Chapter 4

In stories where love conquered all, the third party in the relationship was always the unloved one. My naive younger self agreed with that. It was like my teenage self had unintentionally paved the path for my future self's demise.

"Caleb, will you accompany me to see a doctor?" I refused to give up, so I tried negotiating with him again. I didn't want to admit I was the unloved one.

Yet, I dared not meet his eyes after saying that. I could only lower my head and wait for him to decide. I was deathly afraid to see indifference and annoyance in his eyes.

Alas, Caleb said nothing. I just watched his shoes, which the housekeepers had shined until they were spotless, walk away from my sight.

Maura still needed stitches, after all. There was no way he would choose me.

I looked up at Caleb's distancing figure and happened to see my reflection on the glass divider. I looked miserable.

I couldn't help but recall a saying that women tended to glow when nourished with love by their partners. If that were the case, would unloved women look so haggard that they couldn't even recognize themselves like me? I wasn't like this before.

Why did I have to suffer like this?

My ankle, which was fine at first, felt unbearably painful now. Even so, I hoped the pain would worsen. It would give me clarity and more resolution.

I was exhausted at that point.

I would always think Caleb wasn't too bad to me in the past. I told myself to work harder and be better to him in this marriage I willingly entered. If I did so, maybe I could melt his frozen heart someday.

However, I realized today that he wasn't as stone-cold as I thought. I just wasn't the person he wanted to give his warmth to.

I left the balcony in despair. When passing the doctor's office, I saw Maura was already getting her stitches. I watched her from outside the door.

She turned her upper body to hug Caleb tightly, her entire head burying deep into his chest. I couldn't see her face, but I could hear her cries.

She asked, "It hurts, Caleb. Will it leave a scar?"

"No. Nobody can see it since it's on your inner thigh."

"W-Who said so? My darling will see it! What if he doesn't want me anymore because of it?"

The two nurses giggled among themselves nearby.

As for Caleb, his expression darkened as he hugged Maura closer.

Outsiders had no clue, but I could tell what was going on.

The "darling" Maura mentioned wasn't Caleb. That was why Caleb's possessiveness deepened.

I dragged my injured leg out of the hospital and didn't bother taking the Goode family's car home. Instead, I hailed a cab.

All at once, I developed an inexplicable disgust for everything related to Caleb. I didn't want anything to do with him. That said, I still needed to get home.

After all, I didn't have my ID card and couldn't book a hotel room. I couldn't go to my parents' because they would convince me to tolerate everything and keep my marriage. Still, I couldn't possibly sleep in the streets either, could I?

Fortunately, Caleb would surely keep Maura company tonight, so I couldn't have to see him for now.

…

I later returned to the Goode residence, which was still brightly lit even when it was late. The housekeepers dared not go to bed when their employers hadn't returned.

A housekeeper helped me change out of my slippers while our residence's butler brought a refined-looking female doctor to me.

"Are you Mrs. Goode? I heard your leg's injured. Mr. Goode has specially asked me to take a look," she explained.

I froze at the doctor before me, surprise filling my chest. Did Caleb still have me in his heart?

A glimmer of hope ignited in me. Perhaps I was overthinking things. Caleb probably tended to Maura because her injury was more severe than mine. If he genuinely didn't care one bit for me, why would he arrange for a doctor to visit our home?

"Please have a seat, Mrs. Goode. Let me examine your wound. Where did you hurt yourself?" the doctor asked.

I sat on the couch and revealed my injured ankle while the doctor patiently checked it.

"What's this? How could you have gotten a burn wound in this spot?" she asked.

One shouldn't air their dirty laundry to the world, so I didn't plan to reveal too much. I merely explained, "It was an accident. A glass cup dropped on my ankle."

"Fortunately, the glass shards didn't cut your skin. A little antiseptic cream will fix this up soon. Gosh, and to think Mr. Goode was so worried about it! He even said he didn't want any scars to remain."

The doctor's words were a cruel slap to my face.

I wasn't the one who worried about lingering scars—Maura was. That was when it hit me. Maura was technically also a "Mrs. Goode" now.

I awkwardly retracted my foot, even though the doctor was still applying the cream to my ankle. "You've got the wrong person. Caleb asked you to come here because he wants you to check on the other Mrs. Goode's injury."

The doctor showed a tense expression. She likely didn't understand our family's complicated relationships. That said, she didn't dwell in her confusion for long.

She soon stubbornly grabbed my ankle and said, "Even if I'm mistaken, your wound still needs tending to. Otherwise, you may get blisters."

Then, she got to work while chatting with me. "So, Mr. Goode was asking me to check on Madam Goode. Gosh, one should give him a telling to!

"He can't just focus on caring for his mom and forgetting about his wife! After all, you're the one who'll stay by his side till the end of his life."

Her well-intended nagging only sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. "I won't be that person to him for long."

The doctor gawped at me, then tried to ease the tension as if she was afraid she had said the wrong thing. "All couples argue. Are you upset because Mr. Goode hasn't spent quality time with you recently? I'm sure he still cares about you.

"I can tell your home is the most romantic and warm house I've visited from the moment I entered. There are roses everywhere. Couples that don't love each other wouldn't have this many roses in their home."

I liked flowers, like most people, so I never noticed the increasing number of them at home.

Back then, Caleb said it was meaningless to buy fresh flowers because they would die after a few days. So, he never bought me any bouquets as gifts. It seemed like the flowers at home only increased after Maura moved in.

The doctor was right. Couples that didn't love each other wouldn't have this many roses at home.

"Alright, now. You don't need to keep reminding me about that. Thank you. You can wait here for Madam Goode to return," I answered.

Now that my wound was dealt with, I should do something about myself next. This place was no longer my home, and I didn't want to keep being a piece in Caleb and Maura's play.

Caleb sided with Maura even when she threw her glass of hot water onto my foot today. But what about tomorrow? I couldn't win against Caleb's old flame, nor did I wish to keep competing against her.

I went upstairs, packed my things, and was about to leave. When I came downstairs, I bumped into Caleb, who carried Maura into the house.

He merely glanced at me before rushing to relay Maura's condition to the doctor. "Maura's afraid of feeling pain, so be gentler with her. Do your absolute best not to leave a scar."

"Don't worry, Mr. Goode. I'll take good care of…" The doctor faltered while staring at Maura, possibly surprised by how young Maura was. She seemed to weigh everything in her mind and ultimately go with how Caleb previously addressed Maura.

The doctor then finished her sentence, saying, "I'll take good care of Mrs. Goode."