Chapter 1
"Kathie..." Samuel Foster's voice was gentle and affectionate, and he kissed me over and over again with a devout posture.
I looked at his deep and affectionate eyes. I should've been sunk into it, but I couldn't help but feel nauseous.
I said, "Samuel, were you calling my name in the bed, or Kathie's?"
*****
"Kathie..." Samuel Foster's voice was gentle and affectionate, and he kissed me over and over again with a devout posture.
I looked at his deep and affectionate eyes. I should've been sunk into it, but all of a sudden, the scene of walking in on him and Kathie tangled up flashed through my mind.
It happened in the party hall's dressing room, the kind of place where anyone could walk in at any time.
They couldn't keep their hands off each other, totally lost in desire.
They were all over each other with the door wide open, not even caring if someone would see them.
Kathie was sprawled out on the sofa in a red dress, like a rose in full bloom, tempting and impossible to ignore.
When Samuel was on top of her, he looked completely lost in passion. I'd never seen him like that before.
He was kissing Kathie and kept murmuring her name at the same time.
The thrill of their affair made them even more reckless, completely lost in each other.
They were so wrapped up in themselves that they never once noticed me quietly sitting in the corner of the dressing room.
Later, I finally stepped out of the shadows, looking down at them from above.
The face I saw that day overlapped with the Samuel hovering over me now.
I felt so sick.
Nausea churned in my throat.
Unable to take it anymore, I shoved Samuel off me.
Rushing to the bathroom, I collapsed by the toilet and retched violently.
Samuel sounded genuinely worried.
He said, "Cathy, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
His hand barely grazed my back before I jerked away, swatting him off.
"Don't touch me," I snapped.
Anyone could hear the disgust dripping from my voice.
Samuel's expression soured in an instant.
But he held it together, poured me a glass of warm water, and brought it over.
When I glanced back, I caught the hesitant and tired look in his eyes.
This was day 107 since Samuel came back to me after cheating.
Honestly, neither of us had really gotten past what happened.
I rinsed my mouth, my eyes scanning his chiseled features.
The air between us was thick and suffocating.
I knew I shouldn't say it, but I just couldn't hold back.
The beast inside me was roaring, itching to tear apart this fake warmth between us.
I gave him a stiff, fake smile and met his eyes.
I said, "Samuel, were you calling my name in the bed, or Kathie's?"
Samuel's face instantly went pale.
Rage exploded in his eyes the very next second.
He spun around and kicked the nightstand, sending it crashing to the floor.
Everything was scattered across the floor. He shot me a look, his eyes blazing with fury and exhaustion.
He said, "Cathy, I've told you before. I love you, I can't let you go, and you're the one I chose.
"You've already won. I got back to focusing on our family again. What more do you want from me? What do I have to do for you to finally let this go?"
He snatched up his clothes, threw them on, and stormed out of the room.
The chill he left behind swept over me, making me shiver all over.
I pushed open the window and watched Samuel storm out the door and then slump into his car under the cover of night.
The car sat there for ages without moving. From my vantage point, all I could see was his hand draped limply over the edge of the window.
Between those slender fingers, I caught a glimpse of a lit cigarette.
Suddenly, that familiar ringtone pierced through the quiet night.
It was Kathie calling.
Suddenly, I remembered the day Samuel promised to focus on our family again. He deleted and blocked Kathie's number right in front of me.
When did he put it back in his contacts again?
Was it every time he spaced out, reaching for his phone, only to set it back down?
Or was it in the dead of night, when he couldn't sleep and slipped away to the study for a smoke?
Silently, I opened up the dashcam footage on my phone.
Inside the car, Samuel sat there, his face clouded and dark, eyes fixed on the name blinking on his phone screen.
The next moment, he hurled his phone hard against the car window.
It hit with a dull thud, bounced off, and dropped into the passenger footwell.
The ringtone kept ringing, each chime echoing like a curse in the silence.
Samuel fought with himself in silence, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly that they turned white.
At last, as if surrendering, he bent down, picked up the phone, and answered.
"Hello?" Samuel said.
There was no reply but just the low, heartbreaking sobs of a woman, filling the silence of the car.
After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice thick with emotion.
She murmured, "I miss you so much..."
Samuel's breath hitched, turning sharp and uneven all of a sudden.
I leaned against the window, watching as the car below shot off into the night like an arrow released from a bow.
It carried Samuel away, speeding toward a world without me.
Dazed, I glimpsed my own reflection in the window. My cheeks were already wet with tears.