“Aoife… I’m thirsty, bring me a glass of water.” He called out repeatedly with no response, Finn suddenly lost his temper, untying his tie and throwing it on the ground.
“Aoife!”
The driver behind him timidly reminded, “Mr. Snearl, Miss Powell left last night…”
“Left? Where did she go?” Finn was taken aback, coming to his senses. Yes… he had kicked Aoife out and sent her to be with Hamish.
He couldn’t forget his habits. Regardless of how late he came home, Aoife would always be sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for him. She would ask if he was hungry, provide him with warmth and care, and give him tea and water. She knew about his stomach issues, and whenever she smelled alcohol on him, she would make him sobering soup, prepare stomach medicine, and provide a hot water bottle.
Finn had suffered from stomach problems since he was young, as no one had prepared food for him when he was hungry. He would rummage through garbage cans when hungry, leading to severe gastrointestinal issues and frequent hospitalizations.
Aoife had seen the severity of his stomach issues when they flared up, becoming as anxious as if she were the one who was sick.
Seeing Finn sitting on the couch in a daze, propping his head up with one hand and holding his stomach with the other, his long hair disheveled, made it difficult to see his expression clearly.
The driver couldn’t leave him alone. When Finn mentioned wanting water, the driver went to the kitchen, poured a glass of warm water, and approached him only to hear Finn groan, indicating that he had been enduring pain.
Handing the water to him, the driver said, “Mr. Snearl, here’s your water.”
Finn lowered his hand, his eyes reddened as he took the glass of warm water and had a sip.
It was just ordinary water, tasteless and plain. However, for some reason, Finn felt that the tap water Aoife would bring to him would always be sweeter.
“When you took Aoife to the hotel, did she say anything?”
After thinking for a moment, the driver said Aoife remained silent and only uttered one sentence.
“Miss Powell simply said, ‘Once it’s delivered, it can’t be taken back.'” The driver hesitated, contemplating whether to continue, and asked tentatively, “Mr. Snearl, do you intend to bring Miss Powell back? She seemed quite pitiful when she left.”
“Left?” Finn focused on the key point.
“Miss Powell came back that evening, grabbed her luggage, and left. Her hands and feet seemed injured.”;
Aoife had left?
Finn struggled to come to terms with this realization, sitting on the couch in a daze. The driver couldn’t decipher Finn’s thoughts.
If he cared about Aoife, why would he have sent her to another man’s bed? If he didn’t care, why did he call out to her the moment she came back?
“Go back now.”
“Then, Mr. Snearl, if you need anything, just give me a call.”
Finn simply responded with a grunt, unaware of when the driver left. He sat on the couch until dawn.
Normally, after drinking, Finn would fall asleep easily, feeling heavy. However, today, he couldn’t sleep. He spent the entire night thinking about one sentence.
“What’s sent out can’t be retrieved.”
Was Aoife truly not coming back?
Finn went upstairs to Aoife’s room, where everything remained untouched, showing no signs of her packing and leaving.
Her jewelry, makeup, clothes in the wardrobe, and even the white dress he had given her two days ago were all neatly arranged. What was missing? Nothing was missing except for a person – someone who cooked for him, washed his clothes, and kept him company every day.
Despite everything appearing untouched, Finn couldn’t shake the feeling that Aoife had not truly left. He believed she would return soon.
After all, she was so pathetic. He had beaten her, burned her with a cigarette, yet she still adored him.
That “left” from the driver was simply a tantrum. Without him, how could someone as weak as her make a name for herself?
Confident that Aoife couldn’t survive without him, Finn was someone who would eventually get engaged, married, and have children. He couldn’t keep Aoife by his side.
Admitting his selfishness, he couldn’t provide a future for a woman, yet he wanted her to yearn for him forever.
He was the one who drove her away, and now he wanted her to return and resume her previous position.
Without the comfort of warm stomach-soothing soup and no one to cook for him, his hunger pains intensified. Enduring the pain, his face turned slightly blue. By noon, he had no appetite and lay in bed dazed.
Calling out once more, “Aoife, my stomach hurts. Bring me my stomach medicine.”
With no response, the sound of the wind entered through the open window. Finn opened his eyes, his red eyes indicating he hadn’t slept the entire night. Sitting up in bed, he searched for his medicine, rummaging through cabinets and drawers.
It was ironic; getting rid of Aoife should have been the right decision. Keeping her around would have led to true regret.