Chapter 3 Late Return
I tried to be patient for more than a month.
Jiang Yu only grew worse.
He started coming home late.
Some nights he did not come home at all.
That evening he returned drunk.
The smell of alcohol hit me at once.
He had never drunk before.
He knew I disliked the scent.
I reached for him.
He pushed me away.
"Leave me alone."
I stood back and crossed my arms.
"Fine. I won't help."
The words seemed to strike him.
He shouted at me.
"Then go! Just go!"
Tears filled his eyes.
He slid down the wall and sat on the floor.
"I knew it. You don't want me anymore."
"You've been planning to leave, haven't you?"
"Ji Nuan, you're a liar."
"You can't leave me. You have to take responsibility."
He cried like a child, pulling at my clothes one moment and pushing me away the next.
When he finally grew quiet, I helped him to bed.
I wiped his face and body with a damp towel.
He frowned even in his sleep.
I wondered if work had become too heavy for him.