“Hmm?”
His movement of getting out of the car came to a halt.
“Let’s talk.” Freya said while looking at him.
Elijah sat back in the car, closed the door, and remained silent for a moment before asking, “What do you want to say?”
Freya was somewhat nervous, her hands slightly clenched, and after contemplating for a while, she finally said, “I mind.”
Seemingly a random statement, but Elijah understood what she meant.
“So what?” Elijah’s gaze gradually darkened. Without waiting for Freya to speak, he said, “Stop overthinking it, let’s go back. Our children are waiting for us at home.”
With his last words, he was reminding Freya – they already had two children. And if something happened, they should face it together. They shouldn’t mention separation or anything like that, which would be irresponsible.
Elijah reached out and took Freya’s hand, but she instinctively pulled away. It was a reflexive action. And it even left Freya herself momentarily stunned. She lifted her gaze, only to see Elijah’s hand suspended in mid-air.
She lowered her head, “I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t intentional, it was involuntary. Due to this incident, she was afraid of being touched, even by Elijah. Elijah slowly closed his fingers and let his hand drop.
He spoke softly, “It’s okay.”
With that said, he got out of the car first and walked to the passenger side to open the door for Freya, “Come on out.”
Freya looked up at Elijah. He had his eyes lowered. Their gazes met, and Freya couldn’t hide herself. Whenever she looked at him, her heart would ache. She quickly averted her gaze. Hurriedly getting out of the car, she ran into the house and locked herself in. If Elijah had been cold towards her, blamed her, or resented her, she might have felt a little better. But he didn’t. Perhaps he had emotions inside him but he was suppressing them.
Elijah spoke to her with such tenderness, carefully considering her feelings, never raising his voice. It felt like her heart had been stabbed, causing a dull, throbbing pain. Freya stood on the balcony, trying to calm herself down, but the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. Her chest felt tight, and even her breathing became irregular. She crouched down slowly. Unable to hold back any longer, she began to sob softly. She tightly pressed her lips together, trying to endure, trying to suppress her sobs. Outside the room, Elijah stood at the door, raising his hand to knock but then hesitated. Maybe at this moment, she preferred to be alone, he thought. He turned around and went downstairs to check on the children.
Freya didn’t come downstairs even when it was time for dinner. Elowen went upstairs to call her.
“She’s not feeling well, let her rest,” Elijah stopped Elowen.
“Is she sick?”
Elijah nodded softly.
“Do we need to go to the hospital? Did she take any medicine?” Elowen cared about Freya’s health, but then she suddenly remembered that Freya herself was a doctor and could take care of herself.
She smiled, “You’ve been busy outside all day, have dinner first!”
Elijah lifted his son and peeled some shrimp for him to eat. After dinner, he didn’t go upstairs. Instead, he stayed downstairs with the children. When the children fell asleep, he sat alone in the living room for a long time. Everything became quiet around him. Only then did he get up and go upstairs.
Pushing open the bedroom door, the room was dimly lit. As he flipped the switch, the room instantly lit up. Freya was curled up on the couch. As the light came on, she slightly raised her head. Her eyes were a little swollen.
Now, she had adjusted her mindset well, “I… may be very busy with work from now on.”
Elijah responded, “Hmm.”
“It’s late, let’s go to sleep.” She tugged at the corners of her lips.
Elijah walked towards the bathroom. After finishing his shower, he came out and saw that Freya had fallen asleep on the couch. She was facing inward. The blanket covered her face. Elijah stood in front of the couch, his gaze lowered, watching her. Freya shrank back again, feeling his gaze. But she didn’t dare to turn around. She didn’t sleep on the bed because she felt unclean. And she couldn’t face Elijah as if nothing had happened, like before. She could only pretend to be asleep to avoid him.