Chapter 3

The dining room immediately filled with whispers.

"Is that the scholarship girl, Georgina? I heard she used to be the star student."

"Life is cruel. Such a bright girl, ending up like this."

Someone looked at Julian, trying to be kind.

"Georgina must be really anxious. Julian, you should comfort her more. Make her happy."

"Yeah, the job market is brutal right now. Just let her rest for a while..."

Julian frowned, slamming his fork onto his plate.

"What? You guys think I'm treating her badly?"

"No, that’s not what we meant—"

He took a gulp of wine, his face darkening.

"Since Georgina lost her job, she's been home. I'm the one taking care of her, paying her medical bills, and taking her on trips to clear her head."

"I know how to love my wife. I don't need you guys to tell me what to do."

"Today is Emily’s celebration dinner. Let's not talk about other things."

Even strangers could see my worth and understand my pain, but Julian couldn't.

I let out a bitter laugh and closed my bedroom door.

The laughter and noise from outside slowly swallowed me whole.

When I opened my eyes again, Julian was shaking me awake.

He snatched the pill bottle from my nightstand, shaking it. When he felt how light it was, his face turned pale with rage.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Do not take this many sleeping pills at once!"

"Do you really not care about your life at all?!"

The angrier he got, the harder he kicked the nightstand.

"You want to die that badly? Do you really think my heart won't break?!"

In all our years together, I had rarely seen him lose control like this.

It felt like my childhood all over again—being screamed at, being helpless.

My vision blurred, my body shook uncontrollably, and I couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Seeing me like this, Julian seemed to realize his mistake. "I'm sorry, Georgina. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

He went to the kitchen. Half an hour later, he came back with a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"This is your favorite. Eat slowly."

He blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it down, then fed it to me.

"I was just so worried about you. Your health has been so bad, and taking that many pills... I was scared..."

Looking at the guilt on his face, my heart ached with a dull pain.

Julian's love was like a wet wool coat. Wearing it made me freeze, but taking it off made me cold.

I swallowed the soup, but I couldn't taste a thing.

"I'm fine. There were just too many people yesterday. I wanted a good night's sleep."

He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Emily was spoiled growing up, she doesn't think before she speaks. I apologize for her."

"Tomorrow, once I wrap up my work, I'll take you on a trip. Just the two of us. We'll relax."

The next day, after we got off the plane, Julian covered my eyes. He said he was taking me to a beautiful place.

My memories drifted back to the past.

In college, he used to do this too. He was always bringing me good food and little gifts, giving me surprises.

But when he took off the blindfold and I saw what was in front of me, my excitement shattered.

"Georgina, don't you love roses?"

"We made it just in time for the rose valley bloom. This will make you happy, right?"

I let out a hollow laugh.

"Julian, we’ve been together for so many years. Have you ever once bought me a rose?"

He froze.

I was allergic to roses. The one who loved roses was Emily.

"I'm sorry. I forgot."

He scrambled to explain, but I didn't have the energy to listen.

That suffocating, familiar wave of panic rushed over me again.

My chest felt like it was being squeezed by a giant fist.

Julian reached out to hold me, but his phone rang.

"Julian? I saw your Instagram post. Are you in town too?"

He instantly pulled his hand back, his voice turning professional and polite.

"Yes, Mr. Wilson. If you're free, can I buy you lunch?"

"Sure. I have a new project coming up, and I was thinking of giving it to you."

"Let's meet at the downtown cafe at three this afternoon."

Then, the voice on the other end changed its tone.

"By the way, how is that sick wife of yours?"

"You used to take so much time off work just to nurse her."

"Take it from me, Julian. Emotional men don't make it far in business. A burden like that... you should drop her when you need to."

Julian shot me a frustrated look.

"Yeah, she is a drag. But what can I do? I love her, so I spoil her."

My brain was buzzing.

In everyone's eyes, because I was sick, I was a burden, a piece of societal trash.

But no one saw how hard I tried to exercise every day, how much I read, how hard I tried to keep up.

My entire struggle against my fate meant nothing to them. To Julian, it was a joke.

All my bottled-up emotions exploded. I spoke up, my voice shaking.

"Mr. Wilson, you might be a successful businessman, but that doesn't give you the right to erase my hard work or show off your superiority over someone who is sick."