Disgusted by his words, Theodore sneered and said slowly, "I heard that we're in need of workers in the western area. You should go over there and help out tomorrow."

With that, he hung up the phone.

Feeling more irritated now, he took a sip of coffee. He started dialing Ariana's number but stopped himself after typing two digits.

She should be the one to come to him.

Theodore checked the time. It was nine pm. She should be in the hotel by now. Normally, while a wife was away on a long trip, she should call and let her husband know her schedule.

He decided to wait.

*

In a hotel in Ivebridge, Ariana lay on the bed, texting Josh asking to see the promo video before it was released.

But he didn't reply.

She wasn't sure if he just hadn't seen the message or if he wasn't replying on purpose.

Irritated, she told Betsy about it, who reassured her, "The first show has just been recorded. They're probably still editing it. He will reply tomorrow."

This eased Ariana's mind just enough to try and get to sleep.

She lay back and closed her eyes.

But as soon as she did, the image of Theodore's face popped into her mind.

This had happened for the past few nights.

She looked at her phone, but there was still no message. It was hard not to feel a little disappointed.

It felt like he didn't care at all about her leaving.

But, she supposed, it made sense. They were just nominal husband and wife after all.

She replaced her phone on the bedside table, and pulled the quilt over her head, willing herself to fall asleep.

From then until Friday there was not a peep from Josh. He didn't even answer the phone.