They were betraying me even here in my home, in my bedroom. Brazenly.
For a full hour, the disgusting noises kept going. I turned on the TV and raised the volume to its maximum, hoping to drown out their shamelessness.
Finally, the noise stopped. Not long after, Evan and Violet came down the stairs one after the other.
Seeing me in the living room, Evan stiffened slightly, perhaps realizing how much time had passed, so he quickly offered an excuse, "Violet just borrowed our place to take a bath. It took a little longer than expected."
As he approached, a faint, warm scent of perfume trailed behind him.
The sweetness was almost suffocating.
I looked at him with a practiced smile. "I see. It took so long I almost thought I’d have to come up and look for you."
A flicker of panic immediately crossed his face.
"I need to head to the base hospital. You can entertain your... close friend," I said, keeping my tone steady.
Evan seemed oblivious to the bitterness beneath my words. Instead, his lips curved into a smile as he said with a warm tone, "Alright. When you come back tonight, I’ll have a surprise for you."
I stared at his fixed gaze on me as though I were staring at a stranger.
Well, I was not so sure. Would my leaving truly be a surprise to him?
When I returned home, Evan had already prepared a table full of delicious food.
He was always like this, acting like the perfect husband and taking care of everything in the house whenever he could.
As soon as he saw me coming back, he immediately brought out a small box like it was a prized possession. "Isla, this gift is for our anniversary."
I froze in place for a moment before it finally hit me.
In past years, this date was etched in my mind, but I had completely forgotten about it today. Well, I could barely bring myself to care anymore.
"I didn’t prepare anything for you," I said quietly.
Evan waved it off, his grin turning mischievous. "It’s okay. You can give yourself to me as a gift later and I promise I won’t mind."
That mischievous smile reminded me of the way he treated Violet and the memory of it suddenly twisted my stomach.
"I’m feeling a bit tired today. I’m going to take a nap."
"Then you should rest. We’ll celebrate properly on a vacation to make up for today," Evan assured with concern.
I nodded and went upstairs. Evan followed, staying close as if to keep watch.