3%
Shannon’s POV
Even though he knew I couldn’t see, the way Rusty looked at me gave him away. Guilt flickered across his face, and he quickly explained, “It’s just something from work.”
I didn’t respond. I just smiled bitterly to myself.”
How naive was I to let Rusty fool me so easily??
There was no way I could’ve mistaken that ringtone.
Back when we first got together, I was finishing school and he was launching his business. We didn’t get to spend much time together. So, just so we’d never feel alone, he developed that special app for us. Whenever one of us touched it, the other’s phone would ring too
But after I lost my sight, that app never rang again.
I used to think it was because he didn’t want to remind me of the past.
Turned out it wasn’t about me at all. The Love Bell had long since become Gale’s private line. What was once a symbol of his love for me was now just another trick to keep his mistress happy.
How tragically ironic.
Because of the iodine still dripping onto my arm, Rusty stayed kneeling beside me. And right in front of me, assuming I couldn’t see, he shamelessly opened his chat with Gale.
Her message popped up instantly, saying, [This is your fault. I’m sore and starving. Where are you? You only care about feeding one of my mouths and forget the other? Get up here and rub my back right now.]2
He chuckled, typing back, [I’m coming. I’ll take good care of my Queen Gale.]}
After hitting send, he wiped the iodine off my arm halfheartedly, then stood up to leave. But not without tossing me a line. “You’re not in the condition to go upstairs, so just rest here, okay?“}
Right. He was so “considerate.” Was he worried about me or just scared I’d interrupt his little rendezvous??
We both knew the answer.}
I looked down at my arm. Aside from the burn, he had slathered iodine all over it, messy and careless.
I grabbed a tissue to wipe it off. Now that my eyesight had returned, I could’ve handled the wound on my own easily. But somehow, the mix of shame and heartache made the tears fall. They mingled with the disinfectant, stinging as they soaked into my skin and then deeper, right into my heart.
I was leaving anyway. I just needed to figure everything out so I could go without regrets.
But I didn’t even know where to start. Years of blindness had cut me off from the world. I was basically a ghost in my own life.
So I had no choice but to retrace my steps.
After I went blind, I gave up on the idea of having children. Rusty told me he understood and added that he would always use protection when we did it.
But somehow, I still got pregnant.
While I was shocked, Rusty barely flinched as if he’d expected it. He even encouraged me to keep the baby.”
And I did because of him.
During the pregnancy, he treated me like a queen, just like he’d promised.”
For the first time in a long time, I let myself imagine a future me, him, and our child.”
But then, when I was eight months along, the doctor told us something was wrong with the baby. They wanted to schedule an early C–section.
Of course, I said no. I wanted a second opinion at a different hospital.
But instead of supporting me, Rusty snapped. He yelled at me, furious.
Still, when I stood my ground, he gave in and said we’d go to another hospital the next day.
But the next morning, as I stepped outside to grab a package left at the door, I slipped and passed out.
When I came to, the baby was gone.
I blamed myself for not being careful. For two weeks, I barely ate and dropped over six kilograms.N
But now, looking back, I can’t help but wonder if it was really just a coincidence.[
Luckily, after being with Rusty for years, I observed one thing about him. It was, if he had secrets, he kept them in the safe in his study.
But with the two of them upstairs, I had no way to get to it. I had to wait for a chance to be alone in this house.
I had just dozed off when I heard Rusty call out to me.
Still groggy, I looked up to find him standing there, eyebrows furrowed in anger.
“What did you put in that soup?” he snapped. “Gale drank it and now her stomach’s killing her!”
My brain hadn’t caught up yet. I was still half–asleep, trying to process what he said.
Yet he took my silence as guilt.
Fuming, he grabbed me by the collar and dragged me in front of Gale
