Chapter 6
870 Words
By the time the hundred slaps were done, Clara could no longer feel her face. Her ears rang nonstop, yet the children's laughter from the yard cut through it all, crystal clear.
"Haha, the bad maid got hit!"
"Let's see her be clumsy again!"
The two children stared at her as if she were a stray rat on the street.
Chris's voice came from nearby. "Go back in two days. No arguments this time."
He dropped the ship ticket and turned away, not glancing at her once.
After he was gone, Yara knelt down and grabbed Clara's chin. "If you hadn't come here, you wouldn't be suffering like this. But it's good that you came. Watch how your man is devoted only to me. Watch how I hold your children in the palm of my hand. When you go back... be a good little dog."
Clara's pupils shrank sharply.
She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Yara took the baby from Mabel and pinched him hard.
"Waaah!" Noah screamed at the top of his lungs.
Clara trembled violently and scrambled forward. "No... don't..."
Yara stepped back and looked down at her. "Understand?"
Clara lay on the ground, shaking all over, and could only nod through her tears.
On the third morning, she served breakfast to the five of them. Yara spoke suddenly. "Chris, there was a shooting at the hotel last night. A lot of people jumped from the building. They need extra help. Since her ship leaves tonight, why not send her?"
Just the words "jumped from the building" made Clara shake uncontrollably.
Chris didn't even look up. "Do as you wish."
He paused as he walked past her. "Quit faking. It's just cleaning up."
Before she even reached the scene, cold sweat broke out all over her body.
Years ago, debt collectors had hounded her family. Her parents jumped to their deaths. She was the only one who survived. The image of blood splattering everywhere was burned into her mind. She used to wake up screaming from nightmares night after night.
Chris had stayed with her, helping her slowly heal.
But now... he had forgotten her greatest fear.
On the street, dozens of bodies lay under white sheets. Some sheets had slipped, revealing bloodied, twisted limbs.
Clara bent over and retched violently.
"What are you waiting for?! Move! Carry the bodies!" The foreman kicked her.
Her legs gave way. She reached for a body, and the sheet slipped off. The corpse fell at her feet. A bloodied face, eyes bulging, mouth wide open.
Memories flooded back.
Clara screamed hysterically, and she felt warmth run down her leg.
The men around her roared with laughter. "She pissed herself!"
Clara's vision went black, and she collapsed.
Cold water was splashed on her face moments later. She was shoved forward again, toward the bodies.
All afternoon, she carried one body after another, vomiting again and again.
As the sun set, Yara arrived holding Noah, with the other two children beside her.
She held out an envelope and gave it to Clara.
Clara opened it. Inside was the divorce agreement, and a yellowed letter.
"This letter holds the truth about your parents' deaths. Your family's bankruptcy... it was all Chris's doing," Yara whispered, leaning close.
Clara shuddered. After a long while, she whispered, "I... don't believe you."
Yara laughed scornfully and shook the baby in her arms. "Go back and run your little restaurant. Raising your three children will cost a fortune."
"What fortune? What's that?" Chris's voice suddenly cut in.
His eyes fell on the envelope in Clara's hands. Sunlight fell over him. Clara stared at his face, still as handsome as she remembered. But there was no love left, only disgust and terror.
Yara quickly pressed the baby into his arms. "It's a check I gave her for your mother."
Chris's gaze softened. "You always think of everything. Why do you look so terrible?" He looked up and saw Clara's pale face, frowning.
Clara stared at him, speaking slowly and clearly. "I'm thinking about my parents' deaths. The man who killed them is still free. If I ever find out who he is... I'll make him pay with his life."
Chris staggered, his face draining of color.
That single reaction confirmed everything Clara had suspected.
She smiled bitterly and turned away.
She would not beg him for the truth.
Yara thought holding the children would keep Clara obedient forever.
Chris thought their childhood love would keep her loyal no matter what.
But after being hurt twice by her own flesh and blood, punished unfairly by her husband... Clara finally understood.
What was the point of fighting for children who felt no love for her, or a husband who no longer loved her?
She would uncover the truth about her parents' deaths.
And then... she would live for herself.
Amid the long blast of the ship's horn, she ignored Chris's panicked face, turned around, and stepped onto the ship without looking back.
The ship pulled away. The sea wind blew, salty and fishy.
Clara lifted her head toward the dark night sky. Her tears dried in the wind.
The world was wide.
From this day on... she was free.
- Writer
