Chapter 3
641 Words
I was too angry to catch the jealousy in those words, or the flicker of guilt in the eyes of the person beside me.
Life after marriage was okay. Joseph wasn't terrible. He brought gifts when traveling for work and remembered what I couldn't eat.
Later, Jenna's life fell into chaos. The man she married had a violent temper; when his business failed, he took it out on her, and she was dragged along to a small town. The thorn in Joseph's heart began to fester, and he sent her money repeatedly.
He started complaining that my voice was too loud, that I laughed too loudly, and that I posted on social media too often. Even in bed, he was fierce and relentless, as if he had a score to settle.
Once, I asked him what exactly he meant.
He gripped my chin, his tone cold and detached, "Your mother told me you were always snatching her things as a child, bullying her because she had no parents. That night at the exhibition, weren't you deliberately parading yourself in front of me? Isn't this face of yours meant to be used as capital? Now that you're lying here, what are you putting on this reluctant act for?"
I held back my tears and bit down hard on the web between his thumb and forefinger.
He didn't pull away. He let out a stifled groan, then brushed his thumb across my cheek.
"Nina Hayes, you already have everything. Why can't you learn from her and be a little more docile?"
I lowered my voice, forcing three words out through clenched teeth, "In. Your. Dreams. I am who I am. I'll never fit into someone else's mold."
After that day, Joseph still sent Jenna money every few days. I never initiated a conversation with him again. He resented me for giving him the cold shoulder, resented my stubborn temper, resented my refusal to bow my head... I owned up to every accusation, but I wouldn't budge.
Later, a severe virus struck. I fell ill, and he never left my side, saying everything he could to make things right. But in the end, we couldn't go back.
Even the medicine Ethan sent all the way from Fairport was intercepted by my mother and sent to Jenna instead. Joseph didn't stop it, saying he owed her too much.
I wanted to fight, too, but I had no fight left in me.
Later, I truly had no medicine left. At death's door, he knelt by the bedside, clutching my hand like he'd never let go.
"Nina, I beg you, don't leave me. When you get better, we'll be just like before, driving around the city..."
What was it like before? It was back when he was trying to win me over. I played hard to get and said, "Joseph, when you propose, you must bring a bouquet of white roses and promise in front of all my friends... that you'll only ever give flowers to me for the rest of your life."
He smiled and said okay.
And later, in every package he sent to Jenna, he tucked a card signed with a white rose.
A sweet start, a bitter end. That was all.
Before my consciousness faded, a cool drop splashed between my brows. It was his tear.
When I opened my eyes again, I'd been given a second chance at life. I got up and went to the bathroom, staring at the mirror in a daze... There was a red mole between my brows, one I'd never had before. I turned on the faucet and splashed my face, saying to the mirror, "Just my luck."
There was a noise from the living room. Jenna was back, her shoulders trembling slightly, her eyes a little red. Must have finally gotten what she wanted. How thrilling.
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