Chapter 3

3

Sarah shoved me hard; I looked at her retreating back.

Suddenly, my memories of her grew hazy.

Sarah and I had been childhood sweethearts for over twenty years.

The girl who used to chase after me was gone.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I remembered three years ago, begging Sarah’s mother to let Sarah marry me.

When she found out, she ran to my house in the middle of the night, crying and asking why.

“Your parents haven’t even finished their seven-day mourning period, and you're already thinking of marrying me. How shameless are you!”

“I have a boyfriend. Why do you, like my mother, decide my future? What gives you the right?!”

That was the first time I realized how despicable I was in her eyes.

The next day, Sarah’s boyfriend broke up with her and disappeared.

She blamed me for everything.

Reluctantly, she went through the wedding ceremony with me.

Sarah's mother also told me then:

“Tom, although we have an agreement, you and Sarah can't get a marriage license.”

“Sarah is right; you really don't deserve her now.”

After my parents died, I was powerless and naturally couldn't compare to the thriving Miller family.

Thinking about it, I sighed.

Perhaps my decision was wrong from the start.

After that day, Sarah didn’t even come home.

Mark would occasionally send messages to taunt me.

[Mr. Tom, this is my first time being a father, and there are some things I don't understand. I'd like to ask for your advice.]

[You're much older than me, you must have more experience with kids, right?]

Such messages annoyed me.

Sarah and I had been married for three years, and she wouldn’t even let me touch her. Even when we slept in the same bed, there was a wooden partition in the middle.

If I accidentally touched her, she'd get sick and want to scrub her skin off in the shower.

The constant vibrations made me unbearable. I picked up my phone and called.

“Don’t you use your phone for anything other than looking pretty? Didn't Sarah tell you that we never had sex?”

“Or are you just showing off? If so, you've got the wrong person. Sarah and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. I truly wish you both well...”

It wasn't Mark’s voice on the other end, but Sarah's mocking laughter.

“Tom, do you really think I'd fall for your lies again? I left, and you immediately called my mother to support you.”

“I’m glad I broke your leg; otherwise, who knows what you would have done to Mark.”

She hung up abruptly.

I held the phone tightly, then weakly let go.

Three years ago, when I made the bet with Sarah's mother, I should have known I'd lose.

I just didn't expect to lose so badly.

I intended to wait quietly for my departure.

But the next day, Sarah and Mark returned home in a flurry.

Sarah’s eyes were bloodshot, and her clothes were disheveled, as if she had been in an argument.

Her eyes were red, and she looked at me as if she wanted to tear me apart.

Before I could react, Mark knelt in front of me.

“Mr. Tom, I know you're unhappy with me. If my previous messages upset you, I apologize.”

“But you can’t persuade Mrs. Miller to make Sarah have an abortion! That’s our child, Sarah and me, we waited so hard for it.”

My head was spinning. I opened my mouth to explain.

The next second, a sharp pain shot through my cheek.

Sarah slapped me several times; her hand was red and trembled at her side.

She grabbed a pair of scissors from the table and pointed them at me, yelling hysterically.

“Tom, you disgust me!”

“Three years ago, you forced me to marry you against my will. Now you want to abort my child? What kind of spell did you cast on my mother?!”

I touched my reddened cheek; my lips trembled.

“I didn’t…”

But Sarah refused to listen to my explanation. She lost control, and stabbed the scissors into my shoulder.

Blood stained her hand and my clothes.

She seemed surprised that I stood still, and when she regained her composure, the scissors fell to the ground.

Sarah stumbled back, and Mark quickly supported her.

She wiped away her tears.

“Tom, please, stop loving me, just let me go.”

“I'll show you how happy Mark and I are.”