Page 77 of The Revenge Plan

“I’m not hungry.”

“You didn’t eat the entire day. And think of the baby.”

Her face fell, and I winced. It came out as a threat. I didn’t mean it like that. “Come on in.” It was a cold invitation. I took it anyway.

The apartment was as sterile as the day she came in. It had the feeling of a hotel room. There was nothing of hers on walls or lying around. It was as if she was staying with the mind of leaving any day. Or that she could be removed any day. I went to the kitchen and opened the cupboards. There was some unopened macaroni. A lot of canned food. Most of it hadn’t been touched. The fridge was similar except for the fruits. Those were going at a faster rate. After taking stock, I turned to her. “Pasta and meatballs?” she gave a tentative nod. Good, we were getting somewhere.

Half an hour later, I brought the dish to the dining table. “Food is ready, madam.” Hailey was sitting there on her phone. She placed it to the side and breathed in the scent, closing her eyes. So she was hungry after all. She took her plate. “Thank you,” she said and began eating. I watched her as she closed her eyes, savoring the food.

“What do you think?”

She opened her eyes and righted herself. “It’s fine.”

“Just fine?”

“A little salty.”

Liar. “I’ll take it into consideration.”

We ate in silence for a while. It felt like we had been doing it for a long time. After a while, though, I heard a fork clatter. I looked up from my plate. She was staring down at hers.

“What’s wrong?”

“What is this?”

The food? Was she feeling sick? “What do you mean?”

“This. All of this. The cooking, taking me to the funeral. What are you trying to do?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to be there for you.”

“If you’re afraid of me running away or doing something to the child, then don’t.”

“That’s not it at all.” I want to be close to you. “Your father died. And your brothers… I’m trying to help.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need any.”

“It doesn’t seem like it. You were quiet the entire time we got here.”

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is that the reason you’re here? To comfort me?”

I wasn’t sure why I was here. I wanted to be around her, be with her. Wipe that sad smile on her face. Be the one to bring back her beautiful smile. Hold her close. However, I couldn’t do most of that. She was closing me off. “I only want to be there for you.”

She scoffed. “Sure. Whatever makes you sleep at night, I guess.”

“It’s true.”

“Can you please go? You don’t have to perform some extra duties that you feel obligated to do. I’m doing fine as is.”

“It’s not, it’s not like that. I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you.”

“Is it because of the baby? If you feel you have to be good to me because of the baby, you don’t have to. It ends up confusing me.”

“Not everything is about the damn baby!” My fist banged onto the table. The room went silent. “Of course I don’t mean it like that.” She looked fed up with me. I was losing her. I was losing her and all this time I thought I was getting into her good books. “Did you see my message?”

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