It was past seven in the evening when Natalie got ho.
The elevator doors opened; she took a step out, then pulled back.
Isaac was standing at the doorway.
Dark shadows under his eyes, a faint stubble on his chin, his clothes casual and disheveled—he looked completely worn out, world-weary.
He gazed at her, eyes deep as the sea.
Their eyes t.
For a long mont, Natalie finally stepped out.
"What are you doing here? Didn’t we agree to et at the civil affairs bureau tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah. Don’t worry," Isaac’s voice a bit rough, "I won’t bail on you. Since I said I’d go, I’ll be there."
Natalie heard this, couldn’t help but turn her head and glance at him.
She had no idea how he’d made peace with it.
But this was good.
This marriage that should never have existed had long needed to end.
Natalie unlocked the door, about to walk in, when Isaac suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
His hand was cold as ice; the touch made her shiver. She spun around, frowning, as she tried to shake off his grip.
"Let go."
"Little Ear."
"I said, let go." Natalie’s tone dropped several degrees, full of impatience.
Isaac released her hand, but worried she’d shut him out, so he hooked his hand around the doorfra.
"Little Ear, can I co in and sit for a bit? I promise I won’t do anything, just sit. I’m just tired."
"If you’re tired, go ho."
"Please," Isaac pleaded, "just let sit for a bit."
Maybe because he finally agreed to co to the bureau tomorrow, she worried if she pushed too hard, he’d change his mind.
Or maybe...
Sothing else.
In any case, Natalie, feeling ssy and distracted, let him in.
And as Isaac promised, he really did just sit.
He sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, doing nothing.
Natalie went to the bedroom, changed into ho clothes, and when she ca out, he was still sitting there, looking genuinely exhausted, just resting.
She went into the kitchen, took out a packet of instant noodles from the cupboard, and was about to boil water when Isaac’s voice called from the doorway, "Don’t eat that. Let make you sothing, okay?"
Natalie ignored him and kept boiling water.
For once, Isaac didn’t insist.
Soon, the simplest bowl of noodles was done. She took it to the dining room, ate, washed the bowl, then ca back—Isaac was still sitting on the sofa.
It was already 9 pm.
Just as Natalie was about to ask him to leave, his phone rang first.
Isaac answered, Franklin Finch’s anxious voice coming through: "Isaac, get over here, the kid you brought has a fever!"
"I’m coming right now," Isaac replied, voice low.
After hanging up, he glanced at Natalie, "Little Ear, I have to—"
"See you at the civil affairs bureau tomorrow morning," Natalie said coldly.
She didn’t care what he had to do, only whether she could get the divorce certificate tomorrow.
Isaac pressed down the pain spreading from his chest to every nerve, nodded, "Okay."
After he left, Natalie returned to her bedroom, took a shower, dried her hair, and lay in bed scrolling on her phone for over an hour.
Around eleven, she decided it was ti to sleep, put away her phone, turned off the lamp, pulled the covers up, and closed her eyes.
But the sleep she expected didn’t co.
She felt she wasn’t thinking about anything, but couldn’t get herself to fall asleep.
With no choice, she got up and took a latonin pill.
——
The next day, at the civil affairs bureau.
Natalie arrived at nine in the morning; the bureau was already open for business.
She waited in her car for about half an hour. It was nearly ten, still no sign of Isaac.
Didn’t he say he wouldn’t bail on her?
Promised he’d co if he said he would?
Her face cold, Natalie pulled out her phone and called him—his phone was off.
Just as she was pissed that Isaac hadn’t kept his word, Franklin Finch called.
"Hello, Natalie, is Isaac with you? I tried his phone, it’s off. What’s going on? He said he’d co see yesterday—never showed. Where is he?"
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