He swiftly folded the blanket and placed it neatly on the wooden sofa.
Ten minutes later, Lucinda stirred awake.
She gathered her hair to one side and combed through it elegantly as she strolled out of the room.
Immediately, she found Nathan outside, perched on a stool and smoking again.
It appeared to be his third cigarette.
His craving was unmistakable.
Lucinda concealed the emotion in her eyes, set the comb aside, and made her way to wash up.
Moments later, having finished washing her face without applying makeup, Lucinda emerged looking naturally beautiful and radiant.
She exited the bathroom, her gaze accidentally falling upon the man by the door clad in his black military coat.
Nathan was there, a freshly lit cigarette in his hand.
She wondered how he had started a new cigarette in such a short time.
Did he no longer care about his health?
As Lucinda looked his way, Nathan slowly turned to face her, their eyes locking briefly.
After a fleeting two-second exchange, he averted his gaze with a look of dejection and continued smoking, a trace of hopelessness evident.
Lucinda quickly approached him with a furrowed brow, reaching for the cigarette.
âStop smoking.â
He sidestepped, wary of her coming too close to the lit end.
But his expression was defiant, a stark contrast to his sorrowful demeanor the previous night.
âThe only person who has the right to direct me is my wife.
And since youâve made it clear youâre not my wife, you donât have that right.â
Lucindaâs expression turned icy.
Suppressing her anger, she retorted, âI may not be your wife, but that doesnât give you the right to smoke around me.â
With that, she snatched the cigarette from his grasp, tossed it to the ground, and crushed it under her shoe.
âHilda and I donât smoke.
If you insist on smoking, youâre forcing us to inhale it.â
Lucinda was visibly upset, her expression one of sheer disdain for cigarettes.
Yet, she showed no concern for him about the health risks associated with smoking.
Nathanâs complexion grew pale as he swallowed his discomfort.
He averted his gaze from Lucindaâs furious stare and managed a lazy smile.
âAlright, my bad.
Iâll go outside the yard to smoke,â he said stubbornly.
Slipping the cigarette pack back into his pocket, Nathan rose to leave.