Chapter 4 · On Our Seventh Anniversary, I Heard What My Husband Told My Sister

Chapter 4

"As long as we ice her out together, make her feel useless, make her believe she's nothing but dead weight, she'll pack her bags and walk out on her own!"

"You've been sick of how she's always so rational, how she never puts a foot wrong. Stop using her hearing loss as an excuse!"

Bitterness and spite dripped from Lily's every word.

Ethan didn't deny it; he merely let out a sigh, his voice softening into a placating purr:

"All right, sweetheart, I know you've had to put up with a lot..."

Then came the hurried, ragged breathing, followed by the soft whisper of clothing dropping to the floor.

I retreated to the master bedroom, sat at the edge of the mattress, and pulled up my message thread with Nora.

I typed, Are you awake? and deleted it just as quickly.

The faint glow of the screen illuminated my trembling fingers, but I had no idea where to even begin.

A long while later, the guest room door clicked open again.

I crept to my doorway, peering through the slit to see them heading over to the bar counter in the second-floor lounge.

"Since you're so fed up with her, how are you actually going to wrap this up?"

Lily's voice had grown raspy in the aftermath, edged with an impatient demand.

"Playing the devoted husband day in and day out—aren't you exhausted? Because I'm exhausted just watching you."

Ice clinked crisply against the side of a glass tumbler.

"You need to find a good time to bring it up to her."

Ethan took a slow sip, his voice sounding as cold and calculating as if he were orchestrating a hostile corporate takeover.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Lily muttered, clearly reluctant. "You're making me look like the cruel monster who kicked her own sister to the curb."

"You're the only family she has left. If you bring it up out of love and concern, her guard will be down."

Ethan didn't hesitate for a beat, calculating every step with chilling accuracy.

"Frame it as pure sympathy. Tell her how hard it is watching her suffer in silence, how her depression is spiraling, and suggest that a 'trial separation' might do us both some good."

"And then?"

"Convince her to move back to the family estate, or check into a quiet retreat out in the suburbs under the guise of rest and recovery."

"And what if the relatives and our social circle start asking questions?" Lily pressed. "A lot of eyes are on you after that crash."

"I'll handle everything on the outside."

Ethan hesitated for a beat before continuing:

"I'll tell everyone the accident left her with devastating psychological trauma. That she's developed severe PTSD, suffers from erratic mood swings, and can't handle normal married life anymore. We had to separate just to keep from triggering her."

"Once she's branded as an emotionally unstable, hearing-impaired patient, nobody will believe a word she says, even if she snaps out of it and tries to make a scene later on."

On my side of the door, leaning against the cold frame, my knuckles turned white from the force of my grip.

They weren't just plotting to push me out of my own marriage.

They were planning to silence me completely, stripping away my right to speak before the world.

Because in this world, nobody ever listens to the desperate pleas of a madwoman.

Footsteps echoed softly down the hall once more.

Having finished his drink, Ethan was making his way toward the master bedroom.

I moved with silent speed, slipping back into bed and pulling the covers up. Clasping the phone tightly against my palm, I slid it deep beneath the pillow and shut my eyes tight.

Chapter 4

"As long as we ice her out together, make her feel useless, make her believe she's nothing but dead weight, she'll pack her bags and walk out on her own!"

"You've been sick of how she's always so rational, how she never puts a foot wrong. Stop using her hearing loss as an excuse!"

Bitterness and spite dripped from Lily's every word.

Ethan didn't deny it; he merely let out a sigh, his voice softening into a placating purr:

"All right, sweetheart, I know you've had to put up with a lot..."

Then came the hurried, ragged breathing, followed by the soft whisper of clothing dropping to the floor.

I retreated to the master bedroom, sat at the edge of the mattress, and pulled up my message thread with Nora.

I typed, Are you awake? and deleted it just as quickly.

The faint glow of the screen illuminated my trembling fingers, but I had no idea where to even begin.

A long while later, the guest room door clicked open again.

I crept to my doorway, peering through the slit to see them heading over to the bar counter in the second-floor lounge.

"Since you're so fed up with her, how are you actually going to wrap this up?"

Lily's voice had grown raspy in the aftermath, edged with an impatient demand.

"Playing the devoted husband day in and day out—aren't you exhausted? Because I'm exhausted just watching you."

Ice clinked crisply against the side of a glass tumbler.

"You need to find a good time to bring it up to her."

Ethan took a slow sip, his voice sounding as cold and calculating as if he were orchestrating a hostile corporate takeover.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Lily muttered, clearly reluctant. "You're making me look like the cruel monster who kicked her own sister to the curb."

"You're the only family she has left. If you bring it up out of love and concern, her guard will be down."

Ethan didn't hesitate for a beat, calculating every step with chilling accuracy.

"Frame it as pure sympathy. Tell her how hard it is watching her suffer in silence, how her depression is spiraling, and suggest that a 'trial separation' might do us both some good."

"And then?"

"Convince her to move back to the family estate, or check into a quiet retreat out in the suburbs under the guise of rest and recovery."

"And what if the relatives and our social circle start asking questions?" Lily pressed. "A lot of eyes are on you after that crash."

"I'll handle everything on the outside."

Ethan hesitated for a beat before continuing:

"Once she's branded as an emotionally unstable, hearing-impaired patient, nobody will believe a word she says, even if she snaps out of it and tries to make a scene later on."

On my side of the door, leaning against the cold frame, my knuckles turned white from the force of my grip.

They weren't just plotting to push me out of my own marriage.

They were planning to silence me completely, stripping away my right to speak before the world.

Because in this world, nobody ever listens to the desperate pleas of a madwoman.

Footsteps echoed softly down the hall once more.

Having finished his drink, Ethan was making his way toward the master bedroom.

I moved with silent speed, slipping back into bed and pulling the covers up. Clasping the phone tightly against my palm, I slid it deep beneath the pillow and shut my eyes tight.