At night, he always exhausted me before bed, making sure I was too tired to stay awake—so he could sneak away to see Suzzette.
I refused to let them have their way.
I fought off sleep, clinging to him, insisting he tell me stories.
At first, he was patient. But as time dragged on, his frustration grew.
Suddenly, he got up and forcefully pushed me down. "Reese, you need to sleep."
"I’m not sleepy. I just like talking to you," I insisted.
His face darkened. “If you don’t sleep, how can I go hunting with peace of mind? If I don’t hunt, what will you eat?”
Tsk. Using hunting as an excuse again.
Sighing, I replied, "I can eat less. Or you could just go during the day."
Jaren clearly hadn’t expected me to be this difficult.
I grabbed his hand. “Or... we could just lie down and sleep together?”
"Enough!" he roared, losing his temper.
He was furious—completely out of character.
Was missing one meeting with Suzzette really that unbearable?
Realizing I was upset, Jaren ran outside and returned with a coconut.
"Coconut water is sweet. I know you like sweet things."
So he remembered. I loved drinking coconut water.
I took the heavy coconut, glancing down to see a faint trace of white powder near the opening.