Although I wasn’t exactly ovee with emotion, if he answered the phone or walked out now, it would feel like an insult.


    His Adam’s apple bobbed as he grabbed his phone, hung up, and kissed my neck, then my corbone…


    But just a secondter, the phone rang again. I knew if he didn’t pick up, neither of us would get any peace.


    I turned my face away. “You should take it.”


    A sh of unease crossed Alvin’s face. He covered me with the nket and walked over to the balcony, phone in hand.


    Even though he closed the sliding door behind him, his low voice still reached me.


    “I can’te right now, just have the caregiver help you instead,” he said. “I never said I didn’t want you toe… I know it’s my fault. Alright, stop crying. I’lle now, I’m on my way…”


    After that, I didn’t hear anything more, just the faint click of a lighter flicking open. Alvin was smoking. For the first time, in our home.


    He didn’t return for almost ten minutes, and when he did, the air smelled faintly of smoke.


    His eyes looked anxious as he nced at me. “I need to step out for a while. It’s Thea… She’s at the hospital and has no one with her…” He didn’t lie or hide anything this time.


    A coldness spread inside me, under the nket. “Isn’t it a bit… inappropriate for you, a man, to be taking care of her?”


    “I- I’m just going to find a caregiver for her,” he stammered, adjusting his shirt that I’d messed up earlier.


    I knew I couldn’t keep him. The embarrassment, the sadness, surged inside me. I had to say something. “Alvin…”


    “Yes?” He looked up at me, unease in his eyes. He probably thought I might try to stop him.


    Alvin was a giant in Ashford’s business world. I thought, ‘When has he ever been afraid? Yet here he is, nervous and unsure, right in front of me.’


    At that moment, the words stuck in my throat. I managed a bitter smile. “Drive safely.” With that, I pulled myself deeper intc the nket and closed my eyes.


    A few momentster, I heard his footsteps approach. His breath was close, and my forehead heated up as his lips brushed against it.


    Before he left, he whispered, “I’m sorry…”


    He knew his actions would hurt me, but he still went ahead with them. I thought, ‘Maybe he thinks because I have always been understanding, a little pain here and there won’t matter?’


    Alvin left, but the fire he’d sparked inside me still hadn’t died. I threw myself into the bathtub to cool off.


    As Iy there, staring nkly, my phone rang, pulling me out of my fog.


    “What’s Alvin doing at our OB/GYN? And who is that woman, Thea, to him?” Jasmine asked.


    I wasn’t surprised that Jasmine knew. I didn’t hide anything-I told her everything.


    Jasmine was immediately furious. “What is wrong with him? A man going to take care of a widow? Does he have a death


    wish? Doesn’t he know how much trouble that can cause? Why would he get involved?”


    If Jasmine thought it was inappropriate, I knew I had to admit it too, even if it made me ufortable. “What if I told you he… just got off me? How would you feel about that?”


    There was a brief pause, and Jasmine was silent for a few seconds before she responded, clearly shocked, “You two… actually


    did it?”


    “No, we didn’t. We only got as far as taking our clothes off,” I said, and as soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like a fool.


    “Damn!” Jasmine, who usually carried herself with such grace andposure as a top medical expert, swore. “Alvin could stop mid-way with his pants off. If it’s not because… well, let’s just say it’s either he’s impotent, or—”


    She trailed off, but I knew exactly what she was implying. She was suggesting that Alvin didn’t love me enough.


    If he truly loved me, he wouldn’t have left me in that situation. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have gone off in the middle of the night to be with another woman.


    I got it. Thea was pitiful, and sure, he was right to care for her. But at some point, he crossed a line.


    “You said you were going to give up on him, right? Well, get on with it. Say goodbye and move on-there’s always someone better out there,” Jasmine said, trying to be encouraging.


    I didn’t answer. Giving up on Alvin wasn’t that simple. I thought, ‘What about the Dolton family?’ Right now, the Dolton family was my family. Peter and Michelle treated me like their own daughter.


    They raised me all these years-especially Michelle. She was like a real mother to me. She was the one who taught me how to handle my first period and washed my dirty clothes when I was too embarrassed to do it myself.


    Jasmine understood my silence. “Zoe, maybe we’re just overthinking this. Think about all the years Alvin has spent taking care of you. He’s always talking about you as his wife.


    “And now, taking care of a widow? Maybe he’s just being sentimental. I don’t think there’s anything romantic going on between them.


    “He’s not the kind of guy who’d go after a pregnant widow, right? I mean, he’s not about to be some kind of father figure for her kid.”


    I thought about how Thea looked at Alvin. “But what if it’s a case of unrequited love on his part, and mutual affection on


    hers?”


    “What?” Jasmine was quiet for a moment before she sighed. “Well, that’s possible. Alvin is the ideal husband for thousands of women-let alone a widow.”


    “The more this goes on, the more he should be keeping his distance from her. When a woman’s vulnerable, even a small act of kindness can feel like a lifeline.


    “She’ll cling to it as if it’s the only thing holding her together,” Jasmine added, pausing. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on things tonight. Nothing will happen.”


    Then it hit me-Jasmine was just working overtime tonight. “No, you go ahead and rest after your shift. You can’t keep an eye on this forever. And if something is going on between them, I’m afraid…”


    I hesitated, the thought of Alvin’s strange behavior over the past few days lingering. I finished my sentence. “I’m afraid it’s already happened.”


    Jasmine snorted. “True. But Zoe, don’t get too hung up on it. If Alvin really betrays you, then cut him loose. Move on. You


    haven’t lost anything-you’re still a young, beautiful woman. There are plenty of good-looking guys out there for you.”


    I chuckled bitterly. I thought, ‘If it were really like that, should I be relieved that my rtionship with Alvin has always stayed within limits? Never crossing any lines?’


    I yawned deliberately and ended the call with Jasmine. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. By the time dawn broke,


    Alvin still hadn’te back.


    I had an off-site meeting today, so I got up early. I left before Peter and Michelle were awake. I didn’t want them to ask too many questions.


    Yes, Alvin’s room was being renovated, but I knew the real reason behind it. Michelle wanted to find a way to push me and Alvin into living together and “making it official” sooner. But their ns had fallen through, and that was awkward for me.


    It was a pretty disheartening feeling when you realized you couldn’t even get a man to undress you properly. Sometimes, that was what failure felt like.


    By the time I arrived at the partner’s office around 8, Alvin’s call came through. I saw his name on the screen and paused for a few seconds before deciding not to answer.