As soon as he unlocked it, he saw a screenshot of that social media post.
For a moment, panic flashed in his eyes. "Gloria, it's not what you think."
Realizing I couldn't hear him, he hurriedly typed. "Lost a dare at the reunion. I blocked you from seeing it because I didn't want you to misunderstand."
Because he claimed office relationships were bad for business, we'd kept our marriage a secret for five years. He'd never once posted about me on social media.
"I don't know who's stirring the pot, damn it." Alan cursed, completely oblivious to his own wrongdoing.
He didn't regret spending the night with another woman, only that he hadn't been careful enough to keep it from me.
Alan didn't bother to explain further. He didn't even try to comfort me, just grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.
I sat on the couch, stunned, with his words "See you tonight, my love" echoing in my head.
She is his love. So what am I? Our five-year marriage was a joke.
"I've got to work late, won't be home tonight," he said after his shower, wearing cologne for the first time—a citrus-scented one.
He couldn't even wait until evening. Fresh out of the shower, he was already rushing out the door. Did he think of our home as just a hotel room?
I hurried to get up but cried out in pain, only then realizing that I hadn't tended to my injuries, and the couch was stained red with my blood.
"Alan, could you stay?"
Five years of love weren't so easy to throw away.
I held onto a tiny hope. If he cared for me, even just a little, I'd find the courage to keep going.
"Got to work." Alan impatiently signed again.
"It hurts so much. Could you stay with me? Please, don't go."
I grabbed his sleeve, like a drowning person clinging to a lifeline.
Alan scowled and yanked his arm free, his face full of disgust.
"Stop pretending. If it hurts, go to the hospital. Don't you love hospitals?"
Love hospitals?
It felt like a knife had pierced my heart. Did I want to go to the hospitals? Did I want to be deaf?
I sensed the unusual bitterness and violence in his tone, but I couldn't find the reason why.
In the past five years, I had been to countless hospitals, not just for my ears but also because I couldn't get pregnant.
"As long as you're healed, I'm willing to sacrifice everything."
"I don't care about a child. I only care about you."
I could remember every word Alan said.