He had cheated on her, leaving her heartbroken. Yet she had to

Sure enough, whoever fell in love first lost.

She brought up the divorce proceedings again. Ellsworth stood

with his back to her, even the air around him freezing.

Since he didn’t say anything, she said nothing more either. She

went to open the door, only to see Patsy and her hand hovering

mid-air.

“Patsy?” she called out in surprise.

Patsy peeked inside before looking at her. “Hara, were you and

Ells arguing? Did he upset you?”

She smiled, “No, Patsy. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Patsy, however, seemed suspicious. “Then why did you open

the door?”

“I wanna fetch some water,” she answered.

“I see. Go ahead then.” Patsy nodded.

She nodded, too, and turned right to walk down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Patsy entered the bedroom, pulling a long face.

Ellsworth turned around and looked at herzily. “Mom, why

don’t you sleep here as well? That way, you get to keep an eye

on us 24/7!”

Furious, she pinched his arm. “Don’t go too far, Ellsworth.

Hara’s been tolerant enough. At least learn to appreciate it.

“Do you think she’s a robot, without any feelings? In case you

don’t know, she gets upset, too. You barelye home and

always treat her so coldly. You don’t think that will make

othersugh at her? How could you be so heartless? I’m

warning you-if you really drive her away, you’ll regret it.”

Ellsworth frowned in pain and patted her hand away. “Mom,

could you get rid of this pinching habit? It hurts.”

Patsy rolled her eyes. “That’s exactly what I want. Mark my

words, Ellsworth. Don’t get involved with Kelsey anymore. If

you put Hara in a difficult spot again, I swear I’ll bankrupt the

Graham family.”

He looked down at her. “Did Harriet cast a spell on you?”

She retorted, “Did Kelsey cast a spell on you? I simply couldn’t

think of one reason why you chose her over Hara. Hara’s

perfect. What the heck is wrong with you?”

The more she said, the more furious she became. She couldn’t

help but poke his head hard.

He patted his hand away again when Harriet went upstairs

with a ss of water.

Hearing the footsteps, Patsy immediately grinned while

turning around. “Hara, you’re back. Well, chop. Get inside, then.

It’ste. You gotta work tomorrow.”

She closed the door after Harriet went inside.

Once again, Harriet and Ellsworth were alone in the room. He

kept rubbing his arm-it still hurt.

Realizing there was no way out, Harriet could only ask him, “I’ll

take the couch. That OK with you?”

Ignoring her, he entered the bathroom with his sleepwear.

Looking at his retreating figure, she felt exhausted.

It was so typical of him, always leaving her to deal with what

they should have faced together.

After he finished a shower and stepped out, she went into the

bathroom with her pajamas.

She took a shower and then disinfected the entire bathroom,

not wanting him to repel it if he needed itter.

Then she went back to the bedroom, put on earplugs and an eye

mask, and slept on the couch with a thin nket draped over

her.

It had been a long day, and she simply didn’t have the energy to

deal with Ellsworth.

Ellsworth sat by the desk. As the room fell silent, he put down

the documents in his hands and looked over, his gazending

on the small hump beneath the nket.

“Ellsworth, are youing back tonight? I made soup for you.”

“Ellsworth, check out tonight’s sunset. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Ellsworth, do you love me?”

Memories flooded back into his mind.

If not for what Raymond had said, if not for discovering her

secret, if not for stumbling upon her diary… Then he probably

would have believed her feelings for him were real.