Chapter 5
Sylvia stared at him, totally confused. She had no clue why he was suddenly losing his temper.
Her brain felt foggy with exhaustion, but she vaguely remembered this kind of scene had happened before.
She'd done this before, calling him, asking where he was.
It was already ten at night, and Edwin still hadn't come home. Sylvia called him three times, and when he finally picked up, he sounded super annoyed.
He snapped, "Sylvia, I'm not your surveillance target. Can you just let me breathe? I'm just having dinner and chatting with friends. Do you really have to do this? Will you ever stop? Don't you get that I'm suffocating here?"
After that, Sylvia stopped calling him altogether. She only messaged him on WhatsApp, asking, [When are you coming back?] He never replied.
Now that she wasn't calling anymore, he was accusing her of not caring about him.
Sylvia honestly had no idea what he wanted from her.
Maybe she'd never really known what he wanted.
But Sylvia didn't bring up the past. All that hurt and bitterness felt like a heavy stone in her stomach. She didn't want to dig it up again.
She looked at him calmly, her voice still thick with sleep. "Why is it a problem if I call you when you're out with friends? Josie and the others are your friends, and I know them, too. So what's there to be concerned about?"
Edwin's eyes widened in surprise.
He probably hadn't expected Sylvia to bring up Josie so calmly, and in such a flat tone.
Then it clicked for Edwin, like he'd finally caught Sylvia being petty. His tone softened, almost sounding like he was trying to reassure her. "That Twitter post was just for publicity.
"Josie's new show is about to launch, and she needs some hype. That's all there is to it, so don't read too much into it."
Sylvia shook her head, about to say she wasn't overthinking it, but Edwin cut her off.
"Or do you think I shouldn't have gone to Josie's birthday party? Josie and I have been childhood friends. Sure, we dated for a bit in college, but that's ancient history.
"Now we're just friends, closer than family, even. How could I not go to my friend's birthday? You weren't this petty before."
Sylvia nodded, even giving him a small smile. "I know, Edwin. It's late. You should get some sleep. Don't you have a magazine shoot tomorrow?"
Edwin fell silent.
He stared at Sylvia, searching her face for any sign of the jealousy, hurt, or even a hint of anger he was used to seeing.
He wanted to know if Sylvia was really not upset, or if she was just putting on a brave face.
After a long moment, he still couldn't figure it out.
Finally, he looked frustrated and a little lost, then did something that totally took Sylvia by surprise.
He reached out to pull Sylvia into a hug.
It was the first time he'd ever been the one to reach out after a fight.
Before, Sylvia was always the one to make the first move.
But Sylvia shifted aside, quietly avoiding his embrace.
His arm was left hanging awkwardly in the air.
"Do you want to sleep in the master bedroom or the guest room?" Sylvia asked, her tone was so polite. It was as if she were speaking to a stranger.
Edwin looked genuinely stunned.
He probably never thought Sylvia would actually dodge his hug.
Back then, Sylvia was always the one longing for his hugs.
Every time they fought, and she tried to hug him, he'd push her away coldly, saying, "Don't touch me."
Humiliated and furious, his face contorted for a moment. He slammed the guest room door, then his heavy footsteps echoed as he walked into the master bedroom.
The door closed with a resounding bang.
Sylvia lay in the guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling.
Strangely, once Edwin was gone, she drifted off almost right away.
She didn't toss and turn, didn't overthink anything, and definitely didn't cry herself to sleep.
Ever since she stopped worrying about whether he loved her and quit guessing about his thing with Josie, she'd been sleeping way better.