001: Betrayal

IRIS

"Well, here goes nothing."

I took a deep breath, shut my eyes and hit the plastic piggy bank sharply with a small hammer. I opened one eye, then the other.

"Holy crow!" I cried as I spread out the bills on the kitchen counter.

There was money here. Lots of it. How had I ever managed to save so much money in just under a year? I glanced at the clock. It was still hours before Ollie was due home, but what was that saying again?

Time flies when you're having fun.

And I was going to have a lot of fun buying my husband the best, most expensive wedding anniversary gift I had ever given him. I spent the next fifteen minutes straightening out the bills and counting them. As soon as I finished, I changed and headed straight for the most renowned jewellery store in the city. From the store's window, one could see the pieces they had on display, sitting on soft velvet cushions. I had window-shopped here more times than I could count. Now I actually had enough money to buy something.

Getting a gift for Ollie was not as simple as I thought. The sheer number of men's bracelets, watches, studs, cufflinks on display was enough to make anyone confused. Twenty minutes after I had come into the store, I found myself in an aisle I had been to before, desperately trying to choose between a silver bracelet or a pair of golden cufflinks. My eyes darted from one to the other so fast it almost made me dizzy.

"May I assist you, ma'am?"

I turned to see a plump, pretty redhead beside me, wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the store's name.

"Yes, please. I'm trying to decide which one to buy..."

I trailed off. She smiled knowingly.

"It's to be a gift for your brother... father?" she asked.

"Oh. No. My husband. It's an anniversary present."

The redhead's smile widened. "Congratulations," she said warmly.

"Thank you."

She glanced at the items I had been looking at and frowned a little.

"Does he particularly want those?" she asked.

"Not really."

"Then I know just the thing. Please come with me."

I followed her to a large display case containing wristwatches. She gently took out one that had also caught my eye.

"This is the Rolex Submariner. White gold, you see. It's exquisite. I'm sure he'll like this... Or you can try the-"

"No," I cut in. As soon as I had seen the watch, I knew it was the one. "I want it."

She beamed. "You made an excellent choice."

I sucked in a breath when she told me the price, but then I had just the amount, and I paid without batting an eye. Ollie was worth every cent.

The sales girl again wished me a happy anniversary as I left the store. I kept imagining Ollie's delighted look of surprise when I handed him the watch.

If I had known then that my world would come crumbling down in no time, I would have held on longer to that last shred of happiness.

I pushed open the front door of my house and paused at the threshold for a moment. Faint noises were coming from somewhere in the house. Had I left one of the television sets on, or had Ollie returned? The sounds got louder as I approached the bedroom door. It was an odd motley of sounds: the creak of bedsprings, soft grunts, pants... a moan?

"Ollie? What are-"

I had opened the door of the bedroom while speaking. I froze at the sight that met my eyes. My husband's arms were around a blonde. His lips were glued to hers. She shifted sighed his name, and I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

"Charlotte! Ollie!" I shrieked.

Instantly, they sprang apart. Ollie's lips curled when he saw me standing there with my hand pressed against my chest. With a sigh, Charlotte, my stepsister, slowly sat up. As an afterthought, she covered her bare breasts with the sheets.

"Why the hell did you have to sneak in on us like that?" Ollie grumbled. He swung his legs out of bed, searched and found his shorts among the pile of his and Charlotte's discarded clothes, and pulled them on."The door was locked, wasn't it? You should have knocked."

In my head, I was screaming at Ollie, at Charlotte. In reality, my brain desperately tried to catch up with my senses. Maybe I had fallen asleep and had begun having this terrible dream. It just had to be a dream. My husband sleeping with my stepsister? The thought was intolerable.

"What are you standing there, staring like a dumb ox, for? Huh?" Ollie said. Charlotte giggled and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. Ollie's gave her an indulgent smile. "She is rather dumb, isn't she, love?"

Charlotte nodded and giggled again.

"Well, did you want something, Iris?" he continued.

Tears ran down my cheeks. I forced my vocal cords to unlock. "Ollie... how... Why? How could you..."

I couldn't go on. Tears clogged my throat, making it difficult to speak.

Ollie ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "Couldn't you have returned a little later? Charlotte and I were getting to the good part. You- What's that?" His gaze had lighted on the box still clutched in my hand. He walked up to where I still stood, rooted to the spot. He took the box and opened it. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "How touching. She seems to have bought me a gift." He put on the watch, twisted his wrist this way and that, and then held it out for Charlotte's inspection.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

She wrinkled her nose. "That's the ugliest watch I've ever seen."

"I think so, too." Ollie unclasped the watch and flung it at my feet. "Is this the best you could think of? Gifting me a stupid, valueless watch? It is no surprise, though, seeing as you're pretty stupid and valueless yourself."

I tried again to put my feelings into words, but all that came out of my mouth was, "Ollie..."

"I'm sick of you, Iris. I've been pretty sick of you for a while, to be honest. I suppose it's good you caught me in the act. I want a divorce."

"No," I croaked.

"Yes," he hissed. "I'll serve you the papers soon enough. Now you have to leave this house."

"Thi- This is my home," I stuttered. "I'm your wife."

"Not anymore. Now leave."

"Ollie, we were happy together. What has gotten into you?"

"I'm telling you for the last time to beat it."

It suddenly felt very difficult to breathe when I recalled that I had spent all my money in this world just to buy him a watch. I didn't even have enough to pay for the cheapest motel room. Where would I go?

"I have nowhere else to go," I pleaded. "Please, you can't throw me out."

Ollie's eyes glinted dangerously.

"You don't get to tell me what I can or cannot do," he roared.

The next moment, he had my hand in a tight and painful grip. I screamed and begged as he dragged me out of the room. He pushed me outside what had once been my home and shut the door in my face.

I pounded on the door with my fists.

"Ollie!" I yelled. "Ollie! Please, open up. Let me in. Ollie!”

For a long time, I screamed till I was hoarse. No one answered. Sobbing, I sank onto the floor as the tears ran down my face in a continuous stream.