As soon as I entered the house, Asher came up to me with beaming joy in his eyes.

"You're back? I made your favorite dish. Come and try it."

I was a little surprised. Asher was rarely happy like he was now. Then I realized that Asher was usually happy because of the songs he had written.

"Someone booked my song. This time, it's by a big star, it's going to be a theme song." Asher shared his joy with me incessantly. Then he looked at me, saying, "Why do you seem unhappy? You shouldn't impose negative emotions onto your partner."

In the end, he had a hint of warning in his words.

"What should I say? Should I tell him that I was informed to be mentally prepared? After all, my dad may not live much longer. Will Asher relate to and sympathize with me?"

"I don't want to take the risk. I don't want to be woken up and blamed in the middle of the night again."

So, I forced a smile like a puppet.

"I will pay attention to it. I won't do so again next time."

"Perfect. Go wash your hands. The food won't taste good if it gets cold later." Asher finally let me go, looking satisfied.

At the dining table, I dared not miss any of his words for fear of missing out on every emotion he expressed.

Luckily, I didn't make any mistakes today.

I watched as Asher had been smiling. Then I cautiously brought up the topic.

"I took a few days off."

Asher's eyes lit up. He asked, "So you mean you can stay at home all the time?"

I struggled to speak. But my words were getting stuck in my throat. I said, "Dad is not doing well. I plan to stay with Mom for a while. I must go to the hospital. So, I won't be coming back here for now."

Seeing him silent, I was frightened and nervous.

"Mom is not in a good state. She has been crying. I am a bit worried."

"What about me?" Asher no longer looked happy. He felt a little lonely.

"What's wrong with him? Is he sick or dying?"

I was confused again.

Holding my luggage, I was about to leave. Asher looked at me without saying a word.

"Aren't you going to stay at my mom's place for a while?"

I felt suffocating anxiety.

"No, I won't be there." Asher emphasized, saying, "That's not my home. Our home is here."

Asher's parents had been divorced early on. I knew he had always been obsessed with the idea of having a family. He wouldn't let me leave, so I wisely kept my mouth shut and refrained from saying anything that might upset him.

I kept thinking on the way as to whether I shouldn't have left him. Upon opening the door, I regretted not coming earlier to take care of my mother.

Clothes on the sofa were piled up randomly. It was hard to tell if they had been washed or not. The dishes and utensils from the day when my father fainted were still piled up in the sink.

There was a trash can by the bed filled with used tissues.

Since the day my dad fainted, the time had come to still be here.

Asher had been messaging me. It seemed like he had never been in a good mood.

[Is it because you hate me that you don't come home? Maybe I don't deserve to have a family. I'm not worthy of you.]

[Did I hold you back? Can I talk to you?]

[My new song is about to be released. I want to tell you such news, yet I dare not. Will you find me annoying?]

I tried my best to tell him that I was swamped, and I couldn't leave my mother. Her situation was quite bad. I reassured him that I loved him. I wouldn't find him annoying.

All my efforts were in vain. It seemed that he didn't believe anything I said.

"It's like he's forcing me to surrender and to bow my head."

"I won't do it. But I forget that Asher will always have helpers."

"Or maybe I don't expect that Asher will ever try to show consideration to me."

It was at midnight again that I got a call from a familiar number.

I was startled by this phone call, anxiously observing if my mother had been awakened.

My mother had been sleeping a little lately. Now, she was looking at me sleepily.

I answered the call with a frown.

Jessa shouted at me, saying, "Didn't you take what I said to you last time seriously? Are you happy to see Asher in such a desperate state? Or do you hope he dies?" I even felt her voice echoing in the hospital.

"Tell me what happened to Asher."

"You didn't come to Asher's celebration party. He almost drank himself to death because of you. Are you pretending to be in the dark? How did Asher end up marrying a trash like you? If you are still a human being, get over here right now!"

She immediately hung up.

I was scolded inexplicably. Asher didn't tell me about such a celebration party at all.

Then I received a voice message from Asher. He was apologizing to me while he was drunk.

[Sorry, you've been too busy lately. I was afraid of disturbing you, so I didn't tell you about my celebration party. My song got a lot of positive feedback when it was first released. I invited my friends to have a meal at a restaurant around the corner of a street near our house. Focus on your things. Don't listen to Jessa's nonsense. I didn't drink."

Coincidentally, I didn't know the address, so he revealed it.

I was shocked by such a coincidence.

"Was he intentionally not telling me first and using his friends to pressure me? Was he eliminating any chance for me to stay in the hospital and refuse to attend the banquet?"

"Alice, go to him. I'm here with your father." My mom seemed to see through my reluctance. She gently persuaded me, saying, "If anything happens, I'll call you. Our family can't afford any more accidents."

After saying that, my mom turned her head and wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. My dad, lying stiffly beside her, showed no signs of waking up.

Asher seemed to have put a dog collar on me around my neck, making it hard for me to breathe.