The Words You Forgot

On my way home from work, I realized a man I didn't know was following me. I called my husband, Cassian Bellamy, for help, hoping he could come pick me up. Instead, he sent me a few cold voice messages. "Can you stop acting like you're being followed all the time? We live in a society governed by laws. Where's this creep you're talking about?" "Also, if someone really is following you, what do you think he's going to do? You're a married woman. I'm busy right now, so take a cab home yourself." I hid in the corner of a 24-hour convenience store, trembling from head to toe. It wasn't until a torrential downpour began that the creepy figure finally left. I ran home in the dark, soaked to the skin and covered in mud. The moment I got home, a post from Cassian's childhood friend, Celine Marlowe, popped up on my phone. "This is why having a childhood friend matters. I couldn't get a ride home in the rain, so he drove across half the city just to pick me up from work." The photo showed Cassian's familiar Land Rover, with a warm cup of coffee in the passenger seat. Celine's pinned location was a full 18 miles from our home. And Cassian's car would have passed right by the street where I'd called him for help. In that moment, all the strength seemed to leave my body. Maybe I didn't need this miserable marriage after all. Chapter 1 The Last Straw Cassian didn't come home until two in the morning. When he saw me drenched from head to toe, he frowned. "Why are you still up in the middle of the night? Look at the state you're in. Don't you have work tomorrow?" he asked disdainfully. My hands were slick with cold sweat, and my voice came out hoarse. "Where were you?" He casually looked down as he changed his shoes, not even bothering to look at me. "Same as always. Working late." "Working late all the way to picking Celine up from work, is that it?" His hands stopped abruptly. He looked up and gave me a quick glance without saying a word. He couldn't even be bothered to pretend anymore. In that moment, all the fear and hurt I'd been forcing down all night came crashing out. I stumbled toward him, my eyes red as I glared at him. "I called you 13 times for help. You said you didn't have time, yet you drove 18 miles out of your way to pick up Celine. Cassian, have you forgotten who's your actual wife?" He hurled his shoes into the cabinet, the impact sending a dull thud through the entryway. He turned and looked down at me. "That's enough, Sienna! I married you. That doesn't make me your personal chauffeur or bodyguard! "Are you seriously comparing yourself to Celine? She's a young woman living alone. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? If I didn't go pick her up and something happened to her, how could you expect me to live with myself?" I grabbed his sleeve in disbelief, my mind flashing back to the look in that man's eyes in the dark alley. My whole body began to shake uncontrollably. "But you know I have severe night blindness! There weren't even any streetlights on that road, and that creep followed me for three whole blocks. All night, I kept wishing you'd come get me. Even if you couldn't come, you could've at least stayed on the phone with me and told me not to be afraid." A powerful shove suddenly sent me stumbling backward. I hit the floor hard, pain shooting through my back until my vision went black. Yet, his eyes held nothing but undisguised reproach. "Sienna, this time, you jumped at shadows and convinced yourself someone was following you. What about next time? Am I supposed to drop everything and become your full-time bodyguard every time a stray cat happens to cross your path? "When did you become so fragile? Just because Celine and I are close, do you have to keep driving a wedge between us? When are you going to learn from Celine? Be more understanding, considerate, and kind like she is!" His words were poisoned blades, each one cutting into my heart. I didn't know when I'd become the kind of woman he saw me as. I only knew that, as his wife, I was asserting the one right I had left. I didn't want my husband getting a late-night call from another woman and immediately dropping everything to go running to her. I didn't want to make plans to travel with my husband, only for him to abandon me before our flight took off, choosing to go on vacation with another woman somewhere else. And I certainly couldn't stand the vague, overly intimate relationship between them. When I fell silent, he walked straight into the kitchen and pulled out two boxes of cold medicine. He walked past me as I sat slumped on the floor without even breaking stride. "Celine caught a cold after getting soaked in the rain tonight. I need to get these to her. From now on, don't bother me with these little complaints over nothing." He pulled open the door. Cold night air rushed inside, making my whole body tremble. "I'm not coming back tonight. I'm worried Celine might spike a high fever and have no one to take care of her." He didn't even give me a chance to argue. The front door slammed shut, and I watched his taillights disappear into the rainy night. That was when I finally broke. I sank to the floor in the entryway. Whatever little hope I'd had left for him was completely crushed. With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to my best friend, who was a lawyer. "Draft a divorce agreement for me. I want it as soon as possible." Chapter 2 The Promise He Forgot After sending the message, I dug an old, yellowed notebook out of my desk drawer. Cassian had written it himself five years ago, back when he proposed to me. "20 Things I Must Do to Marry Sienna" was the title. "Firstly, Sienna has night blindness. Whenever we're out at night, I have to hold her hand tightly and never let go." "Secondly, Sienna has always struggled with insecurity. Once we get married, there can never be another woman in my life." "Thirdly, I must never make Sienna cry. If I do, I'll walk away with nothing and never be able to turn my life around again." … How had everything changed in just five short years? The next morning, I picked up the divorce agreement from the law firm. The moment I opened the front door, I found Celine standing inside. She was wearing my silk robe, with my fuzzy slippers on her feet. "You're back, Sienna." My fingers jerked, and I instinctively tightened my grip on the documents in my hand. "I'm sorry, Sienna. I should've told you I was coming. Cassian felt bad that my commute on the subway is so exhausting, so he asked me to move in for a while. That way, I can ride to work with him every day." Stay here? Ride to work with him? A bitter, absurd laugh almost escaped my throat. Cassian happened to walk out of the master bedroom. Seeing me frozen in the doorway, he barely reacted. "Don't get the wrong idea. Celine lives in a run-down neighborhood way out of the way. I'm just helping a friend out. It's no big deal. You shouldn't have a problem with it, right?" "No big deal?" I lifted my eyes, my gaze stern. "Cassian, your office is on the southern side of the city, while hers is on the north. That's a 31-mile round trip. All that effort, just to give her a ride? What, are you driving around the equator?" The moment I finished speaking, her shoulders jerked, and her eyes instantly reddened. Like a frightened rabbit, she timidly took a step behind him. Cassian slammed the glass in his hand onto the table and whipped around to glare at me. "Sienna, what kind of filthy thoughts are you filling your head with? No wonder none of our relatives have liked you all these years. Now, I finally understand just how unreasonable you are." It felt as though someone had torn a hole straight through my heart. I forced down the nausea churning in my stomach and slapped the divorce agreement down in front of him. "Sign it." Cassian frowned and gave it a dismissive glance. The moment he saw the words at the top, he let out a mocking scoff. "Are you seriously taking things this far just because I didn't come pick you up yesterday? Sienna, you're 26, not six. Throwing a childish tantrum like this in front of Celine will only make her laugh at you." He pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket. After taking a deep drag, he spoke with the air of someone granting me a favor. "Fine. Let's say you really were in danger last night. You're angry and want to give me a hard time. I happen to know the owner of a security company. Starting tomorrow, I'll get you a full-time bodyguard who can double as your driver. They'll pick you up and drop you off at work every day. How does that sound?" I didn't back down. I simply met his eyes, calm and resolute. "What if I'm determined to get a divorce?" Cassian's hand froze. He strode toward me and, right in front of Celine, stripped away every last shred of my dignity. "You really want a divorce? Sienna, where do you think you'll go once you leave me? A father who's a gambling addict, a mother who has to rely on medication just to stay alive, and a younger brother still in school who's depending on you. Who'd be willing to take on all that baggage?" I bit my lower lip. Only when I tasted the sharp tang of blood did I manage to hold back the tears in my eyes. "Even if I have to beg under an overpass to survive, I'll never rely on you for anything again." "Fine, then. Let's see how long you can keep that attitude up. Sienna, I'll be waiting for the day you come crawling back and begging me." With that, he grabbed Celine by the wrist and stormed out, slamming the door behind him without looking back. The deafening crash made the entire house tremble. I slumped against the cold wall and slowly slid to the floor. Just then, a message appeared on my phone from the hospital. "Congratulations, Ms. Calloway. You're pregnant." Chapter 3 One Last Call That afternoon, I walked into the obstetrics and gynecology clinic alone. The doctor studied my medical report as she furrowed her brows. "Ms. Calloway, you already have several health issues. Going through with an abortion despite your condition could very well leave you permanently infertile. Are you sure you want to do this?" I lowered my eyes, clutching the hem of my clothes, and nodded numbly. As I headed toward the lobby with the payment slip in hand, my phone began vibrating. It was my mom. The moment I answered, her ragged breathing came through in broken gasps. "Sienna, did Cassian stop my medication? I-I can't breathe…" Her words drove into my chest like red-hot nails. With trembling hands, I frantically called Cassian. After what felt like an eternity, he finally answered. "Cassian! Why did you stop my mom's medication? Don't you understand that taking away her medication is no different from killing her?" My voice came out shrill and trembling. He gave a quiet scoff, his voice cold and utterly indifferent. "Sienna, weren't you the one threatening to divorce me and swearing you wouldn't rely on me? If you want to leave, then I have to teach you how to stand on your own. What, you can't even go one day without her medication?" The blood in my veins seemed to turn cold. I'd thought he simply didn't love me anymore. I never imagined he'd be cruel enough to make even my closest family pay for it. Before I could say another word, Celine's sweet voice came through the phone. "Cassian, does this dress look good on me? You promised you'd be my date today. Go put on your suit already." Cassian's voice softened instantly. "Okay, I'm coming." He hung up without the slightest hesitation. A moment later, a WhatsApp voice message from my mom popped up. Her voice was so weak I could barely hear it. "Sienna, my chest hurts so badly. If I don't make it, take care of your brother…" I broke into tears, dialing Cassian's number like a madwoman. When he hung up, I called again and again, but he declined every call. As my missed-call log grew into a long list, I sent him a message while trembling. "Please, Cassian. Give my mom her medication. I'll do anything you want!" His reply was a selfie of the two of them. Celine was smiling brightly as she linked her arm through Cassian's, the two of them looking like a perfect couple. And the man with severe germophobia, who hated anyone touching his phone, was now letting her provoke me without saying a word. "Sienna, Cassian says you need to be taught a lesson today, so stop messaging him, okay?" A suffocating pressure closed around my throat. I staggered out through the hospital doors. My phone rang again. It was my mom. However, when I answered, a stranger's voice came through. "Ms. Calloway, your mother just suffered a sudden heart attack and has been pronounced dead. Please come to the hospital and make the necessary arrangements." Chapter 4 She Died for Me The morgue was bitterly cold. With trembling hands, I lifted the thin, white sheet. My mom lay there in silence, her face twisted grotesquely from the agony of suffocation. Yet, her stiff fingers were still clenched tightly around a man's sweater. Dark red blood had soaked through large patches of the fabric. It was the blood she'd coughed up in her final moments. Cassian's 30th birthday was next week. Wearing her reading glasses, my mom had stayed up late knitting him a sweater, smiling gently as she worked. "Cassian has more money than he knows what to do with. He doesn't need a thing. The least I can do is knit him a sweater myself. At least it'll be a little something from the heart." I stared at the blood, my throat feeling as though I'd swallowed razor blades. Not a sound would come out. … After signing the paperwork, I wandered down the hallway like a ghost. Coming toward me, Cassian was carefully guiding Celine through the crowd. His large hand was wrapped around her waist, shielding her from people passing by. Our eyes met, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face before twisting into a sneer. "Did you follow me to the hospital to apologize? Sienna, you've been with me for five years, and your whole family has been sucking me dry like leeches. Are you finally scared now? "But I'm not giving you the medication today. Your mom can suffer for another day. Celine had too much to drink, so I brought her here for a shot to help sober her up. Go home." Another day? A shot to make her sober? My mom was dead, while his darling was here just because she'd gotten drunk. I raised my bloodshot eyes and stared straight at him. "My mom is dead." His brows furrowed deeply, and extreme disgust flashed across his eyes. "So, now you'd even curse your own mother with a fake death just to force me to give you the medication? Sienna, when did you become so vicious?" The sheer absurdity and hatred tore through the last of my reason. Clutching the paperwork in my hand, I lunged at him. "You bastard! You killed her!" I instinctively reached for Celine, who was hiding behind him. "And you! What's with eyeing someone else's husband? Do you make a habit of seducing married men? Don't you have any shame?" "What the hell is wrong with you?" Cassian's expression changed instantly. To protect Celine, he shoved me hard in the shoulder. Caught completely off guard, I was sent sprawling backward like a rag doll. My lower back and abdomen slammed violently into the hard metal armrest of the connected row of seats. A dull thud echoed through the hallway, and a violent pain tore through my lower abdomen. Cassian looked down at me coldly, as though I were a piece of trash. "Still pretending? Is that a blood pack? What's next? You're going to tell me you're pregnant, that I pushed you and caused you to miscarry, and that I'll have to spend the rest of my life feeling guilty?" He let out a mocking laugh, his voice dripping with venom. "You'd better actually miscarry, Sienna. Then, maybe I'll finally regret it for real. Because if you keep acting like this, I'll permanently cut off your mother's medication!" Without another word, he turned and strode away with his arm around Celine. Celine glanced back at me, a smug smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Then, a message from Celine appeared on my phone. "Sienna, do you know how your mother died?" She immediately followed it with a video. In the video, Celine's voice was sweet enough to make my skin crawl. "Cassian, aren't you afraid Sienna will divorce you? You're always backing me up." Cassian's cold voice cut through me like a knife. "Not in the slightest. As long as she has her mother, there's no way she'll divorce me. Her mother's illness is a bottomless pit anyway. We're just wasting money and resources to keep her hanging alive. "As long as her mother lives another day, Sienna will stay right where she belongs—with me. Even if I really did something to betray her, she wouldn't retaliate." So that was it. My mom had deliberately given up her life for my sake. The pain was so overwhelming I could barely breathe. Warm fluid suddenly gushed from me, and darkness swallowed my vision. Just then, a nurse on duty screamed behind me, "Oh, my God! There's so much blood! Help, she's miscarrying!" Through the crowd gathering around me, I saw Cassian's face twisted in utter horror.