Chapter 3

"I'm sorry." Aaron stood in the entryway and fell silent for a few seconds. "My phone died last night. I thought you were already asleep. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I'll make you something."

He went into the kitchen without waiting for a reply and prepared three dishes.

Aaron was hopeless at everyday tasks, but he was a master in the kitchen.

I had a stomach condition, and to help me recover, he'd spent half a year studying dozens of cookbooks. After that, he cooked something different for me every day.

When the last pot of soup came off the stove, Aaron packed all three dishes into a lunchbox. Then he pushed a plate of toast smeared with strawberry jam across the table to me.

"Tess, just make do with this. I need to rush to the hospital and bring Viv breakfast. Would you mind washing the dishes?"

The streak of red jam on the toast stung my eyes. Aaron had forgotten that I never ate strawberries.

I watched him bustle around and gave a bitter smile. "You certainly care a lot about this student of yours."

"Tessa, what exactly is that supposed to mean?" He snapped at me, something he rarely did. "I treat all my students the same. If any one of them got sick today, I'd go take care of them, no matter who it was."

"Is that right?" I looked up and met his eyes. "Would you drink from a cup any other student had already used too? Aaron, what happened to your germphobia?"

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Aaron's face. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

He grabbed the lunchbox and tried to brush past me on his way out.

I caught his arm and shoved the abortion report into his hand. "If you don't understand, you should at least be able to read."

I dumped the strawberry toast into the trash. By the time I turned around, he was already gone.

The report, soaked with my tears, had been crumpled into a ball and tossed into the trash.

I stood there frozen for a long time. It felt as though someone had carved a piece straight out of my heart and left a hollow space behind. Yet somehow, I couldn't cry anymore.

In the end, I went back to my room and started packing.

…

Misha had a courier deliver the divorce agreement.

I checked the property division and found nothing wrong with it. All that remained was to wait for Aaron to come home, sign it, and put an end to this absurd relationship.

At 9:00 p.m. that night, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find Vivian there instead. She was slightly out of breath as she propped up a thoroughly drunk Aaron.

"Professor Jefferson had a few extra drinks for me at the project celebration dinner tonight. I didn't realize he was such a lightweight, but he still made sure to look out for me."

I said nothing. Instinctively, I reached out to help support him.

Vivian dodged my hand. She closed the door as if she belonged there, helped Aaron back to the bedroom, and only then turned to me with a smile.

"Don't be mad at me for not letting you touch Professor Jefferson. I know he'd think you were dirty.

"Even when he's drunk, he barely lets you touch him, does he? I bet he hardly touches you when he's sober either. Otherwise, how could it have taken you seven years of marriage to have a baby?"

She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and gave me a mocking, provocative smile. "After all, Professor Jefferson said that every time he touches you, all he can picture is you back then, pinned down by a bunch of thugs. He said it disgusts him."

A piercing ringing filled my head. The taut string inside my mind snapped in an instant.

Aaron's father was a gambler. To help Aaron pay off his father's debts, I'd sung at a bar every night. One night, a group of thugs harassed me and nearly assaulted me.

That night, Aaron had turned into a beast let loose from its cage. He'd taken a club to those men and beaten them until they were covered in blood.

Afterward, he'd held me and sobbed as if his heart were breaking, his hands trembling uncontrollably. "Tess, it's my fault. I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

It was a nightmare from when I was 19, a secret I'd guarded for 8 years. And now Aaron had turned it into gossip about me, sharing it with a female student who was infatuated with him.

My head snapped up, and I stared at her. "What did you just say?"

"I said Professor Jefferson thinks you're— Ah!"

She never finished. I slapped her hard enough to crush the rest of the sentence in her mouth.

I put nearly all my strength into the blow. Vivian stumbled and fell, her forehead slamming into the coffee table. Blood began to flow.

She clutched her face and stared at me in terror. "You're insane... You're a lunatic!"

Her screams and sobs echoed through the living room.

I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the door. "Get out. Get out of my house right now!"

The door slammed shut behind her.

With all my strength gone, I slid down the doorframe and collapsed onto the floor. A cold sweat dampened the hair at my temples.