I had merely assumed the crash was accidental. I knew Beth despised me and loved forcing my parents and Wallace to pick sides between us, but it had never once crossed my mind that she even wanted me dead.
I immediately sent Wallace a message to demand a divorce. Yet even after a long time, no response came.
I then followed up by sending the news that the baby was gone.
Before his reply came, Mom called me. "How could you be such an irresponsible sister to Beth, Meryl? How could you run away from home, skip Beth's 18th birthday party, and ignore our calls?
"Your sister wants to eat your homemade pizza, so get back here and make it for her! You can think of it as compensation for missing her party."
I was about to respond when I suddenly heard Beth's voice.
"You shouldn't talk to Meryl like that, Mom. She's in no state for a party since the baby is due next week. I'm the one at fault for throwing my party at such a time. I should be the one apologizing to her. I should have put Meryl's needs before my own."
Beth's voice trembled with grievance, making it sound as though she were on the verge of tears.
"Is this what you wanted, Meryl? If so, get back here right away! You're almost nine months pregnant and still cause nothing but trouble!"
Mom's exasperation was palpable as she ended the call without even waiting for my response.
I took the initiative to call Wallace right after Mom ended the call. "I want to get a divorce, Wallace."
There was a brief pause on the line before he asked, "Is this another attempt to get my attention, Meryl? I'm not falling for it this time. For the sake of the baby, you should return home before the due date next week. I'll be there for you when you give birth, Meryl."
"I don't have the baby anymore—"
I didn't even manage to finish speaking before he ended the call.
It wasn't long before I received a video from Beth. In it, she had accidentally nicked her finger, and Wallace was frantically searching for a band-aid, while Daniel was attentively feeding her fruit.
"I was the only one our parents cherished before you got married, and now, even your own husband and son favor me. You'll never be able to defeat me, Meryl!"
Upon seeing Wallace's gentleness and care in the video, I was suddenly reminded of the early days of our relationship, when he treated me with that same tenderness.
Yet he had completely changed ever since he met Beth. He started to believe Beth's words and formed a negative opinion of me, even accusing me of being selfish and routinely tormenting Beth.
He was utterly convinced that Beth's description of me was the accurate one.
Wallace and I fought constantly over Beth's claims, and the worst part was that she would always appear right on cue, delivering an apology and painting herself as the victim in the whole situation.
That was how Beth won our parents' favor back when we were children, and as an adult, she used the exact same tactic to win Wallace's partiality, driving a wedge between us.
She would come and parade it over me every time she took something that was rightfully mine, as if to boast that both our parents and Wallace would always choose her over me.
If this had happened before, I would have grieved. Yet in that moment, I felt no emotions whatsoever, for I had made my choice—to leave forever and never look back.
I sent Wallace an email explicitly stating my demand for a divorce.
I received his reply only two hours later, stating, "You're nine months pregnant, and the due date is imminent, Meryl. You shouldn't be joking about our marriage or our unborn baby in such a manner. You'd better not bring this up again!"
I couldn't stop my tears from streaming down my face as I read his response. I longed to think the loss of my baby was a mere illusion, but the profound, hollow ache in my belly was a crushing reality.
