"Valerie, the time-travel spaceship has already left. It will reach the base of Liora Cliff at 00:00 in five days. Don’t be late."
I pulled myself into a tight embrace, finding comfort in the thought that in just five days, I could escape. I wouldn’t have to lay eyes on Rocco ever again.
The next day, Rocco took me to the mall to pick out a new phone. I couldn’t bring myself to care, ready to grab any phone at random, knowing I wouldn’t need it for much longer; after all, mobile phones were already obsolete in the future.
But he wouldn’t hear of it. Insisting on buying me the latest and most expensive model, he wouldn’t relent.
While replacing my SIM card, Rocco slipped away for a moment. When he returned, he was holding a luxury handbag, a new release worth tens of thousands.
“A colleague from my team asked me to pick up a gift for his girlfriend. Since I was already at the mall, I agreed to help,” Rocco explained with a smile. I already knew the truth but said nothing, nodding in silence.
I hadn’t wanted to visit Rocco’s family. Despite years of marriage, we had no children, and his family resented me for it. But as his wife, avoiding such a gathering would only stir up trouble with his mother. Skipping it seemed like inviting unnecessary drama.
Sure enough, as soon as we sat down, his mother, cradling a baby in her arms, began with her sharp words.
“Some people act like they own the house, yet they can’t even lay an egg. They even have their husbands claim they’re infertile; what’s their excuse?”
Rocco’s face tightened, his jaw clenched, ready to respond. But just as he opened his mouth, his phone buzzed with two new messages. Without a second thought, he unlocked it and glanced at the screen. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the message content.
The screen displayed a photo of Avery, clad in lingerie, holding a positive pregnancy test, with a message beneath it. [If you don’t come see me, I’ll get rid of it.]
In the past, whenever Rocco’s family had tormented me, he’d been the first to stand up for me, fiercely protecting me from their cruelty. But now, as his mother and sister spent the last ten minutes belittling me, Rocco didn’t utter a single word. He simply sat there, silent.
Shielding the phone from my view, Rocco stared at the message for what felt like an eternity. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were filled with apology.
“Valerie, my boss just called. He needs me to present a report at the office.”
He had no idea that I was his boss, and he hadn’t submitted a report to me in ages.
“Go ahead,” I replied, my voice calm and steady. “Work is important.”
He stood up without a word, taking the handbag with him as he left.
The moment Rocco left, his mother and sister grew even bolder, their mocking laughter filling the room.
“See? Because you can’t have children, Rocco doesn’t even care about you anymore.”
“Do us all a favor and leave. If you can’t give him what he wants, don’t waste his time. There are plenty of women now, eager to have his children now that he’s caught the eye of a big boss.”
I didn’t respond to their taunts. Instead, I emptied my glass of wine in one long sip, stood up, and offered them a faint smile.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get exactly what you want.”
They wouldn’t have to wait long; someone had already stepped into the role.
I turned and left, retreating to my home to organize the years of data I had gathered, preparing to transfer it to the organization’s database. Only four days remained.
Meanwhile, Rocco’s mother and sister, mistaking his silence for indifference, believed he was tired of me. They wasted no time in calling him, pushing for a divorce, suggesting that my lack of resistance meant I, too, wanted to end the marriage.
But Rocco’s response was nothing like they expected. His fury erupted. He pushed Avery off his lap, hastily dressed, and stormed out in a blind rage.
When he reached his mother’s house, his anger tore through it. He wrecked everything in his path, smashing furniture and belongings. The chaos reached its peak when he came close to hurting his sister’s child, only halting when his mother knelt before him, pleading for mercy.
