Before she left the house, Ruby dug into the trash can and fished out the used condom that she and Austin used last night. She waved it teasingly in front of me, then dropped it into my bowl of chicken soup.
Though Austin saw what she had done, he did not say anything nor rebuke her. He just pinched her nose playfully and then said to me, "Sweetheart, let your husband feed you your breakfast."
I cast down my eyes and stared at the condom floating in the chicken soup. My lips twisted into a bitter smile as I said, "I don't want to. I'm not hungry."
"You must eat, Baby. Your body is weak after the miscarriage. Be a good girl and eat something." He kept coaxing me to eat and insistently brought the spoon filled with chicken soup to my lips. "Be a good girl and take a bite, okay?"
His tone reminded me of the mornings when he had patiently urged me to eat breakfast. For days, he coaxed me to eat. At that time, I thought he cared about my health and wanted to nourish my body but I had never imagined he would ....
My eyes burned with unshed tears as I pressed my lips together and refused again, "I said, I'm not eating!"
He grabbed my chin with a forcefulness I had not seen before from him and said firmly, "Baby, are you disobeying your husband now?”
“I said no! Can’t you hear me?!” I shouted and pushed him away with all my strength. The force stunned him and made him staggered backward.
The bowl crashed with a sharp sound as it fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. The transparent condom that lay amidst the spilled chicken soup looked so peculiar. It was a cruel reminder of my humiliation.
Panic flashed across Austin’s face as he reached out to grab my hand. "Honey, if you don't want to eat, that's okay. It’s my fault, okay? Don’t be mad, please.”
I answered lethargically, "I’m tired. Just go to work." Then I smoothly stepped back two steps to avoid his touch and turned around to walk upstairs.
Austin stood rooted in place as he stared at my back. He watched me as I fumbled my way up the stairs like I usually did. Then I heard him sigh a sigh of relief quietly.
Once in the bedroom, I picked up my phone and sent a message to my mentor. [Professor, I’m ready. I’ll report to the lab next Wednesday.]
The lunar experimental research project was a classified mission. Once I arrived inside the lab, all my information would be sealed. Even if Austin searched the entire planet and turned it upside down to look for me, that man could never find any trace of me again. Sally Miller would vanish from his life forever.
Next Wednesday was also his birthday. On that day, he would receive the ultimate gift from me, which was he would lose the person who once loved him the most.
From that day on, I continued pretending to be the clueless blind woman. Austin still brought Ruby home every day and he would make love in the room next to mine every single night. They shamelessly indulged themselves in front of a blind woman.
Their filthy degrading words pierced through me every single night.
I was broken and in desperation. I even wanted to scream and question hysterically why he tormented me like this. However, all I could do was bite my lips until they bled, dig my nails into my palms until blood seeped out and collapse against the wall as I cried helplessly.
In the end, I had no other choice but to accept the truth that the man I loved was so rotten.
Today, as the sun rose and the first rays of sunlight streamed through my window that morning, I wiped away my tears and began preparing for my departure. I collected the successful report from my cornea transplant and all of Ruby’s taunting messages, then placed them on the bedside table as evidence of my suffering.
In the afternoon, I contacted the head of a local charity foundation and donated every gift Austin had ever given me.
“Ma’am, this is far too valuable ….” the foundation head stammered.
My gaze darkened as I looked at the ring. This was the same diamond ring Austin had purchased at an auction for forty-five hundred thousand dollars, the only one of its kind in the world and six months ago, he had knelt before me with that ring in his hand and proposed.
