Staring at his lock screen which had a photo of his small family, Jie couldn’t help thinking. He had dropped the twins to school and on his way to the office, chose to take a detour. Now, his car was parked right outside the Xu Family House but he hadn’t gone inside.

  They say,

  He didn’t want a goodbye to become the solution for his family. It would not only be painful for him or Xu Mey, but it would also break their kids as well. He had to think through this carefully and calmly. Being hasty was not gonna help anyone.

  Taking a deep breath, he dialed Xu Mey’s number and waited.

  Inside the Xu Family House……

  "Young miss, your cell phone is ringing," the maid informed Xu Mey who was busy in the kitchen.

  Xu Mey took the phone from her and looked at the caller id. Seeing that it was Jie, she smirked slightly but didn’t take the call. According to her since he was the one calling first, it meant he realized that he was in the wrong. So, he could wait a bit longer since she was hurt by his words.

  She served the porridge into the bowl and poured the soy milk in a glass before taking out of the kitchen. As she placed the healthy breakfast before Azalea, her cell phone in the apron rang again. She didn’t take the call and instead started talking to Azalea, "Take care of your diet these days. Your weight is really not ideal."

  "I’ll get fat if you kept feeding me so much, Sister Mey."

  "Good, if you’ll be fat then my niece or nephew will also be fat."

  Azalea sighed out in defeat and heard Xu Mey’s phone ringing. "Why aren’t you taking the call? It must be important?"

  Xu Mey smiled at her softly and nodded before she went to her bedroom with her phone against her ear, "Hello!"

  "Are you avoiding my calls as well?" Jie’s voice sounded taut. "Isn’t it enough to leave without a word that you’re now avoiding my calls?"

  "Didn’t you say that I’m the reason why our family is crumbling down? So, I just decided to give ourselves a break." She was speaking unhappily.

  "So, instead of trying to mend the cracks that had formed in our relationship, you ran away?" Xu Mey was stunned by his words. "You know when do we start running? Either when we know we’re wrong or when we don’t want to fix anything. You tell me, which one is it for you?"

  "Ah-Jie!" Xu Mey spoke harshly. "It might be wrong of me to chide Juan like that but you can’t say that I’m neglecting my kids." She took a brief pause before adding, "Have you thought that you could also be in the wrong? Like how could you raise your voice at me like that? You know how much I hate it when someone does that and yet you spoke so rudely to me."

  "You’re not neglecting the kids? Your argument was with me, right? Then why did you choose to leave the house? I’m not the only one who lives in that house. Our kids are there as well who asked me in the morning where their mother is and I had no answer for them."

  Before Xu Mey could open her mouth to argue, he went on, "This is not the first time you’re trying to run away from me. You did it last time when we were in an accident as well. Instead of waiting for me, you decided all on your own to leave me. Is that what you’re doing again?" Xu Mey felt at a loss for words. "You know me very well. No matter how upset I am, I’ll eventually comes back to you. But you couldn’t wait. Why is it that difficult for you to wait for me? If you don’t have the courage to face the truth, at least have the patience to wait!"

  "Ah-Jie, you know that’s wrong. I can face everything but not your accusations. Do you know how much your words hurt me? Do you know how painful it is? You telling me that I am not being a perfect mother?"

  "There is no perfect mother, Xu Mey!" Jie replied back in a level tone. "I don’t want you to be perfect. I just want you to be there for our kids when they need you. I just want you to be you. I want my baby back. The one I fell in love with."

  "I’m always there for them," she argued sounded harsh.

  "Oh, then where are you now? They needed you this morning, where were you?"

  "I……" Xu Mey couldn’t defend herself.

  "I’m not gonna preach you about parenting when you still don’t have a clue what is wrong between our marriage!" Jie really didn’t want to start another argument. He knew he was lacking as well. Maybe more than her. But they never even sat together to bridge those lacking or find a solution. "I think we both should take this time to understand what exactly is wrong between us. Because unless we figure it out, this marriage is not gonna work."

  "It has been working perfectly fine for years, Ah-Jie! I thought we love each other. Why do you have to keep insisting that something is wrong between us?" She still hadn’t come to the realization that something was indeed wrong between them. "Is it because your love for me is fading out now?"

  Jie scoffed at her words, "My love for you is still the same. But I need to grow out of the fantasies now that love is all I need in life. Because it’s not. I need a wife. A wife whose time is mine. Who understands me. And who is willing to hear me out."

  "Do you think I don’t have time for you? For whom am I working so much? I try every day to be a good daughter-in-law to your parents. A good sister-in-law to your siblings. And a good mistress to your family clan."

  Jie dropped his head on the steering wheel as he replied in a soft voice, "Where is the time for me then? When are you trying to be my wife? Because all the things that you stated are completely useless to me. Neither I nor my parents asked you to take those responsibilities, you did it yourself. I need my baby back. I don’t need this woman who is obsessed with being perfect for everyone!"

  He really was tired of explaining it to her now that he didn’t want her to be a perfect example of whatever she was trying to be. He fell in love with her. Just the way she was. Why was she trying to change now? And the change that brought distance between them? He really didn’t need it!