03
Marlin cared too much about appearances. He wouldn't refuse to sign, not after demanding a divorce in front of that many people.
Sure enough, the moment I came downstairs, the signed divorce agreement was lying on the coffee table.
And the second he'd finished signing, he sent everyone away.
Everyone except his little assistant.
In front of the long barrels of the cameras, I signed the confidentiality agreement.
Fern held the signed papers, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.
Marlin sat at the far end of the sofa, saying nothing the whole time.
After all the years I'd lived in this house, when it came time to leave, my things didn't even fill a single canvas bag.
I picked them up and was about to push the front door open when Marlin's voice sounded in my head again.
【Wife, you don't actually think you can slip out of my hands, do you?】
The next second, a suffocating wave swept over me like a tornado.
Marlin's inner voice still circled in my ears.
【Wife, didn't you say you'd love me for the rest of your life?】
【Why are you running away so fast now?】
【Wife, I'm a coward, but I love you. You can't leave me.】
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the room I'd shared with Marlin.
Just as I'd expected, my wrist was cuffed to the headboard again.
Fern walked in carrying a bowl of porridge.
“Summer, you're awake. Hurry up and drink this.”
I glanced at her and ignored her.
The next second, she grabbed my chin and shoved the bowl straight against my mouth.
Scalding porridge ran down inside my collar. Pain sent cold sweat pouring off me, and I flung her off.
Fern straightened her clothes and put on that infuriating smile of hers.
“Summer, this is all Marlin's idea. There's no reason to make things hard for me.”
“Marlin said if you won't cooperate, I'm free to use force to make you behave.”
I choked down my fury and forced the words out through my teeth. “Get out. Tell Marlin to come see me.”
Fern heard that and pulled a ring of keys from her pocket.
“Marlin's away on business. He won't be back all week.”
“I'll take very good care of you, Summer.”
I stared at that ring of keys, blank for a moment.
The tasseled charm on it was one Marlin and I had made with our own hands.
The night we finished it, he sat at the head of the bed staring at those keys, grinning like a fool for who knows how long.
【My wife and I made this together. No one else is allowed to touch it.】
【I really want to fire every housekeeper we have, so it's just me and my wife in this house.】
【No one is allowed to covet my wife.】
But now he'd not only let countless strangers into our home.
He'd handed our house keys to someone else.
Seeing my reaction, Fern waggled the keys the way you'd tease a dog.
“Surprised? I said I liked these keys, and Marlin just gave them to me.”
“Not that I really needed them, since every keypad lock in this house has my fingerprint programmed in.”
“This charm, though, is hideous.”
With that, she pulled off the charm and tossed it out the window without a second thought.
The little glass pendant on it struck the glass and shattered into pieces.
Just like Marlin and me.
I stopped looking at her, turned onto my side, and closed my eyes.
Fern leaned in close to my ear and spoke like a snake flicking its tongue.
“Summer, your mother is in the hospital suffering a fate worse than death. How do you still have the heart to sleep?”
