Rift in the perfect picture

“Nick!” Claudia said angrily. “Stop talking like that!”

She shook Nicholas, but he remained unmoved. Back when I first married Nicholas, I was still a girl who dreamt of love, imagining we would grow old together,

Occasionally, when we slept together, I would sneak into his arms. When my attempts to feign sleep were too obvious and failed, I would end up cuddling him and acting cute.

I would ask him, “Honey, who do you think will die first between the two of us?”

He would turn over and call me “boring“. Nevertheless, I would cling to him firmly.

I would wrap my arms around his waist from behind and pout. “Given our age gap, it’s more likely you’ll go first. If you do, I won’t live long after. I’ll die with you. Otherwise, I would be very sad living in this world without you.

Nicholas’s gaze kept staying on me. I wondered if he wanted to hear the same answer again. But he probably didn’t remember what he once said.

He replied, “If that day ever comes, it’s just fate. There’s no need to cling to it.”

At that time, he always wore a string of rosary beads, making his words seem profound. I admired him, believing he had deep insight. Looking back, I realized that he didn’t invest much emotion in me, so he didn’t need to cling to anything

I stared at him firmly and said, “No.”

Nicholas slumped back onto the bed as if he was falling into an abyss. He closed his eyes in despair.

Claudia crouched in front of him, her tone filled with sibling affection. “Nick, you still have me. I’ll never leave you or let you die. Get better soon.”

She glared at me with anger. “Ariana, you don’t need to come to the hospital anymore. Do you even know

“Claudia!” Nicholas interrupted her, not wanting her to continue.

The medical reports were right there on the table. Seeing me rather use them as a coaster for the thermos than glance at them, he didn’t want to show his weakness in front of me anymore. He was exhausted.

“Get her out!” he ordered.

“Nick!” Claudia stomped her foot in anger.

I was done with their bickering, so I bluntly said, “There’s no need to hide anything. I don’t care. Whatever happens to him is none of my business.”

It was the truth. He had doctors, a “mom” and a “sister, My presence didn’t matter.

Claudia was furious. She charged at me and intended to hit me, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her close, whispering three words in her ear. She immediately calmed down.

I didn’t need Nicholas to tell me to leave. As soon as I stepped out of the hospital, I leaned against the

wall, feeling utterly drained.

I used to try so hard to keep the peace, to avoid a situation that couldn’t be undone. But now I understood. For some things, even if I didn’t do them, someone else would.

My relationship with Nicholas had become one of predator and prey. So, what couldn’t I be the predator?

Even now, I couldn’t predict how things between us would end. Every encounter with him continued to push the boundaries further.

Over the next few days, I had Frances prepare soup every day. I pretended nothing was wrong as I delivered it to Nicholas.

I watched as his face grew more haggard. His eyes were more vacant and distant, until one day I couldn’t find him in his ward anymore.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

A note was left on the bed. “I’m dead. Don’t grieve.”

I felt like I had picked up something filthy and immediately threw the note to the floor. Still unsatisfied, I stomped on it several times before shredding it into pieces.

As the scraps fluttered in the air and fell around me, an unexpected fear gripped me. I suddenly realized that if I continued to treat Nicholas this way, he might actually die…