Maybe because I seemed to be brushing things
off, Brittany got even bolder.
She sent me a picture of a Corgi.
“Honey, this is a gift from Mark to keep me
hanny!
<
8:11
Base
“I love dogs, so I won’t be giving him up anytime soon.”
“Oh, by the way, how’s the cat doing?”
“I’m allergic to cats, so I can’t keep her.”
45
“But Mark gave her to me, so I didn’t want to just throw her away.”
“He said you liked cats, so he told me to give her to you.”
“Honey, who do you think would win in a fight,
the cat or the dog?”
My blood ran cold.
My mind went blank.
So Mark hadn’t gotten the cat just for me.
<
Brittany didn’t want it and he just brought it
home.
The cat meowed sadly and jumped to the floor.
I looked down and saw a couple of cat hairs in my hand.
Mark booked the tickets.
He reserved a fancy room with a king–sized
bed.
I checked the date.
July third.
Seven days away.
If my application went through, July third would
also be the day I left for France.
That night, Mark poured me a glass of milk.
He looked at me with lust in his eyes.
Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach.
I knocked the milk over.
1
The white liquid stained the sheets.
Mark just worried about whether I was hurt.
“Amy, are you okay? Did you get burned?”
My eyes were red and my throat felt tight.
“I’m fine,” I croaked out.
Mark sighed in relief and carefully cleaned up
the mess.
As I watched him moving around, I felt like I
was in a dream.
Mark.
く
Mark.
Who are you, really?
After he changed the sheets, Mark looked tired.
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and said, like it was
no big deal, that it was work.
He had to take care of something.
He told me to get some rest.
I said okay and felt relieved.
I didn’t want to be intimate with him.
Mark went into the study.
I couldn’t sleep.
I went to the study to find a book to read.
When I opened the door, I heard Mark’s voice.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let Amy get pregnant
before your baby is born.”
“She drinks milk every day.”
“I crush up the birth control pills and put them
in the milk.”
“She can’t even taste it.”
“Are you still mad? How about I take you to the
beach?”
“We can sit on the deck and look at the stars.”
Birth control pills?
The bedtime milk that I had been drinking every
night was actually laced with birth control pills.
<
8:11
I stumbled back to the bedroom.
45
0800
My whole body was shaking.
I desperately needed to do something to calm
down.
Organize the vanity, the closet.
But when I saw the red lace lingerie in the
closet, I broke down.
I never wear that kind of stuff.
It wasn’t mine.
It had to be hers.
Brittany.
The name was a thorn I couldn’t pull out of my
heart.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed.
My application had been approved.
I was going to France on July third.
I clenched my fist.
