He didn’t answer. Instead, he struck me, leaving a burning sting across my cheek. Five crimson fingerprints instantly appeared on my face and I couldn't hold back my tears of humiliation.
"Hard-headed, huh?" he sneered, his handsome face twisted with disdain. "Do you really think that just because you married me, you get to control everything, including when to have children? You don’t deserve it!"
His words were venomous, slicing into me with each syllable. His charm had turned into something ugly, cruel and dangerous.
"I didn’t! Please, let me go!" My voice cracked with desperation, but he was in no mood to listen.
That night, Spencer was different. He was reckless, completely disregarding everything he had ever said about not wanting children. In the past, he had always been cautious, especially when I was hesitant.
I didn’t know what I had done to provoke him. He was consumed by madness and I was powerless to stop him.
By the end of it, I was left broken. His family, who had been keeping an eye on us, must have heard the commotion, because those who stood guard outside our door reported it.
Satisfied now, family?
Since then, Spencer rarely came home and when he did, he always had an excuse.
"Lucy’s sick again," he’d say nonchalantly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to leave his wife to care for his so-called "sweetheart."
Lucy Rivera was his high school crush, a beautiful girl with fair skin, long legs and an enviable background. Spencer had chased her back then, but she had rejected him time and time again.
Ironically, Lucy and I had shared a dorm in college and I never suspected how much their dynamic would haunt me later.
Spencer and I had known each other since we were children. When it came time to marry, we agreed quickly, perhaps too quickly.
Now, everything felt different. Spencer had changed, or maybe he’d always been this way and I just hadn’t seen it.
Whenever he went out, he never invited me along. At first, I didn’t mind. I had always been socially anxious, preferring solitude to the pressure of meeting new people.
But as time went on, his absences became more frequent. He didn’t even bother to hide it anymore. He would disappear for days, always under the guise of taking care of Lucy.
I didn’t know how much longer I could take it.
His sweetheart. It’s always about Lucy. That’s always his excuse, the same one he used to fool me, every time.