Chapter 22

Amelia glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed it was already 10 PM. Pulling up her blanket, she intended to sleep.

However, before she could drift off, Amelia heard her bedroom door open. She had a habit of never locking her door, considering there was no one else in the apartment except her and Risma.

Turning over to check, Amelia was slightly startled. Her eyes fell on Ethan, who had entered the room and immediately started taking off the sweater he was wearing.

This certainly surprised Amelia. Her husband hadn't given her any notice that he would be stopping by or staying at the apartment tonight, even though it was indeed his scheduled night to visit.

"You're staying here tonight?" Amelia asked. She sat up, abandoning her previous intention to sleep.

"Yeah," Ethan replied briefly.

He then walked over to the wardrobe, grabbed some pajamas, and headed into the bathroom to change. When he was done, he came straight to the bed, climbed in, and lay down next to Amelia without saying much.

"Have you eaten?" Amelia asked, trying to make small talk. The question was meant to ease the awkwardness and break the silence, and perhaps Ethan hadn't had dinner yet.

"I'm not hungry. Actually, I don't have much of an appetite," Ethan replied.

Amelia raised an eyebrow, puzzled about why her husband had no appetite. Was he sick? Or was there another reason?

"Are you feeling unwell? Or is there another reason you're not hungry? I made quite a bit of fried shrimp earlier," she said.

"Why bother cooking so much? Were you planning to share it with Evan?" Ethan retorted. Out of nowhere, he suddenly brought up someone else while lying next to her in bed.

"Why are you bringing up Evan all of a sudden?" Amelia asked, confused. She wasn’t playing dumb—she genuinely didn’t understand where her husband's comment was coming from.

"Wasn’t it yesterday that you shared food with him?"

"Shared food?" Amelia repeated. Then she nodded as if remembering something. "Oh, you mean the leftovers?"

"How should I know if you've ever shared other things with him," Ethan said bitterly.

"So now you're upset?"

Ethan clicked his tongue in irritation. His expression clearly showed his displeasure.

"I'm not upset. I just don’t like how you act overly familiar with Evan."

"Overly familiar?" Amelia asked to confirm, feeling amused by Ethan’s accusation. "So, giving food that you didn’t want to eat to Evan is considered overly familiar? Then what should I have done? Thrown away the food I worked hard to cook? Did you even think about my feelings?"

"Oh, come on, Amelia. I didn’t even know you cooked or intended to bring me lunch yesterday. Did you tell me beforehand?"

Amelia closed her eyes briefly. To be fair, she hadn’t told Ethan she’d brought him lunch the day before. Not intentionally, but because Flora had already beaten her to it by bringing Ethan a lot of food.

"Fine. It was my mistake from the beginning. I’m sorry," Amelia said sincerely, hoping to avoid a prolonged argument.

Ethan stayed silent. Instead of acknowledging his wife's apology, he chose to lie down, turn his back to her, pull up the blanket, and go to sleep.

Meanwhile, Amelia could only take deep breaths repeatedly, trying to stay calm and not let her emotions get the better of her. She figured it was her fault for not giving the food to her husband directly yesterday.

The next morning at breakfast, Ethan was still acting the same. He remained silent and didn’t speak to Amelia at all. Whether it was because he had nothing to talk about or was still upset about what had happened the night before, Amelia couldn’t tell.

"Why are you so quiet? Are you still mad at me?" Amelia asked, attempting to start a conversation. She wanted to break the awkwardness between her and her husband. She had no desire to let Ethan stay upset with her for too long.

"No, I’m fine," Ethan replied, expressionless.

"Fine? But your face says otherwise. I’ve already apologized, and you still won’t forgive me?"

Ethan remained silent, still holding onto his cold demeanor. He chose to focus on eating breakfast rather than respond to what Amelia was saying.

"For God’s sake, Ethan, I’ve apologized. I promise something like yesterday won’t happen again."

Ethan paused his chewing and turned his gaze to Amelia, staring at her intently as if he was about to respond. But before he could say anything, Amelia’s phone rang. She quickly picked it up.

"Hello, Clara. What’s going on?"

"Amelia, can you come to the hospital right now?"

"The hospital?"

"Yeah, Dad suddenly collapsed and is now being transferred for intensive care at Medika Hospital. Can you come? I’m really worried about his condition."

Ethan, from the corner of his eye, noticed the sudden worry etched across Amelia's face. Putting aside his ego, he finally spoke up, curious about what was happening.

"What’s wrong? Why do you look so panicked?"

"Dad’s been taken to the hospital. He suddenly collapsed," Amelia said weakly.

"Which hospital?"

"According to Clara, he’s been taken to Medika Hospital."

"Alright, I’ll take you there now," Ethan offered.

But before either of them could stand, Ethan’s phone started ringing. Glancing at the screen, Flora’s name was clearly displayed. Worried it might be something urgent for his first wife to call this early, Ethan answered right away.

"What’s up, Flora?"

"Ethan, have you had breakfast? You’re still picking me up to take me to my mom’s, right? I’ve been waiting for you since earlier."

Ethan closed his eyes. He had forgotten that he’d promised Flora he’d take her to visit her mom, who was currently recovering at her home.

Now, he found himself in a dilemma. Just moments ago, he’d offered to take Amelia to the hospital to see her father. Now he looked up, catching a glimpse of Amelia’s anxious face, clearly worried about her father’s condition.

So, who would Ethan choose to accompany this morning?