Chapter 8
On our wedding day. I waited in the bridal dressing room for a long time, only to receive news that the car carrying my parents and relatives had broken down on the way to the wedding venue.
Antonio held my face in his hands and comforted me, saying that hist parents were my parents too, and even if my father couldn’t make it, hist father would be happy to walk me down the aisle.
Later. I found out that the Kaufman family had deliberately arranged a separate banquet at another hotel to keep my family detained.
Antonio knew about this all along.
“Mom, Dad, you should go and rest now. I’ll keep an eye on him,” I said, dismissing my parents.
Antonio and I were alone in the room.
I knew he was awake, so I said. “You’re running a fever, but if you’re still too weak to drive tomorrow, you can ask the driver to pick you up.”
I tried to leave, but he grabbed my arm.
“Grace. I know I was wrong. I’ve already fired Valda and blocked all her contact information. I, I ahem…!”
I had already heard that Valda had been fired and even saw a video of her making a scene, refusing to leave the company, which ended with her being taken away by ambulance due to a heart attack.
“Antonio, let me make this clear one last time–Valda is irrelevant. The real issue is that I find you disgusting,” I said.
120
Antonio sat up weakly and said hoarsely, “I know, I know you’re upset. about the tattoo. It’s okay… Grace, I’ll show you my sincerity”
On the side table were some peeled apples and a fruit knife.
I watched as Antonio took the knife and slashed at the tattoo on his ribcage, cutting it until it was a bloody mess.
“Grace, please.” he begged, his face drenched in sweat.
He stumbled out of bed and knelt beside me in utter humiliation.
His bloodstained hand smeared my clothes. He said, “I don’t want to divorce you.”
Hearing his desperate, heart–wrenching pleas, I rose with a look of disgust, took a couple of steps back, and brushed off imaginary dust from my clothes.
“If you’re losing too much blood and about to die, remember to call 911 yourself. Don’t die in my house,” I said coldly, turning away.
Antonio lowered his eyes and stared at the fruit knife in his hand.
Before dawn, Antonio quietly drove away.
Soon after he left, dark clouds gathered, and heavy rain poured down.
At 10:29 AM. I received a call from an unknown number.
“Hello, is this Grace Parrish, the wife of Antonio Kaufman? This is the emergency department of Central Hospital. Your husband was in a car accident on the highway and is still in critical condition. Please come over as soon as possible!”
The voice on the phone was urgent, but my gaze remained fixed on the relentless downpour outside.
12.07
On the night I was diagnosed with a miscarriage, after calling 911, I also called Antonio, steeling myself through the pain.
The call connected just before it was about to go to voicemail.
I cried and told him that my stomach hurt worse than ever, begging him to come home quickly
Back then, he was at a trivial dinner party, with Valda’s laughter occasionally drifting by.
Knowing I had already called emergency services. Antonio, fueled by alcohol, shouted at me, “Grace, why are you such a nuisance? It’s just a stomachache. You’re not giving birth, you drama queen. Stop crying! I’m busy.”
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
Since I didn’t respond, the doctor on the line repeated the details of Antonio’s critical condition.
However, I smiled and said, “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number.”
One year later, as I stepped out of the courthouse with the divorce decree in hand. I didn’t spare a glance at Antonio, who sat withered in a wheelchair. I was too busy discussing with my elated lawyer where to feast to celebrate.
Just as we were about to get into the car, a faint “meow” caught our
attention.
It was a snow–white, adorable female kitten.
Thinking of the substantial sum I received after the divorce, my lawyer joked, “Cats bring fortune, huh?”
Chapter
As we joked, I found a cardboard box.
After placing the kitten inside, I tapped its little nose and said, “From today onward, you’ll be called Newborn.”
The fluffy kitten seemed to understand, emitting a loud, vigorous meow full of anticipation for the future.
The end.
