“It was my fault, sir. Please don’t blame him,” she piped up in humiliation.
“Well, since everything’s okay, we’ll take our leave now.” In any case, the policemen knew it wasn’t their place to poke their nose into a couple’s personal affairs.
“Goodbye, sir.” Kathleen bid them farewell politely.
She only walked back after they had entered the elevator and stared at Samuel awkwardly.
There was a forced smile on his face. “Hmph.”
Kathleen approached him and muttered, “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks to you, I was questioned by the police for the first time in my life,” he commented indifferently.
Gnawing on her lip, she protested, “I assumed you had left already. The door was open, too. I thought a thief broke in.”
“You assumed?” he repeated while frowning.
“I…” Kathleen didn’t know what to say.
Thwack!
He gave her a flick to the forehead and warned, “You didn’t do too badly this time. Since you know that you shouldn’t be reckless, I’ll forgive you just this once. If this happens again, I’ll break your legs.”
As she rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, she had a pitiful and wronged expression. “Can you really blame me, though? I thought you were rushing to see Nicolette and forgot to close the door.”
That made Samuel frown.
Is she really trying to justify herself here?
“Think about it. Why do you think I chose this place as our new home?” he prompted gloomily. “The security downstairs is so tight. Do you really think a thief could get in? Why don’t you use your brain a little?”
“You can never be too cautious,” she insisted in an aggrieved manner. “You just said that I didn’t do too badly!”
Samuel let out a chilling huff. “You’re really going to make me explode from anger someday, Kathleen.”
In response to that, Kathleen puffed up her cheeks. She looked like a kicked puppy.
That night, the two of them were lying in bed.
There wasn’t much movement going on.
Neither of them was tired, but they weren’t talking to each other, either.
Rather, they were both deep in thought.
However, considering that Kathleen was pregnant, she couldn’t fight off her sleepiness for long.
Some time later, Samuel’s phone rang.
Of course, a ringtone played along with it.
“What?” he exclaimed. There was a grim look on his face. “Got it. I’ll head over right away.”
“What is it, Sam?” Kathleen had woken up from the commotion.
“The security guards downstairs gave me a call. I’m going to take a look.” His answer was deliberately vague.
Her lips were pursed as he got changed and went downstairs.
She noticed that he took his phone and car keys with him.
There was an unsettling feeling in her heart, so she put on a white coat and discreetly followed him down.
When Samuel got downstairs, he saw Nicolette curled up into a ball on the couch.
The weather was cold outside, and she was only dressed in a hospital gown.
“Nicolette,” he called out. Samuel made his way over to her and immediately took off his coat to drape it around her.
“Samuel!” she yelped. Nicolette jumped up and clung to his neck while sobbing, “I’m so scared, Samuel. I’m scared of the chemotherapy tomorrow. The doctor told me that my hair was going to fall out. I’m going to become ugly!”
Samuel’s breathing grew deeper, and he reached his large hand out to pat her on the back. “How could that be? You’ve always been beautiful.”
“I’m terrified, Samuel. Can you chat with me for a bit before going back up?” she whined.
“I’ll take you back to the hospital.” There was no way he could let her hang around there.
If she were to get sick with a cold or a fever, it would be disastrous for someone like her, who had leukemia.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: All Too Late