Nine Years: Marriage of Dirt
At our ninth anniversary gala, she brought him home, parading him around like a prize.
Her voice was cool, detached, as she issued her orders to me.
Felix is a picky eater. From now on, his three meals a day must be prepared personally by you. No repeated dishes.
She didn't stop there.
"And hes a light sleeper. Your breathing is too loud. Pack your things and move to the guest room."
I didn't say a word. I simply gripped the handle of the suitcase I had packed hours ago and walked calmly toward the front door.
The butler tried to step in, his face etched with worry, but Victoria let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Let him go. Hell be back crawling like a dog within three days. He has nowhere else."
Hearing this, the guests erupted in laughter.
Right in front of my face, they placed bets. Ten million dollars on the table.
They bet that before the sun rose, Id be banging on the door, weeping and begging Victoria to let me back in.
But they didn't know the truth.
They didn't see the Maybach waiting just outside the iron gates.
This time, I was actually leaving.
1
Just as I was about to step out of the villa, Victorias voice cut through the air.
"Sam, leave the Peace Bracelet. Felix has been having nightmares lately."
That bracelet was the only heirloom my parents left me. It was my life.
Seeing my eyes redden, the woman I had loved for nine years looked at me with bored indifference.
"Name your price."
How much was a marriage worth? A marriage where I was treated like mud for nine years?
I was too tired to calculate it.
I only remembered the last time I refused a demandwhen I wouldn't give my ski goggles to Felix. Her bodyguards stripped me to my underwear and left me halfway up the freezing mountain.
I slid the Peace Bracelet off my wrist and placed it onto Felixs arm.
"I wish the three of you happiness," I said, my voice hollow. "And peace."
Hearing this unexpected blessing, Victoria softened, offering me a rare, condescending olive branch.
"Sam, as long as you're obedient, my child will be your child too."
The moment the words left her lips, the bracelet slipped from Felixs wrist.
Crash.
It shattered against the marble floor.
A tiny shard scratched Felixs leg. A microscopic cut.
Victoria rushed over, panic in her eyes. She screamed at the butler to call the family doctor, acting as if Felix had been shot.
The guests watched me with amusement, enjoying the show.
It was funny. Even I found it hilarious.
Last night, when I had a heart attack, Victoria was busy taking Felix to see a meteor shower. Even as I foamed at the mouth and collapsed, she stepped over my body without breaking stride.
Before I lost consciousness, I heard her tell the housekeeper, "Disinfect the living room. Felix is coming home tomorrow; I don't want him smelling anything foul."
I gripped my suitcase handle, turning to leave again.
Victorias hand clamped around my wrist. Her face was ice.
"Apologize."
"Wha"
Before I could finish, she shoved me. I fell hard, landing on my knees in front of Felix.
My knee landed on a shard of jade, staining the white floor crimson.
Seeing the blood, Victoria released me, her eyes filled with disgust.
"You used a cheap trick to break Felix's bracelet and hurt him. Shouldn't you say sorry?"
Since marrying Victoria Snook, "I'm sorry" had become my catchphrase.
The soup is too bland? I'm sorry.
I texted you while you were drunk? I'm sorry.
I accidentally saw Felix's sexts to you? I'm sincerely sorry.
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. I straightened my back.
I bowed ninety degrees to Felix. I apologized three times.
Then, I looked at Victoria with dead eyes.
"Is that enough?"
Staring at the blood trickling from the corner of my mouth, her chest heaved slightly.
"Sam, your grandfather isn't here to protect you. Who are you putting on this pathetic act for? Its disgusting."
Before I could answer, the doctor arrived.
Victoria shoved me aside, practically carrying Felix to the sofa.
While her entire world revolved around him, I walked out the door.
Beep-beep.
Two sharp honks came from the silver car outside the gates. I quickened my pace.
But before the iron gates could open, two massive bodyguards materialized from the shadows, dragging me back into the villa.
2
In the study, Victoria had me tied to a chair.
She ordered a nurse to insert a needlethick as a child's fingerinto my arm.
Through the half-open door, I heard the doctor pleading with her.
"Ms. Snook, although both Mr. Sam and your assistant have the rare RH-Null blood type, Mr. Sam has a history of heart failure. Forcing a transfusion now could induce acute shock. We should go to the hospital and get a proper blood bank for Felix..."
"Don't lecture me," Victorias voice was frosty. "Your only job is to make Felix healthy. I know what I'm doing."
I heard her footsteps approaching. I closed my eyes.
"Does it hurt?" Her voice carried a rare, twisted note of comfort. "Just bear it. Itll be over soon."
I turned my head away. I didn't have the energy to speak to her.
After they drained 800ml of my blood, my lips turned purple.
Suddenly, Felix coughed in the master bedroom.
Hearing it, Victoria immediately grabbed the doctors hand, stopping him from removing the needle. She ordered him to double the draw.
The doctor, sweating profusely, warned her I would die.
She hesitated for two seconds.
"Felix comes first."
"But..."
I interrupted the doctor, my voice a rasp.
"Draw it. Just let me leave when you're done."
Victoria looked at my pale, lifeless face. Anger flashed in her eyes. She opened her mouth to ask if I was done throwing a tantrum, if I was really going to run away over something so trivial.
"Vicky..." Felixs weak voice drifted from the other room.
She abandoned me instantly.
3
Two days later.
I woke up in a hospital bed, recovering from severe shock. Victoria was there, reviewing documents.
We stared at each other in silence.
She expressionlessly brought a bowl of porridge to my lips. I turned my head.
"I can do it myself."
She watched me eat half the bowl in silence. "Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
I ignored the question. "Please give me my phone."
My tone was distant, unfamiliar. It took her a moment to process it before she signaled the butler to hand it over.
Seeing the string of missed calls, she asked abruptly, "Who called you?"
She never used to ask questions.
A flicker of annoyance crossed my eyes. "No one you know."
She unbuttoned the top button of her blouse, looking down at me with cold arrogance.
"Sam, how long are you going to keep up this dog-like temper? I give you an inch, and you want a mile?"
In the past, I would have apologized. I would have groveled.
Now, I just pointed at her vibrating phone.
"Felix is calling."
Her eyes softened instantly. She walked out to the corridor to answer it.
The moment she left, my phone rang.
I picked up. before I could speak, a frantic voice on the other end shouted.
"You said you were coming! Sam, did you regret it?"
"I didn't regret it. There was... an accident."
"An accident? Are you hurt? No, I'm flying back personally..."
"No," I cut her off gently. "Just give me a few more days."
Victoria returned just as I hung up.
Seeing the faint smile on my lipsa smile she hadn't seen in yearsshe felt a strange tightness in her chest.
But she had just promised Felix they would go shopping for cribs. She didn't have time to interrogate me. She assumed it was my cousin, the only friend I had left after nine years of isolation.
She grabbed her files.
"Sam, something came up at the company. I'll come back tomorrow."
Tomorrow came and went. Then the day after. She never showed up.
Instead, our mutual "friends" bombarded me with videos.
Victoria and Felix at banquets. Victoria and Felix at dinners. She was parading him around like a love-struck teenager.
On the day I was discharged, she posted a photo grid on social media.
Sunset. A hot air balloon. Her and Felix, locked in a deep kiss.
I commented under the post:
[Wishing the two of you a long life and an early birth.]
Ten minutes later, she called. I didn't answer.
Thirty minutes later, I was walking out of the hospital alone when I saw them at the OBGYN department.
The nurse was gushing over them.
"Mrs. Snook, your husband treats you so well! He warms the ultrasound gel with his hands before we use it. I've never seen such devotion."
The other pregnant women in the waiting room looked on with envy.
I subconsciously remembered our child. The one she aborted without telling me.
Back then, Felix had sent me a voice note: Ms. Snook lost a bet to me in a video game. I guess she can only have my babies now?
Before I could reply, Victoria called me herself. She screamed at me for being petty and stupid.
"Sam, you spineless waste. What right do you have to demand I bear your child? If Im going to ruin my body, itll be for someone with superior genes!"
I shook the memory away and tried to bypass them. But Victoria saw me.
She walked over, her face darkening. "Why are you standing there like an idiot?"
I lowered my eyes. "I wasn't stalking you. It's a coincidence. Sorry to disturb."
"Wait."
As she called out, jealousy flashed in Felixs eyes. He tightened his grip on her waist and smiled at me.
"Mr. Sam! I owe you my life for that blood transfusion. Without you, I'd still be dizzy. Vicky, let's take Mr. Sam home with us, okay?"
Victoria looked at him with adoration. "My kind-hearted Felix. Whatever you say."
I didn't refuse. I needed to get my passport.
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