Chapter 20: Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20: HE DIDN’T GO HOME

“Hm, he likes a steak topped with sautéed mushroom and a garden salad.” He said. My eyes widened because I wasn’t familiar with the food he was saying. The food he mentioned seemed to be the food for rich people, and an ordinary person like me cannot relate, so even though it was embarrassing, I asked him for a favor. “Hm, Ethan,”

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

“Can I ask you a favor? I know you think that I’m ignorant, but I want to be true to you. Honestly, I don’t know those foods. I have eaten nothing you mentioned yet. Can you cook it for me and make me your assistant?” I asked.

He smiled at me and said, “Of course I will help you. That’s what I want you, not pretentious.”

I smiled back at him and said, “Thanks.”

He helped me cook my husband’s favorite food. While he was busy cooking, I turned to look at him how he does it. The original plan is that I’ll be the one to cook food for my husband, but the ending was that he was the one doing it. That’s why I can’t help but laugh as I thought about the incident when I didn’t realize that he noticed I was laughing, so he asked me. “Why are you laughing? Is there anything funny?”

“Nope, not at all, I just remembered something,” I answered him.

“Oh, okay,” He agreed, and he went on what he was doing.

About an hour ago, he finished cooking, and everything was ready. We could have eaten, but we didn’t eat first because we waited for Leonard to arrive. A few hours had passed, but my husband still didn’t come home.

Ethan held out his hand to mine. When I felt it touch my hand, I turned to him when he told me, “Al, I think we need to eat now. The food is getting cold, and I don’t think my older brother will come home today.” He looked at me with pitying eyes.

It seems like I want to cry because I feel like I just wasted my effort for my husband, but I still resist myself from crying. I don’t want to look stupid in front of my husband’s brother. It’s my fault because I assumed that he started taking an interest in me because of what happened to us. But guess I was wrong, so I just agreed with what he said.

Ethan and I have already started eating silently. I can’t look at him. I felt that if I would look at him, I might cry, so what I did is bow my head while eating. I intentionally eat slowly, hoping that my husband might come home until I finished what I ate, and he still didn’t come, so I felt sad again. It’s like my heart is about to explode with the pain I’m feeling, but I’m still trying to control it.

I looked around the living room in case the door opened, but still nothing. Ethan saw I was looking around, so he spoke to me. “Al, are you okay?”

I turned to him and forced a smile. “Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I?” I replied to him.

He didn’t seem convinced by my answer, so he asked me again. “Are you sure that you’re okay? I think you’re about to cry.”

I still stood by what I said and lied to him. “Of course I am okay. You don’t have to worry about me.” I still tried to smile.

He seemed to know that I wouldn’t admit to him, so he agreed with what I said. “Okay, if that’s what you said then, I will believe you.” He said to me, then smiled.

He also finished eating. He offered me he would be the one to clean our food. I wouldn’t have agreed because I was ashamed of him, but he insisted, so I let him.

I told him I was going to the living room, and he nodded, so I left him in the kitchen while he was busy cleaning. I was already in the living room, so I sat on the couch and sat down. Still hopeful that my husband would come.

I saw the remote on the center table, so I picked it up and pressed the power button to watch television.

I wanted to have fun while waiting for him to arrive, but the thought that I would have fun watching television was the opposite because I was even more saddened by the movie I watched.

We have the same situation with the girl in the movie that fell in love with the person who married her, but the man loves someone else. I couldn’t stop my tears from dripping and sobbing.

*****

Alyssa didn’t realize that while she was crying, Ethan was looking at her. Ethan no longer dared to approach his brother’s wife, so he just let her as he was watching her. Ethan just finished cleaning the kitchen, but he waited for Alyssa to go upstairs. She didn’t go to the bedroom but sat in the living room instead. He was worried and just waited for her to go up.

At 11:00 in the evening, Alyssa fell asleep on the couch. Ethan approached her to wake her up. He knelt in front of her, and he shook the sleeping Alyssa carefully. “Alyssa, wake up.” He said to her, but it did not awaken to his shaking. The other strands of Alyssa’s hair went into her eyes. He tucked them into her hair.

As he placed the strand of Alyssa’s hair in her ear, it was inevitable to observe it while sleeping. He can’t help but be attracted to her. He asked himself why it’s so hard for his older brother to accept this woman, while it’s not that hard to love her in his own opinion.

As he stared at her, he can’t resist himself to be fascinated by his brother’s sleeping wife.

Suddenly his playful mind says, ‘What if I try to kiss my brother’s wife? What would it feel to taste her lips even for a moment?’ so he slowly brought his lips closer to her.