The next day, Joseph came home reeking of alcohol and cigarettes.
I frowned and asked why he'd been drinking.
He came over, slid an arm around my waist, his eyes warm and smiling.
"Just the thought that the debt's almost paid off, that we can finally start a real life together, it made me happy. Couldn't help having a couple of drinks."
"Flora, once we get through this last time, let's have a baby. I want to give the two of you everything I've got for the rest of my life."
Joseph looked at me, tender and earnest, his gaze so sincere it didn't seem like a lie at all.
Once, I would have wept from the sheer emotion of it. Now it only struck me as fake and sickening.
When I didn't move, he pulled out a slice of blueberry cake and held it out to me like a prize.
"See how good your husband is to you? I saved this specially for you."
It was a dessert from the private club, the leftovers they'd brought back after eating.
I set the cake down on the table cluttered with junk and told him I didn't have a taste for sweets anymore.
Joseph looked stunned for a second, then pressed on, asking what I liked to eat, saying he'd go buy it for me right now.
I ignored his words and asked him instead,
"Can I skip the site tomorrow? My body still hasn't recovered from going down into the pit yesterday. The moment I sink into the slurry I can't breathe, and my old injuries ache something terrible."
A flicker of pain crossed his eyes, and the next second he tightened his arm around my waist and said gently,
"Just this last time, Flora. Hold on a little longer."
"Once the debt's cleared, Max and the others can help me get back on my feet. I promise I'll give you a life of silk and fine food after this, and you'll never suffer again."
I already knew this was how it would go, and yet hearing him say it out loud with my own ears still made my chest ache.
I nodded in silence and said nothing more.
Seeing me give in, Joseph relaxed considerably. He told me to rest well, then turned and headed out again, using a follow-up hospital appointment as his excuse.
The day after, my mother-in-law's 60th birthday party was held at the most luxurious hotel in the city.
The banquet was lavish beyond measure, grand and ceremonious.
Relatives and friends gathered together, and even many of Joseph's important business partners had come.
On the electronic screen in the center of the ballroom, a montage of Yvonne's life played on a loop.
She sat in the seat of honor, flushed and glowing, grinning from ear to ear.
In the crowd, Ruby wore an exquisite couture gown, her makeup soft and lovely, her arm looped through Joseph's as she worked the room with easy grace.
The two of them were so intimate that anyone who didn't know would have taken her for Mrs. Delgado.
At the very peak of the celebration, I burst in wearing the clothes I usually wore to the work site.
Everyone froze, sizing me up with strange looks, whispering among themselves.
"Who's that? Why did they let a beggar in here? She stinks."
"I think that's... that's Mrs. Delgado. How did she end up looking like that?"
Amid the clamor of gasps, Joseph's body went rigid, the smile shattering off his face.
He shot to his feet and strode over to me.
"Flora? Weren't you supposed to be on standby at the site? What are you doing here?"
I smiled and said,
"It's my mother-in-law's big birthday. How could I, her daughter-in-law, not come?"
"Such a grand affair. Must have cost a fortune. Where did you get the money?"
Joseph grabbed hold of me, his face turning white, his voice dropping low.
"Flora, go home first. I'll come back later and explain everything to you."
I shook his hand off, my tone flat, my voice rising.
"Explain? What lie are you going to make up to fool me this time?"
"Why don't you explain it to everyone right now, how you spent these three years faking poverty and bankruptcy, pretending to be sick."
"How you tricked me into diving four hundred and ninety-nine times into a hundred-meter-deep piling pit full of slurry to fish out drill bits, trading my life for money, all to punish me because three years ago I wouldn't let Ruby's dog into the house?"
