He rarely replied to me, but I never got tired of it.
I went home on time every day and prepared dinner for him, but he was always busy.
He was either doing academic research, doing experiments, or having dinner with his supervisor. He only came back on time for meals a few times.
When the paper was almost finished, I felt much more relaxed.
When I had some free time, I opened Instagram and looked for Mary as usual.
Sure enough, during the days when Gideon and I were in a cold war, they were always together.
They went to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise together, attended friends' parties together, and drank together.
I enlarged the picture and saw that they went to Hidden Mountain.
That was where I always wanted to go, but Gideon always refused me with no time.
He was not too busy. He just didn't have time for me.
In Mary's picture, Gideon still had a familiar silhouette.
But he was like a completely different person from when he was with me. He was very patient and happy.
If it were in the past, I would have started to quarrel with him again.
At first, he would explain patiently, but then he would cross his arms and look at me coldly as I went crazy.
He would become impatient, slam the door, and leave.
Then, I would calm down and coax him back.
But now, when I look at the photos of these demonstrations, I feel nothing, and I even liked them.
My tutor read my thesis and asked me, "Do you really want to study for a doctorate at this university and not study abroad?"
This time, I didn't refuse like I had done the previous time.
I hesitated.
When I came out of university, I happened to meet Gideon.
"The experiment ended early today."
I opened the passenger door as usual, and the "Ethel Special Seat" I had put on the passenger seat was gone.
Mary was sitting in the passenger seat, smiling sweetly, "Ethel, what a coincidence. Gideon is dropping me off on the way home. You don't mind, right?"
I smiled, "I don't mind."
Then I opened the back seat and sat in.
Gideon realized something was wrong and explained, "She won't get carsick if she sits in the front."
I nodded and leaned back in my seat to chat with my tutor.
He glanced at me and saw that I didn't care, so he didn't say anything.
He might find it unusual because I had to sit in the passenger seat before.
There was even a sign for my special seat.