Nothing Better (Than You) - English Vers.

¤ Chapter 3

"Take care, Mum. Let me know if you're safely arrived." Nate said as she hugged her mother.

"I'm just going home, not somewhere far." Mum replied as she patted Nate's back.

Nate pouted. Julian came out in a gray suit and bag in his hand, and walked over to Nate.

"I'll take Mum home and go straight to the work," said Julian, as Nate buttoned his suit.

"Okay. Have a safe drive," replied Nate. Julian kissed her forehead, then got into the car with Mum.

Nate waved at Julian's car that was slowly moving away from their house. She felt a sudden empty in her chest. She had never been apart from Mum like this before.

Nate went back into the house and cleaned up the leftovers from breakfast. She didn't do much that day, just vacuuming, mopping, washing clothes, and other household chores. While Nate was unemployed, she's always with Mum at home. It feels so lonely to be alone like this now.

Nate went to her room to take a nap. She was so sleepy because her in-laws had left for Newport at three in the morning, so she had to wake up too, and sent them off.

♤♡◇♧

Are you late again?

Yes, I've a lot of work to do.

Are you going to have dinner at home?

Nate looked her phone screen. It's been three hours since Julian read her message, but no reply. It was 9 pm already, and there was no certainty at what time Julian would be home. He has been coming home late for these past few days—at 10 pm, 11 pm, even 2 am last time.

Mum had always taught Nate to wait for her husband to come home from work, not to go to bed before he was asleep, and not to eat before he had eaten. Nate complied with all of that. What annoyed her was that sometimes she had been starving all night when it turned out that Julian had dine out already.

"Waiting for Julian again?" Annie asked when Nate called her. "Let him be. He's the head manager of the branch now, so he's got a lot more work to do."

"But he has subordinates now. He should just be watching them work, right? Why did he have to work overtime until this late?" Nate grumbled.

Annie laughed. "Maybe he's got a big project. Just wait, and you'll enjoy the results later."

Nate clicked her tongue. "How have you been? Mum said you still can't eat anything."

"Yeah, I still feel nauseous every time I smell food. But I can replace it by eating fruit or vegetables. You'll experience it later when you're pregnant."

Nate bit her lower lip. Even though she's really close to her sister, she never told her about their sex matter.

Nate pondered in front of TV. Annie only knew Julian who always texted and called Nate for hours. However, her sister didn't know that this only lasted for a year, then Julian seemed to act as he pleased. He texted or called Nate only when he felt it was important. He even admitted that he read her messages, and decided to reply to it later, or not to reply at all.

"You are my husband. What if I'm in an emergency, and you won't answer my calls?"

After Nate scolded him like that, Julian did change a little. But it only lasted at most for a week, and then he returned to being the ignorant Julian. He no longer snuggled her every night, and slept with his back to her. His behaviour made Nate wonder, would all married couples be like that in their second year of marriage?

Nate's stomach was rumbling again, plus the sleepiness that reached her eyes. She looked at the clock on the wall. It's 11 pm now, and there's still no sign of Julian coming home, or any reply to her messages.