“I mean, you’re Nora’s superhero, Nora’s… just for her.”
For some reason, saying this gave me a secret sense of satisfaction.
The day I was discharged from the hospital, Ezra naturally took me to his home.
“Isn’t Nora going back to her own home?” I was puzzled.
“Yes, this is our home. Doesn’t Nora want to be with me?”
Ezra looked a bit downcast.
“No! I do! It’s just that…”
Before I could finish, Ezra took my hand.
“If you want to, you can. Whatever Nora wants, she can do. As for everything else, this superhero will handle it.”
Ezra spoke with confidence.
Living at Ezra’s place was truly comfortable; I slept more and often had strange dreams. Ezra got busier not long after my discharge. Even though he worked from home, he was always typing on the computer or reading documents.
Bored sitting next to him, I randomly flipped through things on his desk.
“What’s this?” A beautifully packaged envelope caught my eye.
“An invitation to a party. Does Nora want to go?” Ezra put down his work and squeezed my hand.
“Can I?” I was overjoyed.
“Of course.”
The party was indeed luxurious and dazzling. As soon as Ezra took me in, people swarmed around us, and I got a little scared.
I squeezed his hand and whispered, “I want to explore on my own.”
Ezra realized that his presence was stopping me from enjoying myself, so he reluctantly said, “Okay, I’ll be right here. Come find me anytime.”
I wandered around the party hall alone. Everything was novel at first, but soon I got bored.
The desserts weren’t as good as Ezra’s, the games were ones we had played, and small groups were just flattering each other, which was extremely dull.
I escaped to the garden, eating cake on a swing and lost in thought.
“Nora?! Is that you, Nora?”
I heard someone call my name and instinctively looked up.
It took me a while to match the name with the face.
Griffint
D
8:47 AM
<
No wonder I didn’t recognize him; Griffin now looked unkempt, with panda–like eyes and reeking of alcohol.
I was so scared that I dropped the cake, and once I realized, I ran towards the party hall.
But Griffin grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, “Nora, come home with me!”
A wave of fear washed over me; I staggered, unable to break free.
Just as I was about to fall, a pair of gentle yet strong hands supported me, forcing Griffin to release me and shielding me behind him.
“Ezra!” It was like seeing my savior; my voice involuntarily rose.
“Griffin, this is your Aunt, please show some respect.”
“Nora is my wife! Uncle, isn’t it wrong to steal your nephew’s woman?”
Griffin’s face was dark, making him look even scarier.
So I gathered the courage to stand in front of Ezra.
“Gr–Griffin! I am your Aunt, please show some respect!”
Griffin looked at me in disbelief, eyes full of sorrow.
“Nora, did Ezra threaten you?! It’s okay, we won’t fear him. Come, Nora, I’ll protect you, alright? Nora…”
“Griffin, you’re the one who’s been bullying me.”
Tears fell uncontrollably as I cried, accusing him.
“Nora, I’m sorry, I really didn’t know Cora Johnson was lying to me all along. I didn’t know it was you who saved me back then. If I had known, I wouldn’t have…”
Before Griffin could finish, Ezra punched him in the face.
The two quickly started fighting.
I was so scared that I froze, momentarily forgetting even to cry.
“N–no… stop! Don’t fight! Boohoo…”
After a while, I finally broke down crying.
They stopped fighting.
“Nora, I’m sorry, did I scare you? I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Ezra held me, soothing me.
“Does it hurt?” I touched the wound on his face.
Ezra shook his head, “If Nora blows on it, it won’t hurt.”
Griffin suddenly yanked me from Ezra’s arms, holding my shoulder so tightly I couldn’t move.
“Uncle seems to have forgotten, Nora is still my wife.”
“We’re not divorced yet.”
Griffin took me away without a word, and as Ezra tried to follow, he was stopped by his own men who had come because of the commotion.
Once in the car, I curled up in a corner, crying helplessly.
Griffin placed a hand on my face, and I instinctively shrank back.
He helplessly wiped away my tears, muttering, “Why are you so silly, crying so much?”
8:47 AM
<
I glared at him with red eyes.
“Nora, I’ll take good care of you.”
“You have to give me a chance to atone.”
I turned my head away, ignoring him.
No one apologizes by kidnapping.
Griffin took me to his house and kept talking about things we used to do together.
“Here, you made me my first meal, sweet and sour ribs.”
“This sofa, we watched our first movie snuggled in it.”
“This photo, we took it on our first trip together.”
