I Stopped Waiting for His Reply

Chapter 5

After his business trip, Leon came home and sensed something had changed. But Chloe liked rearranging the house, so he didn't think much of it. He handed her the gift he'd brought.

"My work is on hold for now. I can take 3 days off to be with you. Where do you want to go? A change of scenery will be good for your health."

Chloe was stunned. In all these years, he had never offered to spend time with her. All the travel plans she had excitedly made had been canceled, one after another, by his endless "too busy at work, can't arrange it."

The refusal was on the tip of her tongue, but the plans she had once poured her heart into flashed through her mind. That was the unwillingness that had run through 5 whole years.

After a long pause, Chloe said, "Let's drive to the beach. I like the sand."

Let this terrible marriage have a slightly dignified goodbye.

She opened the gift box and took out the Louis Vuitton cashmere shawl inside. The color didn't match her taste at all, but she wore it anyway to save face.

Leon drove the coupe as she asked. Halfway there, his phone made the special notification sound.

Leon: I twisted my ankle. It hurts so much.

Leon immediately called Mandy and changed the navigation. He actually had her location on his phone. Chloe stared at the app. She looked it up online. It was a couples' location-sharing app.

At this point, did it even matter whether they had crossed physical lines?

Her head throbbed. She rolled down the window to let the wind carry away the sudden surge of emotion.

"Leon, I'm not asking anything of you. You were the one who offered to take me on a trip. You should follow through. Going back will take 2 hours. You want me to sit in the car all morning? My body can't take it. Have someone else go—"

"I don't feel comfortable leaving it to someone else."

Leon cut her off calmly.

Chloe was speechless. Her eyes burned.

A twisted ankle, and he didn't feel comfortable. What about the high fevers she had endured alone, the terror of nearly being slashed on the street, the car accident? What were those? Proof that she was tough enough to survive without anyone caring?

"Leon, sorry to bother you again."

They picked Mandy up. Leon helped her into the car. Chloe glanced over and froze. Mandy had the same shawl draped over her shoulders, but in a much better color—the one Chloe actually liked.

"Leon, who picked the shawl for me?" Chloe asked, word by word.

Mandy said, "Miss Bennett, don't you like yours? The counter only had 2 left. I thought since you're older, your taste would be more mature, so I picked the younger color first."

She looked apologetic. "We can swap."

Chloe ignored her. She stared at Leon.

"You gave me the one someone else didn't want? Am I a garbage dump?"

She ripped off the shawl and threw it out the window.

Mandy looked too scared to speak. Leon patted her shoulder. "It's fine."

He buckled her seatbelt, got into the driver's seat, and said flatly, "It's just a different color. You make a big deal out of everything. No wonder you're unhappy."

After a long silence, Chloe let out a bitter laugh.

"So you can see that I'm unhappy."

He could see it. He just never cared.

The car changed route to the hospital. By the time Mandy came out with a medicated patch, the entire morning was gone. Chloe's planned trip was still at the starting point.

"Let's have lunch first. Mandy is hungry, and you probably are too." Leon looked at Mandy in the back seat. "Thai or Italian?"

Mandy smiled, using an affected, innocent tone. "Leon, how do you remember I liked those two? You're amazing."

Leon smiled slightly. "If you pay attention, it's not hard."

That smile was a curved blade, cutting a gash in Chloe's heart.

Mandy kept asking. "Then do you remember what I like to drink?"

"Fresh orange juice."

"What fruit do I like?"

"Durian."

"My favorite way to cook ribs?"

"Braised."

"What does Miss Bennett like?"

Leon, who had been answering smoothly, froze.

Chloe said coldly, "If you two want to be lovey-dovey, go get a hotel room. Stop disgusting me in my car."

Leon frowned. "Is that the only kind of filthy thought in your head? Mandy is like a sister to me."

Mandy's eyes reddened. "Miss Bennett, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I... I'll stop talking. Leon, pull over and let me out. I'm not that hungry."

Leon gave Chloe a reproachful look and made the final call. "It's lunchtime. We'll eat together."

Chloe crossed her arms. "Fine. I want French food."

This time, Leon didn't say no. He agreed.

He drove to the restaurant and parked downstairs but didn't get out.

"Mandy isn't used to French food, and she needs help walking with her foot. I'll eat Italian with her and come get you after."