Part 3The Grave of His Making

These days, I followed Ethan.

I watched him live in our marital home with another woman.

Every decoration, even the candle stand in the corner, was chosen by me.

Chloe walked out of the bathroom and kicked the candle stand over.

"What happened?" Ethan asked.

"Oh, this is Emily's stuff, right? Kinda tacky. Sorry, I kicked it."

Ethan glanced at the broken ceramic.

"Emily was like that. Always wasting time on useless, flashy garbage to make herself feel special."

"She only ever moved herself. She never thought about what I needed."

I clutched my chest.

Only moved myself?

Ethan forgot his severe allergic rhinitis. Every spring, he could barely breathe.

I spent months finding an old herbal remedy and had it made into a balm. Every night, I burned it in that candle stand to fumigate the room.

Once, he had a high fever from allergies.

I lit the candle. He thrashed around in delirium, cursing me.

Afraid he'd knock it over and burn himself, I held the hot ceramic against my own arm all night.

My arm blistered and scarred.

A wife should care for her husband. I never bragged about it.

But hearing him dismiss it... it hurt.

Ethan kicked the pieces into the trash.

He pulled Chloe close.

"Emily is trash. Her stuff is trash."

"That bitch doesn't even have the courage to face me! She made a fake corpse to hide!"

"She knows my parents hate her. Her status depends on our marriage!"

"If I dump her, she loses everything!"

"But... does she think hiding will save her?"

"Naive! I'll find her even if she's in a rat hole, and I will divorce her!"

I smiled bitterly.

In his eyes, I was a leech. A coward. An obstacle.

Chloe's eyes flashed.

"Ethan... have your people found anything?"

"Is it possible... Emily is actually dead?"

"Impossible!" Ethan shouted.

"If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have suffered! Death is too easy for her!"

"That body in the morgue was a cheap trick. She's hiding somewhere laughing at me!"

"I wish she did die in some foreign ditch! It's disgusting that they called me to ID her!"

He kissed Chloe aggressively.

"Chloe, comfort me. I feel sick just thinking about her!"

"Hahaha!"

Chloe laughed and 'comforted' him.

They rolled onto the bed.

I covered my chest. It felt like being sliced by a thousand knives.

I couldn't cry anymore.

But why was the pain still there?