He hesitated, trying to find an excuse to leave me behind, but when I insisted, he reluctantly made a hurried call to warn the other party.
When we arrived at the top-floor office, it was empty.
He arranged a makeshift bed on the sofa for me. "I know my wife misses me. Lie here and keep your husband company while I work."
Sitting at his computer, he appeared completely absorbed in work, as if his earlier flirtations with Tatiana had been nothing but a dream.
Unintentionally, I fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up from the cold. The room was dark and Josh was nowhere to be found.
I picked up my phone and walked out of the office. The sound-activated lights in the fire escape flickered and faint noises reached my ears.
Quietly approaching, I saw the entwined figures of Josh and Tatiana.
"You promised me flowers and a hot spring suite, but now we're stuck in this creepy place …" she whined.
Josh kissed her indulgently, "Those places are so boring, this is exciting! The whole building's sound-activated lights are here to set the mood. Scream as much as you like …"
Tatiana asked, "Aren't you afraid that your old hag might hear?"
Josh bit Tatiana hard. "Don't talk about her like that. I told you I'd give you anything, but don't ever appear in front of her!"
"Hmph, I've had enough. I'm leaving … ah …" Her words were swallowed up by amorous sounds.
The noises inside grew louder. Standing in the dark corridor, I swayed unsteadily. I should've felt heartbroken, but I didn't even have the strength to be sad.
I didn't remember how I got home. My phone kept ringing, the name "Josh" flashing on the screen, filling me with an inexplicable sense of disgust.
Josh burst through the door and pulled me into his arms, his voice trembling with panic, "You scared me to death, Natalie! I couldn't find you anywhere and you wouldn't answer your phone. I thought something had happened to you! I even thought, if anything happened to you, I wouldn't want to live either!"
Yet this man, who claimed he couldn't live without me, had been passionately entangled with another woman just moments ago.
"Get away from me, you smell!" I snapped at him. The strong jasmine scent on him was mixed with a faint, sickly sweetness.
His face turned pale and he looked at me guiltily, "Natalie, why did you come home by yourself?"
Exhausted, I turned over, unwilling to look at him any longer.