Chapter 5

Phillip stared at me for a few seconds, his frown growing deeper.

"Why are you so skinny?" he asked.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Isn't that all because of you?"

Iris rolled her eyes, arms crossed, not caring about sparing Phillip's feelings at all.

Phillip was silent for a moment before setting the insulated bag on the table.

"The doctor said you need to rest. I had the kitchen cook some soup for you," he said.

"Thanks, but no thanks," I replied.

Phillip said, "Bella."

I replied, "Say what you want to say."

He fixed his gaze on me, his eyes deep and serious. "Come home."

Iris scoffed, her anger barely contained. "Seriously, Mr. Archer. Have you lost your mind? You brought your precious Laura home, pushed your wife to a miscarriage, and now you think saying 'come home' will magically fix everything?"

Phillip's face turned cold. "I'm talking to Bella."

"But this is my place," Iris shot back, refusing to budge. "If you can't act like a decent human, I won't hesitate to kick you out."

I pressed my fingers to my temples and glanced at Phillip.

"Did you come here because you actually care about me, or because you can't handle the house feeling emptier without me?" I asked.

Phillip swallowed hard. "I admit, it was my oversight that day."

"Oversight?" I repeated, suddenly feeling how light that word was. "Phillip, I lost a child, not a document you signed by mistake."

His fingers tightened slightly.

I stared him down, enunciating every word. "And I'm not going back to that house. My lawyer is preparing the divorce papers. Whether you sign or not, I'm going through with it."

Phillip's face darkened completely.

"Do you really have to make a fuss?" he snapped.

"Making a fuss?" I stared at him, my heart feeling like it was being scraped raw. "So in your eyes, even leaving counts as me making a scene?"

He was silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "Do you really mind Laura moving in that much?"

As soon as he said that, even Iris was stunned.

The next second, she burst out laughing.

She said, "Wow, Phillip, you're unbelievable. Your wife had a miscarriage, left you, and wants a divorce, and all you care about is whether she minds Laura moving in? Did a dog eat your brain or something?"

But suddenly, a sense of calm washed over me.

I looked at Phillip. And for the first time, I realized that the man I'd loved for three years felt so distant from me.

It wasn't physical distance. It was the gulf between our understanding.

He never once understood that what I truly minded was never Laura moving in.

What really hurt was that he never valued me.

I said softly, "Phillip, you don't need to understand what matters to me anymore. From today on, my feelings are no longer your concern."

Phillip stood there, his face sinking deeper and deeper, the gloom settling in.

In the end, he didn't say a word. He turned and walked away.

As soon as the door closed, Iris cursed, "What a psycho."

I sank back onto the couch, staring at that steaming bag of soup, and suddenly felt drained.

Some people weren't truly bad.

Phillip was so wrapped up in himself. So self-absorbed that all he ever cared about was his own sense of order, his own guilt, his own routines.

Phillip knew if I was hurting or feeling wronged.

He didn't care enough. I was always an afterthought to him.

And if I were always left behind, no matter how hard I tried, I would never get the real affection I longed for.

*****

A week later, I got a call from Caroline Newton. She was my old boss at the design firm, the only one who actually slammed her hand on the table and called me a lovesick fool when I quit to get married.

"Bella, how are you feeling?" Caroline asked.

"Much better," I replied.

"Good. Since you're not dead, get your butt back to work," she said.

I blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

She said, "Archer Group is doing a hotel renovation of the old district in Southport, and they're putting it out for public bidding. I always thought it was a shame your 'Old Alley Project' never got its chance. Now you have the opportunity to redo it. Are you in?"

I gripped my phone, my heart gave a heavy thump.

The Old Alley Project. It was my proudest work from graduation, the very project that opened the door for me at the design firm.

But after we got married, Phillip said I was working too hard, always coming home late, and that I wasn't in good shape. He suggested I take some time off.

He said it so calmly, like he genuinely cared about me.

I actually bought it.

After that, the design firm kept landing project after project, and my name gradually faded from the blueprints.

I went from being "Bella, the designer" to simply "Mrs. Archer."

Looking back, it was like being simmered away for three years.

I gripped my phone tighter. "I'm in."

Caroline chuckled. "Now that's what I want to hear. And Bella, quit living as someone else's shadow. If you've got the talent, stand on your own two feet."

After I hung up, I sat by the window, staring out and zoning out for a long time.