Chapter 18
As soon as Kathleen left the company, Shawn called her.
Seeing the call, she smiled as she answered, “Did you miss me?”
Shawn was tempted to hang up after hearing her statement. “I’m not coming home tonight,” came his eventual response.
She halted in her tracks and asked in surprise, “Are you reporting to me?”
“I’m not going back either.” Kathleen was grinning from ear to ear, clearly in a great mood.
She could sense that he was moments away from hanging up and quickly explained, “Chelsey is leaving for her hometown tomorrow, so I’m having dinner and staying with her tonight.”
Seeing that Shawn didn’t respond, she asked, “What about you? Where are you going? Who are you meeting?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“As your wife, it’s only right that I ask at times like this.”
Just then, her cab arrived, she got in, and told the driver the address.
“I have things to do.” Shawn had no intention of explaining things further in detail.
However, Kathleen merely asked out of curiosity and didn’t hope that he would tell her everything. “Alright then.”
“I’m hanging up.” He ended the call without giving her a chance to speak.
Nonetheless, she was used to it. The fact that he even called her was a rare occurrence.
Chelsey had an early flight the next morning. After she was done cooking, she began packing her things.
“I thought you were going to cook up a feast, but it’s just a plate of pasta,” Kathleen complained while adding chili flakes to her pasta.
Chelsey added a lot of chilli flakes to her own pasta. “I’m not in the mood for a feast, so just eat whatever there is.”
“Isn’t there still a few days till Christmas? Why are you going back so early?”
“My mom wants me to go on a blind date.”
“What?” Kathleen was agape. There was chewed pasta in her mouth, and she looked perplexed.
“She’s afraid I won’t ever get married.” Chelsey sorted.
“How is that possible when you’re such a catch? How can you go on a blind date and expect to meet someone you like?”
“If I don’t give in to her demands, she won’t stop pestering me. She would force me to return every holiday and go on blind dates. I’ve met a bunch of people, and each of them is worse than the last.” Chelsey shook her head, refusing to discuss anything further.
“Then, find someone yourself. If you date someone, she’ll feel reassured,” Kathleen suggested.
However, Chelsey shook her head and explained, “She doesn’t accept the people I meet outside. She claims that I’ll only know a person’s background through blind dates.”
Kathleen grew agitated just hearing that statement.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll go on dates, but I won’t date any of them. If she won’t accept anyone I meet on my own, then I’ll just remain single forever.” Chelsey didn’t mind blind dates, but she had no intention of accepting anyone.
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Kathleen let out a quiet sigh.
The next morning, Kathleen drove Chelsey to the airport.
“Come back soon.” They hugged.
“I’ll come back right after the dates.”
“Good” Kathleen smiled. “As long as you don’t end up marrying one, anything’s fine.”
Chelsey spat, “That will never happen.”
Kathleen left once Chelsey had gotten through airport security.
When she looked up, she noticed a familiar figure heading toward the VIP lounge and quickly called him. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” She was certain her eyes weren’t fooling her.
“The airport,” Shawn answered, which proved that what she saw was correct.
1/3
Chapter 18
2/3
“Are you going on a business trip?” she asked.
“I’m going abroad for something.”
Upon hearing this, Kathleen was taken aback. How could he still travel when he wasn’t in the best of health?
“Can I ask what for?”
“No.”
She sighed helplessly and asked, “When are you coming back?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
Once again, he ended the call before she could say anything.
To say Kathleen wasn’t curious was a lie. However, she was mainly concerned about his health. After all, going abroad meant spending several hours on a plane, and she was worried he couldn’t handle it.
yet, since Shawn didn’t tell her the reason, there was no way for her to find out.
“If you need someone to pick you up when you get back, let me know in advance.” She texted him, but he didn’t reply.
Two days went by, and Shawn didn’t call or text her once.
Kathleen couldn’t help but get worried and call him.
In truth, she was a little terrified. She was worried that with his poor health, he might pass away unexpectedly. Although the doctors said he would live for another three months, it was unpredictable.
The first call went unanswered, and she called again. It was only on the third try that Shawn finally answered. “Hello?”
Just from his voice, she could tell how exhausted he was.
Kathleen let out a breath of relief. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“When are you coming back?”
“I’m already back.”
Kathleen froze for a moment. Even though he knew he had no affection for her, hearing that he had returned without telling her disappointed her. “Okay.” She no longer felt like joking and was the first to hang up this time.
She bought a cup of coffee and sat down, letting a wave of sadness wash over her.
Just as she took a sip, she received a message from Chelsey.
Chelsey had been going on blind dates for the past few days, and she sent a picture of each guy she met to Kathleen, but none of them were appealing. However, this new man she sent seemed quite decent. He wasn’t exactly handsome, but he was polite, sophisticated, and intelligent.
Chelsey said, “I don’t dislike him, so I plan to get to know him better. I’ll decide how it is before coming back.”
Kathleen figured it wouldn’t be a bad thing if things worked out since Chelsey didn’t seem to mind him, and her parents had hand–picked him for her. “Sounds great.”
“What’s wrong?” Chelsey sensed something odd about Kathleen’s tone. “Shawn still hasn’t contacted you?”
“He’s back.”
“Then, what’s the matter?”
Kathleen chuckled bitterly. “He returned without telling me. I know I shouldn’t care, but it bothers me.”
“You’ve already fallen for him.” Chelsey sounded concerned for her. “It’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but with his condition, he really can’t fall in love with you
“If he weren’t sick, I wouldn’t mind if you fell for him because there’s always hope that he might reciprocate your feelings. But he doesn’t have much time left. What are you going to do once he’s gone?”
Kathleen looked at her coffee and gently swirled the paper cup. “I didn’t fall for him. I just think, even as roommates, he should tell me.” “He doesn’t see you as a roommate,” Chelsey stated directly. “You’re not the person he desires, and you’ll never be a part of his world.”
Chapter 18
Kathleen understood this and sighed deeply. She chugged down the coffee, crushed the cup, and tossed it in the trash.
After Kathleen entered the password and entered the living room, she found Shawn lying on the couch.
He seemed thinner than before after just two days.
She took a blanket from the bedroom to cover him. The moment it landed on him, his eyes sprang wide.
His eyes were bloodshot, an obvious sign that he didn’t sleep well.
“I was afraid you’d be cold.” She pointed to the blanket. “Why didn’t you sleep in the bedroom?”
Shawn didn’t say a word but merely stared at her.
She assumed he was upset that she had caused him to awake and hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry,
I…”
Before Kathleen could say another word, a firm arm wrapped around her waist. In an instant, her whole world spun as he pulled her down onto the couch, and his cold breath brushed her lips.
