chapter 2
Vincent's face instantly turned pale.
His eyes darted away, avoiding my gaze.
"Nothing," he stammered, "just a distant relative's kid, also sick, quite pitiful. I just mentioned it casually, don't ask more."
He hurriedly finished his meal, made an excuse about work, and quickly got up to leave.
Watching his fleeing figure, a cold smile curled at the corner of my lips.
I thought, "A distant relative? So pitiful that they need you to donate a kidney?"
I started quietly gathering evidence.
I made an excuse about managing finances and asked him to show me the "family emergency fund" account.
It held all our savings from five years of marriage, about over $500,000.
At first, he refused, but after I kept pushing, he reluctantly handed me his phone.
I opened the bank transactions, and my heart sank bit by bit.
Every so often, there was a large expense$10,000, $30,000, $50,000.
The recipient's name was all Amelia.
The notes all said living expenses, rent, supplements.
The most recent transfer was $200,000 for Lucia's surgery.
Turns out, all the money we saved by scrimping and saving went to Amelia and her daughter.
I handed the phone back to him, looking calm.
He didn't notice anything unusual.
I found Amelia's Instagram and started scrolling through her posts.
Her life is indeed quite comfortable.
One of her posts showed various supplements with the caption: [Thanks to my husband, enduring all the hardships for me and our daughter.]
Another post of hers featured designer bags with the caption: [My husband's love is never late.]
The location of her post is right in our city.
Every post feels like a sharp blade, cutting my heart open and leaving it bleeding.
On the weekend, I took Anna back to my mom's house.
I pretended it was accidental and dialed Vincent's mom, Stella Watkins, putting it on speaker.
I asked, "Stella, how have you been feeling lately?"
She said, "I'm good. How are you and Vincent?"
I chuckled lightly and said, "We're doing well. Just a few days ago, I got a text from the hospital saying Vincent donated a kidney to a little girl named Lucia. Do you know about this? Whose child is Lucia?"
On the other end, Stella's voice instantly became tense. "What Lucia? I don't know! Who told you such nonsense?"
Her voice was sharp and guilty as she said, "The hospital sent the wrong message! Vincent is fine, how could he possibly donate a kidney?"
"Aurora, don't listen to others' nonsense. Just live your life well!"
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
I put down the phone, unable to hold back my tears as they poured out.
That night, Vincent came back.
As soon as he walked in, he exuded hostility.
He must have received a call from his mom.
He asked, "Did you call my mom?"
He stepped closer to me, his gaze terrifyingly sinister.
"Aurora, I warned you, don't play tricks behind my back!"
I looked up at him calmly. "I just asked a question, why are you so nervous?"
"You!"
He raised his hand, seemingly about to hit me, but it stopped mid-air.
In the end, he gave me a hard shove.
Caught off guard, I stumbled back a few steps and hit the wall, my back aching.
He warned me, "If you dare meddle again, we'll get a divorce!"
His tone was fierce, and the hatred in his eyes startled me.
He said, "By then, don't expect to get anything!"
It was the first time he laid hands on me, and also the first time he mentioned the word "divorce."
My heart completely died.