Chapter 2

I didn't touch any more, left them as they were, and walked into the bathroom.

When I came out after showering, Ethan was on the phone on the balcony.

The door wasn't fully closed. His deliberately lowered voice drifted through the gap, carrying a gentleness and patience I'd never heard before.

"The day after tomorrow morning? I have plans... Yeah, I can cancel them."

"Your car is more important. I'll wait for your call. Let me know when it's fixed."

I leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the floor.

The day after tomorrow morning was our long-scheduled visit to a traveling exhibition by a painter I really loved.

The painter had visited three times. I'd missed every single one.

This time I'd scheduled a month in advance to finally get time with Ethan.

He said he hated unplanned events.

But apparently, he only hated unplanned me.

When Ethan finished his call and returned to the bedroom, he saw several of my clothes draped over the closet door.

They weren't hung neatly. The corners crossed the dividing line he'd set.

He frowned. "Put them away properly. This is messy."

I hummed softly in acknowledgment.

Then I pulled out all the black, white, and gray clothes that matched Ethan's aesthetic and threw them in the trash.

Ethan watched my actions, his face showing no ripples of emotion.

He didn't ask why. He didn't say a word.

He just turned over, his back to me, and went to sleep.

The next day, I woke up burning with fever.

Last night's rain had caught up with me after all.

Ethan was already fully dressed, standing by the bed.

"It's seven fifteen. You didn't prepare breakfast according to plan and disrupted my morning schedule."

My head was splitting. I tried to sit up, but my vision kept going black.

He unlocked his phone screen and tapped on his notes app a few times.

"Your relationship behavior score, minus five points."

I walked out of the bedroom in a daze. On the dining table was his finished breakfast plate.

Fried eggs, toast, milk. The same as his usual.

But there was no plate for me.

In the laundry basket, the shirt and dress pants he'd changed out of yesterday were gone.

But my soaked dress still lay there quietly.

He'd only washed his own clothes.

I forced myself to take a cab to the nearest hospital.

The emergency room was noisy and chaotic. I felt weak all over from the fever.

The doctor prescribed medication and put me on an IV drip. After taking my temperature, she said, "102.5 degrees. We need a family member to stay with you and sign."

I gripped my phone, hesitating for a long time before finally calling Ethan.

The phone rang for ages before someone picked up.

"What is it?"

My voice was hoarse. "I'm at the hospital. I have a fever. The doctor says they need a family member..."

"You've seen my schedule. This morning is completely booked." He cut me off.

"It'll only take a little of your time. Just to sign."

Silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"I can spare forty minutes at most. Twenty minutes round trip from the office to the hospital. Twenty minutes for care."

I closed my eyes and said softly, "Okay."

"Could you buy me a hot water bottle from the hospital convenience store?"

The call ended.

A moment later, my phone buzzed.

It was a link to a delivery app from Ethan.

"You can order one for delivery."

Ten minutes later, Ethan appeared in the ward right on time.

He signed the form, took out his laptop, and started working.

The medication dripped into my body drop by drop. My arm was numb with cold.

Looking at Ethan's tightly pressed lips nearby, I didn't speak. I ordered a hot water bottle.

The nurse came to change the IV and saw my hand, frowning. "Why is it so swollen? Are you allergic?"

Only then did I notice my hand was covered in a large red rash, itchy and painful.