Now, hearing him say it, my heart felt as cold and still as a dead sea.
“Forget it. I’m just a mundane person who doesn’t understand your art. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your future.”
I repeated his words back to him verbatim.
“Lillian, what are you being so dramatic about?”
“Once this opportunity is gone, it won’t come back. Don’t regret it later!”
For the first time, I was standing my ground and repeatedly refusing him.
It finally made him angry and desperate.
Scott, I’m not being dramatic. I’ve simply stopped loving you.
The next morning, Scott surprisingly prepared breakfast.
“Since your hand isn’t up for much, I made something simple. Try it out.”
It felt like the sun had risen in the west.
Normally, I was the one up early making breakfast, while he slept in well past noon.
“Thanks,” I replied coolly, taking it as repayment for my previous efforts.
I sat down and ate the rather bland meal, the silence between us stretching like an endless divide.
“Do you need to go out today?”
Scott finally broke the silence.
“Yes, I have to discuss rehabilitation training.”
Scott immediately seized the opportunity.
“I’ll drive you.”
I looked up, meeting his gaze.
“Aren’t you worried about being seen by fans?”
Back when I worked my previous job, arriving and leaving were routine.
Occasionally, if I worked late or had an urgent situation, other women had family pick them up.
I used to envy them and had asked Scott to do the same for me.
“Lillian, I’m a public figure. What would people think if they saw me going in and out of the police station with you?”
I knew it was just another excuse.
He had taken Hannah to all sorts of public places without a second thought.
Even when people mistook them for a couple, he never bothered to clarify.
“No need, I’ll just take a cab!” I insisted.
Scott, in a huff, snatched my phone and stopped me from calling a taxi.
“Fine, let’s take my car then. At least it’s less noticeable,” I suggested.
Scott silently accepted the compromise.
At the hospital for the rehab consultation, Scott stayed by my side the whole time.
As the appointment was wrapping up, the doctor joked, “So, is this your boyfriend? He’s so considerate and patient.”
I smiled.
Patience was the one thing Scott had never shown me.
He could spend days without eating or drinking for a piece of art, but his patience with me barely lasted a minute.
“He’s just a friend,” I said.