chapter 2

LIA

Tendrils of agony twist my gut, and my vision blurs with tears but I force myself to remain quiet and listen to them. My husband and Pen.

"How could she not see it?" Pen's voice drips with annoyance. “I practically shoved it to her face that there is something between us, yet she isn’t one bit suspicious.”

How could I be? When I trusted Karl. I trusted him as my husband.

“Lia is a gullible fool. It is one of her charms.” This time, it is the husband that I love so much that chuckles, his voice devoid of warmth when he says my name. His words scrape against my soul, coming from the man I love and think loves me the same if not more. He just reduced me to a ‘foolish woman' in front of his secretary whom I considered my friend.

A sob threatens to rip from my throat, but I clamp my palm over my mouth, muffling the sound. I dig my teeth into my palm as silent whimpers breakthrough.

"Definitely." Pen purrs. "I doubt she has any other charms, though." A rustle precedes her words. "You won't believe what she told me when I showed her my necklace, the one you gave me." I knew, with sickening certainty, what was coming. "It looks similar to the one Karl got me for our anniversary," she mimics my voice, each word wrapped with a note of mockery. 'Looks like my husband and your boyfriend have similar taste."

Shame washes over me like a tidal wave. How could I have been so blind? How could I have missed an affair happening right under my nose? I think back at every moment that should have made me suspicious yet, I shrugged it off being the stupid, trusting, loving wife I am.

Their mocking laughter echoes around me. It claws at my skin, digging deeper as their laughter continues. How can the people I trusted the most betray me like this? All the while, I thought I had found my home, only to discover it was built on lies. While I thought I had found my people, they made fun of my gullibility, making me into their twisted entertainment.

A strangled sob escapes the confines of my hand.

My marriage was an illusion painted by Karl, yet I was oblivious to it.

Tears, hot and heavy, trace burning paths down my cheeks, soaking the back of my hand. I'm furious, angry at myself, angry at Karl, angry at pen. I want to implode in their faces. But like a fool, I remain rooted in the corner, hiding my pathetic self. Like a gullible fool.

"Why did you even bother getting married to someone like her?" Pen's voice drips with disdain. "She's not your type. She is chubby, ugly..." The words pierce my heart like poisoned arrows.

My sobs increase in tempo beneath my clamped hand.

Chubby. Ugly.

I have been described with those two adjectives all my life.

Karl scoffs and I gag at the fact that this is a man that I have grown to love, the man that I have spent five years of my life with. “What do you think? She is convenient for me, low maintenance, and easy to satisfy. She swallows my insults like they're compliments. She asks for nothing, expecting only the crumbs of my affection. Like a lost puppy, she is clingy and pathetic."

A thousand tiny razors tear at my chest. His disdainful voice is like acid on my skin. Pathetic. Clingy. Easy.

Karl snarls. “I married her because I needed a wife because my father wouldn't hand over the company if I wasn't married. My mom can't stand the sight of her too. Being with her is hard." He says. "I'm glad I have you babe."

“Aww…Karl.” Pen purrs. “How will manage without me?"

"I can't live without you, babe. Lia is nothing to me. She's just a placeholder."

The dam within me burst. Tears flow down my cheeks, trailing a hot path down my red cheeks. How could he say that about me? After all these years, and all the dreams and memories we shared. Why? Why?

The realization hits me like a physical blow. He doesn't love me. He never did.

As lewd sound fills the air, nausea rises in my stomach. I pinch myself and slap my cheeks. Anything to wake up from this nightmare.

This can’t be happening to me. The husband I love so much doesn’t consider me convenient. He doesn’t consider me chubby and ugly. He loves me, and not because he needs to inherit his company. What we share is perfect and it makes everyone envious.

No.

No.

This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I have to wake up. Wake up from this cruel, twisted reality, I land another slap on my cheeks and the stings ground me to the harsh reality happening.

The sickening sound of their kisses still fills the air, twisting my insides. "She's so vanilla, it makes me sick," he mutters, the disgust towards me clear.

A sudden loud sound jolts me from my pain. Disoriented, I glance around wildly, before realizing the noise is from the vodka bottle and cake slipping from my numb fingers.

My tears-filled eyes gaze down to the mess at my feet —Shattered glass, smeared cake, and spilled wine—, just like my life.

Pen and Karl appear in front of me. They stare at me with surprised looks. Pen's expression shifts, morphing into a cunning smirk as if she is glad that I heard their conversation.

“Why are you here?” Karl says, his voice heavy with restrained annoyance, no hint of remorse on his face. “Shouldn’t you be on your women's trip?” He says it in the most demeaning voice.

Karl has never been fond of me attending the annual women's trip. He says that he hates that I have to be away from him but I'm coming to the realization that he just doesn't see any value in it, just like in me.

A cold rage simmers in me. I glare at him icily but he shrugs, unbothered by my visible anger.

My eyes trail down their body and a gasp of disbelief escapes my mouth. They are in matching pajamas, one I bought for me and Karl.

The food I ate this morning threatens to make an appearance in my mouth.

He curls an arm around Pen, drawing her closer. My throat feels raw as if I swallowed a fistful of ashes. All I can do is tremble like a leaf.

"So you heard everything, then," he sounds like a completely different person, it gives me a whiplash. "Such a shame. I was going to make it grand, you know." The mockery in his voice is glaring.

Pen snickers beside him and I shoot her a glare which she returns with one of hers.

“How could you do this to me?" My voice breaks into a pathetic half-sob. "I gave you everything Karl. My love, my soul, my life. I gave you everything!” My heart breaks as I say. “All these years I was just a game to you. I was merely a pawn to you. This is how you repay me for everything. How could you do this to me?" A tsunami of emotion threatens to drown me until my voice is barely a whisper.

“The game is the game, Lia,” Karl yells and I flinch, my legs backpedaling. “You are just naive to think I will love someone like you.”

The Karl I know, the one who never raised his voice at me, is gone. This stranger before me is monstrous with eyes that burn with hatred for me,

Or has this been Karl's true self and I am just blinded by love to see it?

“And what? Using you?” He laughs but his voice holds no humor. "I did you a favor by getting married to you. I gave you everything you wanted. You live comfortably, doing whatever the fuvk you want, spending however you like. You have the liberty to go on your stupid women's conference that has not added anything to this house or you." Each word is heavy with venomous spite, breaking me down brick by brick. "Let's be honest, you were lucky to have someone like me 'love' you. Face it, you don't deserve me. You never could."

He stalks back into the room, leaving me rooted to a spot. I struggle for my breath as his words echo in my head, carving themselves into my heart and leaving welts on my soul.

Moments later, a paper flutters to my face. “That is the divorce papers. Get out of my life and don't you dare come back. If you do, It won’t be as pleasant as this. Get in touch with my lawyer to finalize the divorce. I want nothing to do with you. And don't think you will be getting any money from me, it is a fruitless effort."

Pen lands on Karl's chest. “Don’t be too harsh on her, darling. We don’t want her to die on us.” She mocks.

Tears flow down my face uncontrollably. My mouth is unable to form any word. I have never been the one to be good with words. I have always hated confrontation. I cower rather than standing up for myself and that is exactly what I do at this moment.

My chest constricts more and more with each passing second until I can't breathe and I'm struggling for air on choked gasps.

My head spins as dizziness engulfs me. The ground rushes to meet me and I'm knocked out, thrust into darkness

Good, maybe, this is just a nightmare. When I wake up, Karl will be there with his familiar warmth and love which is a shield against the storm. My life will be back to normal again. I will have the love of my life beside me and I will be happy.