I dialed Nathan’s number, but there was no answer. I glanced toward them, only to see Nathan carrying Clair in his arms and heading toward the bedroom. The sight drained the last of my strength and I passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm.
The nurse, noticing my pale and lifeless expression, hurriedly reassured me, “You’re very lucky. Just a few minor injuries. Rest and you’ll be fine.”
I nodded faintly, but it wasn’t the accident that had left me feeling so broken.
Nathan rushed in, clearly distressed when he saw me. He reached for my hand, but as soon as I remembered that he had just left another woman’s bed, I instinctively pulled my hand away. He didn’t seem to notice my rejection and instead looked at me with deep concern.
“What happened? How did you get into a car accident?”
I quickly came up with an excuse and gestured to him with sign language, “Same as you. Something urgent came up.”
His guilty expression flickered briefly before he carefully inspected me from head to toe. Satisfied that I was mostly unharmed, he finally relaxed.
“You scared me to death. What would I have done without you?”
Before I could think of a response, the nurse knocked and entered.
“The patient’s family needs to handle the payment,” she said before leaving.
Nathan glanced at me. “I’ll take care of it. Wait here, okay?”
I nodded lightly and as soon as he left, the mask of composure I had been wearing crumbled.
On the bedside table lay my phone—it was the one Nathan had just brought, probably fixed now.
I picked it up and pressed the power button. As the phone powered on, a flood of messages popped up. One message, in particular, caught my eye. It was from Clair.
When I opened it, I could feel her arrogance jumped off the screen:
[Last night, Nathan left you to be with me. I won!]
[Want to know how much he adores me and despises you? Listen to this!]
Attached was an audio file.
Hesitantly, I clicked play.
Clair’s voice came through, teasing, “Aren’t you supposed to be at home, with your wife, Rose?”
Nathan chuckled lightly. “You invite me, remember? Besides, who wants to spend time with a mute? While, you, beautiful, are asking for trouble dressing like that.”
I couldn’t listen any longer. My finger pressed stop.
Mute. So, that’s all I was to him—a mute.