Born of Revenge

That night, August returned home earlier than usual.

He sat across from me and asked casually as he ate, “How was work today?”

“It was alright.” I lowered my head, but my voice was a little choked up.

He said nothing and did not even notice that I was feeling down today.

I looked at him in silence for a few seconds before I decided to test the waters. “Honey, the heater broke down. Do you still have a bit of the money I gave you? Let’s get someone to fix it.”

A painfully forced look of distress appeared on his face. He dug around in his pocket and said, “I’m sorry, dear. I used that money to pay off my debt. I don’t have anything left.”

Liar!

I shut my eyes, like they were too heavy to keep open. All I could picture was him slipping a generous tip to some waiter in a restaurant.

I pursed my lips, held back my emotions, and said, “That’s okay. I’ll think of something.”

He caressed my face and said gently, “By the way, Ivy has been feeling sick lately. The doctor asked her to eat more nutritious food.”

Then, he took out a descaled, deboned fish, and the air was instantly filled with a fishy stench. “She’s been craving some fish soup lately. Could you make some for her?”

Hope shone in his loving eyes.

I suddenly remembered August telling me once that he hated the smell of seafood.

He hated the smell of blood and fish.

I clenched my fists, and my nails dug into my palms.

He once said that he never ate meat or fish because the smell of blood made him want to puke.

But he was holding up a fish for Ivy and had completely forgotten that I could not tolerate fishy smells because of my pregnancy.

A strong fishy smell assaulted my nose, and my stomach churned.

“What’s wrong, Casey?”

I gagged, stood up, and ran to the bathroom.

As I knelt in front of the toilet, tears streamed down my face.

I loved August so much that I could give up everything for him.

But it was at this moment that I finally understood how insignificant I was in this relationship.

From behind me, August said in concern, “Are you alright, dear? Does your stomach hurt?”

My back was turned to him as my tears fell.

He stared at me and seemed very worried. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said coldly with a lowered head.

As a show of consideration, he handed me some medicine for my stomach before leaving the bathroom.

“Casey, make some soup for Ivy after you take the medicine. If you feel really sick, you can make it tomorrow.”

My back was still turned toward him, and I did not answer.

He did not care. He just put on his shoes and left.

“I have a job interview later. If I’m back late, don’t stay up. Go to bed.”

His footsteps faded away.

I took out my phone and made an appointment for an abortion. Then, I booked a train ticket to a city far away so that I could begin a new life there.

I no longer wanted to be in a relationship full of lies and deceit.

I hoped that we would never meet again.