Chapter 4

Bella POV

I had just finished arranging the jars of herbs in the small medicine cabinet in my room when my phone suddenly rang on the table beside me.

For a moment I simply stared at the screen without moving, because Ethan’s name was flashing across it.

My heart immediately started beating faster.

Ethan almost never called me.

Even during our three years of marriage, most of our conversations happened face to face, and they were usually short, cold, and painfully formal. Seeing his name on my phone screen felt strange, almost like I was looking at something that didn’t belong to my life.

I hesitated for a few seconds before finally picking it up.

“Hello?” I said softly.

There was a brief pause on the other end before Ethan’s voice came through the speaker.

“I’ve thought about your request.”

His tone was calm, but it still carried that distant edge that always made it clear he didn’t really want to be talking to me.

My fingers tightened slightly around the phone.

“And?” I asked quietly.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

For a moment I didn’t understand what he meant.

Then my chest tightened when I realized he was talking about the thirty days.

“I’ll stay at the house for the next thirty days,” Ethan continued. “Just like you asked.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“You… will?”

“Yes,” he replied flatly. “But once those thirty days are over, you will sign the divorce agreement immediately. No more excuses, no more delays.”

I closed my eyes for a second, letting out a slow breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding.

“I understand,” I said quietly.

There was another short silence before Ethan spoke again.

“I’ll be home tonight.”

And then the call ended.

I stood there for several seconds staring at the dark screen of my phone, trying to process what had just happened.

Ethan was actually coming home.

For thirty days.

Thirty days where he would live in the same house with me like a normal husband.

The thought felt strange and unreal, like I was imagining something that couldn’t possibly happen in real life.

But it was happening.

Slowly, my hand moved to rest on my stomach.

“This is for you,” I whispered softly.

Then I took a deep breath and stood up.

If Ethan was really coming home tonight, then the least I could do was make dinner.

Even if he didn’t want it.

Even if he barely touched the food.

Cooking had always been something that helped calm my mind, and as I moved around the kitchen washing vegetables and preparing the ingredients, I tried not to think too much about how awkward the evening might become.

The sky outside slowly darkened as time passed, and by the time I finished cooking, the house smelled warmly of herbs, rice, and grilled fish.

Just as I finished placing the dishes on the table, I heard the sound of the front door opening.

My heart immediately jumped into my throat.

Ethan had arrived.

His footsteps were steady and confident as he walked into the dining area, and when his eyes landed on the table full of food, his expression changed slightly.

“You cooked?” he asked.

I nodded awkwardly.

“Yes. I thought… since you were coming home…”

My voice trailed off.

Ethan didn’t say anything else. He simply walked over to the table and sat down.

I slowly took the seat across from him.

The silence between us was heavy and uncomfortable, broken only by the quiet clinking of chopsticks and dishes as we both began eating.

I tried not to stare at him, but it was difficult not to notice how normal this moment looked.

If someone walked in right now, they might think we were just an ordinary married couple having dinner together.

But the reality between us felt far more fragile.

Neither of us spoke for the entire meal.

After a while, Ethan placed his chopsticks down and stood up.

“I’m done,” he said simply.

Then he walked upstairs toward his room without another word.

I sat there for a moment longer, staring at the empty plate in front of me.

Then I quietly began cleaning the table.

Later that night, after washing the dishes and putting everything away, I stood in the hallway outside Ethan’s bedroom door holding a small cloth pouch in my hands.

Inside the pouch were dried moonleaf herbs and lavender roots that I had carefully mixed together earlier.

It was a sleep-soothing blend that helped calm the mind and reduce stress, something my parents had taught me how to make when I was still a child.

Ethan barely slept most nights.

I had noticed that long ago.

Even though he never told me about his problems, I often saw the faint dark circles under his eyes when he returned home during my heat.

I raised my hand and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in,” Ethan’s voice said from inside.

When I opened the door, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, loosening the collar of his shirt as if he had just finished showering.

The moment his eyes landed on me standing there, his expression changed.

His eyebrows lowered slightly, and a look of clear impatience crossed his face.

“What do you want?” he asked.

I stepped inside nervously.

“I just came to—”

But before I could finish speaking, Ethan suddenly let out a quiet sigh.

“Bella,” he interrupted, his voice already sounding irritated. “It’s the first night of your little thirty-day arrangement. Do you really have to start this already?”

I blinked in confusion.

“Start what?”

Ethan looked at me like the answer was obvious.

“If you’re here because you want to sleep with me, you don’t need to make it this awkward,” he said bluntly.

My face instantly turned hot with embarrassment.

“That’s not why I’m here!” I said quickly.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

“Then why are you standing in my bedroom at night?”

I quickly held up the small cloth pouch in my hands.

“I just came to leave this for you,” I explained.

Ethan looked down at it.

“What is it?”

“It’s a sleep-soothing herb blend,” I said softly. “You just need to place it near your pillow. The scent helps calm your mind and makes it easier to fall asleep.”

For a moment Ethan didn’t say anything.

Then he looked back at me with a strange expression that I couldn’t quite read.

“You came here… just to give me herbs?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

The awkward silence returned again.

Slowly, I walked over to the bedside table and placed the pouch there.

“You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to,” I said quietly. “But it might help.”

Then I stepped back and moved toward the door.

“Goodnight, Ethan,” I added softly.

Even if his heart was still somewhere else.