Noticing his balled-up fist, I braced myself for it to land on me. But it didn’t.
After a long moment, he turned his gaze on me. In his eyes, I could see a mixture of sorrow, disappointment, and despondent.
“Very well!” he finally uttered the only words he could muster and slammed the door shut as he left the room, resulting in a loud bang that reverberated throughout the house.
This is going to be another sleepless night…
The next morning, despite having very little sleep, I had to be at Lavelian Village for a site inspection.
When I arrived at the meeting point, Rachel and Marcus were already there, which caught me by surprise. The reason being I did not expect Marcus to make an appearance in a task that was usually carried out by the site supervisor.
“Ms. Stovall, I hope you don’t think the world revolves around you just because you’re the president’s wife. If you can’t even arrive at a meeting on time, I suggest you just assume the role of a housewife, since Mr. Fuller already has more than enough to support you.”
Rachel made a snarky comment on account of my tardiness. But I did arrive late, so there was no point in me getting back at her.
Pursing my lips, I ignored her remark and took over a project checklist from Leedon before turning to Marcus. “Mr. White, shall we do a walk-around to familiarize ourselves with the site perimeters?”
Marcus nodded. He glanced at Rachel indifferently but didn’t say anything. After a moment of silence, his gaze fell on me and he asked, “Are you very busy lately? You look overworked.”
“Oh, I’m alright. Just didn’t sleep well that’s all,” I replied while shaking my head.
This turned out to be a major undertaking as it not only involved a thorough inspection of the construction security, but we also needed to coordinate with departments from different companies. We had spent the whole morning covering the inspections for a few bases.
To avoid future misunderstandings, the three of us carried out the assessment together and had to achieve consensus on every single inspection detail. As such, we were all tuckered out by noon and were resting in a visitors’ room outside the base.
It was about noontime and everyone decided to break for lunch. I was feeling all drained out from sleep deprivation and walking all morning.
“Let’s take a break and have something to eat,” Marcus’ voice rang from in front of me. I lifted my head to see him dressed in a black suit while holding a white takeout container.
“It’s your favorite chicken casserole,” he said while holding out the container.
I let out a slight smile. “Thank you, Mr. White. You’re right on time.” I took over the food and started devouring my lunch.
Marcus found a seat next to me and sat down quietly while I munched on my lunch. He waited till I was almost done with my food before he spoke slowly. “We’ve covered pretty much all of the important aspects this morning. Why don’t you take time off this afternoon to get some rest? Sleep deprivation takes a heavy toll on your health.”
I sighed a little. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
He tilted his head in my direction. “Did you have a row with Ashton last night?”
I was hesitant for a brief moment before I swallowed my food and replied with a smile, “Just normal fighting like every other couple. We’ll be okay eventually.”
He pursed his lips. “What did you guys argue about?”
Finally finished my food, I looked at him with amusement. “What, are you a marriage counsellor now?”
He smiled softly while passing me a glass of water. “You should consider yourself lucky that I’m about to give out free advice today.”
I took a sip of water and replied, “We’re really okay. It’s just one of those trivial things all couples encounter. Oh yeah, the Harvest Festival is approaching. Are you going back to K City?”
He thought about it for a moment before replying, “Yeah, I will.”
I nodded and fell silent.
Even though the sun was blazing hot today after the downpour from last night, I still politely declined Marcus’ suggestion for me to take a nap at the hotel after lunch.
Nonetheless, I started to feel a dull pain in my abdomen and winced a little. Marcus noticed my discomfort and walked up to me. “Are you alright?”
Shaking my head, I put my hand over my lower belly. “Just a little twinge in the tummy. Might have been the food this morning.”
Marcus frowned as he stood up. “Come, I’ll bring you to the hospital for a quick check-up,” the man said while holding onto my arm.
I shook my head again, thinking that it might also be my menstruation since it was about that time of the month. Before I could reject, I noticed from the corner of my eyes that the frame of the sunshade awning above us was coming off.
After a few seconds, I finally realized what a perilous situation we were in. Before I could utter another word, Marcus was already one step ahead and was about to pull me away from where we stood.
However, before I managed to take another step, my stomach had a sudden cramp and I froze on the ground. Seeing that the awning was about to fall, I pushed Marcus away and yelled, “Go! Go without me!”
