Chapter 5 Let's Postpone the Divorce
980 Words
Katherine waited for his answer but didn't hear anything, so she looked at him again. "Can you go now?"
"I have a meeting later. A very important one!" Barnard said, looking down the hallway with his crumpled cigarette still in hand.
"Then why aren't you leaving?" Katherine started to urge him to go; she didn't want to stay with him a second longer.
Barnard frowned at the floor, then turned to look at her. "There's a vacancy in the company's PR department. You can go there!"
Katherine didn't expect him to offer her a job. Of course, she wouldn't accept it. She could survive on her own. "I've already found a job at the TV station."
Did he not feel awkward working with her after their divorce? She would feel uncomfortable!
"TV station? What are you going to do?" Barnard asked.
"News anchor!" Katherine replied.
Barnard's frown didn't relax. He looked away again. "That job might not be suitable for you?"
"Whether it's suitable or not is not up to you. It's most unsuitable to work under you. I still have things to do. You should go too!"
Katherine's gaze shifted elsewhere. The feeling of not being looked at directly was almost incomprehensible to Barnard; she wasn't like that. He felt something was out of his control, making him inexplicably panicked.
"I know your mother's situation is putting a lot of pressure on you. We can postpone the divorce!" Barnard suggested, looking at her thin profile.
Katherine was stunned for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "No need! The sooner the divorce, the better!"
She avoided walking with him after they got out of the elevator. Katherine, in her sneakers, walked quickly. However, as soon as they reached the door, he stood by her side. "Where are you going? I'll take you!"
Katherine turned to look at him, sizing him up carefully. Barnard felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.
Katherine suddenly made a move that shocked him. She leaned forward, standing on her toes, her head raised, almost close enough to breathe in his face.
Barnard instinctively dodged back.
"You have OCD. You don't like being close to people at all. Don't force yourself. We are getting a divorce. I sincerely wish you and Elinor a hundred years of happiness."
Stop disgusting her! Enough was enough!
After she finished speaking, she walked back into the wind.
She couldn't bear to be alone with him any longer. He could consider her family if he wanted, but she couldn't. His presence would only remind her of her foolish feelings. Once, all she wanted was to be his wife. But now, she didn't care anymore.
That night, after her mother fell asleep, Katherine returned to their apartment. She had to get her suitcase and return his supplementary credit card.
But she didn't expect that when she quietly entered the house, he was lying on the sofa.
She had always thought he slept with Elinor. How come he had been home these days when she came back?
Was it a coincidence or had he always been like this?
The TV was on the sports channel, the volume low.
His eyes, which had been fixed on the game, suddenly turned to her. "I thought you wouldn't come back?"
Katherine thought he was trying to drive her away and said directly, "I'll leave soon. I'm here to get my suitcase and your card."
As she spoke, she placed the card she had been holding on the table and noticed the unsigned divorce agreement lying there. At that moment, Barnard suddenly curled up, pressing his abdomen and groaning in pain.
"Katherine, can you get me some medicine? My stomach hurts!"
Katherine found him stomach medicine, boiled hot water, and brought it to him. "Are you okay?"
"Help me get the medicine out. I don't have the strength!" He groaned painfully, asking for her help to get the medicine.
Katherine subconsciously glanced at him again. "Give me your hand!"
Barnard obediently extended his hand.
Katherine pinched out a pill and put it directly into his hand.
Barnard smiled. "Who has OCD between the two of us?"
"Of course it's you!" She said, taking the water again, but this time she padded the glass with a tissue.
What do you call it when someone has a problem but doesn't realize it themselves?
Some disgust would show unconsciously.
His OCD used to be so severe that he refused to touch anything that had been touched by others.
"Help me up!" Barnard ordered again.
Katherine, who had been half-squatting in front of him, froze. "Get up yourself." He looked terrible, but Katherine didn't move.
She still remembered when she was a child, she had suddenly hugged him, and he had ignored her for half a year.
She didn't want to make trouble for herself!
Seeing her slender hands as if they had nowhere to go, Barnard took the initiative to grab them and place them on himself. "How can I get up if you don't help me?"
"Oh!" She agreed awkwardly, and after sitting behind him and gripping his shoulders, she pushed him up.
His body heat, separated only by the thin fabric of his shirt, mingled with hers. She felt annoyed. This man was really troublesome. Barnard leaned weakly against her shoulder, and she could feel the heat from his body.
Katherine immediately picked up the water glass and brought it to his lips.
"I don't think you're dirty!" Barnard looked at her and said in a slightly hoarse voice.
Katherine chuckled guiltily, thinking that you probably don't even know if you think you're dirty.
He didn't take the water glass, but held her wrist and made her lift it to his lips.
He took the medicine, but Katherine felt her wrist go numb.
"I used to carry you on my back when I was a kid. Don't you remember?"
- Writer
