*CHAPTER 29

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
The sound of the front door opening and closing drew her attention, and Jia hurriedly stumbled to her feet to greet the person. She approached him with quick steps, a bright smile plastered on her face. "Welcome back home!"
                          
Jaemin hummed in response, not even glancing at her. He briskly walked away to their shared room, leaving her alone in the hallway. 
                          
The loud bang of wood hitting wood resounded through the whole house, making her flinch. Jia let out a downhearted sigh as she longingly stared at the closed door. 
                          
It had been a week, and Jaemin had been acting distant towards the female. They barely interacted, mostly her initiating the talks. His responses were short, sometimes not even a complete sentence, and Jia hated it. He was his usual cheery self around the kids, but with her, he was aloof. 
                          
Jia made her way towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water, her gravity-drawn shoulders giving away her state of mind. She let out a breathy exhale as she rummaged through her tired brain, looking for any memory of her wrongdoings. Yet, she couldn't pinpoint her grave mistakes. 
                          
She anxiously fumbled with her fingers, thoughts running at the speed of light. Anxiety pricked into her brain like an electrical storm, painful memories wanting to crawl out of their den. With trembling hands, she clutched onto the kitchen counter, knuckles turning ghostly pale. The vivid evocation of the past flooded her mind, but she shook her head, burying the memories back in their place. Am I getting abandoned again? 
                          
Dark circles decorated her face as her ghostly pale skin glistened under the moonlight. The sigh that came out next was a sign of her resolve wavering and emotions faltering. She leaned against the kitchen cupboards and closed her eyes shut as she tried to suck back her tears. 
                          
The pull and thud of the door brought her out of her trance, and Jia turned around to face the male, looking up at him with ardent eyes. 
                          
Jaemin walked past her with no greetings or goofy smiles. He lazily reached out for the jug and filled his cup with water, completely ignoring her presence as if she didn't exist, as if she was invisible. 
                          
"I prepared food for you. Want me to plate you some?" Jia asked him with a small smile, her voice laced with desperation. 
                          
"No." Jaemin deadpanned, not even sparing her a glance. He slackly placed the cup on the washbasin and made a beeline for the stairs. But Jia grabbed him by his wrist, stopping him midway.
                          
"Jaemin," She whispered, hurt eyes gazing at the indifferent male. "Did I do something wrong?" 
                          
"No. Why?" 
                          
His monotonous voice pierced through her chest, adding one more mark to her already scarred heart. Jia let out a shaky exhale as she tightened her grip on his wrist. She tugged on his hand and took a step towards him. 
                          
"Then why are you ignoring me?" Her mind raced with panic, and she bit her inner cheeks, trying to stay calm. But her voice wavered, and words laced with sorrow and pain rolled out of her lips. 
                          
"If I did something wrong, please tell me." She clasped his wrist with both her hands, forlorn eyes steadily gazing at him. "What did I do wrong?" 
                          
"Not everything is about you, Jia. Stop being so delusional. My world doesn't revolve around you." He yanked his wrist out of her grasp harshly, making her stagger on her feet. And when he turned around to face her, there was no trace of any emotion in his eyes. 
                          
Tears welled up in her doe eyes, and she blinked rapidly, trying to contain her teardrops but failed. Fat droplets of clear salty liquid trickled down her cheeks, making her vision blurry. "Jaemin, I-"
                          
"Will you stop?" He raised his voice, his dark brown orbs narrowed, cold, rigid. "You are so irritating. Don't you have anything better to do?"
                          
His lethal gaze felt painful, tearing her heart apart with each glare. Jia watched his customary warmth evaporate, coldness enveloping him in its embrace like a protective permafrost blanket. Jaemin sighed as his focus shifted somewhere else behind her, emotionless stare replacing his anger swirled eyes. "Just let me live peacefully. Stop bothering me." With that, he turned around on his heels and steadily paced upstairs to his room. 
                          
Once the sound of the door closing reached her ears, she fell on her knees, quite sobs escaping her trembling lips. Jia wept, hot beads of tears rolling down her cheeks and onto the floor like a downpour. Her heart ached with agony, and she clutched onto the material of her shirt near her chest, whimpering in pain. 
                          
Jia slowly stood up on her feet and stumbled out of the kitchen and into the living room. With every step, her stomach tightened, and she felt a warm feeling rising through her chest. Face ashen, she clutched onto the door as if her life depended on it. Her guts felt as if they were being tightly squeezed, and she lurched out of his apartment, not looking back once. 
                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
I guess we ain't putting Jia's apartment for sale anymore. 😶