“Hmph, you should ask Riley about that. How long has it been since she last let me leave the house?”
I turned my gaze away from Vernon.
“Since neither of you can stand me, let’s just get a divorce, Vernon.”
“I’ve had enough of Riley’s humiliations and your cold indifference these past months.”
“You can leave, but I’m not agreeing to a divorce.”
“Rest up. I’ll come check on you later.”
With that, Vernon stood and walked out.
At the door, he stopped and threw me one last line.
“Eloise, don’t be sad. We’ll have another child someday.”
I said nothing.
There would be no future for us.
That night, Vernon returned, a bowl of nourishing soup in his hands.
Trailing behind him was Riley, dressed in a striking red gown, its brilliance too much for the cold, sterile hospital room.
That dress had been my birthday gift this year.
The dress I’d never worn, not once.
She had a habit of taking whatever she wanted from me, never once bothering to ask for permission.
"Are you feeling better?" Vernon asked.
"Hmm."
"You lost the baby, but you can always try again. Though you're already twenty-nine, it might be a bit harder."
Riley clung to Vernon’s arm, pressing herself against him.
I turned away, pretending she wasn’t there.
"Eloise, that’s enough. Stop sulking like the world owes you something," Vernon snapped, his voice sharp.
"Exactly! Vernon and I came all this way to see you, yet you can’t even look at us. Are you blaming us?"
"You didn’t take care of yourself, and you lost the baby. That’s on you!" Riley sneered, her voice dripping with disdain.
"If you hadn’t locked me in that dark room last night, would I have lost my child?" I shot back, my voice weak with exhaustion.
"I begged you both. I bled so much. If someone had just opened the door, even for a second, I wouldn’t have..."
I choked on my words, unable to finish. My voice trembled, swallowed by the weariness of it all.
“That’s because you’ve been taking too many painkillers! Riley was only trying to look out for you. Last night was just an accident.”
Vernon quickly leaped to her defense, his voice defensive.
“Is she more qualified than a doctor? Did the doctor ever tell me not to take painkillers? Should I have just suffered and died from the pain instead?”
I could no longer hold back the bitterness that had been building in my chest. My voice cracked, and I let out a hoarse, desperate scream.
“Alright, alright,” Vernon said, his tone softer now like he was trying to placate me. “I know you’re upset after the miscarriage, so I won’t argue with you. Get some rest. I’ll come back another day.”
With that, Vernon turned to leave, dragging Riley along with him. He always did this; whenever he stirred up my emotions, he would quickly change the subject and walk away, leaving me alone with this suffocating frustration as if I were punching into cotton.
It felt like a dull blade cutting into my skin, constant, relentless pain that never quite killed me, but it kept me bleeding, little by little.
Not long after, I received a video from Riley.
It was a live recording of her and Vernon tangled together in bed. The sting of betrayal cut deep.
The dimly lit room pulsed with an almost suffocating intimacy. As their bodies moved urgently, Riley occasionally glanced at the camera, her eyes a spark of challenge, daring me to look.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away, staring blankly at the screen, each second sinking deeper into a silent rage. This time, I didn’t delete the video. No. Instead, I saved it, adding it to my growing collection.
When I was finally discharged, I returned to the Hamilton residence—only to find Vernon had moved back in.
"Eloise, I’ll stay with you from now on. Focus on getting better, and we’ll try for another baby," he said, offering that familiar, gentle smile. He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead as if everything was normal again.
In the dead of night, I was jolted awake by an unfamiliar noise. Following the sound, I made my way to the living room, where I found Riley and Vernon shamelessly entwined on the couch, indulging in each other’s desires.
The sickening noise of their bodies colliding echoed through the room, pounding like a drum in my head, each throb sending waves of disgust through my veins.
I had grown numb to these scenes, but the sight of them defiling my own couch, my carpet, and those things that once held my comfort stoked an unbearable fire of fury within me.
