Since I got pregnant, my husband's coworkers often teased me about turning ugly. I was rarely invited to go anywhere. That's also why I wasn't invited on the night of my husband's own birthday party. While they were having fun, a message from a strange number came to me.
[What a match. Orland and his true love, Emma. Celebrating Orland's birthday party at Emma's villa.]
It turned out that my husband had gone to the party to have an affair with his old love who looked innocent and sweet. I barged in to ask Orland for an explanation, but he just looked at me surprised and disgusted with his own wife.
"Get out of here, you're making me faceless in front of my coworkers!"
Orland told his half-brother to throw me out, but Emma secretly told him to make me miscarry. Orland never came home, busy taking care of Emma.
When my husband returned home, his face was pale at the sight of my flat stomach. There was no more of our baby that he expected.
***
That cold night, I saw Orland coming out of the bathroom in a fairly neat suit. He was handsome as always, only this time he smelled better. I thought he was going to take me out for a walk on his birthday. I stood up with difficulty with my growing belly every day.
"Happy birthday, Babe!"
My smile faded as my hand was easily swatted away by my husband. But I didn't give up. I love him so much.
"I have a gift for you-"
Orland cut me off. "No need. I'll get more from my friends at the party."
"What party?" My forehead wrinkled with a broken heart. "You... didn't invite me?"
Orland just gave me a flat look. "Take good care of the baby."
I was finally left alone in our room. I sighed. It happened again. My eyes fell on my stomach, then smiled bitterly.
"Orland was right, your father was right. I have to take care of you."
I understood and quickly composed myself.
Sitting bored for an hour, I suddenly got a message from an unfamiliar number that made my eyes bulge, my chest churning.
"She's... back?"
Emma Harlett. The beautiful model I knew as my husband's ex-lover had returned from overseas. I had mixed feelings. The message came with the full address and also an intimate photo of my husband holding the woman in the short red dress. Their love had blossomed. My heart was on fire.
Without thinking, I called Orland several times. But he didn't answer, busy with his bad party.
I desperately barged into the Villa. The first whiff of alcohol and cigarette smoke made me cough and feel dizzy. I managed to find them in a room, standing at the end of the door to peek in.
The one in the photo was one hundred percent real, not an edit. I could now see Orland gazing passionately at the girl in the red dress on his lap. The girl's shoulders were exposed. She was beautiful and seductive, a stark contrast to the current me. Their gazes were very warm, as if they didn't want to let go of each other.
"How do you feel about Emma, now?" Orland's friends, who also brought their respective partners, teased the two of them.
"Emma is like the most beautiful gift. I still love you. I miss you."
Emma laughed with her hand gently rubbing Orland's chest. "I missed you too."
They kissed passionately.
"Orland, you're too brave!" They laughed. "I thought for a moment that you had changed your wife's heart."
"Not since she was ugly. Her hair is disheveled, her skin rough, her body fat. Emma is better for everything."
"You're overreacting," Emma said shyly. Her cheeks were flushed. She was such an innocent girl but her actions were not. Emma had the nerve to bite Orland's ear to tease him.
Their laughter grew louder. "So you don't want your wife? Why did you get her pregnant?" The others asked curiously.
Orland answered without thinking. "I liked her because she was pretty, but after she got ugly my love was gone. I thought she could replace Emma, but she didn't. And I wanted a child too, so I let her get pregnant."
"You're cruel, Orland." It was a compliment from them. "Your wife will run away if she finds out about this."
Orland chuckled with them. "Run away? She wouldn't be able to even if she knew the truth. She's deathly in love with me, she loves only me, wouldn't dare leave me let alone carry my child. Don't forget that she's poor."
All the taunts were so suffocating that I could hardly breathe. It was more suffocating than me inhaling a puff of cigarette smoke.
The chaotic room was suddenly silent when I appeared. I couldn't take it anymore. My hands clenched at my sides, my eyes heated up. I stared at everyone there in turn, ending at Orland and the girl in the red dress who dared to sit on Orland's lap. I felt like I was losing oxygen looking at them. It was even more suffocating to see them up close.
