I suddenly flung off the quilt and rushed into the kitchen barefoot!

It felt almost surreal—this was probably the first time I’d stepped into this place in years.

The kitchen gleamed spotlessly, so polished that it reflected my pale face and the astonishment frozen on it.

“Jim, tell me clearly—what do you mean by this?”

Jim merely turned his head and gave me an indifferent glance, his eyes clouded with a kind of heavy, unspeakable gloom. He put down the dishes in his hand, didn’t say a word, and simply scooped me up sideways, carrying me out of the kitchen.

“Put me down! Get your filthy hands off me!”

At...