Maybe, after all, she didn’t even explain. She really forgot my birthday.
Lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling and feeling the burning pain in my stomach, I was not sleepy at all.
My eyes fell on the wedding photo hanging on the wall at the end of the bed and I wrapped myself in the quilt to feel the breath of my wife.
I wanted to convince myself that I wasn’t overthinking, but she was often absent-minded recently.
The subtle changes began when Damian came back from abroad last month.
At that time, Isabella said that she was going to attend a high school reunion and it rained lightly that night.
I quickly forgot about the work in my hands and drove to pick her up.
As soon as the car stopped at the door of the hotel, I saw Damian holding an umbrella for her considerately and took out a tissue from his belt to help her wipe her wet forehead.
Isabella’s smile at that time was not fake; she was shy and happy from the inside out.
When she saw my car, the smile on her face froze for a moment. On the way back, she deliberately explained, “Husband, don’t think too much, we are just good friends now.”
Good friends?
But she had clearly begun to favor this so-called good friend.
Isabella hadn’t been home for two days.
I went to the hospital.
I wanted to see how Damian was doing.
Through the glass window of the ward, Damian was lazily leaning on the pillow in his hospital gown.
Isabella was peeling an orange for him.
She carefully and attentively peeled the white layer on the flesh very cleanly, but I felt my breath stop for a moment.
Isabella always hated citrus fruits and she hated the smell when peeling the skin.
I hadn’t eaten oranges for many years because of her preference.
But now, she fed him one at a time, gentle and considerate, like a different person.
“Damian, is it sweet?”
“As long as you feed it, it’s sweet.”
“The doctor said you need to take more vitamins. Come on, take another bite.”
“It’s so strange. It’s the same one, but I can’t eat it as well as you do.”
“Silly, I’ll feed you more and you’ll recover quickly.”
Damian smiled and even raised his hand to lightly scratch Isabella’s nose.
Isabella’s eyebrows were a little shy and she didn’t seem to feel anything wrong with his touch.
I was so angry that I pushed open the door of the ward.
Two people looked at me at the same time. I strode in, pulled Isabella away and raised my hand to punch Damian in the face.