Chapter 2
That night, I didn't wait up for William.
In the middle of the night, I got a call from William's phone.
It was Charlotte's voice on the other end.
"Sophia, William's totally wasted. He just wouldn't go home, so I brought him back to my place," Charlotte said.
Charlotte chuckled and explained, "Sophia, don't get the wrong idea. I just kicked William out of my bed. He's crashing in my brother's room now."
The room was dark. I sat there without turning on the lights.
Everything was completely quiet.
Charlotte was still waiting for me to say something.
Was she just messing with me?
I didn't want to know, so I just said, "Put William on the phone."
Less than three seconds later, William's drunken voice came through the receiver.
"Sophia, they kept making me drink. My head's killing me, and I can't drive. I'm not coming home tonight," William said.
I could hear a bit of reluctance in his voice.
I was the one who made this place feel like home.
Did that make him tired of me, too?
"William, do you regret it?" I asked.
He just mumbled a careless "yeah," and I couldn't tell if he even heard me.
He didn't give me a chance to say anything else. He just moved the phone away from his ear.
But he didn't hang up.
Charlotte let out a few gentle, teasing giggles.
She said, "William, you're being so indifferent to Ms. Reed. Aren't you afraid she'll be heartbroken?
"What if she starts thinking there's something going on between us? Then I'll be the one getting dragged into this mess because of you."
His voice was steady now, not a hint of drunkenness left.
He even sounded like he was smiling.
"Come on, you were always my fiancée. She's been jealous forever, so this is nothing new," William said.
Yeah, that was true.
Before he married me, he and Charlotte used to be engaged.
I didn't even find out until after we were married, that one of his friends let it slip.
William gave up the engagement his family had arranged for him since he was a kid, just for me.
Back then, he probably did love me.
But three years were enough to change everything.
Just like he was head over heels for me back then.
Now, he didn't even bother coming home anymore.
William didn't come home until dinner the next day.
Whenever he realized he might've made me mad, he'd always try to make it up to me with a little gift.
He'd bring me something small to cheer me up.
Sometimes it was a bouquet of flowers, other times it was those pastries I loved, even if it meant standing in line forever to get them.
But now, he came home empty-handed.
He barely acknowledged me and just sat across from me, starting to eat.
But after only a few bites, he threw his fork down.
"Why is this so salty? Sophia, we've been married for three years and you still can't tell if something's too salty or not?" he snapped.
I had no idea where all this anger was coming from.
He was just taking it all out on me.
But today, for the first time, I could really feel that something had changed.
The housekeeper, hearing the commotion, hurried out of the kitchen.
She apologized nervously, "I'm sorry, sir. Mrs. Preston wasn't feeling well today, so I made dinner instead. Let me take these away and whip up something new for you."
William looked like something was stuck in his throat.
His expression darkened.
After a long pause, he just waved it off.
"It's fine, I'll just make do," he said.
After blowing up at me, William didn't say a single word to me.
Even though he'd just blamed me for something I didn't do.
Even though he'd just yelled at me.
It was like I was expected to take it, as if enduring it was simply my role.
I set my fork down with a loud clatter.
"William, do you really hate me?" I asked.
He seemed to flinch, then slowly lifted his head.
His expression was unreadable.
William said, "Sophia, why would you say that? I know I raised my voice just now, and if that made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry.
"But since you're home all day, don't keep bothering the housekeeper with little things like cooking. Just handle it yourself."
I stared into his eyes, trying to read something in them.
"I'm your wife, not your maid, and definitely not Charlotte's maid. I'm done cooking for you," I said.
As soon as I mentioned Charlotte, I saw a sudden fire flare up in William's eyes.
He shot to his feet.
"Why do you always have to bring her into our issues? You're being completely unreasonable."