Chapter 3

3

I saw Ethan carrying Sophia like a princess, rushing into an ER bay.

Three or four doctors trailed behind them, making it look like they were responding to a major trauma case.

Sophia was curled up in his arms, looking pale, biting her lip and whimpering softly.

"Ethan, my stomach hurts so much..."

Ethan's expression was tight with a level of concern I'd never seen him show before.

He snapped at the doctors:

"She drank something cold, now she has severe abdominal pain! Run tests immediately!"

The doctors scrambled, bringing over a wheelchair.

But Ethan refused to put her down, sitting in the chair himself with Sophia still cradled in his arms.

Nurses nearby started whispering.

"Wow, that guy really spoils his wife."

"I wish my husband was like that. Where do you find a guy like that?"

Hearing them, Sophia snuggled closer, pressing her face against Ethan's collarbone, looking for all the world like a deeply devoted couple.

Ethan's Adam's apple bobbed, and a faint smile played on his lips, one he couldn't quite hide.

I couldn't help a bitter smirk.

Envy?

If they only knew his actual wife wasn't allowed to touch a single hair on his head, would they still be envious?

I looked away, trying to steady myself, and spoke to a nurse.

"Excuse me, could you get a doctor for me? I have a high fever, I need..."

Before I could finish, Ethan suddenly whipped his head around, his gaze sharp as a knife stabbing into me.

"Audrey?"

His voice was ice cold, his eyes filled with annoyance.

"Are you serious? You followed me all the way to the hospital?"

I froze for a second, then laughed weakly.

"You're imagining things. I'm just here because I'm sick."

I held up the thermometer I was clutching.

He frowned, his eyes glancing at my arms and neck where the rash was clearly worse.

A strange look flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by disgust.

"Stop playing the victim. It was just two hours in disinfectant. Do you really need to put on such a show?"

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, but I barely felt the pain.

"Yeah, you're right," I said lightly.

"I'm faking it."

"After all, a disgusting woman like me, who commits a crime just by touching you, doesn't deserve to actually be sick, right?"

He seemed taken aback that I wasn't acting like my usual self.

Normally, no matter how much he pushed me away, I'd bounce back like nothing happened, talking carefully, like some indestructible cockroach, dreaming of the day I could help him overcome his issues so we could be a normal couple.

Ethan stared, then his face darkened. He started to say something, but Sophia whimpered from his arms.

"Ethan, is Audrey sick? You should go be with her, don't worry about me..."

Ethan immediately turned his attention back to her, his voice instantly becoming incredibly gentle.

"She's nobody important. Don't pay any attention to her. It's her own fault for acting up."

Nobody important.

Right. Five years of marriage, and in his eyes, I was just an inconvenient decoration.

A prop to hide his unspeakable feelings for Sophia.

A nurse saw me swaying and quickly grabbed my arm.

"Ms. Hayes, are you okay? You need treatment right away!"

I let the nurse guide me toward a different examination room.

Behind me, Ethan called out coldly:

"Audrey, if it's nothing serious, stop pretending. Go home and make some soup for Sophia. Dad's out of town, and she barely ate today."

I stopped walking but didn't turn around.

All those cooking skills I'd worked so hard to learn for him... just became a tool for him to please the woman he really loved.

He thought I was disgusting, right?

How could he possibly eat food I made? Wasn't he afraid I'd poison him?

My thoughts were a jumbled mess as a doctor started an IV drip for me.

Suddenly, Ethan was standing beside me, frowning deeply.

"Audrey, what the hell is wrong with you today? First, you break the agreement and touch me, then you refuse to disinfect properly, and now you're bribing doctors to give you saline just so you don't have to make soup for Sophia?"

The IV bag was right there, hanging in front of his face, but he clearly hadn't even read the label.

My eyelids felt heavy. I didn't have the energy to argue with him.

Sophia hovered nearby, tugging at his sleeve.

"Ethan, if Audrey doesn't want to, don't force her. It's okay, I don't need to eat..."

But her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.

The next second, Ethan yanked the IV needle right out of my hand.

Ignoring the nurse's shouts and my struggles, he dragged me out of the hospital.

Ethan shoved me roughly into the car.

My wrist throbbed where the needle had been ripped out, tiny beads of blood forming a thin red line on the back of my hand.

"Ethan, I'm sick! I need medical attention!"

He scoffed, starting the engine.

"Stop pretending. It was just some disinfectant. How bad could it be? Sophia's not feeling well right now. As my wife, shouldn't you do your part?"

Wife?

Hearing that word from his lips felt like the ultimate joke.

What kind of wife was I?

Just a tool, a smokescreen for his twisted obsession with Sophia.

The car sped down the road, the scenery blurring past the windows as my consciousness started to fade.

When I came to again, I was standing in the kitchen.

Someone had shoved a knife into my hand.

"Hurry up," Ethan ordered, standing nearby, watching me with cold eyes. "Sophia's stomach is sensitive. Make that chicken soup you always make for me when my stomach's upset."

My body felt like it was on fire.

The rash on my arms had spread to my neck, itching and burning.

But he acted like he didn't even see it.

"I don't know how," I said.

I put the knife down. My voice was quiet but firm.

Ethan's eyes narrowed. He grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight I thought he'd crush the bone.

"Audrey, are you determined to defy me today?"

I winced in pain but forced myself to look up at him.

"Ethan, if you care about her so much, why don't you make it for her yourself?"

"Aren't you the one who hates me touching you? What happened? Suddenly I'm not disgusting anymore?"

His face changed drastically. He flung my hand away.

"What are you talking about?"

He was clearly rubbing his own hand compulsively where I might have brushed against him, yet desperately trying to hide it.

Pretending he wasn't disgusted by me, just so I'd cook for his beloved Sophia.

"Ethan, is it almost ready? My stomach really hurts..." Sophia's weak voice drifted in from the living room.

Ethan immediately abandoned me and rushed out.

"Sophia, just hold on a little longer, the soup will be ready soon."

I stood there, staring at my red, swollen wrist, and suddenly started to laugh.

So, he could be gentle.

Just not with me.

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and called my dad again.

"Dad, book me the first flight out of here."

There was a pause on the other end, then Dad said, "Okay. I'll arrange it right now."

After hanging up, I turned and walked out of the kitchen.

I saw Ethan kneeling beside the sofa, carefully helping Sophia sip some water.

His long fingers gently wiped her mouth, his eyes filled with a tenderness he'd never once shown me.

I walked straight towards the front door.

But Ethan suddenly called out, "Stop! Where's the soup? You mentioned booking a flight �C are you trying to run away just to avoid making soup?"

I didn't look back.

"Make it yourself. I'm done waiting on you."

He shot up from the sofa and lunged towards me, grabbing my arm.

"Audrey! What the hell has gotten into you?!"

The fever made me weak. His sudden pull made me stumble.

Everything went black, and I pitched forward, hitting the floor hard.

A sharp pain exploded on my forehead.

Warm liquid trickled down my temple.

Through blurry vision, I saw Sophia gasp, covering her mouth.

"Ethan, Audrey's bleeding!"

Ethan's hand had just touched my shoulder when Sophia suddenly slumped over, limp.

"Sophia!"

He instantly let go of me and turned to catch her.

The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was the sound of his footsteps carrying Sophia away.

And his chilling words: "Leave her. It's not like she's going to die."