Chapter 27

Angela POV

My throat tightened as Sean murmured appropriate reassurances.

If only she knew how temporary this peace was, how quickly it would shatter once she was safely through surgery.

"A week isn't long to wait," Elizabeth said when we finally told her about the revised schedule. Though her voice remained steady, I saw fear flicker in her eyes.

Without thinking, I perched on the edge of her bed, taking her fragile hand in mine. "You'll be fine. Dr. Carter is the best, and Sean and I will be right here the whole time."

"My sweet girl." Elizabeth squeezed my fingers. "What would this family do without you?"

Find out soon enough, I thought, but managed to keep smiling. "Let's focus on getting you better first."

As the sun started to set, painting the room in warm golds and pinks, a middle-aged nurse walked in, politely reminding us,

"Your visiting time is almost up. I need to start getting Mrs. Elizabeth's dinner ready soon."

But Elizabeth wasn't ready to let go of our hands, holding on to both me and Sean. So, I suggested, "How about we take Elizabeth home with us tonight? She can stay at our place for the night, and I'll cook."

Elizabeth's face lit up at the idea. But the nurse looked a little hesitant.

After a bit of back-and-forth, Elizabeth insisted, and Sean went to speak to the doctor, asking for permission to discharge her for just one night, promising they'd have a family doctor come by to help look after her.

When Elizabeth heard that, her whole face brightened.

That evening, Sean and I cooked dinner together. Our hands brushed a few times as we moved around the kitchen, and it felt both strange and familiar at the same time.

For some reason, I was reminded of those awkward chemistry lab days back in high school. I was always so focused on not burning anything, and every time Sean's hand brushed mine, I'd feel this odd spark, like there was some kind of chemistry going on inside me.

It probably didn't help that we hadn't cooked together in ages-dinner ended up taking nearly two hours to prepare.

After we got married, we didn't spend a lot of time eating together. Even though we worked in the same place, I'd always order lunch for him and have it delivered to his office. After work, he didn't have much time to eat at home, let alone now, when he's hardly ever home in the evenings.

When dinner was finally ready, Elizabeth sat down at the table, watching us with a smile and saying,

"Perfect husband, perfect wife, perfect life."

Then she took our hands and closed her eyes to say a prayer before eating.

Elizabeth's a devout Christian, so that made sense.

But as she closed her eyes, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Perfect husband, perfect wife, perfect lie."

Midway through the meal, Sean's phone rang. He glanced at it, then hung up. But just a minute later, it rang again.

I figured it was probably Christina.

When it rang a third time, Sean just turned it off. Then he smiled at Elizabeth and said,

"Work's been crazy lately, but nothing beats having dinner with Grandma."

After that, he shot me a look, one of those "don't give me away" looks, like I shouldn't bring up anything about Christina.

I just quietly chewed my steak and kept my mouth shut.

By the time we finished eating, Elizabeth was in a great mood, chatting away and not wanting to rest.

Finally, Sean glanced at his watch and said, "The doctor said you need to get to bed before 10, remember?"

When we left Elizabeth's room, I went straight for our bedroom, and Sean followed right behind me.

My heart was pounding because I knew-I knew tonight, I had no choice but to sleep in the same room, in the same bed, with Sean.

After my shower, I made sure to put on a super modest pair of pajamas before coming out.

Sean looked me up and down, raising an eyebrow. "Did you borrow Grandma's pajamas? This is a whole different vibe from what you usually wear."

I shot back, "Since when do you care about my pajama style?"

"We agreed on a truce. Why do you seem so... tense?" Sean chuckled, clearly teasing.

I didn't answer. Instead, I grabbed a fresh blanket from the wardrobe and set a pillow down in the middle of the bed before lying down.

Luckily, the bed was King Size, so even with a pillow between us, I still had plenty of space. But just to keep some distance from Sean, I scooted toward the edge. As soon as I closed my eyes, I felt this pressure at the edge of the bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I opened my eyes to find Sean standing at the side of the bed, his face stormy, staring me down.

"What's going on?"

I was genuinely confused. Why was he suddenly so pissed?