CHAPTER 393: CHAPTER 393: TOO TIRED TO LOVE

After Hazel Yates and the others left, only Shane and Audrey Sutton were left in the hospital room.

She lay flat on the bed, but her head turned to the other side, gazing out the window.

Shane sat by the bedside, staring at her silently for a while, then spoke with a hoarse voice, "Are you really ignoring me now?"

Audrey didn’t move, nor did she respond, but every word he said reached her ears.

Her nose tingled, and her eyes began to moisten.

She couldn’t really tell who was ignoring whom.

She had obviously reached out to him, tried to keep him, and had been waiting for him, hoping countless times that as long as he gave her the slightest hint of affection, she could forgive all his harsh words and continue to work on their marriage.

But the waiting and hope in her heart were worn thin day by day; she had truly lost hope.

Now, even if she had to go to the civil affairs bureau right away to get a divorce certificate, she could calmly sign her name on the paper.

She had sacrificed so much to love him, even tried to change herself into someone he liked, but in the end, he could still walk away easily.

She felt that even if they reconciled this time, there would always come a day when he would again disappear before her, ignore her calls, and treat her like someone dispensable in his life.

The countless grievances in her heart remained unspoken, and Audrey just pressed her lips, her eyes quietly turning red.

Seeing her enduring demeanor, Shane felt uncomfortable in his heart too.

"When you get better, you can hit or scold me, just don’t keep the sadness to yourself. I know you’ve been wronged; it was my fault. Please, don’t be mad, okay?"

Listening to his gentle voice, Audrey no longer felt moved or softened. She sniffed and coldly replied, "I don’t need your pity. The child is gone, and that’s that. I didn’t want to have your child anyway. Just go, do whatever you want, just don’t appear in front of me."

The words seemed indifferent, but if he really walked away now, she might end up crying for a long time.

People’s hearts are just that contradictory—blaming him, resenting him, yet still unable to let him go.

Even though Shane knew she was speaking out of anger, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing it.

It’s imaginable how much inner torment and struggle she must have endured to say such harsh words to him.

Before Shane could say anything else, Audrey closed her eyes and turned her back to him, saying, "I need to rest. Please leave."

"Honey..."

"Get out!" Audrey shouted almost crying, as if releasing all the emotions pent up inside her these days.

She was irritable and easily angered, but she didn’t even know who exactly she was mad at, though it seemed like Shane was the only one she could vent on.

Taking it out on him seemed quite reasonable, actually.

Shane pursed his lips, watching her at the bedside for a moment. Worried that speaking may trigger her emotions further, he could only gently comply and walk out of the hospital room.

Clutching her blanket, Audrey suppressed her sobs. She resented Shane for inexplicably giving her the cold shoulder and even more resented herself for not realizing the baby’s arrival sooner.

From insomnia, she drank every night. She thought that even if she hadn’t fallen down the stairs, the baby probably couldn’t have come healthily into this world due to her negligence.

So, she was more angry with herself, yet it seemed like this was fate’s way of making the decision for her.

She had been hesitating about her relationship with Shane. If she had indeed been pregnant with his child, she reckoned she would again lower herself and compromise, pleading with him to keep the marriage for the child’s sake.

Now that the child was gone, it felt like fate had helped settle the wavering turmoil in her heart these days.

She was truly exhausted. It was as if she finally understood the feelings Chloe Swift had when she chose to divorce Vincent Warner.

Not because she no longer loved him, but because loving him had become too exhausting, making her want to start a new life and live for herself once more.

Audrey stayed in the hospital for three days, during which she didn’t give Shane a good face once.

Shane tried to patiently comfort her, but she was truly fed up with his hot-and-cold demeanor and unpredictability.

She told herself she couldn’t relent. The same thing was bound to happen repeatedly.

Why should he assume she was a sure bet, giving her a candy when he wants to and kicking her away when he doesn’t?

She was the only girl in the family, treasured like a gem by her family. Why should she have to suffer humiliation clinging to him?

The family felt the tension in their relationship too, given how Audrey mostly didn’t speak to Shane, and when she did, it was to scold him or tell him to leave.

Assuming it was only due to the child’s issue, the family went along with Audrey.

On the day of her discharge, Audrey returned home to find that Shane was arranged to stay in her room.

They were still practically a couple, so sharing a room was deemed reasonable.

Audrey didn’t say anything in front of her parents and just lay on the bed like her mom instructed.

She couldn’t catch a cold or endure a draft—she wasn’t even allowed to step on the floor to go to the toilet.

Once Audrey was settled, to not disturb her rest and to give her and Shane some time alone to deal with their issues, the family gave them space.

After the room door was shut, everyone pretended to go downstairs, doing their own things, but in reality, they were all sitting in the living room, ears perked, quietly discussing what was happening between Audrey and Shane upstairs.

Inside the room, Audrey sat up from the bed, pointed to Shane’s suitcase by the door, and told him coolly, "Pack your things and find somewhere else to stay."

Shane pointed to the wall, "I’ll sleep on the sofa."

Audrey frowned, rephrasing with some annoyance, "I’m telling you to move out, not to stay in my house."

Thick-skinned, Shane said, "Why are we splitting mine and yours?"

Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Audrey lifted the covers, pretending to get out of bed. Shane, noticing, quickly stepped forward to press her shoulders, "Alright, alright, I’ll move out. You lie down. I’ll pack my things."

Audrey snorted coldly and only then pulled the covers back, leaning back against the bedhead.

Shane turned to open the closet, taking his clothes out and folding them into the suitcase. While packing, he said, "Honey, I..."

Audrey interrupted him, "Don’t call me ’honey.’ From now on, we have nothing to do with each other."

"Hmm?" Shane stopped what he was doing, stood up, looked at her, studied her for a few seconds, and unsurely asked, "Are you serious?"