The Marriage She Turned into War novel Chapter 2

They left after dinner.

I sat alone in the vast, empty villa, looking out the windows at the overgrown yard. Once upon a time, it had been filled with flowers that we'd carefully tended. There used to be a cluster of white roses, which symbolized the pure love we once shared.

But now, they'd all withered and died, just like my love for Abigail.

Suddenly, I started coughing intensely.

This Gebb's disease had ravaged my immune system. Even a mild cold could be fatal, and whenever the symptoms flared, it felt like every organ in my body was twisting in agony. I curled up on the floor as cold sweat soaked through my clothes.

In a haze, my mind drifted back to the early days of our marriage. Abigail and I used to walk in the garden, hand in hand. The soft scent of her perfume would become intertwined with that of the roses, forming a fragrance that had once enchanted me.

Perhaps she'd once truly loved me. But after I'd left her when she had needed me the most, all that love had turned to hatred.

I remembered how she'd call me even when she had to leave briefly for an urgent errand.

"I'm heading out to the office. Wait for me at home."

Nowadays, every call she made was a command to prepare dinner for her and her latest fling. Sometimes, she would even ask me to fill a warm bath for them.

The phone buzzed beside me. I was in so much pain that the screen was a blur. I answered after struggling a little.

"Abi, I'm waiting for you at home. When will you be back? I think I'm about to die," I whispered.

In my feverish daze, I saw a graceful figure push through the door urgently.

"Abi, welcome home…"

When I came to, I was lying in our old bed. Ever since Abigail started cheating on me, I'd been sleeping in the guest room. The sheets here still held her familiar scent mixed with Ted's cologne, which was a reminder of what they had done here together earlier.

The thought made me gag. I tried to crawl out of bed, but my body gave out. I managed to brace myself against the wall, only to see Ted standing before me.

He smiled at me mockingly. "Samuel, you're pretty good at playing the pathetic card. You're a grown man, yet you're acting so weak and pitiful. It's disgusting."

I frowned slightly but said nothing as I brushed past him and left the room. I was met with the sight of Abigail sitting calmly on the couch. What had happened wasn't a dream.

I fell into a state of confusion.

Abigail looked at me and asked, "You skipped a meal, didn't you? Why didn't you eat the lamb chops we had earlier? You know that you have low blood sugar levels, so stop pretending that you're fine."

Her gentle tone took me by surprise. It had been ages since Abigail had shown any concern for me. She handed me a warm glass of milk before I could process it.

"I added some sugar to this. It should help."

I took the glass and stared at it in silence before saying, "I'm lactose intolerant, so I can't drink milk."

Abigail's smile froze.

Ted scoffed from behind me. "Abi gave you the milk, so you should drink it even if it kills you. Stop being so ungrateful."

"Ted, you should leave," Abigail said coldly.