When I arrived, Adrian had already left for work. I took a shower and went off to sleep, but just as I began to drift off, had the tranquility was shattered by the insistent ringing of my phone. It was Adrian.
"Madeline," he sounded like he was holding back pain, "my... my stomach hurts."
I mumbled a response, but I was too tired and fell back asleep. In a dream, I seemed to hear Adrian calling my name, but the sound felt distant, so I pushed the dream away.
After some time, I was completely awakened by the sound of the door opening. Adrian stood by the bed, his face a mask of hurt.
"Madeline, why don't you care anymore? You used to be worried when I was sick and you would even make porridge and give me medicine."
That was indeed the old me. I remembered it only too clearly.
Once, Adrian had a stomachache, so I asked for leave to bring him medicine at his office. As luck had it, I got caught in the rain on my way there, leaving my hair soaked and me looking quite a mess.
However, things just got better when his colleagues laughed at my appearance and Adrian did not even try to stop them. To top it off, he told me never to come to his office again because, in his words, I was an embarrassment.
"Are you feeling better now?" I rubbed my eyes. "We might be out of medicine, though. Maybe you can grab some yourself."
Adrian was speechless, then frustration boiled over. He grabbed my arm and shouted, "Madeline, how long are you going to keep fighting with me about Sophie? I told you, there's nothing between her and me!"
"Oh, okay," I said, my calm a stark contrast to his anger.
In a fit of rage, Adrian slammed the door and left. The silence that followed was liberating.
Part 4
Days bled into each other. After leaving, Adrian did not go home for several days and I did not bother to ask where he went.
On the third day, my phone screen flickered with a message from him. He said that he was on a business trip and shared his location.
[Okay, stay safe,] I typed. A sardonic chuckle escaped my lips.
Just after sending the reply, a picture Sophie posted on Twitter taunted me from my feed. The caption read, [First holiday in what seems like forever. I never thought I'd miss cotton candy! Someone insisted on buying it for me.]
The accompanying picture showed Adrian's hand, with our wedding ring still on his finger. Moreover, the location on Sophie's tweet matched the one Adrian had sent me.