Suzanne then pointed at the bookshelf in the room and said, “I’ve finished reading all the books on your shelf in the past few days.”

Nathan asked her again, “Are you not even going to consider it?”

Suzanne lowered her eyes. “No. I’ll leave tomorrow morning. I might never come back here again.”

Nathan didn’t bother trying to convince her anymore.

Π

He just walked past her and entered the room, slowly unbuttoning his shirt as he said, When we’re home, don’t bring up the divorce with Grandma. It’ll only aggravate her illness.”

Suzanne couldn’t help tightening her hold on the phone. She held it so tightly that she trembled.

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She simply couldn’t hold her emotions back and said, “I’m sorry, but I noticed a photo of a little girl in one of your books. There was something written on the back. It said, ‘My one true love, Sally Hoffis.“”

Nathan paused, his hands still in the midst of undoing his buttons. His entire body turned rigid as he froze in place.

His eyes turned dark. He said nothing.

Suzanne felt a deep, throbbing pain in her heart. She didn’t know how to describe it. Since there was nothing she could do about it, she pretended not to be bothered by it.

She said calmly, “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve always wanted to marry Sally, right?”

It took a long time for Nathan to snap back to reality and continue unbuttoning his shirt.

He said nonchalantly, “I liked her when I was young. But she left to study abroad when she was 14 years old, and we lost touch afterward.

“It’s been more than a decade since I last saw her. She still feels like a stranger to me, even though she’s been back for a year now.”

Then, Nathan went into the bathroom and shut the door behind him while he washed up for bed.

Nonetheless, Nathan’s words didn’t comfort Suzanne enough. She was still hurting inside.

In fact, Suzanne couldn’t help thinking that she was the third wheel. After all, Nathan and Sally had known each other since they were kids, and they had both liked each other for a long time.

If Suzanne hadn’t suddenly appeared out of the blue, Nathan would have married Sally by now. So what was the point of her struggling and trying to keep this marriage afloat?

The cold breeze hit Suzanne’s face, making her heart grow cold.

She went back into the room and dimmed the lights. She wanted to go to bed before Nathan came out of the bathroom.

Usually, she would be able to fall asleep after lying still for a while. But she couldn’t fall asleep that night, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe it was because Nathan was there.

As soon as she closed her eyes, her mind would start wandering elsewhere.

About 15 minutes later, she vaguely heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. Nathan walked toward her and carefully got into bed.

Then, the entire room was plunged into darkness.

The man she loved was lying just a few feet away from her, and yet she felt as if they were both separated by an ocean.

Suddenly, Nathan’s phone buzzed with a notification.

Suzanne stiffened. Her hearing senses were heightened in the dark.

Nathan felt for his phone and tapped on the notification. It was a voice message from Sally.

He played the message. Sally’s soft, sickeningly sweet voice sounded in the room. “Nate, I’m scared. Can you come here and stay with me?”

Nathan then took his phone and pulled the covers away. He stood up, left the room, and closed the door behind him.

As all of this happened, Suzanne was still wide awake, even though her eyes were closed. She had heard Sally’s voice message. She had also noticed how Nathan couldn’t wait to be with Sally.

She forced herself not to feel upset about it, repeatedly telling herself that it wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t worth her getting upset over.

However, no matter how much Suzanne tried to convince herself, she still felt the sharp pain in her heart. Her tears wouldn’t stop falling from her eyes either, wetting the pillow

under her head.

She turned to her side and pulled the blanket over her head. She then bit down on her arm fiercely, not letting herself sob out loud.

The pain in her heart was even more painful than the bite on her arm.

Suzanne’s shoulders continued shaking under the covers as she sobbed silently and uncontrollably.

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