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On the screen, I watched as Gale seduced Rusty, and he completely gave in. He didn’t care about the pot still on the stove. The two of them lost control right there on the couch, limbs tangled, the world outside forgotten.
Their movements grew more desperate and passionate, and my face turned ashen. The sight of their bare bodies flashing across the screen made something bitter and metallic rise in my throat. I stumbled into the bathroom, clinging to the toilet as my body convulsed, but all I could throw up was water.
After rinsing off, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I forced a smile, but it was shaky and thin.
I looked awful. But not nearly as broken as I felt inside.
Rusty, why did it have to be her?
Gale wasn’t just any woman. She was my adopted sister, my father’s illegitimate child.}
I still remember the year I turned fourteen. My mom passed away from illness, and almost immediately, that woman moved in with Gale in tow. My so-called little sister, who was just one year younger than 1.
Even as a teenager, I knew my father had cheated on my mom, and I hated him for it. And Gale and her mother only fueled that resentment, poisoning what little connection I had left with him.”
I used to confide all of this in Rusty. He held me close, told me he understood, and even cried with me.}
But in the end, he fell in love with Gale. And together, they became the ones who hurt me the most.
I was drowning in memories, lost in the pain of it all, when Rusty’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“You’re more important than Gale. Of course, I’d prioritize you. That’s why I’m bringing you dinner first. I’ll just go feed her after you’ve eaten.”
He did exactly what he said. After making sure Gale had eaten her fill, he picked through her leftovers, arranged a few bits of food onto a plate, and brought it upstairs to me.”
Just as he opened the door, I accidentally tapped on my photo album, which somehow opened our wedding video.
His voice, reciting our vows, filled the room, with my soft sobs overlapping with it.
Rusty froze in place for a moment, clearly caught off guard. His expression shifted, less cold, more thoughtful, like the memory of our past had softened him. He gently set the plate on the nightstand and spoke to me in a surprisingly tender voice.”
“Shannon, I put together something special for you. Eat a little and get some rest, alright? I’ve still got unfinished work from the office, so I’ll be up late. Don’t wait up for me.“>
I don’t know why, but something inside me pushed back. Maybe I just needed to hear the truth from him, his guilt, his regret, something real. I opened my mouth, ready to speak.
“Rusty-”
But the familiar sound of the Love Bell app interrupted me.
Gale really hated it when we had moments alone, and Rusty, as always, obeyed like a dog. He mumbled a few meaningless words to brush me off and rushed downstairs to his precious Gale.>
The words I wanted to say were swallowed back down in the end.”
Once I confirmed through the surveillance feed that they’d both left, I stood and quietly returned to the study.
I took photos of our child’s medical records. Then I picked up the divorce agreement and signed it without hesitation.
As for the assets listed in the divorce, I called up a lawyer I trusted, and we signed everything online. I then asked him to handle the legal process and donate everything I was entitled to, down to the last cent, to charity.
After that, I walked downstairs and took one last look around the house.
Only then did I notice that there were only a few things that belonged to me. Almost everything here belonged to Gale now. Except for our child’s ashes, I took nothing with me. With that, I closed the door behind me and never looked back. Third Person’s POVE
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Rusty was accompanying Gale for a prenatal checkup when he unexpectedly ran into Shannon’s doctor..! The doctor spotted Rusty sitting alone in the OB–GYN waiting area and assumed he and his wife were planning to have another baby. He chuckled and said, “I knew you two had a strong relationship. Now that Shannon’s vision is back, you’re already planning for a child? Looks like happiness is just around the corner.”%
Rusty stood frozen.W
For a moment, the words didn’t register. But then they did, and panic set in.
He bolted upright, bumping hard into the chair. Ignoring the pain, he grabbed the doctor by the collar and screamed, “What did you say?! What do you mean her vision came back?!“%
