When Love Grew Cold

Chapter 3

Rage erupted inside me.

How shameless could he be? He brought his mistress directly into our marital home.

Before I could confront him, Miles spoke first,

"Paige drank too much. She meant to call her family, but somehow she called me by mistake. She's a young woman alone in a bar. I couldn't just leave her there."

I laughed coldly to myself at his sanctimonious excuse, but I didn't call him out. I simply turned and went back to bed.

When he saw that I wasn't angry, Miles breathed a sigh of relief and carefully carried Paige into the guest room.

A short while later, he crept back into our bedroom and lay beside me. He wrapped an arm around me, sounding aggrieved and almost petulant.

"Honey, why didn't you answer my message tonight?"

"I fell asleep and didn't see it," I replied flatly.

Miles relaxed. He tightened his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

I closed my eyes, wide awake.

It wasn't long before the man beside me stirred. He cautiously slipped out of bed, crept from the room, and went straight into the guest room next door.

In the stillness of the night, breathy moans and intimate whispers carried clearly through the wall.

"Miles, who makes you feel better—Professor Hayes or me?"

Miles's indulgent, contemptuous voice followed a second later. "You, of course. How could some washed-up older woman compare to you, babe?"

The pain in my chest nearly stopped me from breathing.

I suddenly remembered those intimate nights. He had always loved holding me close and asking the same questions over and over.

"Baby, who's better—me or your ex-husband? Did he ever go this deep?"

Back then, I had foolishly thought his jealousy meant he cared. I would soothe him gently and answer with endless patience.

How laughable it seemed now.

I lay motionless as silent tears soaked my pillow.

Much later, Miles crept back into our bedroom, lay beside me again, and held me as he fell asleep.

My body recoiled at his touch. Nausea churned in my stomach.

I didn't want to fight with him. I could only endure it, lying rigid and pretending to sleep.

Before dawn, a shrill fire alarm suddenly tore through the silent apartment complex.

After a sleepless night, my body was weak and aching, and the room spun around me. I forced myself upright.

Before I could fully understand what was happening, Miles shot up. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped barefoot from the bed, raced into the guest room, scooped Paige into his arms, and ran outside.