Chapter 2

There was a pause, and then he gently whispered, “Rachel, are you awake?”

I kept still.

He reached out to me, and carefully brushed a tear away with his fingertip. Then he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace, as he usually did.

I turned away, still pretending to be fast asleep.

With my back to him, I gradually opened my eyes. In the darkness, everything was magnified—even emotions.

The resentment in my heart was spiralling rapidly into a howling cyclone of hatred.

How could anyone do something like this?

While plotting my ruin under the table, how could he still act as though I was the greatest love of his life?

Despicable, two-faced thing… I had to fight back the urge to gag.

-

The next day, I took that medical report Ian had presented me with, and brought it to the hospital which had supposedly issued the diagnosis.

By the time I staggered out of their Oncology Department, my heart had grown cold.

It was a sham, a falsified document that Ian had drawn up, all on his own. Announcing a terminal condition, out of the blue, in order to persuade me to sign a divorce.

I’d never taken him for such a devious fox.

What he didn’t know was that there actually was some truth to his claims: He did have cancer, not in his stomach, but in his liver.

The same condition his father had suffered from.

His father was in his fifties when he passed away. At present, Ian himself wasn’t even forty yet.

I laid a hand upon my belly. There was no noticeable sign of it, yet.

My face was already wet with tears.

Liver cancer ran in his bloodline… so this child’s days would be numbered, as well?

I wandered in the hospital. I was trapped in utter darkness, lost in a terrifying sense of uncertainty.

Before I could have enough time to sort things out, I stumbled upon yet another of Ian’s unforgivable sins.

I caught sight of a familiar figure passing through the junction up ahead. Moving on instinct, I followed behind…

The man hurried up to a young woman. Then, he knelt down on the floor, and pressed his ear to her abdomen, grinning from ear to ear with delight.

Sitting beside that woman was Ian’s mother.

The three of them laughed and chattered happily, the very portrait of a joyful family.

My blood was boiling. I was shaking from head to toe.

From the entrance to the Maternity Ward, a doctor called out, “Jane Archer! Is her family here?”

Ian shot to his feet and hurried over cheerfully. “Right here! I’m the father.”

My hands clenched into fists. Bile rose up in my throat.

Then I lowered my head and chuckled wryly to myself.

So that’s how it was… no wonder he was in such a hurry for a divorce. He’d already found himself another woman.

If he wanted to leave me simply because the feelings between us had faded, that would be one thing… but he’d come up with such a bold ruse, for the purposes of tricking me into agreeing to the divorce, even selling my own property, while he kept the lion’s share for himself.

He was evil, indeed…

I carefully folded up Ian’s physical report, and hid it in the deepest recesses of my handbag.

For all his lies… surely I was entitled to some deceptions of my own, now?

I brushed away the dried tears upon my face.

I stepped into the Gynecology Department, just nearby, and lined up to apply for an abortion. Through the crowd of people between us, I watched how happy he appeared to be.

The resentment within me grew even stronger. Why did he deserve to be happy, while I was left to suffer?

No… I had to get back at him, somehow…

An idea came to me. I called him on my handphone.

The moment his phone rang, Ian instinctively glanced around the place. Seeing nobody he knew, he hurried off to a more quiet spot, and took my call.

“Darling, what’s the matter?”

I studied the look of impatience upon his face, even as he said those words over the phone to me. My heart was a yawning pit of despair.

He used to say that he loved the sound of my voice… that he wanted to hear it all life long. Those days—back when he was so madly in love with me—he’d insist on staying on the line with me the whole night, every night. He’d fall asleep to the sound of my breathing.

Now, he responded to the sight of my name on his handphone with a look of annoyance.

So much for eternal love.

“Where are you, right now?” As I said this, I activated the voice recording function on my phone, while keeping my tone of voice nonchalant and casual.

His features contorted for an instant, but then he regained control over himself. He seemed to be well-prepared for such moments.

Affecting a pained voice, he murmured in reply, “My love, I suddenly felt unwell, so I’ve gone to the hospital for an inspection.”

So he said, while standing right outside the Maternity Ward.

Such a talented little liar he was…

After all, the most convincing lies were the ones which contained some truth to them.

From my hiding place nearby, I watched him put on this act. He thought he had me all wrapped around his little finger.

But who could truly be certain of what was real, in this life?

You talked about forever, but only meant it for the moment.

From one person to the next, you’d swear that they’ll be the only person you’ll ever love.

In the end, love was nothing but a lie that two people told one another.