My Husband Used My Color Blindness to CheatChapter 2

At six-thirty the next morning, Ethan knocks on the home office door.

He carries a mug of warm tea.

He sets it beside my hand. His voice is softer than last night.

"Dad asked what time you're coming to the hospital. I didn't tell him we fought. I didn't want him to worry."

I do not touch the tea.

Ethan stands by the desk and looks at the dark circles under my eyes.

"I know you didn't sleep. Nora, if you're still furious, after Dad's surgery, I'll get on my knees and let you curse me out. Okay?"

As he speaks, he reaches for my coat.

Before we go out, he has always checked my things for me.

When he takes care of me, he is careful.

When he cuts me, he knows exactly where to put the knife.

At the hospital, George smiles the second he sees me.

"Nora's here. See? I told you she's more reliable than Ethan."

He grabs my hand and frowns.

"Why are you so cold? Did you not sleep again?"

Ethan stands beside me and smoothly links his arm through mine.

"He was nervous about your surgery," he says with a smile. "She read the pre-op instructions three times last night. I told her not to overdo it, and she got mad at me."

George pats the back of my hand.

"You worry too much, kid. When I'm better, I'll make you my stew."

I lower my head and organize the medical forms.

I do not expose him.

Pre-op consent, payment, test lines, I handle all of it.

Ethan stays for less than half an hour before his phone rings.

He glances at the screen. His face changes for one second, then goes normal again.

"Nora, I need to take a work call. Stay with Dad for a minute."

He walks to the end of the hallway.

Through the glass door, I see him look down and type. His mouth is pressed tight, like he is trying to calm someone down.

George follows my eyes and sighs.

"I spoiled him too much. He has you in his heart. He's just stubborn, and he doesn't always know how to handle things."

I slide the test orders into the folder.

"Yeah."

That afternoon, a nurse puts a hospital bracelet on George's wrist and asks a family member to confirm the color.

"Red is high priority. Green is standard care. Can you check for me?"

I am about to open the color scanner on my phone when Ethan speaks out of habit.

"She can't tell, "

He stops halfway.

The air goes quiet.

The nurse has no idea what happened. She just hands him the bracelet.

Ethan holds it between his fingers. His grip tightens little by little.

Maybe he finally remembers.

Last night, he also used colors I could not tell apart to tell another woman I was not home.

George does not notice anything wrong. He even laughs.

"Ethan used to be so thoughtful. He labeled everything in the house for Nora."

Ethan lowers his eyes and gives the bracelet back to the nurse.

His voice is rough.

"Yeah. I used to help her with colors."

I open the app and scan the bracelet.

A flat mechanical voice says, "Red."

Ethan's face goes pale for a second.

He tries to smile, but it does not happen.

"You use an app now?"

I look at him.

"People can't rely on someone else forever."

He says nothing.

That night, Ethan takes me to dinner and says it is an apology.

He orders grilled fish, soup, and tea. He even remembers to ask for no cilantro.

After the server leaves, he closes the menu and leans toward me.

"Nora, when I saw you using your phone to check colors today, it hurt."

I look at him.

His eyes are red again.

"I told you I'd help you with colors for the rest of my life. What happened last night was awful. I shouldn't have used that as a signal."

At last, he says the thing that hurts the most.

Then, the next second, he takes my hand again and lowers his voice.

"But you know me. You know I'm the only one who really understands how hard these years have been for you."

"You can't erase everything good I've done just because I made one mistake."

I watch him quietly.

He sounds like he loves me.

He also sounds like he is reminding me I cannot live without him.

I pull my hand back.

"Let's eat."

Ethan looks at his empty palm. For the first time, his expression almost cracks.

After dinner, we return to the hospital.

He says something urgent came up at work and he needs to go home for a video meeting.

I do not stop him.

At half past midnight, Ms. Carter sends me a message.

I've finished sorting the large charges from the joint account. The down payment on Paige Wells's car came from Ethan's secondary card.

I look at George, asleep in the hospital bed.

A long moment later, I reply.

Add it to the filing.