In the living room, Mathew called my name over and over, but I pressed my hands over my mouth, tears streaming down my cheeks, too shattered to respond. Each ring of his voice was a dagger, digging deeper into my heart.
When I finally wiped my tears and tried to gather myself, I looked up and saw them—chatting, laughing, a picture of bliss. What a happy little family of three they made, a sight that tore me apart even more.
Fueled by a surge of emotions, I rushed over and stood before the dining table, my heart racing, my breath quickening. I stared at them, searching for any trace of remorse in their eyes.
Mathew glanced up, his expression a mix of confusion and annoyance. "Where have you been? I called for a long time, but no one answered."
Hellen smiled sweetly, her eyes glinting with a challenge. She looked at me with that provoking gaze, a smugness wrapped around her every word. “cousin, sit down!” she chimed, her tone dripping with condescension as if she were the mistress of the house.
In a sudden surge of fury, I seized the coffee from both their hands, the warmth burning against my skin. Mathew barely had time to react before the hot liquid splashed across his sleeve, staining the fabric and his once-composed demeanor. He wiped frantically at the darkened spot, his face twisting in outrage. “Mary, what’s wrong with you so early in the morning?” he shouted, disbelief mingling with irritation, as if I were the one who had crossed a line.
I glared at him, my heart pounding with a mix of rage and hurt. “Whether you want to reminisce about the past with your white moonlight or rekindle old flames, please don’t drag her into my life again!” My voice trembled with the wfive of my emotions, each word laced with pain.
Hellen rose from her seat, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, a picture of faux concern. “cousin, please don’t misunderstand me,” she said, her voice soft and sweet, but it dripped with insincerity. “Mathew and I are just ordinary friends now. There’s nothing more. I brought the children to see you.”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling my heart harden against her charade. “If you really have nothing to do with him and you only came to see me, then why do you still call him Mathew? Shouldn’t you be calling him brother-in-law instead?”
Hellen recoiled as if I had struck her, the color draining from her face, shock etched into her features. “I’m sorry, cousin,” she stammered, her voice trembling like a fragile leaf caught in a tempest. “I’m just used to calling that, and I can’t change it right away.”
Mathew, already bristling with tension, hurled the crumpled tissue aside, his face a storm of frustration. “Enough, Mary! Hellen came to see you out of kindness, and this is how you treat her? ” His voice thundered through the stillness, each accusation striking me like a lightning bolt, igniting the anger simmering beneath my skin.
His words unleashed a fire within me, a fierce resolve rising against the wfive of his unjust blame. I wouldn’t let him manipulate me any longer. With a steely glare, I turned my full attention to Hellen. “Take your daughter and get out of my house!”ing as the wfive of my proclamation settled heavily between us.
Hellen’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the façade of innocence slipping seamlessly into place as she turned to Mathew. “Mathew, did I do something wrong to make my cousin hate me so much?” she sobbed,.
Mathew shoved me aside. He rushed to her, wiping her tears away with a tenderness that felt like a dagger twisting deeper into my wound. “It’s not your fault,” he murmured softly, his voice dripping with false compassion.
Hellen turned to me, her expression twisted in indignation, a queen demanding respect from her subject.
“Mary, come here and apologize to Hellen!”
“Now, both of you get out of here!” I declared, my voice cutting through the thick tension like a knife. The command reverberated in the silence, echoing with a finality that felt both liberating and terrifying.
Mathew's anger flared, his voice rising like a storm. “Mary, you have to understand, this is my house! What right do you have to tell me to get out?”
It was true—this was his home, but it was also my sanctuary, my refuge from the chaos he had brought into my life. Mathew's mother had transferred the house to my name, a fact I clung to like a lifeline. I narrowed my eyes, feeling the adrenaline surge through me as I prepared to stand my ground. “Mathew, how about I take out the property certificate and show you whose house this really is?”
His response was swift, fueled by a fierce defiance that only stoked the fire between us. “So what? I’m your husband, and what’s yours is mine too!”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips, a sound tinged with disbelief. “Do you even remember that you are my husband?”
“Let me ask you,” I said, my voice low but edged with a razor-sharp intensity, “Whose bed did you sleep in after staying out all night?”
Just as I was about to push harder, Hellen interrupted, her tone a mix of urgency and a calculated innocence. “cousin, since you don’t want to see me, I’ll just take Jason away.”
With that, she cast a piteous glance at Mathew, her eyes shimmering with tears that felt more like a performance than genuine sorrow. Clutching her daughter’s hand, she hurried toward the door.
Mathew instinctively lunged after them, but I was faster. I grasped the fabric of his shirt, my fingers gripping it tightly. “You’re not going anywhere,”
“Mathew,” I pleaded, my voice trembling with desperation, “I can’t stand the pain. Can you help me get some medicine?”
But instead of compassion, he exploded with fury. With a brutal shove, he sent me crashing into the wall beside me, the impact sending a jolt of dizziness spiraling through my mind.
For a fleeting moment, I saw regret flash in his eyes, a brief flicker of humanity. But it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He stormed out, chasing after Hellen like a moth drawn to her flickering flame, leaving me in the suffocating silence of our home.
My attending physician had been relentless, pushing me to consider chemotherapy. “You’re still so young,” he insisted, his voice a mixture of concern and frustration. “How can you give up your life so easily?”
My heart was already a battlefield, scarred and battered by the wfive of betrayal and loss.Since that day when Mathew had stormed out, he hadn’t set foot in this house . Each tick of the clock echoed in the silence, a reminder of the gaping void left by his absence.
Hellen took to Moments with an eager fervor, flooding my feed with daily updates designed to torment me.
“Today we visited the place where we got engaged. It was magical!”“I went with him to see his ex today. Does my ex still hold the same importance in his heart as before?”“He said that watching me eat is also a kind of happiness!”
Each post felt like a dagger, twisting deeper into my heart, her words dripping with a triumphant glee as she flaunted their rekindled connection. It was as if she reveled in my pain, parading her happiness in front of me like a trophy. I scrolled through the moments one by one, each one a calculated reminder of what I had lost.
Hellen called me one day, her voice sharp with anger. “Mary, if it doesn’t belong to you, it will never belong to you, even if you occupy it for another five years!”
I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. How could I possibly have another five years? The clock was ticking mercilessly, and my body was failing me.
After that bitter laugh, I forced a cheerfulness into my voice, addressing Hellen directly. “Hellen, as long as you can get Mathew’s mom to nod and welcome you in, I’ll go to complete the formalities with Mathew immediately.”
Little did I know that those words would echo back to me in the form of cruel irony. At that time, both families were already sitting together, excitedly discussing Mathew and Hellen’s impending marriage, the air thick with anticipation. The media buzzed with excitement, reporting extensively on the grand wedding that was to be held—a spectacle that had everyone talking.
Mathew’s mother, with her boundless enthusiasm, searched high and low for the perfect gifts to present to her beloved future daughter-in-law. The envy from other girls in the circle was palpable; they watched Hellen as if she were a shining star. I, too, found myself hidden in the shadows, peeking at Mathew from afar, my heart heavy with longing as I watched him stand proudly next to her, his smile radiant.
But the happiness that was so close, so tangible, was shattered by Hellen herself. A week before the wedding, she left , vanishing without a trace. The news sent shockwaves through our families.
Soon, the whispers spread like wildfire, each telling more sensational than the last. Hellen had traveled thousands of miles, chasing a love she deemed worthy of her.