I missed the sunrise.
I fell asleep in the car, and when I woke up, I was still wearing Neil's clothes.
He looked full of energy, his upper body bare, revealing his well-built muscles, and he didn't forget to show off his pectorals:
"Look, they move."
……
When I got home, he had already arrived.
He looked like he hadn't slept all night, his fingers interlaced and supporting his forehead.
"You're back?"
He lifted his head: "I've thought about today's incident, it's not—"
His gaze froze on my neck.
I could hear his voice growing colder by the moment.
"Nicole," his voice lost its usual calm for the first time, "where did you go last night?"
I couldn't be bothered to respond to him.
I was exhausted. College boys were too much to handle. All I wanted to do now was sleep.
Elliot suddenly stood up, grabbing me tightly, with such force that I cried out in pain.
"What are you doing?!"
He stared fixedly at my neck, his eyes turning red:
"Nicole, what the hell is this?!
Where did you go last night?!"
I checked the side of my neck with my phone.
Hmph.
How can you be so dog-like?
"This is something you don't know?" I sneered.
Elliot had come back with hickey marks more than once.
At first, I didn't even think they were hickeys.
It felt like a branding iron searing into my heart, sizzling, making it so unbearably painful.
Later, I gradually got used to it.
"How come you don't recognize it on someone else?"
Elliot was taken aback, the anger in his eyes slowly fading.
In the end, I even saw a look of sadness in his eyes.
That was surprising.
Could he feel sad?
Elliot held onto me for a long time, and then his voice quivered slightly:
"Nicole, I'll fire Lauryn."
"And you should break things off with that guy. Let's pretend this never happened, okay?"
I'm not sure if I misread it.
There was actually a hint of... pleading in his eyes?
Suddenly, I felt very disheartened.
If he had said this earlier, I might have considered it.
But now, the college boy was waiting for me. I didn't have the patience to deal with him.
I yawned and pushed away his hand.
"Get out of the way, a good dog doesn't block the path."
The next morning, the house was filled with the aroma of food.
I thought I must have been mistaken, as I disliked having strangers in the house, so we didn't have a maid, only someone who came to clean at fixed times.
I walked into the living room barefoot.
Elliot was wearing an apron, holding a spatula, and his gaze darted away from my neck as if burned, his smile somewhat forced.
"Come eat, your favorite buffalo wings are ready!"
There's a hot spread of entrées and soup on the table.
It was clear that he hadn't cooked in a while and had become rusty. The wings were a bit burnt, and the oil spinach had been blanched for too long, making it limp.
Elliot rubbed his hands on the apron, seemingly realizing that he hadn't done a great job:
"It's been a long time since I cooked. It doesn't look as good as before."
Sitting at the table, I was momentarily dazed.
A long time ago, I used to eat these dishes often.
Back then, Elliot wasn't successful yet, and we lived in a small rented room, sharing the kitchen with others.
I was always sick back then, and my health wasn't good.
A checkup at the hospital revealed that I had anemia.
At that time, Elliot's career was just starting, and he was extremely busy, but he still came back every day to cook for me.
I told him I could cook for myself, but he was always worried.
He would always tell me, "It's okay, I'm not tired."
Buffalo chicken wings, sautéed kale, coleslaw with shrimp, and a dessert like apple pie or brownies.
These were some of my favorite dishes.
Eventually, Elliot became highly skilled, able to prepare all the dishes within an hour and a half, and they looked great.
I'd forgotten how long it had been since I'd eaten them.
Probably since the day I first smelled perfume on him.
It had stopped since then.
Now, just a few short years later, sitting at the table eating with him again gave me a feeling of being worlds apart.
I said with mixed feelings:
"What's the point?"
What's the meaning of this now?
Elliot served me a full plate of rice and sat across from me, speaking to himself:
"I've thought about it, and I went too far before. You know how it is, men can't always control themselves.
"I shouldn't have disregarded your feelings regarding Lauryn. It was right for you to ask for her dismissal. When I get back, I'll have my assistant fire her.
"In the future, I'll control myself, and we—
he paused, his voice wavering for a moment.
"Let's not get a divorce, okay?"
I looked up at him.
