."

She looked at how pale my face was and didn't ask anything else.

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

Jesse sat on a bench with a bandage on his right index finger. Jillian was crouching in front of him, gently rolling up his sleeve as if she were afraid of hurting him.

I looked down at the back of my hand, where the IV was taped in place.

Suddenly, I found it almost laughable.

Whether the pain mattered had nothing to do with how bad the injury was. It depended on whether Jillian was willing to care for me.

Jesse noticed me first.

He hurriedly pulled his hand back. "Steven, don't get the wrong idea. I just got a small cut opening a document envelope. Ms. Holt insisted on bringing me here."

Jillian turned around, and her gaze fell on the IV in my hand.

She frowned. "Why didn't you call me?"

I asked in return, "Would you have answered?"

Jesse's face fell. "Is this because of me? Steven, I really didn't know you were here either."

Jillian stood up, her tone turning sharper. "Steven, Jesse has a presentation tomorrow. He can't risk injuring his right hand. You're already getting an IV. Don't use a small cut to pick on him."

My stomach clenched sharply. The pain was worse than before.

The nurse called me over to have my IV removed.

As I turned away, I heard Jesse say softly, "Ms. Holt, why don't you keep Steven company?"

She answered without the slightest hesitation. "He can manage on his own."

I lowered my head and chuckled bitterly.

She was right. I could manage on my own.

I could go to the hospital and sit through an IV alone.

And I could stay in this marriage until I finally stopped caring.