Chapter 110

Chapter 110
Chloe stood by the closed door for far too long, tortured by everything she saw and heard from Ruan. Suddenly, she pictured herself walking a tightrope over a massive cliff. She felt ready to leave, to forget the past and all the pain she faced while living in Phoenix, and to start anew somewhere else. She craved a brand-new life, fresh opportunities, and meeting new people while achieving her career dream.

On the other hand, she still loved Ruan madly. The feeling inside her heart grew so intense that it physically ached. Hearing him say those things made her want to run straight into his arms and kiss him.

But she remembered exactly how much she loved him and how brutally he had rejected her. She felt like a broken plate trying to glue itself back together just to be useful again. Her heart was completely shattered. Suddenly, her knees gave out, and she had to grab the living room couch to keep from collapsing. The fever flared up again. Chloe dragged herself onto the cushion and slumped down. Her head throbbed with pain; she rubbed her forehead in a useless attempt to ease the suffocating pressure in her chest.

Dwelling on everything that was happening didn't help at all.

She watched Chris walk out of the bedroom, still half-asleep, and approach her. The very first thing he did was check Chloe’s temperature.

“You're still burning up,” he said, and then he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m going to take care of you, Mom.”

“Don't worry about her, Chris,” Ruan’s voice snapped her back to reality. “I brought some medicine for her. Your mom will feel better soon. Now go back to your room and get dressed for school.”

Christopher obeyed, and Chloe wanted to beg him to stay, to not leave her alone with Ruan again. She stood up the very second Chris disappeared into the hallway, moving in silence, feeling absolutely no need to justify herself.

“At least take the medicine,” he said, catching her by the arm.

Chloe whirled around to face him, her expression completely blank, devoid of any emotion.

“Why did you tell Megan that you were going to Stanford?”

“Because that is precisely what I am going to do.”

“Why, Ruan…?”

“Because I want to stay close to my family, close to my son, and you can't stop me from doing that.”

Chloe rubbed her face as her tears rushed back even faster this time. Her body simply refused to obey her commands anymore. She leaned over, took the pill, and swallowed it; maybe that way he would leave her in peace so she could recover and process everything properly.

“I don't intend to stop you,” she exhaled a breath of hot air, “and I’m not going to argue about this with you either. I’m just too weak.”

Chloe turned her back on him and walked away without Ruan stopping her. She locked herself in her bedroom and threw herself onto the unmade bed. She drifted off to sleep almost instantly. A long morning of sleep after a viral infection always ended the same way: a body drenched in sweat, overwhelming weakness upon standing, and an endless headache. Chloe lifted herself up, having no clue what time it was.

She sat up as the scent of chicken caught her attention; turning her neck, she spotted a bowl of soup right next to the bed. Her heart skipped a beat when she picked up the note and read it: “I went to pick up our son from school. I made this soup for you.”

A foolish smile, which Chloe immediately regretted, broke across her lips.

He was being entirely too attentive to win her back, and it was working.

She took a shower, and by the time she tasted the soup, it had already gone cold. Still, Chloe drank every last drop. She wiped her mouth just as the bedroom door swung open and Chris rushed in to hug her.

Ruan's eyes shifted down to the empty bowl.

“I need to go to the school,” she said, her eyes flashing with an expression Ruan couldn't quite identify. “Can you drive me there? I don't think I can manage behind the wheel.”

Ruan stared at her as if she had completely lost her mind. His throat went bone-dry instantly.

“Of course I can,” he answered so fast that Chloe couldn't even process it. She smiled at him the way she hadn't in a very long time. “Do you want to leave right now?”

“I need to go now,” she looked over at Christopher and added, “Go change your clothes; your dad and I will wait for you outside, okay?”

Christopher nodded just as Chloe turned her back on him, preparing to walk out, but his voice stopped her mid-stride.

“I’m so happy you two are together again.” Chloe froze in her tracks. “Dad told me he's coming to Stanford with us. Thanks, Mom, for being so understanding with him.”

She raised her eyebrows. Since when had her son matured so much? He bolted into the bathroom, leaving her standing there, processing his words. When she walked out, Ruan stood in the living room talking on the phone. He wrapped up the call quickly and looked over at her.

“I don't think it's a good idea for you to work today,” he said, trying to guess if that was what Chloe planned to do. “You still don't look recovered.”

“I’m not going to work,” she said, pulling out an envelope and handing it directly to him. “I’m going to resign and say goodbye to Elijah. You should do the same thing.”

Ruan’s eyes locked onto her. He knitted his brows, completely bewildered.

“What did you just say?”

“I told you to say goodbye to your job,” she said, deflecting her attention to her purse, searching for something lost inside it. “We’re leaving together, aren't we? That is precisely what you need to do.”

Now she was looking at him the exact way she used to look at him when they were married—full of excitement for a brand-new adventure. And that look made Ruan's chest completely explode. This couldn't possibly be real.