After I Chased Off His Mistress, He Regretted My Divorce

Chapter 2

At 1:00 a.m., Nathan left for Vanessa's place anyway. Before he went, he checked my forehead with the back of his hand and set an insulated mug beside the bed. "Remember to take your medicine. I'll come back in the morning and make breakfast."

The front door shut behind him, cutting off the sound of his hurried footsteps.

At 6:00 a.m. the next morning, I heard a faint clatter from the kitchen. By the time I reached the dining room, fried eggs and warm milk were waiting on the table, and my pills had been sorted neatly into a small pill organizer.

Nathan pushed a glass of water toward me. "Eat first. Don't take your medicine on an empty stomach." He remembered the exact dosage and that I liked my eggs crisp around the edges.

The moment I picked up the glass, his phone lit up. Vanessa had sent a message.

Vanessa: I had another nightmare last night. When I woke up, I couldn't breathe, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Nathan's fork stopped halfway to his mouth. In an instant, all the attention he had been giving me shifted to her.

"I'll go check on her." He grabbed the coat from the back of his chair. "It's only a 10-minute drive. I'll be back soon. Eat before everything gets cold."

The door closed again.

I stared at the steam rising from my milk and remembered a storm the previous winter. That night, my fever had reached 102°F. Rain hammered the windows while I curled beneath the blankets, shaking so hard that my teeth chattered.

I called Nathan. He said, "Vanessa forgot her umbrella. She's outside alone and crying, and I'm afraid she'll do something reckless. I can't leave yet. Hang in there. Go down to the drugstore on the corner and get some fever medicine."

The hallway's motion-sensor light was broken. I wrapped myself in a coat and picked my way through puddles in the dark. Rain seeped into my new winter boots, and my soaked socks clung to my feet. Every step felt as though I were wading through ice water.

Nathan finally came home at 2:00 a.m. He pressed his warm palm to my burning forehead and apologized over and over. His hand was so warm that I pushed my hurt aside and forgave him yet again.

The next day, he asked why I wasn't wearing my new boots. I told him the rain had ruined them when I went out to buy medicine. He barely reacted. He simply looked down to answer Vanessa's message and never asked again.

He remembered exactly how many pills I needed, but not why I had stopped wearing the boots. He remembered every nightmare Vanessa had, but forgot that I had once walked through a storm alone.

Nathan came home early that evening. He opened the entryway closet and paused. "Where are the slippers you always wear?"

"They were worn out, so I threw them away." I folded the last few sweaters into my suitcase.

He leaned against the bedroom doorway, frowning slightly. "Are you still angry about this morning?"

"No."

"Wendy, Vanessa isn't like you. She's fragile, and she has no one else. Be the bigger person here. Don't hold this against her."

I paused with the sweater in my hands. "You're right."

His expression eased. As always, he assumed the matter was settled.

His phone rang, and he glanced at the screen without thinking. He never noticed that half my clothes were gone or that I had gradually cleared away my books, toiletries, and everything on the vanity.

At midnight, Vanessa sent me a message.

Vanessa: Wendy, let's meet tomorrow afternoon. I already told Nathan I was coming to see you. I want to see how good a fixer you really are.