Chapter 82 Frayed Nerves

• The sky gathered ominous clouds, casting a darkness deeper than any interior. Murkiness and emptiness stretched across the heavens. Her face caught the glow of a yellow lamp positioned beside the sofa where we sat together. As her hand caressed my back, concern and love flickered across her expression, or so I believed.
• "I think it's time for me to leave," I murmured uncertainly, torn between departing in the face of the worsening weather, with its ominous black raindrops staining everything they touched, and staying a while longer in her comforting presence.
• "You ought to consider my advice," she insisted, her tone carrying a compelling force that urged me to stay despite my stubborn resolve to leave.