Chapter 1210
On what would have been Melanie’s birthday, he had gone to a bar and drank himself into a blackout.
When he woke up, he realized his grandmother’s driver had taken him back to the marital home he shared with Claire.
Even though they had been married for two years, he had never once set foot in the house.
He only knew it was where Claire stayed when she was in Northcrest.
She wasn’t in the city often, so he hadn’t expected her to be there.
Felix took a quick shower to clear his head and walked downstairs.
Given that the house was rarely occupied, he assumed it would mirror his own internal state—barren, cold, and entirely devoid of life.
But what he saw completely shattered his expectations.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through sheer white curtains, painting the living room in a warm, golden haze.
The window sills were overflowing with succulents in every shape and size.
Each plant was plump and vibrant, bursting with color.
In the corner, an asparagus fern with tiny white flowers swayed gently in the cross- breeze.
Outside in the courtyard, a massive bush of climbing roses had completely overtaken an iron archway.
The pale pink blossoms were bursting with life, and the wind scattered a few stray petals across the stone path.
The house was brimming with warmth, bursting with life.
Felix stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs until the rich, savory aroma of bone broth pulled him from his trance.
He turned slowly toward the kitchen.
The wife he had ignored for two years was standing at the stove, her back to him.
She was wearing comfortable beige loungewear, her hair tied up in a loose, messy bun with a few strands clinging to her neck.
The sunlight spilled through the blinds, wrapping her in a soft, golden halo.
In that exact second, it felt as if a single beam of light had finally pierced the suffocating darkness inside him.
He didn’t know how long he stood there watching her.
When Claire finally turned around holding a steaming bowl of Noodle Soup with Bone Broth, she jumped, startled to see him.
After all, he never came home.
“I didn’t know you were here,” she said, suddenly looking a bit out of place.
Even though she technically lived there, she never truly felt like it was her home.
It was just a temporary arrangement, just like their marriage.
Felix walked down the last few steps
and pulled out a chair at the dining table His eyes locked onto the bowl of noodles.
The broth was milky white, garnished with bright green scallions, and smelled incredible.
It was the most ordinary dish imaginable, yet for the first time in years, he actually felt hungry.
“Could you make me a bowl, too?” he asked quietly.
It wasn’t an unreasonable request.
It was his house, after all.
So, Claire turned back into the kitchen and made him a second serving of Noodle Soup with Bone Broth.
Felix had dined at the finest
restaurants in the world, but that et
simple comforting bowl of soup became a permanent fixture in his soul.
After that day, he started coming home more often.
Sometimes their schedules aligned, and they would cross paths.
Claire loved to cook, so whenever she had a day off, she would spend it in the kitchen.
If Felix was around, she simply made an extra portion.
Sometimes she would even ask him if there was anything specific he wanted.
And every single time, Felix would ask for the Noodle Soup with Bone Broth.
Their icy boundaries slowly began to melt away in those quiet, domestic moments.
His feelings shifted from resentment
and avoidance encer
and eventually, toeager
anticipation…
No one who has lived in the dark wants to push away the sun.
He had gravitated toward that warmth, desperately wanting to hold onto it forever. Just like he did right now.
He was tearing his heart open, laying out his bloodiest wounds, praying it would be enough to make her stay.
Claire understood what he was trying to do.
She genuinely empathized with his agony and the brutal struggle he had endured.
But when it came to love, sometimes right and wrong simply didn’t matter.
She slowly sat back down in her chair.