Chapter 107

I looked Jonathan straight in the eye. I had never felt so clear-headed in my life. "They were right. I put on dignity and self-respect. I threw away my pride for you and followed you around like a lost cause. I just circled you like my world depended on it."

I laughed at myself. "Who wouldn't be put off by someone like that? I can't stand myself either, so I get why you can't."

"You don't need to feel guilty about divorcing me, Jonathan. Love is never about being fair anyway. Besides, people are way more accepting these days. If a marriage isn't happy, splitting up is totally normal."

He was trying to punish me. He looked at me coldly. "I'm pretty sure..."

I hadn't even finished talking when Jonathan grabbed my face, squeezing so hard it felt like he wanted to break it. "I already warned you. Don't bring up divorce again!"

I shut my mouth, feeling a little helpless. For a second, I realized there was no getting through to him.

No matter how many times I tried to explain, he always thought I was just trying to get attention. It never even crossed his mind that I was serious about divorce.

Did it really have to come down to that?

I clenched my fists tightly. If I had to burn everything down to leave Jonathan, then we would both burn.

I couldn't keep staying by his side like a shadow. I was done being a puppet who never got to make her own choices. Even when I tried to speak up, they just saw it as me throwing a tantrum.

I shut my eyes, and I was done talking to him. He didn't say a word, and neither did I. That was just the unspoken rule between us: if he wasn't going to talk to me, I wasn't going to talk to him. We just gave each other the cold shoulder.

Jonathan made sure my headaches were checked daily, but the topic of going out never came up. I just grew quieter with each passing day.

He was worried about my health. But just thinking about being stuck here forever, I couldn't bring myself to act like everything was fine. After I kept my mouth shut for three days, he finally gave in. He sighed and asked, "Do you really want to go out that badly?"

I lay on the couch, turning my back to him the whole time. He came up from behind and pulled me over to face him, looking me in the eye. "If the doctor says you're fine tomorrow, you can leave the house."

I finally looked at him, but I still kept my arms crossed tightly over my chest, keeping my guard up.

Jonathan stared at me in silence. After a long pause, he added, "I wasn't trying to keep you locked up. The painkillers just weren't ready yet."

Glancing at him, I finally spoke for the first time in days. "It's just painkillers. Why does it take forever to get them ready?"

I evenly doubted it.

He readily answered, "Painkillers always come with side effects, especially the fast-acting kind. The more you use them, the less effective they are. I had them develop something milder so that I won't harm your body."

I nodded, taking my time as I turned around. "That's how it is. Thank you."

Jonathan furrowed his brows. "We're past the point of saying thank you."

I didn't say a word. After a while, I softly remarked, "I don't want to stay in the Ford residence."

He asked, "Then where do you want to go?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Can you get me somewhere peaceful and quiet?"

Chapter 108