After sweetly assuring Emma he’d be there tomorrow, Mark received another call – this time from Sarah, my best friend.
“Mark, have you been able to reach Alice? She has an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning,” Sarah’s worried voice came through the phone.
Sarah was the only one who had stood by me after I married Mark. She had been his friend first, but she saw through his facade.
The only warmth I’d felt in my marriage came from Sarah’s friendship.
Mark paused for a moment, then sneered, “Ultrasound? What ultrasound?”
Sarah’s voice turned incredulous. “The pregnancy checkup. It’s been scheduled for weeks. Don’t tell me you forgot…”
“I’ve been trying to call her for days,” Sarah continued. “She’s not answering my calls, and she hasn’t replied to any of my messages. I’m getting worried.”
Mark paused for a moment, then sneered, “Worried? About what? Another one of her lies?”
Sarah’s voice turned incredulous. “She’s your wife, Mark. She could be pregnant with your child. Don’t you care at all?”
Mark angrily cut her off. “Sarah, you were my friend first. Don’t let Alice fool you with her lies. She’s just making up this pregnancy to avoid helping Emma. She’s always been selfish and manipulative.”
I heard Sarah sigh heavily through the phone. “Mark, I’ve known you for ten years. You’ve changed. The Mark I knew would never treat his wife like this.”
“Tell Alice she has one last chance,” Mark’s voice turned cold. “If she doesn’t agree to donate her kidney to Emma, I’m filing for divorce. I won’t let her selfishness kill the woman I love.”
The woman he loved. Not me. Never me.
Mark hung up before Sarah could respond, his face twisted with anger.
His colleague approached him cautiously. “Any news about your wife? I heard she hasn’t been answering calls for days.”
Mark scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. “Probably hiding somewhere, trying to make me feel guilty. She’s good at playing victim.”
The older detective shook his head sadly. “I was at your wedding, Mark. You were so happy then. What happened to you two?”
I couldn’t help but remember that first dinner after our wedding, when he took me to meet Emma.
I had worn my best dress, nervous about meeting Mark’s old friend. I didn’t know then that she was his first love.
The restaurant was expensive, all crystal and candlelight. Emma sat there like a queen, perfect in her designer dress.
Her eyes had swept over me, lips curving in a mock-innocent smile. “Mark, darling, who is this… aunt?”
I was only twenty-three, five years younger than her. But she made me feel ancient and shabby.
Mark’s face darkened instantly.
I could see the embarrassment and anger in his eyes – not at Emma’s cruelty, but at me for embarrassing him in front of his precious first love.
“Alice,” he hissed through clenched teeth, “go home and change. You look like you’re going to a market, not a fine dining restaurant.”
My cheeks burned with shame. The dress had cost me a month’s salary, but next to Emma’s elegant outfit, it might as well have been a potato sack.
“I… I’m sorry,” I whispered, fighting back tears.
“Just go,” he snapped, not even looking at me. “Emma and I will order first. Try to come back looking presentable.”
