"You’re in a hurry, why?"
"Keep it down, don’t wake Vivian."
"...What are you afraid of? She took a whole pack of sleeping pills, she's out cold, like a dead pig. Even if we’re lying right next to her, she won’t know a thing..."
Damian nodded, agreeing with the logic, and continued without any hesitation.
The sound of heavy breathing filled my ears.
Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes, and I pressed my hand tightly to my mouth, fighting to keep the sobs from escaping.
It only lasted for a few minutes, but to me, it felt like a lifetime.
After a high-pitched scream, the noises in the bathroom finally came to a stop.
"Damian, are you sure your method is safe?"
"Don’t worry. Once Vivian starts eating the incompatible foods, it won’t be long before her health deteriorates. By then, solving her little problem will be a piece of cake—no one will even suspect a thing."
"That's good. After she's gone, you and Kylo will inherit her fortune, and then the three of us can live happily ever after."
The two of them continued their loud plotting, speaking more vile words in the bathroom.
Before they came out, I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep.
I met Damian back in college.
He worked part-time to support himself, not only taking jobs off-campus but also substituting for teachers on campus.
One day, during a class, the teacher called the name of the student he was substituting for, and Damian didn’t respond. The teacher suspected he was there to take someone’s place and refused to mark him present.
By some stroke of luck, I intervened and helped him, allowing him to finish the class without issue.
Afterward, he somehow got my contact information and started asking me out to dinner and dates.
We went out three times before he confessed his feelings, and we became a couple.
After four years of dating, we got married right after graduation.
At first, my parents didn’t support the marriage. They thought Damian was all talk with no real action.
On top of that, his career wasn’t progressing, and they believed a man should establish his career before starting a family, so I would have something to rely on.
But I couldn’t resist Damian's charming appearance and sweet words. I was determined to marry him.
Now that I think about it, ten years of love and marriage were mostly lies.
The family I thought was happy and complete was just a veil covering an ugly truth, easily blown away by the slightest wind.
My parents’ assessment of him was spot on, but unfortunately, it’s too late for me to realize that now.
I didn’t sleep all night, and the next morning, when I looked in the mirror, my face was ghostly pale.
I barely managed to put on some light makeup to hide the exhaustion before heading downstairs.
Before I even reached the bottom of the stairs, I could hear the sounds of laughter coming from below.
Evelyn was sitting between Damian and Kylo, and the three of them were happily having breakfast together.
As soon as I appeared, the conversation abruptly stopped, and I felt like the outsider.
Damian awkwardly stood up, pulled out the chair for me, and poured me a glass of milk.
"Vivian, come on over and have breakfast."
Evelyn turned to me and called out my name, "Vivian," before turning back to Kylo to continue playing.
I didn’t sit in the chair Damian had pulled out for me. Instead, I walked straight to the head of the table and sat down.
After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I noticed Kylo wasn’t eating but playing with his toys, so I couldn’t help but scold him a few times:
"Kylo, don’t bring your toys to the table, eat your food first."
