I refuse to divorce

Back in her room, she wrapped her arms around herself silently, unable to stop the tears from flowing again. Only in this room could she cry uncontrollably, because Joshua never came here, never even looked at this room.

In fact, over the past three years, she could feel Joshua's growing indifference towards her, but she stubbornly thought that as long as she stayed by his side, one day it would be as good as it had been in the beginning. But the divorce agreement that night seemed to have broken her last line of defense.

She was truly on the verge of not being able to take it anymore.

Astrid sat quietly through the night until a ray of sunlight crept into the house early in the morning. The sunlight during winter was still blinding, and Astrid realized that her breath seemed a little warm, but now she couldn't care less. She hurriedly glanced at the clock; it was already 6:30 a.m. In ten minutes, Joshua would be getting up. If she didn't hurry up and make breakfast, Joshua would get angry.

She got up reluctantly, her head feeling a little dizzy. Astrid didn't bother about this; she would go and get some rest after cooking.

The moment she pushed open the door, she felt her body go light, and the next moment, it was darkness.

In her dream, Joshua left without looking back. Astrid desperately tried to catch up with him, but it was as if Joshua didn't see her. Walking further and further away, she shouted Joshua's name repeatedly, but in the distance, it was as if he couldn't hear her.

"Joshua!" Astrid struggled to open her eyes, gasping slightly, her heart beating nonstop.

And suddenly Joshua's familiar, pleasant voice rang in her ears. "Since you're awake, I should go to work." After saying that, he was ready to leave, but suddenly, his arm was grabbed by a soft hand.

When she looked at Joshua again, Astrid almost screamed again. That's good, it was really great. Joshua was still there. It's good. It's so good. She could still feel Joshua's warmth in her small hand. The dream she had just had made her think that Joshua had disappeared from her world forever, and seeing Joshua again made Astrid's happiness overflow.

"Please don't go, stay with me for a while, okay?" Astrid's two clear eyes looked expectantly at Joshua, still a little sleepy from the fact that she had just woken up, she looked like a little kitten.

In fact, Astrid didn't have much hope of getting an affirmation, but if Joshua promised her, she would feel more at ease.

Seeing Astrid ask for things in such a way, Joshua felt a certain tolerance toward her. Perhaps because he had despised her for so long, he felt a certain guilt in his heart.

He sighed and said, "When you finish drinking the medicine, I'll leave."

Astrid's heart was thrilled, but it didn't last long.

Joshua's phone rang. It was a message, and as he read it, Joshua's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Looking at Joshua, Astrid had a bad feeling. "Joshua?" she called out.

As if he hadn't heard her, Joshua walked to the door to leave Astrid's room, his voice turning cold again. "Something has happened at the company. I won't be accompanying you. The medicine is next to you. Remember to take it. You should get some more sleep."

"Joshua?" Astrid called out quickly. He stopped before leaving the room, but did not turn to look at her, only waiting silently. The room was dark, and Astrid could only see his silhouette. This scene was so similar to her nightmares. "You'll come back, right?" Like a plea, Astrid clutched the corner of the blanket tightly, forcing herself to contain the tremors and fears in her body as she asked Joshua.

She felt the air around her gradually heating up so much that she could faint, but this was not the time. Astrid was waiting for Joshua's answer before she could do so; otherwise, she would not even be able to think clearly.

"Of course," came the answer without hesitation. With a click followed by soft footsteps, the door closed, leaving only the sound of the clock in the room.

After Joshua's answer, Astrid let out a sigh of relief, her body gradually relaxing as well. The temperature around her slowly dropped; there was neither cold nor heat in the air.

Was there any chance that Joshua cared about her a little? If nothing had happened at the company, would he have stayed with her a little longer? Normally, when she begged him, he would just give her a cold look and then turn away, but today he hadn't left as usual.

Perhaps, if he held out a little longer, he would gradually fall in love with her. The time would come when he would notice her. Astrid got up slowly and with great difficulty. Joshua had told her to take her medicine. He was looking after her, so she had to be obedient and drink the medicine so that when Joshua returned, she would be healthy.

The medicine touched her lips and tongue, slowly sliding down her throat. It was extremely bitter, so bitter that her eyes turned red. She had hated taking medicine since she was a child, especially medicine that was so bitter.

In the past, it was her mother who coaxed her into taking the medicine, waiting patiently for her to finish before putting a piece of candy in her mouth and gently stroking her back as she cried.

Since she married Joshua, she had never cried again while taking medicine because Joshua had said that an adult should not be bothered by the bitterness of medicine and should drink it easily.

So whenever she got sick, she pretended that nothing was wrong and drank the bitter medicine, hoping that Joshua would notice and approve.

But Joshua never said a word. He never even took the initiative to give her the medicine, nor did he ever see her drink it. So she kept all the bitterness of these three long years to herself.

After drinking the medicine, Astrid wiped her mouth. She had endured it well and wondered if her mother would be happy to see her so strong now.

Speaking of her mother, Astrid thought again about intensive care. How long had it been since she visited her? When she recovers this time, she must take Joshua with her. The last time she told her mother that next time she would take him with her to visit.

Three years had passed, and she never woke up, only the sound of dripping instruments showing that she was still alive. If it weren't for that accident, wouldn't that be the case? But... if it weren't for that accident, wouldn't she and Joshua have met?

Thinking about that made Astrid's heart ache. She didn't want this, she didn't want that, but she also didn't want her mother to become like this.

If her mother could wake up, she would have no more wishes. Even if Joshua never fell in love with her in this life, if she could remain quietly by his side, that would be fine, she would be satisfied.