That fragrance felt hauntingly familiar to him.

It was the same scent Elizabeth wore that night she undressed before him, trying to seduce him. The aroma triggered his allergies just as intensely now as it did then.

Yet it remained just as intoxicating. It tempted him to abandon all restraint and surrender to desire.

His final shred of self-control made him push her away that night.

He had tried desperately to forget her tears, her sorrow, her misery from that encounter. But her perfume lingered in his memory, no matter how much time passed.

It always made his heart race uncontrollably.

And now she was wearing that same signature scent for another man.

Had she truly moved on? Was that why she felt comfortable wearing it again?

He hadn't smelled that particular fragrance on her in what felt like forever.

Ethan's lips curved into a bitter smile while tears clouded his vision.

He finished drying his hair before stepping out of the bathroom.

The living room stood empty. Elizabeth was probably tending to Nathan in the bedroom.

Nathan was drunk, and he was her boyfriend.

She had every right to be there caring for him.

Ethan stood motionless in the moderately-sized living room, feeling disoriented. He wasn't even sure if he should sit down.

How long would he be staying here?

He didn't dare ask Elizabeth. So he remained frozen in the center of the room, uncertain what to do with himself.

Elizabeth had managed to get Nathan to drink a few sips of tea. He was completely disoriented from alcohol and had been vomiting repeatedly. She tried to feed him some food to settle his stomach, but failed.

She knew what being drunk felt like.

In fact, she had gotten drunk frequently in the past, trying to forget someone and something.

She knew that after drinking, sleep usually brought relief. But sleeping on an empty stomach guaranteed feeling miserable the next morning.

Elizabeth emerged from the bedroom, planning to prepare some food for Nathan later.

When she stepped out, she found Ethan standing there looking lost and confused.

He probably felt uncomfortable in her home. Even more uncomfortable around her.

She carried the cup Nathan had drunk from to the kitchen to wash it.

Noticing Ethan still standing there, she said, "The dryer is in that room. Your clothes should be ready in about an hour. You can leave after you get them. I'm going to bed now."

She sensed that Ethan preferred not having her around.

"Sure." Ethan nodded immediately.

He genuinely didn't know how to act around her.

Now that Elizabeth had given him instructions, he felt some relief.

But to Elizabeth, his eager response simply confirmed his desire to leave quickly.

Unfortunately, she didn't have any of Nathan's warm clothes to offer him. Ethan certainly couldn't fit into her clothes, and she didn't want to lend them to him anyway.

Though Nathan occasionally gave her money and she wasn't financially strained currently, having experienced poverty made her cautious about spending. Giving Ethan her clothes would mean buying replacements, which felt like an unnecessary loss.

Elizabeth returned to her bedroom - the one she shared with Nathan.

Ethan watched the door close. No matter how much he mentally prepared himself, no matter how many times he told himself he accepted Elizabeth being with another man, seeing her intimacy with someone else shattered his heart every single time.

He walked toward the laundry room Elizabeth had indicated.

As if fleeing from painful thoughts, he stared blankly at the tumbling clothes in the dryer, commanding himself not to overthink things.

Inside the bedroom, Elizabeth found sleep impossible.

It wasn't particularly late - barely past ten o'clock, and she rarely slept this early.

Besides, she needed to care for Nathan, who felt terrible and kept vomiting from drinking too much.