She Slept Soundly in His Noise

My wife, Jenna Wilkinson, has severe insomnia. She can't sleep if there's even the slightest noise. So after six years of marriage, I've gotten used to living quietly. Once it's past 9:00 pm, I don't turn on the TV, make phone calls, or even eat. I even tiptoe everywhere around the house. Whenever I watch her sleep peacefully, I always feel like all of it is worth it. That is, until one day, when I go to her office to drop off some documents and find the door slightly ajar. Her secretary, Derek Herman, is sitting cross-legged on the carpet, eating chips while a variety show plays at full volume. As for Jenna, she is asleep on the couch. When Derek tries to turn down the volume, Jenna runs her fingers through his hair with her eyes closed, saying, "Don't turn it down. I actually sleep better with a little noise." Standing outside the door, I think back to the terrible cold I had last month. I was so afraid my coughing would wake her that I buried my face in my pillow to muffle my coughs all night. The next morning, she frowned at me. "Lance, you were breathing so loudly last night that I couldn't sleep a wink. Be more careful next time." As the crunching of chips blended with Jenna's steady breathing, I slowly backed away. It turns out she never needed silence to sleep. She simply needs someone, and that someone isn't me. From then on, I never disturbed her sleep again. Chapter 1 Lance's POV After I left, I sat in the parking lot until 5:00 pm. That was when a message popped up on my phone. "Why haven't you delivered the proposal yet? Is this really all the effort you're putting into your work? The project's on hold for now. We'll talk again once you start taking your job seriously." By our sixth year of marriage, Jenna Wilkinson had become downright cold and heartless toward me. I'd had to fight twice as hard as anyone else in my pitch just to land the Wilkinson Group's cosmetic project. After we started working together, she'd slash the budget at the slightest mistake. And now, she'd gone and put the whole project on hold. She claimed she was just being professional and that being married didn't mean she could lower her standards. But that morning, her secretary, Derek Herman, posted something on his social media. Jenna was dressed in a white button-down and black skirt, her sleeves rolled up to her forearms as she placed bags of chips on the shelf. Her striking profile looked soft in the light, and she had a faint smile on her face. The caption read, "Ms. Wilkinson is personally restocking snacks for me and says eating and drinking is basically my job!" The moment I saw the post, my heart clenched. Jenna rarely smiled. Even back in college, she was famous for her icy expression, top grades, and absolute impartiality. But when it came to me, she was always gentle. Even after all this time, photos of her burning the midnight oil to help me with my thesis and videos of her sweet-talking me into eating broccoli were still going around the school forum. At some point, though, I'd stopped being the one she treated that way. My phone buzzed. It was another message from Jenna. "Something came up, so I'm staying late." Before I could even reply, I saw them. Derek was walking backward, laughing as he clapped, while Jenna was strolling along behind him. She had her eyes on him, her lips curling into the faintest smile. It took me a while to finally lower my head. I wasn't the one who could make her smile anymore. At 11:00 pm that night, I was still awake when Jenna came home. A variety show was playing on the TV, and the loud laughter made her brows furrow. "Lance, it's way too loud." Instead of answering, I grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into my mouth. Her brow furrowed even more. "The project was put on hold because you didn't deliver the proposal on time. You don't need to sulk at me over this." I looked up at her. "You made us revise the draft eight times. It wouldn't have made a difference whether I submitted it today or not." "This is my company's project. There's nothing wrong with me asking the other party to make revisions." "Asking for revisions is normal. But making me revise every draft without even looking at it first isn't." Jenna's face went dark. The noise from the TV and the crunching of the chips made her go rigid. "Lance, turn off the TV. And you're leaving crumbs all over the carpet by eating chips there." I crushed the chips in my fist. I could still picture Derek from earlier that day, sitting on the carpet, munching on chips as he watched a variety show. The same hand that had touched his hair now grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. The living room fell silent in an instant. She turned to head back to the bedroom, but the faint crunch of her shoe stepping on the chip crumbs made her stop. The next second, she turned around and walked straight back out. "It's too noisy here. I'm sleeping at the office tonight." Chapter 2 Lance's POV Jenna left rather quickly, opening and closing the door in one smooth motion. My reflection stared back at me on the black TV screen. Without a word, I dumped the rest of the chips into the trash. Past midnight, Derek made another post. "Ms. Wilkinson brought me to a karaoke bar, but is my singing really so bad it puts people to sleep?" The lighting in the video was dim, and Derek was singing directly into the camera. His voice came through the mic at full volume, startling me so badly that I quickly muted the video. Then the camera turned around, showing Jenna asleep on the couch. At home, she wouldn't even let me move her pillow, not even by a fraction of an inch. If even the tiniest little thing was changed, she wouldn't be able to sleep. But she was now sleeping just fine with her head resting on her arm and one leg dangling onto the floor in a loud karaoke bar. No matter how loudly Derek sang, she slept like a baby. So it wasn't that she couldn't stand the noise. She just couldn't stand hearing me. I wanted to laugh bitterly, but after six years of being conditioned to be quiet, I couldn't even make a sound. I lay awake the entire night. At dawn, I called a home services company to rip out all the carpet in the house. The guy asked, surprised, "Didn't you say your wife has severe insomnia, and that carpeting would help reduce the noise?" "Oh, we're getting divorced. Whether she can sleep or not has nothing to do with me anymore." That evening, Jenna had barely set foot inside when she stopped. "Where's the carpet?" "I had people remove it." She hummed in response as she walked in. "Get a thicker one, then. The old carpet was too thin, and I was able to hear every step." While I was working in the living room, I didn't even look up as I said, "I'm not going to have carpet installed anymore." Jenna's face twitched slightly. As she untied her scarf, she noticed the automotive project proposal on my laptop. When she finally spoke, there was clear irritation in her voice. "This is still about the partnership, huh? I already told you that I have to do what's best for the company because this concerns the marketing campaign for our new cosmetic brand." I nodded. "I get it, which is why I've decided to end the partnership and look for another project. After all, I have to do what's best for my company too. I can't keep wasting time on a project that's never going to work." Jenna pressed her lips into a thin line, her expression darkening. "Lance, this is work, not some childish game. You can't just end our partnership because you feel like it." I stared at her face, remembering the short videos Derek had posted that afternoon. "My absolute angel of a boss is cutting up fruit and getting coffee for me during work hours. And the second I mention a show I want to watch, she buys me a membership on the spot. She even sneaks me a handful of candy during meetings. Is Ms. Wilkinson treating me like her child or something?" The comments underneath were full of envy. "Don't they say you're supposed to spoil the person you love like a kid? Your boss seems pretty good at it." My throat suddenly tightened, so I lowered my head and swallowed hard. "Ms. Wilkinson, aren't you the one playing childish games? We've been pushing this project forward for six months, and you just put it on hold without a second thought." Jenna's collar was already a rumpled mess from her tugging. She turned her face away, no longer looking at me. "Lance, we're all adults, so act like one. After looking over your proposal, I think that the first draft is good enough, so come to the office tomorrow for a meeting." With that, she turned on her heel. "Your footsteps are too loud without the carpet. I'm going to stay at the office for the next few days. I'll come back once you've laid down something thicker." I hadn't even managed to stand up before she left again. The next day, I brought my team to the meeting. To show that she was being fair and impartial, Jenna didn't say a word throughout the meeting and didn't take part in the vote. Half an hour later, the first draft passed unanimously. My employees were so excited that they insisted we all go out for a celebratory dinner, and I got dragged along. In the private room, Jenna had Derek seated right beside her. Someone came over with a drink to toast them, but as soon as Derek picked up his glass, Jenna stopped him. "He can't drink." Derek blushed and slipped behind her with a smile. A Wilkinson Group employee beside me teased, "Ever since Derek came along, Ms. Wilkinson has really changed." Chapter 3 Lance's POV "Ms. Wilkinson used to be like the Grim Reaper. Anyone who laid eyes on her would start shaking. Now she finally seems a little more human." Jenna didn't respond, nor did she refute it. She had the waiter bring over some plain water, poured Derek a glass, and handed it to him. "You have a weak stomach, so don't drink anything cold. Have some warm water instead." During last year's Christmas celebrations, when her mother kept forcing me to drink at the dinner table, I had a stomach flare-up too. The pain got so bad afterward that I had to get a painkiller injection, and while I was out of it, I complained to her about it. But all she gave me was one icy look and said, "If you neglect your own health, that's on you." I clenched my fingers tightly beneath the table, the pain in my chest almost too much to bear. After all the commotion, Derek suddenly came over. He flashed a bright smile. "Mr. Keller, I'm Ms. Wilkinson's secretary, Derek. I'd like to offer you a toast." With that, he poured me a glass of liquor while holding his own cup of warm water. I shook my head. "Sorry, but I can't drink." Derek's smile froze. Jenna had been watching us the whole time. She spoke quietly. "Lance, don't embarrass Derek." As I looked at her, I caught a hint of warning in her eyes. With my nails digging into my palm, I asked quietly, "Did you forget? The doctor said no alcohol while we're trying for a baby." In an instant, the entire private room fell deathly silent. Derek really did have captivating eyes. They sparkled when he smiled and turned all red and glassy when he was upset. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Keller. I-I didn't know you and Ms. Wilkinson were… I'll drink this myself! Consider it my apology!" He picked up the glass of liquor, looking utterly aggrieved as he prepared to down it. I raised a hand to stop him, nodding toward Jenna. "Ms. Wilkinson's already drunk a dozen shots for you. Don't make it all for nothing." Derek's eyes welled up even more. Jenna frowned as she hurried over to him. With a soft voice, she said, "Didn't I say you don't have to drink? Put it down. It's cold." Everyone in the room stayed silent. They looked at her, then at me, and finally at Derek, who was so upset that he could barely catch his breath. I honestly couldn't figure out why he looked so wronged. I was the one who should've been the one upset. Just as Jenna's fingers were about to land on his shoulder, he suddenly rubbed his eyes and bolted for the door. Jenna shot me a glance before going after him. And just like that, what was supposed to be a nice dinner ended in sheer awkwardness. As I quietly went to pay the bill, I overheard the Wilkinson Group employees whispering to each other. "Are Ms. Wilkinson and Mr. Keller really married? Then why does Ms. Wilkinson keep blocking the partnership and rejecting draft after draft?" "I heard it's an arranged marriage. Nobody falls in love in those. Ms. Wilkinson's clearly got a thing for Derek." On the drive home, I kept thinking about the four years we were together. She was the one who pursued me, but I was also the one who spent those four years protecting her. After we graduated from college, we broke up for a year because our parents disapproved of our relationship. Then a year later, she was the one who came looking for me and proposed, throwing caution to the wind. If that wasn't marrying for love, then what was? At 11:00 pm, Jenna came home. The sound of her footsteps echoed loudly through the house, and her voice was icy. "You shouldn't have said what you said. Now everyone's gossiping about Derek and me. "It's having a huge impact on the company, and Derek's been upset all night. Tomorrow, make a statement clarifying things. Just say you misspoke." I'd been waiting for her to come home so I could talk to her about the divorce. I never expected the first thing she would do when she walked through the door was start pointing fingers. I lifted my head. "Jenna, are you really that ashamed of having me as your husband? "I'm talking about what you said about making a clarification. " She said. "What exactly am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to say we're not married? Or should I say what we have is just a business arrangement?" She was getting impatient. "I'm being serious here." I stared right back at her. "So am I, Jenna." After a beat, I asked, "Do you even love me?" Her brow creased, and for a split second, her eyes darted away. "You need to calm down." "I am calm. I just don't understand. You can't even stand the sound of me breathing, but you can sleep through anything Derek does. Did you ever actually see me as your husband?" Chapter 4 Lance's POV I tried my hardest to keep my voice even as I spoke. Suddenly, Jenna locked eyes with me. Her every word was charged with an inexplicable hatred. "Don't you have insomnia too? You slept just fine in Leah Branch's bed. But when you're with me, you can't sleep. Lance, you've never loved me. So what gives you the right to demand I treat you as my husband?" My temples started to throb. Leah Branch was the woman my family had set me up with after we broke up. To keep both sets of parents off our backs, we dated for about a month, then called it off once it became clear we weren't right for each other. The moment we ended it, Jenna started pursuing me again. She didn't care whether either family approved. She was just determined to marry me. I didn't want a single misunderstanding between us, so I'd told her everything about Leah ages ago. "Jenna, you said you didn't mind my past relationship. And Leah and I never even—" "There is no woman alive who wouldn't mind." Jenna's voice was ice-cold as she cut me off before I could even finish. "I'll be honest with you. The thought of you having slept with another woman makes me feel so disgusted that I can't sleep. "It's just like how you clearly didn't love me, yet you still married me anyway, and now you have to take sleeping pills every day because of it." She pointed toward my drawer, where I kept my sleeping pills. I didn't think she knew about them. Every time I took one, I moved as quietly as a mouse, terrified of disturbing her. And after all these years, the reason she couldn't sleep next to me turned out to be that she found me disgusting. It made everything I'd done for her, including going against my family, giving up half my inheritance, and leaving to start my own company, seem like a joke. The room stayed silent for a long while until Jenna's phone suddenly rang. When she answered, her voice instantly softened. "You're still awake? Don't be sad. I'll be there in a bit. Yeah, I'll bring you something good to eat." As she hung up, the air around her seemed to turn icy again. "If you want the project to go smoothly, you'll clear things up tomorrow. Say we're nothing but business partners. Derek's young and sensitive. I don't want him to be upset." I lowered my head, took out the divorce papers, and held them out to her. But without even glancing at them, she instinctively stepped back. That was how much she hated me. She was so disgusted by me that she didn't even want her fingers to touch mine. "Once things settle down, we'll move somewhere with better soundproofing and put thick carpeting throughout the house. "I don't want to talk about the past anymore, Lance. Both families have more or less accepted our marriage now, so let's just spend the rest of our lives together." With that, she headed for the door. I didn't say a word, simply watching her walk out of our home. I'd watched her walk away so many times over the past few days that I'd lost count. Back when we were dating, she couldn't even bear to be the one to hang up first. After every date, she would insist on watching me walk into my dorm before leaving. Now, because of Derek, all that was left between us was a business relationship. I stood silently in the living room for a long time. Later, my assistant, Paige Greene, called to ask about the cosmetic project. "Mr. Keller, we've been working on this project for six months. Are we really terminating it?" "Yes. Start the termination process." I left the divorce papers on the table and went back to the bedroom to grab the suitcase I'd already packed. "But you said you had high hopes for Wilkinson Group's new cosmetic brand. You said it was a brand Ms. Wilkinson had been working on back when the two of you were dating…" Paige was the only person who knew about our relationship. She let out a long, regretful sigh. As I wheeled my suitcase toward the door, my every step echoed through the house. After six years of marriage, I could finally walk normally without worrying about making a sound. "Back then, she named that brand 'Iridescent.'" Paige's breath caught—because the brand we were currently working on was called "Novara". After hanging up, I stepped into the elevator without looking back. "Jenna, from now on, I won't disgust you anymore, nor will I disturb your rest anymore. I hope you get a good night's sleep."