Chapter 5

Macie had almost fallen asleep, but she stirred awake and frowned when Edward banged on the door.

She got up and turned on the lights, her brows furrowed. Then, she limped to the door.

Edward's fist hit the air when she opened the door.

"Mac—"

"Why are you home, and why the heck are you banging on my door at midnight?" she snapped at him impatiently.

Her attitude fueled his anger further. He immediately grabbed her arm and yelled at her, "What's with that question? Can't I return to my house?"

Macie's impatience immediately vanished. Instead, she lowered her head and looked upset.

At first, Edward thought that she had caved in from being intimidated, but she reached out to take his hand off hers.

At that moment, he sensed something amiss. He released her hand and spotted blood on his palm.

It turned out that he had hurt her wound by squeezing her arm too hard.

Macie stared at the man before her through tears. He had caused a scene in the middle of the night.

"Are you hurt?" He tried to check on her arm, but she moved away.

She asked him, "Oh, are you only asking me now? You are the reason behind this, remember?"

Edward was taken aback. Then, he recalled how he had left her by the road earlier that day.

He rested his gaze on her elbow, where she suffered serious scrapes. The wound started bleeding again after he grabbed her arm.

His eyes drifted downward, noticing her bandaged toes and the blisters on her heels. Her toes were bleeding as well.

He wanted to say something, but Macie was about to turn around and shut the door.

"Let go of me," she warned him, frowning, when she failed to shut the door.

Unable to apologize, he blurted out, "Why didn't you pick up? Did you know I—"

She smirked. It turned out that he banged on her door after midnight just because she didn't pick up his calls. She couldn't believe that his behavior was over such an "important" reason.

She limped over to the bedside table. He watched her with a stuffy feeling in his chest.

"My phone shattered after it fell to the ground. It's broken. I can't get it to work. Is that an acceptable reason?" She showed him her phone.

He was speechless at the sight of her shattered phone screen.

"Macie…" She shut the door in his face when he spoke, leaving him standing outside the room.

A few seconds later, he slowly turned around and left.

…

Macie, who was awake from her sleep, felt irritable in her bedroom. Edward said that he had called her many times. When she checked her phone, she saw 30 to 40 missed calls from him.

She thought, "What's wrong with him? Why is he spamming me with calls after he ditched me for Sharon?"

After that, she turned her phone off and went to sleep without giving it any further thought.

…

Edward took a quick bath and went to bed in the main bedroom.

His phone lit up from a text from Sharon. She inquired about Macie's condition and whether or not he had gotten home safely. She even reminded him not to give Macie a hard time.

After reading Sharon's text, any lingering sorry feelings for Macie vanished. If Macie hadn't tried to scald Sharon, none of the later events would have happened.

He replied, "Don't bother asking about her. Go to sleep early. Good night."

Sharon, who received his text in her hotel room, smiled satisfactorily at his impatience toward Macie.

It was past midnight by now. Edward still had to work the next day.

He turned off the lights and tried to sleep, but he woke up again from the discomfort in his stomach.

He had suffered from gastric issues since high school. It was Macie who had shown him care by reminding him to take his meals daily.

His condition improved when he was in college, but it was triggered again after he started drinking at business events when he started work.

Every night, Macie would make him hot soup so that he could sleep through the night.

He wandered to the kitchen, assuming she would save some soup for him. However, he found nothing on the stove or fridge.

At that moment, he recalled the spilled soup in the private dining room and thought that it was such a pity. At the same time, he was angry at Macie for not preparing more of the soup.

His first thought was to wake her up to make some for him, but he paused in his tracks.

His lips pursed, and he fell silent for a while before looking for the first-aid kit. However, the kit was nowhere to be found.

Frowning, he suddenly recalled seeing it by Macie's bedside table. The kit was in her bedroom.

What remained of his conscience kept him from knocking on her door again. Instead, he searched for the spare key and used it to unlock her door.

When he heard the sounds of the handle turning, he held his breath and walked into the room on tiptoe. However, he soon realized how pathetic he was to act like a thief in the house he owned.

A mix of light fragrance and medication lingered in the air of the dim bedroom.

Macie lay in bed, her thin blanket barely covering a corner. Edward didn't look at her too closely. He was ready to grab the first-aid kit and leave.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Macie's back as he got up, illuminated by the outside light.

The hem of Macie's top was slightly rolled up, revealing large patches of bruises on the skin that were starkly visible under the warm light.

Edward paused briefly, his gaze lingering for two seconds. Ultimately, he got up and left, gently closing the door behind him.

He figured that it was just a surface wound and wasn't anything life-threatening.

If Macie hadn't intentionally scalded her foot out of jealousy toward Sharon, he wouldn't have carried her—or later let go, causing her injuries.