Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 1995

“Abner?”

“Yeah, you haven’t come back yet, and I was getting a bit worried.”

Shirley rubbed her temples, squinting her eyes to look at her screen. It was indeed Abner calling.

“Sorry, I’m downstairs…”

Her words became slurred as she continued.

Worried, Abner hurried downstairs, searching from their building all the way to the grocery store at the entrance of their neighborhood before he finally exhaled in relief.

Shirley was asleep with her head on the table, surrounded by several bottles of wine and an open box of Teddy Grahams.

His heart softened, and he almost laughed, but still, he bent down to help her up.

“Shirley?”

She seemed to wake up, yet not quite fully, leaning into his embrace as they staggered forward.

She knew it was Abner, the kid she had taken in, and though not sure if it was just her imagination, it seemed like Abner had grown taller.

When he first arrived, he was around 5'10", but now he seemed to have reached 6'.

As they entered the elevator, she stumbled slightly, supported by his embrace.

Shirley, being only 5'5", could only prevent falling by holding onto his hand.

The elevator took them directly to their apartment, where Abner helped her sit on the couch.

Her body reeked of alcohol, and her face still bore traces of light makeup.

Abner covered her with a blanket and, after a moment’s thought, took out his phone to look up how to remove makeup.

“Shirley, I’ll help you remove your makeup.”

Shirley shifted slightly on the couch but then became still.

Abner wasn’t familiar with makeup and skincare products, but he recognized the words "makeup remover."

Following the steps he found, he bent over her, meticulously performing each one.

Not until he had wiped her face clean with a washcloth did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He helped her to her bedroom and, after tucking her into bed, he knelt to take off her shoes.

However, he didn’t dare touch her clothes, simply making sure she was under the covers before turning off the room's light.

Back in the living room, he looked at the makeup-stained cotton pads on the coffee table and swept them all into the trash.

After tidying up, he returned to his own bedroom to continue his homework.