Deformed Love in Sculpture

4

Last night, I unknowingly fell asleep in Tom’s arms.

When I woke up, my body was covered with the traces he left behind.

The crumpled sheets told the story of an intense night—but I couldn’t remember a single moment of it.

Lying beside me, Tom slept soundly.

Rationality slowly returned to me.

I dragged my heavy limbs into his study and found a USB drive plugged into his computer.

Inside were several folders labeled with different sets of initials—some marked only with “SC.”

But one folder stood out.

A 50GB encrypted file labeled “YBSC.”

My heart trembled.

I typed in my birthday.

“Incorrect password.”

I tried several variations, one after another.

Finally, I typed: "Sophia Material."

It opened.

The folder was filled with intimate videos of us—every moment of our love recorded without my knowledge.

The most recent entry was from last night.

My stomach lurched. I couldn’t stop retching.

The man who’d slept beside me for five years—my lover—was utterly repulsive.

Whatever last shred of hope I had shattered in an instant.

With trembling fingers, I deleted the entire folder.

Then, I replaced it with a few 50GB drama series, just for good measure, and cleared the recycle bin.

The entire process took less than ten minutes.

Tom was still asleep.

I retraced my steps, remembering the angles from the videos—where they’d been taken.

Then I turned to the oversized teddy bear in the corner of our bedroom.

That bear had been a housewarming gift when we moved in four years ago.

He had shoved it into my arms, smiling.

"Baby, it’s our housewarming joy," he said.

He made the bear sit at the foot of our bed.

"So we’ll always wake up to a happy face."

Now, staring into its glassy red eyes flashing with a faint light, shame and pain devoured me.

I walked into the living room and silently booked a ticket to return home that evening.

I’m not sure how long I sat there, dazed.

At some point, Tom came out and carried me back to the bedroom.

"Baby, I picked out a dress for you," he said excitedly.

"It’s going to blind all my brothers when they see you."

On the bed lay a low-cut dress, a red ribbon, and black silk stockings.

I looked him in the eye.

"Do I have to wear this today?"

He nodded, grinning. "You’ve always been the sweet, shy one around them. Today’s a special day. Let’s show them a new you."

I took the outfit to the bathroom in silence.

After finishing my makeup, I stared at my reflection in the mirror—like a beautifully wrapped gift.

When we stepped out, he placed his hands gently on my shoulders and squatted to meet my gaze.

"Baby," he said softly, "I love you."