I didn’t want to argue, so I made an excuse to
go to the restroom.
Mark followed.
“I told you about the house thing, it was
something I promised her a long time ago.
Don’t make me be a bad person.”
“I’m not all that bad to you, either, am I,
Jiang.”
く
“Mm–hmm.”
I didn’t pay attention, so I just went into the
women’s restroom.
When I got back, Mark had company.
Rainey was sitting in my seat, clinging to him,
acting all cozy.
I rolled my eyes and went to sit next to Old
Bai.
Rainey saw me and gave a dramatic little
gasp.
“Oh, sorry! I’m used to sitting with Mark. You
don’t mind, right?”
I shook my head.
く
“Actually, I’m pretty grateful you took him off
my hands.”
Mark’s face went dark.
Rainey dug her nails into her palm, barely
keeping a smile plastered on her face.
“Mark’s no trouble at all! He bought me a
million–dollar house, and I didn’t spend a
penny!”
“But you gotta thank Jiang here for being so
generous, letting her man spend all that
money on me!”
Everyone in the room sucked in a breath.
Rainey was Mark’s eight–year girlfriend.
L
And I was his legal wife.
Everyone knew the weirdness between us,
and they knew how Rainey got her house, but
no one ever said it out loud.
Old Bai sighed and jumped up to smooth
things over.
“Okay, people, give me a break here. Jiang,
you wanna start? Dancing, singing, swimming,
what’s your jam?”
He paused and pointed to a big ice bucket,
maybe three feet tall, sitting off to the side.
“We’ll go around, and the worst one gets
punished, y’know?”
L
My stomach cramped. I was about to say
“singing,” when Rainey cut in.
“It’s gotta be dancing! We’re all out here
having fun, no need for a stick in the mud,
are we?”
My stomach was cramping harder. I said, “I’m
not feeling well. I’ll sing, or you guys can go
first.”
Mark frowned, glaring at me.
“What’s your problem? Still throwing a fit?
We’re telling you to have fun, handing you a
free pass, and you’re still gonna be a
spoilsport?”
Rainey gave my stomach a knowing glance
く
and told the DJ to crank up some club music.
She started with a hot dance, then came up
to me, reaching for my hands.
I bit my lip, trying to keep my cool.
“I said, I’m not feeling good. You guys go
ahead, I’ll pass for now.”
Rainey shot Mark a look, then gave a fake
giggle and tried to pull me up again.
Annoyed, I pulled my hand back, accidentally
shoving her.
Rainey stumbled backwards, slipped, and
landed hard, letting out a little shriek.
The vacht went quiet. Even the music
<
stopped.
Mark’s face was stormy.
He strode up to me and slammed his wine
glass on the floor.
“Jiang! What the hell is your problem now?”
“Rainey does a dance, then tries to get you to
dance with her, she’s trying to apologize, and
you gotta be a total witch and push her?”
Rainey had her head down, crying in Mark’s
arms.
I glared at him, then laughed.
“Apologize? Isn’t she just trying to force me? I
said my stomach hurt. Is she deaf? Or are
you?”
Rainey started crying louder.
Mark hugged her tighter, his eyes cold.
“You wanna be difficult, fine. You don’t wanna
play nice, you get punished!”
He yanked me off the couch, slammed me to
the floor.
As I hit the ground, I felt a warm gush of
liquid.
I struggled to sit up. Mark put his foot on my
chest, pinning me down.
Then he grabbed that big ice bucket, and
dumped it on me.
<
CRASH
Chunks of ice slammed down, scratching my
skin, stinging my scalp.
My eyes burned. I tried to squirm away, but
Mark pressed down harder.
Finally, the last of the ice was gone. I was
freezing, aching, and the pain in my stomach
was making me want to pass out.
Mark was holding Rainey, cooing in her ear.
“It’s okay, I got her. If she doesn’t apologize,
I’m gonna dump her right now…”
I forced myself to stand, cutting him off.
“Talk about diverse
L
“Talk about divorce? I’m in! We’re done.
Over!”
Mark stared, surprised.
Dragging myself up, I limped towards the exit.
In front of everyone, blood started trickling
down my legs.
Before I blacked out, I heard a server scream.
“She’s bleeding! Someone help!”
“Oh God, there’s so much blood. Is she having
a miscarriage?”
Chapter 2
I don’t know how long I was out. When I
opened my eyes, I was hit with the smell of
disinfectant.
A nurse smiled at me, then waved a doctor
over.
“Ms. Jiang, we recommend you stay for a
couple days, just for observation.”
“Thanks,” I croaked.
Mark came up to me, looking totally lost.
“You were pregnant? Why didn’t you tell me?
If you told me, I wouldn’t have thrown that ice
on you…”
く
I cut him off.
“Mark, what’s the point of any of this? Let’s
just get divorced.”
Mark’s face crumpled, and his eyes started to
water.
“What do you want to eat? I’ll get it. Chicken
soup, shrimp congee, whatever?”
I stared at his face. Guilt–ridden?
Disgusting.
Too little, too late.
“Three years, and you still don’t know I hate
chicken soup, I can’t stand shrimp congee. I
like fish soup, I like rice porridge with century
く
egg and pork.”
“Mark, we’re just not right for each other.”
I said, listing my points. Mark saw I was
serious.
He grabbed my hand, his eyes begging.
“Are you still mad? Mad about the house? I’ll buy you a better one! Anything! Just don’t
divorce me, okay? Anything you want.”
I yanked my hand away.
“Didn’t you say you married me because I was a sucker, a doormat? I did whatever you
wanted, and you were always ready to bail?
Didn’t you say that?”
L
Mark looked down, ashamed.
“That was just a stupid thing to say! I was
drunk!”
Last year, it was Mark’s birthday.
He invited his buddies, and Rainey, of course.
Mark’s company was hitting a rough patch.
There was a client he just couldn’t land.
