Looking at the pile of rejection letters, she felt utterly powerless. This sense of powerlessness was suffocating her. She had developed a fondness for drinking, enjoying the feeling of being numbed by alcohol. But she always drank alone in her room, not wanting the child to see her, not wanting to harm the child’s health with smoking. So she hid away, always in a state of depression.
However, that day, he pushed open her door. She had already drunk a lot, her head spinning, and she saw the little one walking unsteadily toward him.
“Mommy, Mommy, don’t cry. Tyler loves Mommy.”
He came over, speaking in a garbled manner, and then he reached out his chubby little hand to wipe her tears.
Thelma didn’t want him to see her like this; she wanted to push him away. But she forgot she was still holding a cigarette, and with her head spinning from the alcohol, her hand trembled, and the ash fell onto his arm.
By the time Thelma realized what had happened, it was too late. He had been burned and was in pain, immediately bursting into tears.
Looking at the burn on his arm, she broke down in an instant, but she was flustered and at a loss. Her heart ached as she cried out, but she didn’t know what to do.
Sam Noah heard the commotion and rushed in. Seeing the scene before him, he was startled but remained calm. He instructed Aunt Hope to take the child to the hospital while he stayed behind to comfort Thelma.
The child was carried out, and Thelma collapsed on the floor, feeling guilty and in pain. She hung her head, crying so hard she could hardly breathe.
Sam Noah squatted beside her, reaching out to comfort her, but hesitated as he extended his hand. In the end, he just patted her back and said, “It’s okay.”
It’s okay? How could it be okay? He was crying so heartbreakingly, and he was so small.
Thelma saw the cigarette b**t on the ground, still smoldering. She picked it up and jabbed it directly onto her arm. However, Sam Noah saw through her intentions and grabbed her hand just as she was about to act. The cigarette b**t ended up pressed against his chest.
He was wearing a polo shirt, thin fabric, and the cigarette burned a hole in his shirt, scorching down to his flesh.
She heard him grunt in pain, and in her anger, she suddenly pushed him away, shouting, “What are you doing?!”
“What are you doing?” he retorted.
He took off his shirt and patted the burned area, brushing off the ash that had burned into his skin.
“Sam Noah! Why are you doing this?! Why won’t you just divorce me?!” Looking at the wound on his chest, she yelled at him hoarsely, “Is this what you wanted?! Why do you keep a woman like me at home? Why?!”
Unlike her agitation and emotional breakdown, he calmly sat down by the bed, looking at the wound on his chest, and smiled lightly, not blaming her, not even treating the injury as a big deal.
“Do you understand why I am like this now?”
He walked over to her, “Thelma, I can do anything for you.”
Thelma was already in tears, stepping back slowly, shaking her head, “But I have no voice left. My beautiful singing voice is gone; you will never hear me sing again.”
“It doesn’t matter; I don’t care.”
“I’m not the kind-hearted Thelma anymore. Everything has changed; I’m no longer that lovely girl. I’ve become terrifying, really terrifying. My classmates at school are afraid of me now; no one dares to provoke me. Because if anyone offends me, even just a little, I will retaliate without mercy. I’ve become very bad, to the point where I am afraid of myself. So, Sam Noah, everything is different now. I have nothing left; I can’t go back.”
He stepped forward and held her shoulders, “I will help you get better. Trust me, okay?”
She pushed his hand away, shaking her head, “It’s useless. I’ve long drawn a line for myself; I can’t get out.”
“Thelma…” he called her softly.
“Just go out! I want to be alone and quiet. Please, go out.”
In the end, he said nothing more and turned to leave.
Thelma leaned against the wall, feeling as if all her strength had been drained, slowly sinking to the ground.
“Noah, Noah.”
She called out to him softly, but her voice sounded so terrible, really terrible.
Work still hadn’t materialized, and her submitted music scores continued to sink without a trace. But her heart gradually calmed down. After several arguments, Sam Noah still refused to agree to a divorce. Thelma began to travel, as if she were escaping from something or searching for some kind of answer.
