Chapter 2
I handled the discharge paperwork myself, because Chloe and Jake had already gone back to play cards.
When I got home, the house was a mess. Chicken, duck, and fish were scattered everywhere in the kitchen.
The moment Mrs. Miller saw me, her face fell. “Alex, you’re finally back. See the kitchen? Hurry up and clean it. Our whole family is waiting to eat tonight.”
I turned and saw Jake and Chloe sitting at the card table, sipping tea and eating melon seeds. Resentment welled up inside me. “Mrs. Miller, how can I manage all these dishes by myself? Can you get a few people to help me?”
My eyes were fixed on Jake, but Mrs. Miller said, “Didn’t you cook every year before? Why can’t you do it this year?”
“Don’t look at Jake. He’s a guest in our home. How can we let him cook?”
With that, she took the freshly brewed tea she was holding and handed it to him. “Jake, it’s rare for you to be back. Have some more tea.”
The aftermath of falling into the icy water still lingered. Now, my hands would ache whenever they touched cold water.
I picked up the kettle, planning to boil some hot water, but Jake snatched it away. “Such a crybaby. You need hot water just to wash vegetables?”
Chloe watched everything with cold indifference, silently approving.
The moment my frostbitten hands entered the water, a biting cold spread through my entire body, making me shiver.
But Chloe just ignored it, pulling Jake back to play cards.
I spent the entire afternoon alone, busy in the kitchen, finally finishing all the dishes by evening. My frostbitten hands, still not fully recovered, trembled after preparing such a feast.
When I carried the last dish to the table, I found there was no seat for me.
I finally managed to squeeze into a spot, only to find the dishes were almost all eaten, leaving only scraps.
But before I could even pick up a few bites with my forks, Mrs. Miller’s complaining voice chimed in. “Eat quickly. The dishes in the kitchen are waiting for you to wash.”
I looked at Jake and Chloe on the couch, peeling oranges and watching holiday specials, and a surge of anger flared up.
They were perfectly fine, yet they expected me, an injured man, to wait on them. My eyes instantly turned cold.
“I have something to do; I’m going out for a bit.” With that, I walked out without looking back.
As I closed the door, I heard Mrs. Miller’s curses.
Outside, heavy snow fell. Inside, there was warmth and harmony, but that warmth didn’t belong to me.
My phone rang the moment I got into a taxi. “Alex, what’s with the tantrum on New Year’s? It’s just a few dishes to wash, is it really worth it?”
“My mom already has high blood pressure, and you’ve made her so angry. Can you afford it if she gets sick?”
I could faintly hear Jake’s voice in the background: “Mrs. Miller, take a deep breath. Don’t let someone irrelevant upset you.”
I hung up immediately. Some people truly are two-faced. I, Chloe’s fiancé, was now “someone irrelevant” in his mouth.
Before, I went out of my way to please her family for Chloe’s sake, but now, I didn’t want to anymore.
Anyway, in a few days, I’d be gone for good, and these people would have nothing to do with me.