He was not in a hurry; he knew that one day his wife would believe in him.
But at this moment, thinking of her going to buy another box of contraceptive pills, his heart twisted in pain.
He had felt that their relationship had improved somewhat these days; she verbally resisted his advances, but never truly rejected him.
Even, on several occasions, she had taken the initiative to be close to him; he thought that finally, the clouds had parted to reveal the moon, but then...
When Elly Campbell came back, she saw Adam Jones sitting in front of the computer, looking over the documents submitted by his subordinates.
Seeing her return, he asked in his usual tone, "Did you get the medicine?"
Elly nodded, thinking that Secretary Rohr had probably told him about her trip to the pharmacy; she didn’t give it another thought.
She walked to the water dispenser, poured herself a glass of water, and took the medicine.
Adam did not see her pill box; watching her take the medicine at the water dispenser, his heart was pricked with pain yet again.
Elly was unaware of his misunderstanding. After taking the medicine, she rubbed her slightly cramping lower abdomen and returned to her computer to deal with work.
Adam, of course, saw her rubbing her belly, and his gaze darkened a bit more.
Elly wasn’t overwhelmed with work, and by the closing time of Jones Corporation, she had mostly finished her tasks.
Seeing that Adam was still reviewing documents, and remembering he hadn’t spoken to her all afternoon, she assumed he must indeed be busy with a mountain of work to handle.
"Work’s over, are you heading back?"
Elly asked. Adam paused in his perusal of the documents but did not look at her, replying in an indifferent tone,
"I expect to work overtime; don’t wait for me. Have the driver take you home first."
His tone was not very warm, different from the usually clingy Adam Jones she was accustomed to.
This version of Adam was that cold, taciturn man she once knew.
Elly couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she felt something was off with Adam. However, after thinking it over, she couldn’t see how she might have upset him, so she didn’t dwell on it.
Believing that he just had too much on his plate, she nodded and said,
"Then I’ll leave first."
Adam glanced up at her, gave her a smile that seemed rather lackluster, then returned his focus to the documents in his hands.
Elly felt there was something odd about Adam, but couldn’t articulate exactly what it was.
After looking at him thoughtfully for a moment, she turned her gaze away and left his office.
As soon as she left, Adam’s actions ceased; his gaze, somewhat sorrowful, rested on the office door where Elly’s figure was no longer present.
He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
He knew he couldn’t blame Elly for anything; she had endured three years of his coldness, so what right did he have to expect her unconditional trust in just a few days?
He was not angry with her, but with himself.
Every time, when he thought of her swallowing the contraceptive pills and he did not even have the courage to stop her, just watching her terminate a life that was about to begin, he hated himself even more.
When Elly got home, the image of Adam in his office before she left was still in her mind, and she felt as if there was something stuck in her heart that made her uncomfortable.