That afternoon, after finishing an exam, Ondine checked her phone and saw a message from Seth.[The hospital transfer has been arranged.] Read complete version only at Find[ɴ]ovel.netBelow the text were two photos of her mother in a bed at Lustrous Medical Center, surrounded by doctors and nurses. The room was private, well-furnished, and looked like a VIP suite.He had spent so much money on her again.Ondine felt a pang of guilt. It was too much trouble for him. Although they were legally married now, they were still practically strangers. She was just helping him deal with family pressure, while she was the one reaping all the benefits. No matter how she looked at it, Seth was getting a bad deal.Ondine typed her reply: [Thank you, Seth.]He didn't respond immediately; he was probably busy.She slung her bag over her shoulder and started walking.Ellis caught up to her. "Ondine, wait for me."She didn't slow down."Ondine, let's have dinner together tonight," he said, falling into step beside her.Her voice was cool. "I already made plans with my roommates. We're getting takeout and eating in our dorm."Ellis sounded disappointed. "You've been so cold to me these past few days. Are you tired of me?""No," she said. "I've just been busy with exams.""Let's take some more photos together later," he suggested."I don't have time. I need to get back to the dorm, eat, and study for tomorrow's exam."noveldrama"It'll only take a few minutes. It won't mess up your study schedule."Before she could react, herabbed her wrist. "I'm not letting you go untilwe take a picture." fo Ondine stopped and looked up at him. "Didn't we already take a lot of pictures?"Ellis looked guilty, his eyes darting away. "Those were from before," he stammered. "This is different."After two years with him, Ondine could tell he was lying in a second. She guessed that their old photos were gone. Chantal had sent those taunting messages from his phone; someone that possessive would never have tolerated those pictures. They were likely deleted, along with any trace of Chantal's messages. They had taken hundreds of photos together over two years, memories of moments that had felt sweet and romantic at the time.Ondine met his gaze. The unconcealed sadness and frustration in his eyes were palpable, his brow furrowed with worry.She wanted to ask him, "Weren't you just playing around? Why would you be sad about some deleted photos?"But in the end, she said nothing.She was Seth's wife now. Asking was pointless. In a few days, after her exams,she would be leaving Riverdale for good.She looked at him for a momentlonger before averting her gaze. don't want to. I'm not in I'm not in a goodmood. I couldn't answer afewЯetquestions on the exam I just took."Ellis was in a different department, so he had no idea how difficult her exam had been. He just looked down, dejected. "Okay, then. Maybe next time.""Sure."He followed her to the cafeteria and then all the way to the entrance of the women's dormitory."Ondine," he said, his voice hesitant. “Can you kiss me? It's been so long."