Chapter 4

It turned out Nellie still remembered she was my wife. She spoke as if she were responsible for me, but it was really just her own self-interest. My mother knew how deeply I loved her, so she didn't say much. She just took Daisy back to her house. Nellie and my mother had never gotten along. She looked down on my mother's small-town ways. In her mind, a mother-in-law should be sophisticated and refined, like Jeremy's mother. Unfortunately, we were ordinary people. She should have known that the day she married me. The house was left with just Nellie and Jeremy. Jeremy quickly softened the glare he'd been shooting at my mother and Daisy. He replaced it with an innocent, hurt expression. "Horatio's family doesn't seem to welcome me… Maybe I should just leave. I wouldn't want to come between you two," he said softly, moving toward the door. Nellie immediately grabbed his arm. "This isn't your fault. It's Horatio who's wrong. He has no right to blame you, and neither does his family. Besides, I own half this house. I get to make the rules." Jeremy spun around, eyes brimming with tears, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Nellie. If I hadn't been so reckless back then, we wouldn't have split. You wouldn't have had to marry someone you didn't love and have a child with him." Nellie froze. Normally, if I saw Nellie standing there with Jeremy, my heart would ache. Now, I felt nothing. Only in death did I finally accept that she never loved me. Of course, it was far too late. "Jeremy, stop that. I'll get your bath ready. Rest up when you're done." She pushed him away and hurried to the bathroom, flustered. Jeremy looked slightly confused. Perhaps he assumed she still cared for him, and her response surprised him. I followed her to the bathroom. She was running the water but absentmindedly scrolling through her phone. I leaned in and saw she had our chat history open. My name showed the muted icon. Most of the messages were me sharing little bits of my life with her—cute cats and dogs on the street, autumn leaves, daily meals. She either just sent an emoji… or didn't respond at all. Back then, I thought my passion could melt her cold heart. The truth was, giving your heart to someone who didn't care was like casting pearls before swine. The last message I sent her went out just as I was slipping into unconsciousness after the car crash. "Honey, if I die, I want you to know I love you." It was genuine. Even in my final moments, she was all I could think about. Unfortunately, the one who killed me was also the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I gave a bitter laugh—at my own foolishness and the pointless passion that had burned in me. Nellie typed and deleted in the chat box. She finally sent just a few words before tossing her phone onto the sink and going back to help Jeremy fill the bathtub. "How long are you going to keep sulking?" The words stung. A whole month had gone by without me contacting her, and she still thought I was sulking. Nellie's phone vibrated. She immediately put down what she was doing, snatched it up, and opened it, only to see messages from her work group. In the past, I would have replied instantly. However, this time, I didn't. She frowned in frustration, put the phone down, picked it up again, and eventually sent me another message. "I've forgiven you. Stop sulking. Daisy shouldn't be staying with your mom all the time anyway."