Chapter 3

"No! We don't!" I exclaimed, almost instinctively and faster than my brain. He looks at me with serious eyes, not even flinching, as if he anticipates my reaction.

My pupils shook, and I shook my head while clasping my trembling hands. No, Addalyn, stay calm. You must calm down, or else everything will come to an end. I swallowed with difficulty, and my breathing became more labored as the corners of my lips twitched in an attempt to keep myself under control.

Despite this, the corners of my eyes are heating up and soon moisture glistens on them, so I take a deep breath and reach out for his arm, grabbing it.

He cast a brief glance at them before returning his gaze to me. I'm sure he can tell my hands are trembling, but I'm not going to give in.

"Can... can you please wait until I remember my memory?" I beg, my tone almost frantic, and if anything, I'm nearing my breaking point.

"Memory? Wait for you? When will you remember?" he sarcastically asks. He is so blunt and unconcerned about his words as if he wants me to be tormented by them too much.

My lips parted as the hand that was weakly grasping his arms slid down. I have no words to respond to him, and my mind has gone blank. What could I possibly say to him? That I'll remember only when he loves me back? That is too funny, too hilarious that it is too painful.

"You can't answer?" he began, a mocking smirk appearing on his lips once more. "Aren't you wondering why we're getting divorced?" he asked again as if he knew saying those words would cause my mind to spin.

"No! I don't want to know," I respond almost instinctively, fearful of what he will say next.

He chuckles without humor, and of course, he ignores me and continues. "It's because of you. You're insane and obsessive, and I'm sick of putting up with you. Yes, your love... makes me sick." his tone is heavy, especially the last part, which is so painful that I gasp for air.

Our eyes are still connected, and he never left mine; saying those words directly to me makes it even worse.

Am I wrong to love you? Why are you hurting me this way? You knew how much I loved you, and yet you purposefully hurt me like this? My heart is being torn apart, and my mind is tormenting me even more. I bit my lower lip, even how much I want to shout everything to him that is on my mind still I hold it in.

It hurts, but I somehow realize he is doing this to test me; he already has suspicions. If I act more agitated in response to those words, my actions will be exposed to him. I'll be even more pathetic to him than I already am.

We stayed like that, with the silence surrounding us. Zach gives me one last final glance before he turns his back to me, I want to call him, but doing so in my situation will risk me just bursting out and throwing everything and using that one last desperate attempt I can think of.

In the end, I didn’t say anything and only follows him with my eyes, when he is already in front of the door, he stops and turn to look at me.

He had a dark expression, a complete contrast to the gentle one that is in my mind. He used to look at me with love in his eyes, but he no longer does.

Our gazes locked, I expected him to say something, but he only looked at me for a few seconds before leaving the room.

Once Zach was gone, the teardrops in the corners of my eyes freely streamed down my cheeks. I leaned helplessly against the bed, my hand on my tightening chest.

I breathed harder as I cried silently, and the throb in my head intensified. Zach, you’re so cruel.

After that, Zach never came back to see me, not even once. I wish I could be more clingy and tell my mother to persuade Zach to see me, but I restrain myself and focus on my recovery.

Surprisingly, my recovery is going much faster than I expected. As the days went by, my wounds gradually healed until I could finally be discharged a week later.

And now I’ve been staying in our house for two days now.

“Honey, here is your medicine.” hearing this gentle voice, I stop looking outside and turn to my mother. She is always there for me and for me to help with my recovery.

I took the medicine from her and drank it quietly. Then I returned my gaze outside. I'm looking into the distance, waiting for someone.

My mother sighs and hugs me lightly as she brushes my hair. "Perhaps Zach is just too busy with his business," she tried to console me.

I purse my lips, obviously unconvinced. "Business... is business more important than his own wife?" I can't help but ask, my tone tinged with resentment.

Zach never visited me in the hospital, and now that I'm back in our house, he refuses to come home. I'm aware that he's avoiding me, but the pain is still there, and it's driving me insane.

Zach didn't come home that day, just like any other day.

It was three days later that he finally came home. My recovery has been so rapid that I am no longer wearing the cast, and if it weren't for a few faint bruises, no one would know I had been in an accident.

I can finally do a menial task like cleaning our own room. I’m busy arranging the bed after I change the covers when the door opens. My movements come to a halt, and I look in its direction.

It’s Zach! I froze and stared at him; he was still dressed in a suit, and his expression appeared exhausted as he loosened his tie. For a brief moment, he is unaware that I am also present in the room.

After a few seconds, our eyes met. His hands stop, and I notice how he stiffened before he relaxed and averted his gaze away from me.

"You're back," I said as I approached him. "Are you busy? Have you eaten yet?" I ask, casually, as if we didn't have any problems.

He only gives me a passing glance and ignores me, not saying anything and concentrating on what he's doing. He removes his suit, not minding me for a bit.

I want to help him like I used to, but the only thing I can do is stand there and watch him. My eyes narrow as I watch him, and I notice a red spot on his sleeve.

My hand subconsciously grabs his hand and looks at it; even Zach is taken aback by how quick my action was and how he failed to react.

I stare at it. Wait... blood?

"Zach, are you hurt?" I exclaimed, my face pale, and I was about to roll his sleeves when Zach yanked his hand away from my grasp. He looks at it and then back at me, clearly irritated.

"I'm not," he simply replies.

"Then why do you have blood on you?" I inquire, perplexed as to why he had blood on him. If he wasn't the one injured, it had to be someone he was with. "Did something happen?" I ask worriedly, reaching out my hand again to grab his arm, but he dodges from me, my hand stopping midair and my gaze returning to him, only to be met with his dark expression.

"Stop bothering me with questions, it's none of your business!" he yelled.

I clasp my hand, and pain fills my heart once more. "But I'm your wife," I said, looking up at him, the corners of my eyes heating up, "is it wrong that I'm worried about my husband?" my bitter tone elicited a negative reaction from him, and he scowled at me.

His face is filled with displeasure, as if looking at me disgusts him. “Stop! Why are you even here?”

My lips twitch as I bite them to keep them from trembling from the pain that his harsh tone has inflicted on my insides. I clutched the hem of my dress and turned away from him; I can't stand the way he looks at me.

“This is our room. Why can’t I be here.” I argued, reminding him about our relationship if he was now starting to forget about it.

"Now, you suddenly stopped playing, huh? You remember that?" he snickered.

My eyes widen slightly, thankfully because I'm not looking at him directly anymore, or he'll notice my surprised expression. I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"No, I ask my mom, and... it's not hard to guess."

He sneers again, “Let’s see how long you can last with your act.”

I return my gaze to him, only to find him turning his back on me and walking to the bathroom.

“I-I’m not acting... I really can’t remember.” I said, my voice low and even a little pathetic. But do I care? No, I definitely didn’t. I can even do worse than this.

After a few seconds, his laugh suddenly echoed, causing my brows to knit for an unknown reason. This laugh sounded familiar, as though I heard it from a distant memory.

As a different emotion is only beginning to awaken inside of me, the ringing in my ears returns and kills this instantly until I can’t even remember what it is.

I can't even get that deep as Zach catches my full attention once more, our eyes meeting, his blue eyes filled with amusement. “Right, you can’t remember.” He sounded sarcastic but also not. He shook his head and said, “Don’t wait for me tomorrow, I have something to do. Just rest.” His tone was calm before he turned his back and continued until he entered the bathroom. 

I froze and stared at the closed door, my heart racing. My hands clasp in my chest, feeling the sound of my heartbeats. His tone is not gentle or even comforting, but a newfound hope sprouted within my heart.

He still cares about me, even if he's harsh most of the time; nothing matters more than the fact that he cares about me. A small smile appears on my lips; yes, I just need to hold on until his feelings return to me.