Chapter 4
The car struggled through the storm and traffic, matching my suffocating heartbeat. Vera nibbled her cinnamon roll and sipped her hot cocoa, occasionally sharing with Aiden:
“Oh my God. Alden-this cinnamon roll is amazing. You have to try some!”
Without hesitation, she tore off a large piece and held it right up to Aiden’s mouth. Aiden was driving, so he tilted his head slightly to avoid being hand fed, but naturally reached over to take the piece from her, not even looking for a napkin before popping it into his mouth.
“Mm, yeah, not bad. You should finish it while it’s warm.”
I was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Eating while driving! In the past, that would have been unthinkable. Yet Aiden didn’t show the slightest concern about getting the car dirty.
My fingernails dug deep into my palms. I clearly remembered that just because of that sip of lemon water and its possible lingering scent in his office, Aiden could ignore me for three straight days.
Vera sighed contentedly and began chattering away with Aiden. About a difficult patient, that annoying head nurse, her clingy cat. Many of her questions carried an obvious dependency, asking “what should I do?”
And Aiden’s responses always carried a patience and… indulgence I’d never seen before. He’d even respond to Vera’s completely meaningless jokes.
The atmosphere was relaxed, familiar, even… intimate. Meanwhile, I sat in the back seat-his wife, pregnant with his child-completely invisible. As if they were the married couple, and I was just a stranger intruding.
For nearly an hour. I endured this torture. When we finally reached the neighborhood where Aiden and I lived, my body was numb with tension.
“Let me out at the next intersection.” My voice came out hoarse. I just wanted to escape this suffocating prison immediately.
Aiden glanced in the rearview mirror: “Get out in this downpour and walk? Wait. Well drop Vera off first, then go home.”
His tone brooked no discussion. Aiden didn’t even slow down. The car passed that intersection without the slightest pause, heading toward an even more
distant destination.
I closed my eyes helplessly. All my struggles and protests seemed so pathetically pointless
After another twenty minutes, we finally reached Vera’s place. We stopped in front of an old pedestrian street.
“Aiden, Tina, thank you both so much!” Vera displayed that innocent apologetic look again. While unbuckling her seatbelt, she seemed to casually search for more conversation topics.
“Aiden, I still don’t quite understand some patient data from today-that coronary heart disease case we admitted this afternoon…”
She stood by the open car door adjusting her umbrella, using professional questions as an excuse to delay leaving. Aiden didn’t rush her. He took her umbrella and stood in the rain himself, patiently answering her questions.
Rainwater ran down Aiden’s jawline, soaking his expensive shirt collar, but he didn’t seem to care. Only when Vera seemed finally satisfied did she nod with a smile, turn to run up the stairs, and wave goodbye.
Aiden watched her disappear before getting back in the car. As he started the engine, he instinctively wiped the rain from his face, looked at me in the rearview mirror, and explained:
“Just confirming her patient files.”
I remained expressionless, not even bothering with a sarcastic look. The return trip was much smoother, the drive home quiet.
The car was warm, but the cinnamon roll’s scent mixed with Vera’s jasmine perfume made me sick. Aiden seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere too, clearing his throat: “You must be starving. Once we get home, I’ll order whatever you want to eat, okay?”
Aiden’s tone seemed to be trying to ease the tension. I didn’t respond, just watched raindrops sliding down the car window
The silence continued all the way home. Aiden opened the front door and walked in first, taking off his soaked jacket and rubbing his temples wearily.
fatida inside The apartment was warm and dry, but I felt no warmth whatsoever. I changed into my house slippers and took a deep breath.
Chapter 3
