Chapter 18
Remembering how he’d loosened the tense muscle with his shameless hands, I frowned and shook my head.
‘He did as he pleased when he disappeared, too.’
Even now, Eugene was doing as he pleased.
Long-held feelings of longing and resentment toward him tangled inside me. I clicked my tongue and looked down at the handkerchief. For some reason, I felt awkward and wiggled my toes.
‘Still, maybe I should have at least thanked him.’
Even though I snapped at him with harsh words, he still insisted on taking me home.
While his car was driving down the street, I simply stared out the window in silence. As soon as we arrived in front of the estate after a long silence, I hurried out of the car.
Not even saying goodbye before going inside left me feeling petty and unsettled.
“I should apologize properly next time.”
I untied the tightly knotted handkerchief. Ignoring the lingering discomfort, I folded it neatly and placed it on the nightstand.
Standing up completely, I turned to check the clock.
I tried to estimate how long it would take Hayden to return after dropping Chloe off at home, then headed for the bathroom.
I drew my own bath and, even after spending a long time soaking and washing, Hayden still hadn’t come home.
Two in the morning. I frowned and stared at the clock.
“Shouldn’t he be back by now…?”
Would he be even later? Anxiously, I bit my lip. My mind was a mess, searching for reasons why Hayden was so late coming home.
I let out a long sigh and lay down on the bed.
There was no reason to keep putting off going to bed. I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was staying up waiting for him. It felt too much like I was suspecting my husband of cheating.
I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to the quiet around me. My heart was beating so loudly that it almost drowned out the ticking of the clock.
Desperately hoping for Hayden to come through the front door, I couldn’t fall asleep as dawn crept in.
* * *
I slipped into the kitchen, avoiding people’s eyes.
Glancing around the empty kitchen, I spotted what I wanted on the shelf. I immediately dragged a small stool in front of the shelf and climbed up onto it.
The moment I managed to grab the item, the stool wobbled and my body tipped backward.
Crash—
A loud noise rang out as I fell to the floor along with the things from the shelf.
A sharp pain spread through my small body, and my vision turned white.
“Oh my! Miss!”
The servant, startled by the commotion, rushed in and sighed at the mess in the dining room.
I quickly forced myself upright despite the pain and hid what I’d grabbed behind my back.
“Jenna, don’t tell my mother…”
“Winter! I told you to behave yourself because your brother is sick!”
Before I could finish, my mother appeared and yelled.
Her shadowed eyes were so weary that she didn’t even seem to have the energy to be angry. I shrank my neck, trying to hide my pain.
“But…”
“You know your brother just barely managed to fall asleep after being sick all day, Winter. How can you be so inconsiderate?”
My mother let out a long sigh.
“But still…”
It’s my birthday today.
Unable to hide my disappointment at the harsh scolding, I muttered a tiny protest. But my mother didn’t hear me, clicking her tongue in frustration.
“Please, Winter. Just try to be quiet for one day.”
She shook her head at me and left the kitchen. Soon after, the servant ushered me out as well.
My ankle throbbed—maybe I’d twisted it in the fall—but nobody seemed to care.
“I’m hurting, too…”
But if I said I was in pain, I’d only be scolded more, so I bit my lip and held back my tears. A wave of sorrow came over me at the utter indifference.
‘But at least I got the cookie tin…’
It wasn’t anything valuable, but it was a tin with a picture of a rabbit I’d really wanted. Clutching it to my chest, I dashed down the hallway.
I squeezed my aching body under the statue in the garden and opened the tin, shoving a handful of cookies into my mouth.
Cookies, crumbly with flour and sugar, soaked up my tears as I ate.
My mother’s cold gaze had hurt me, but somehow it was alright.
‘Soon, that child will…’
When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling. I reached up and wiped the dampness from my eyes. I thought I’d seen a large hand for a moment.
For a while, I couldn’t distinguish dream from reality, blinking blankly.
It seemed I’d dozed off for a moment. The sound of the front door opening snapped me back to my senses.
Morning had come. A pale light was streaming in through the window.
Hayden had spent the night out.
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