Chapter 2
After coming back home. I hid the teaching assignment notice in the interlayer of the wardrobe.
Then I opened the calendar on my phone, sat on the couch, and started to count down the days.
I’d set off in the next month.
Soon, I could get rid of all this.
I was eating when Antonio came back together with Sofia and her daughter, Zoe Jenkins.
At the sight of me, Sofia smiled, feigning shyness.
“Sorry, Grace, for disturbing you again.”
In the next second, Zoe went to the kitchen briskly with such familiarity as if it were her own home. Then she said to Antonio, “Mr. Kaufman, Mrs. Kaufman didn’t cook for us today.”
“What?” Antonio frowned.
Looking at me, he asked, “What’s this supposed to mean?”
Deadpan, I replied, “What do you wanna eat? I’ll go fix it now.”
As their happy chatter came from the living room, I picked up the salt and started sprinkling it on the dishes.
I added ten times the usual amount of salt to every dish.
By the time I walked out of the kitchen. Zoe had already set the table for the three of them.
My plate was pushed into the corner.
Seeing this, I said nothing.
Instead, I leaned against the fridge and watched as they ate and spat out the food.
They then reached for the soup, only to spit it all over the table because it was even saltier.
Zoe cried, her cries grating.
Sofia looked at me, aggrieved. “Grace, since we’re not welcome here, we won’t be here again.”
Then she led Zoe to stand This book had been added on your bookshelf or before they left.
Antonio questioned me with a sullen face, “You did it on purpose?”
I ignored him. After I cleaned the table, I fixed myself some pasta.
Noticing the indifferent look on my face, he sighed after a while.
He said, “Sofia and I grew up together.
“After her husband died, Mr. Jenkins asked me to take care of her and Zoe. You know I need him to back me up in the company, right?
“But no worries. Since you don’t want them to be here, they won’t.”
The next day, Antonio left home for work.
The second he stepped out, I packed up, planning on going back to my
hometown in a couple of days to clean up my folks‘ place.
Though it was an arranged marriage decided by our grandpas, now that I decided to get a divorce. I ought to tell Antonio’s parents in advance. I didn’t want to be criticized.
During these few years, I had embroidered several blankets and
pillowcases, hoping to make my home with Antonio cozier. And now, as I looked at them. I just wanted to laugh at how stupid I was. I gave them, along with the new shoes I had made, all to Kara Santiago downstairs who collected recyclables.
They were all brand–new, and Kara insisted on paying me, saying that she wouldn’t take them if I refused the money. Finally, I gave in and took the crumpled 50 dollars she handed over to me.
It wasn’t much. But given the harsh conditions in the remote area. I figured it might come in handy at some point.
After I went back home. I checked the calendar on my phone again. I just needed to endure for ten more days. After that, I could leave and pursue the life I wanted.
Antonio came home late at night. Seeing that there was no food on the table, he was stunned. “Have you eaten?” I asked without looking up.
He said. “Yeah. I grabbed a few bites.”
When he walked past me, the smell of perfume wafted toward me. It was sickly sweet; on no ground was it his cologne.
“With Sofia and Zoe, right?” I said mockingly. “You…” he stuttered and reached out, wanting to say something, but I acted as if I hadn’t seen that and turned to the study.
Chama 2
It was filled with all my textbooks and exam papers from my days in school. I planned on packing them up because I’d need them when teaching.
As I was packing up. Antonio knocked on the door.
“What’s up?” I didn’t open the door because I didn’t want him to see what I was doing.
He remained silent outside the door for a while. After quite some time, he said. “Dad and Mom want to know when we’ll get married so that they can make preparations in advance.”
Continuing to pack up, I said flatly, “Getting married is a big deal. I’m going back to my parents tomorrow, and I’ll check with them.”
He said nothing; he just stood at the door for a long time, seemingly having something to say. In the end, however, he left in silence.
I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the bookshelf.
He could have told his parents if he really wanted to marry me. At this point, what was I still expecting?
In my previous life, my family encountered a sudden misfortune, and both my parents fell seriously ill. Antonio’s grandpa, Earl Kaufman, helped us a lot in our darkest time, and I admitted I owed the Kaufman family. Even those who didn’t know what had happened could tell how much I loved Antonio. I loved him so deeply that even when he got drunk and said Sofia’s name in bed, I chose to respond to him.
But, in my previous life, I repaid him even with my life.
I owed him nothing. This time, I wanted to live for myself.
