He Counted Seconds With Me and Seasons With Her Chapter 04

He Counted Seconds With Me and Seasons With Her Chapter 04

I froze.

The faucet water was still rushing. Scarlett reached out and turned it off.

In the entire restroom, only the pounding of my heartbeat remained.

“You thought that photo album was everything?”

Scarlett paused. The corner of her mouth curled into a malicious smile.

“Your first wedding anniversary? I was the one who made that phone call to pull Nathan away. The day you were in labor, hemorrhaging badly? He only waited half an hour before leaving because I called him, saying I was ‘scared of the dark.’ Even last year, when you were alone watching the New Year’s Eve countdown, eating dinner by yourself—that was because Nathan wanted to be with me, setting off fireworks on the beach.”

“Clara Walker. At every single important moment in your life, Nathan was with me.”

“What do you have to fight me with?”

I trembled all over.

“Scarlett, we grew up together. Why…”

“Why?” Scarlett cut me off, her voice full of venom. “Because you always had to outshine me!”

“Since we were kids, you were prettier than me, better than me, came from a better family than me!”

“I couldn’t stand it. Why were you the moon, adored by everyone, while I could only be a star revolving around you!”

“But now,” Scarlett’s expression changed. Her tone was smug. “The thing you cherished most—I’ve already taken it from you.”

“Clara Walker. Doesn’t it feel awful?”

I didn’t speak. I just watched quietly as that face warped with jealousy.

Nathan. Scarlett.

The two most important people in my life. Now, they were unrecognizable.

After all the resentment, all that was left was numbness.

There was a moment of silence in the air.

After a long pause, just as I took a deep breath, about to speak—

perhaps because we’d been gone too long, Nathan suddenly burst in.

Seeing Nathan enter, Scarlett steeled her heart. She slammed her head violently against the glass mirror in front of her.

Crash—

The mirror shattered. I watched in horror as Scarlett’s face was covered in blood.

“Clara, I promise I’ll never let Nathan order my favorite dishes again. Please, please don’t hit me anymore… don’t hit me…”

The sound of shattering glass. The sound of Scarlett’s cries. They mixed together.

A buzzing filled my ears.

The next second, Nathan’s slap, carrying the force of wind, landed on my face.

“Clara Walker! Before, I thought you were just fond of throwing tantrums. I never imagined you could be this vicious!”

A searing pain burned on my cheek. A salty, coppery taste filled my mouth.

I raised my eyes. They met Nathan’s resentful glare.

This was the first time in three years of marriage that I had seen such intense emotion stain his normally placid, unruffled eyes.

“Nathan, I…”

“Shut up! If anything happens to Scarlett, I won’t let you get away with it!”

He didn’t wait for me to finish. He immediately scooped up Scarlett and left.

The previously noisy restroom fell silent in an instant.

Dusk. The setting sun was like molten gold.

The sunset slanted through the window lattice, falling on me. Broken, yet beautiful.

I don’t know how I got home. I only know that when I pushed the door open, the taste of blood was still at the corner of my mouth.

The timer was still sitting on the living room table.

I closed my eyes.

Countless scenes flashed before my eyes.

It was Nathan, when he kissed me—precisely timed to ten seconds. The moment time was up, he turned and pulled away.

It was Nathan, in our bedroom—precisely timed to thirty minutes. The moment the bell rang, he turned and left.

It was Nathan, at countless important moments in my life—absent, missing, turning away to keep another woman company.

People always say, where the money is, that’s where the love is.

But I want to say—no. That’s not true.

When a person is rich enough, time becomes their true wealth.

Loving someone is like tending a flower. Pampering is watering.

But I was never watered.

After packing my bags, I called my dad.

My voice was slightly trembling. “Dad, I want to go see the snow in the Rockies.”

On the other end of the line, my father’s voice came through.

“Sweetheart, your dad has already postponed the company board meeting. Your mom already took leave from her bridge club too. Wherever you want to go, your mom and I will definitely come with you!”

My nose stung. I almost burst into tears.

No matter how bad the world gets, there are always people who will mend it, stitch by stitch. And those people are our parents.

Pushing my suitcase, I got into a taxi heading to the airport.

I received another text from Nathan.

[Clara, I already checked the restaurant’s surveillance footage. What happened with Scarlett really wasn’t your doing.]

[As compensation, I bought you a new necklace. I’ve already had my assistant deliver it.]

I didn’t reply.

He probably thought I would be, like before—a necklace in a style I didn’t like, a black card—and I could be easily dismissed.

Three years of marriage. He never understood what I truly wanted.

Perhaps because he saw I hadn’t replied, after a few minutes, another message came.

[Next winter. I’ll take you to see the snow. Okay?]

I laughed.

Too late. I don’t need it anymore.

I don’t need to beg humbly. I don’t need to wait until next year either.

“Driver, please go a little faster.”

With one tap of my finger, I blocked and deleted Nathan.

Outside the car window, the sun was sinking in the west.

Gray walls. Green trees. The past three years flowed past behind me like running water.

Goodbye, Nathan.