Nicole's expression tightened. She furrowed her brow, clearly unnerved.
Leaning over, she sneered in response, Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep this up."
With that, she turned and strode out of the room.
By the time the nurse arrived, I had lost a fair amount of blood.
Fearing Sharon would be worried, I checked out of the hospital that evening.
...
At the airport, Nicole and Charles had already begun their journey around the world.
Charles noticed something odd about Nicole. She seemed distant, her mind clearly elsewhere. Ever since their return from the hospital, she had been preoccupied.
Could it be...that man?
No, that’s impossible. Nicole hates him.
But just as they were about to board, Nicole pulled out her phone. Charles glanced over and saw that the top contact wasn’t his name.
Nicole opened the pinned contact and dialed.
The automated voice on the other end responded, "The number you dialed has been powered off."
Nicole frowned slightly.
"Nicole, who were you calling?" Charles asked carefully. "You don’t look happy..."
"It’s no one," she replied, forcing a small, awkward smile. "Just an unimportant person."