Chapter 5

Louie panicked the moment he heard that. He quickly grabbed Yvonne's hand. "Yvie, the burn really hurts. Can you help me treat it first?" Yvonne shot a glare at Nathaniel and went to help Louie. She helped him take off his wet shirt to check the burned area. After confirming that it wasn't serious, she pulled out a set of Nathaniel's clothes from the closet and helped Louie change. It took nearly half an hour for her to finish tending to him. All the while, Nathaniel didn't interfere at all. Once Yvonne was done, he calmly walked to the living room and removed the security camera from above the air conditioner. "There's a memory card in this camera. It should've recorded what just happened. Let's review the footage and see who's telling the truth." "Enough!" Yvonne shouted before grabbing the camera from his hand and smashing it on the floor, breaking it into pieces. She pointed a finger at Nathaniel and snapped, "Nathaniel, my friend is here today for his birthday. He only came to our house out of respect for me, and then he got scalded. I didn't care about you being a doctor and not helping him, but how about you not make things worse?" Nathaniel's whole body was trembling in rage, but he swallowed it down and didn't lash out. At this point, Yvonne's blatant favoritism was undeniable. Even if the truth were laid bare, what difference would it make? After that, Nathaniel said nothing more to Yvonne and locked himself in the guest bedroom. Just when he thought he'd finally be able to avoid her, Yvonne knocked on the door to his room past 10:00 pm. When Nathaniel opened it, she stood there acting shy and awkward. He assumed she was going to apologize and invite him back to the master bedroom, but her next words stunned him. "Nathaniel, I'll sleep here with you tonight in the guest room." Nathaniel pointed to the single bed. "This is a one-person bed. It won't fit us both. You should sleep in the master bedroom. That bed's a double." "I gave Louie the master bedroom. The bed in his rental place is broken, so he's staying over tonight. He can't sleep on a small bed like this. He's a guest, after all." Nathaniel's fury surged. "We only have two beds. Are we supposed to squeeze onto this single because you gave him the double bed? He should go stay at a hotel!" Yvonne tried to reason with him gently. "Nathaniel, Louie just got back to the country. He's broke. We should help him out. Remember how my father helped you when you were at your lowest? You should be more understanding." Upon hearing her mention her family's kindness toward him again to guilt-trip him, Nathaniel raised his hand and cut her off. "Fine. You're always right. I've got no more opinions." It was impossible to fit two people in the single bed in the guest room. After Yvonne lay down, there was no room left for Nathaniel. Rather than argue, Nathaniel went and slept on the living room couch. With no blanket, he woke up early the next morning with a fever. Nathaniel would usually get up early to make breakfast for Yvonne. But that day, his body felt so weak that he just stayed where he was. When Yvonne woke up and saw that there was no breakfast, she seemed annoyed. "Nathaniel, our guest is still here. Why haven't you made breakfast yet? I told Louie you're a great cook. You're wasting a perfect chance to make a good impression." Nathaniel's eyes were bloodshot. "I've come down with a fever. I didn't have a blanket last night." Yvonne, upon realizing that he had slept on the couch and gotten sick, looked somewhat guilty. She touched his forehead. "You're burning up. Wait here. I'll go buy you something for the fever." Just then, Louie stepped out of the master bedroom. "Yvie, since Nathaniel didn't make breakfast, let's just eat out. We can pick some medicine up for him on the way back. It kills two birds with one stone." Yvonne's eyes lit up at those words. She turned to Nathaniel and cautiously asked, "Can you hold on a bit longer, Nathaniel?" After Nathaniel nodded, she left with Louie. After an hour, instead of breakfast or medicine, Nathaniel got a call from Yvonne. "Nathaniel, something urgent came up at work again. I don't have time to bring the medicine back. Can you just get something delivered?" Yvonne asked. Nathaniel had already expected this. Instead of replying to her, he opened his Instagram and saw a post from Louie. "Went hiking with Yvie today. We got to commemorate us making it to the top!" Attached was a photo of Yvonne standing at a mountaintop, smiling brightly at the camera while flashing a peace sign as the morning sun rose behind her. Nathaniel calmly turned off his phone. He felt absolutely nothing. After all, he'd already mentally prepared himself. Yvonne breaking her promise didn't hurt him at all.