He Counted Seconds With Me and Seasons With Her Chapter 03

He Counted Seconds With Me and Seasons With Her Chapter 03

The restaurant was booked over a dozen miles away, a place right by the sea.

When I arrived, the distant ocean was churning up golden waves under the sunlight.

I had lowered myself countless times before, begging Nathan to take me to see the sunset over the ocean.

What I begged for and couldn’t have, Scarlett got with ease.

Nathan hadn’t expected me to come. His hand, serving food to Scarlett, noticeably froze.

“What are you doing here?”

“Why can’t I be here?”

I laughed dryly. “One is my best friend. The other is my best husband.”

“Thank you, for taking care of Scarlett for me.”

Nathan clearly didn’t catch the hidden meaning in my words. He just pointed to the seat across the table.

“Sit down.”

I was speechless.

This was Nathan.

Forever indifferent. Forever distant. Forever feeling no need to explain anything to me.

Including today—why he showed up at an event hosted by my best friend.

Scarlett came back from the restroom, walking over like a flame, and casually sat down next to Nathan.

“Clara, we’re all friends here. No need to be formal. Eat up, drink up!”

Her tone made it sound as if I were the outsider at this gathering.

I forced down the bitterness. I sat down. Then, I pulled out that divorce agreement.

“Nathan, I’ve had my eye on a new condo. I need ten million. Sign this for me.”

Nathan didn’t even glance at it. He took it and signed.

Scarlett was practically grinding her teeth, her tone sour.

“Nathan is so generous to our Clara.”

Watching Nathan sign with such fluid, effortless strokes, I just found it ridiculous.

He wasn’t generous.

He just didn’t care. He felt that anything he could dismiss with money wasn’t worth spending an extra second of his time.

Just as I put the divorce agreement back into my bag, the food arrived.

Steamed sea bass, braised shrimp, fresh raw oysters.

All of it was Scarlett’s favorite. All of it was food I couldn’t stomach.

I didn’t fight. I didn’t make a scene. I just smiled at Scarlett and said,

“And you say Nathan is generous to me. Look at all these details. He thought of everything for you.”

Scarlett caught the implication in my words and paused slightly.

Nathan, noticing Scarlett’s changing expression, put down his fork.

“Clara Walker, watch your tone.”

“Scarlett is the guest of honor today. It’s perfectly normal for me to order dishes according to her taste, isn’t it?”

“Scarlett is sensitive and thin-skinned. There’s no need for you to put on this jealous, envious act and make her uncomfortable.”

Three whole sentences. A rollercoaster of emotion.

In all our years of marriage, this was the most Nathan had ever said to me at one time.

Three years ago, at my wedding banquet with Nathan,

a guest joked that the maid of honor was prettier than me.

I stood on the stage, helpless. I looked to Nathan with pleading eyes.

But he just looked away indifferently, as if it were a trivial matter of no consequence.

Afterwards, I asked him why he hadn’t helped me out of that awkward situation.

He said flatly, “The wedding was timed to end within two hours. If I had said one extra word for you, the wedding would have been delayed by one more minute.”

“I never do anything that falls outside of the established order.”

So his principles weren’t made of iron after all. Scarlett was the one moment that existed outside his order.

When I came back to my senses, tears had unknowingly filled my eyes.

Not wanting anyone to see my vulnerability, I excused myself to the restroom.

But the moment I turned my back, tears poured down like rain.

In front of the sink, cold water splashed against my face, sobering me for a brief moment.

Just then, the sound of high heels came from behind me.

I looked up. The mirror reflected Scarlett’s twisted face.

“Clara Walker. You knew about me and Nathan all along, didn’t you?”