But that just made Jake’s dad think-
It was solid proof that Jake’s mother had
cheated on him.
His logic went something like this: Jake’s
mother had an affair with my father, which
was why she took me in so quickly after my
parents died.
That was also why I looked so much like Jake,
because we had the same blood running
through our veins.
It made perfect sense to him.
He’d found another reason to punish me.
That night, I woke up suffocating.
L
The devil was holding me down, one hand
clamping down on my chest, the other
pressing the pillow against my face. His body
was half–way on top of mine.
Because I was so weak from hunger, I didn’t
have the strength to fight back. All I could see
were big spots of black coming into view.
I could even vaguely see my parents, and
Jake’s mom, smiling at me, waving me over.
…Maybe it was better to just give up.
But then, suddenly, a rush of fresh air filled
my lungs.
I gasped for air, tears welling up in my eyes.
As the dizziness faded, I was barely able to
open my eyes.
く
I saw Jake, one hand holding a blood–covered
beer bottle, the other clutching the pillow.
His clothes were all messed up, like he’d
woken up from a nightmare and rushed over.
He was also gasping for breath, the look on
his face was even more terrified than mine.
“Amy! Are you okay?!”
Beside the bed, a grown man was lying there,
unconscious.
We used the house phone to call the police.
With solid evidence, Jake’s father was
sentenced for attempted murder and got a
sentence of over ten years.
Jake’s father had some money saved, which
<
the court ordered to be given to us as child
support. Combined with the little we had
managed to save ourselves over the years,
life finally got a little easier.
My life was a bitter mess.
But meeting him, was like a flower blooming
from that mess.
But flowers always fade.
When I finished laying it all out, Jake didn’t
say a word. .
He just stood up stiffly and said, coldly:
“I won’t agree to it.”
“Amy, just give me a little time, and I’ll fix
Then, he turned around and walked inside, as
if he was running away.
The worst thing about this was that, in our
country, divorce was based on whether or not
the marriage was irretrievably broken.
But, infidelity wasn’t necessarily proof that
the marriage was unsalvageable. I had to figure out a way to live separately for a
couple of years, and then go through the long
process of divorce.
The evidence I had only could be used to
divide up the assets once the divorce was
underway.
It was a mess, but I had one last idea.
Go to see that woman.
If she wanted to replace me, I’d just push her
buttons, and get her to stir up trouble with
Jake.
The more trouble she caused, the more
compensation I’d get.
But, I didn’t expect her to show up on my
doorstep before I’d even tried to contact her.
The next day, Jake left for work as usual. He
intentionally left at a different time from me.
By the time I woke up, the house was empty.
Looking at the empty living room, I felt a
wave of loneliness washing over me.
But then, the doorbell rang.
Ding–dong, ding–dong.
<
Who would come at this time?
I got up, confused, and went to check the
peephole.
But before I could open the door, it opened
on its own.
A pregnant woman, the same one I had seen
at the coffee shop, Jake’s affair partner,
walked in.
I hadn’t even gotten angry yet when I realized
something really strange.
According to what I knew, Jake had only been
seeing her for two months. But her stomach.
was huge and round. Even though I’d never
had a kid myself, I could tell she was at least
five months pregnant.
<
She breathed heavily, and proudly showed off
her belly, as if she was telling me to get out
of the house.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, hon, about two months
ago, Jake and I, well, things got a little out of
hand. And I got pregnant! And just yesterday,
he was talking about marrying me! So I’m
going to have to ask you to step aside now!”
What a low–brow, petty move.
What a pathetic performance.
“Two months?” I looked at her, confused.
“Honey, your belly’s at least five months
along. Whose kid are you trying to pass off as
his?”
Her face flushed in an instant, going all kinds
く
of colors. Anger was the most prominent
feeling.
I heard her quietly cursing at someone:
…are
you incompetent… why would there be a
problem…?! This isn’t supposed to… speed
up…
As if she had received a reply, her expression
changed.
“Of course! It’s twins! That’s why my belly is
so big.”
She patted her stomach a couple of times,
like she was patting a ripe watermelon.
“You’ve been married to him for six years and
still haven’t gotten pregnant, right? How
about making room for someone who can
く
I watched her, carefully, getting more and
more suspicious, while trying to make her say
more information.
At the same time, I secretly turned on the
voice recorder on my phone, and sent a
message.
It was funny. Jake said he’d take care of it,
didn’t he?
Alright, the woman was here now. Let’s see
how he handles it.
But the more I talked to her, the more I felt
like-
This woman was brain–dead.
She was rattling off lines that sounded
く
scripted, while also watching my face, trying
to get some kind of angry or sad reaction
from me.
When I didn’t react, she got angry herself.
She just flopped to the floor and, even though
nobody touched her, blood started to come
out from underneath her.
It was like a ridiculous mime show, where I
was sitting on the couch watching her
perform.
