In My Lonesomeness

When Evelyn Foster brought a man home for the ninety-eighth time, I still thoughtfully placed two cups of tea on the nightstand along with three boxes of condoms in different flavors.

Seeing how meek I looked, the man let out a scornful snort. "No wonder women all want to marry men like you. Only men like you can put up with this kind of humiliation."

I smiled and said nothing.

I lowered my head and looked at the message my foster sister Claire had sent five minutes ago.

[The family's financial crisis has been resolved. You don't need to sacrifice yourself anymore. Once you divorce Evelyn, we'll get married.]

I replied with a single word.

[Alright.]

Then I had my lawyer draft a divorce agreement and send it to where Evelyn and I lived.

I just forgot to tell my foster sister one thing.

I would divorce Evelyn.

But I would not marry her, either.

When the divorce papers arrived, the passionate embrace in the master bedroom had also just ended.

A moment later, my phone rang, and Evelyn's lazy voice drifted into my ear. "Come upstairs and clean up."

I said a calm "Sure," in response, then knocked on the master bedroom door.

Evelyn's new boyfriend opened the door. He had nothing on but a towel around his waist, and his abs were streaked with red marks that said exactly what had just happened.

He looked at me and sneered. "Ms. Brook said you're stiff as a board in bed. I guess I'm the one who can actually satisfy her. Next time, you can stand there and watch. Learn how to please a woman."

I didn't even look at him, brushing past him as I entered the room.

My indifference must have enraged him as he raised his hand to hit me. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?!"

A slender hand suddenly caught his wrist.

Evelyn appeared behind him and shot him an icy look. "Get out!"

His eyes reddened at once as he started whining. "Ms. Brook, I..."

Evelyn's face darkened.

The man instantly shrank back in fear, grabbed his clothes, and ran. Meanwhile, I started cleaning up the room as if nothing had happened.

But Evelyn suddenly grabbed my hand, her voice icy. "Robin Shaw, how long are you going to keep up with this act?"

I stopped. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Evelyn let out a cold laugh, contempt in her eyes.

"Back then, you did whatever it took to force Julian away so you could marry me. And now, you let me bring other men home again and again just to stay by my side. Robin, do you love me that much? To the point that you're willing to humiliate yourself like this just to be with me?"

I froze for a moment and finally understood what she meant.

Evelyn had always misunderstood me. She thought I had agreed to the arranged marriage because I loved her.

In truth, I had only done this to ease my foster sister's burden. Of course, I wasn't the one who drove Julian off.

Before I could respond, Evelyn shoved me onto the bed and pinned me beneath her. "Since you're so starved for love, I'll satisfy you."

The smell of another man on her filled my nostrils, and my stomach churned.

Evelyn stopped when she was halfway tearing my clothes off. She frowned, displeasure flashing through her eyes. "Are you disgusted by me?"

I shook my head. "I'm not..."

Evelyn did not give me a chance to explain. She dragged me into the bathroom and pushed me straight into the tub. Freezing water swallowed my whole body, and I started shivering.

When I looked up, I met Evelyn's eyes. There was no warmth in them at all.

Her eyes clearly read, 'Take a good look at yourself! Who says you have the right to be disgusted by me?'

Just then, her phone rang and her assistant's excited voice came through. "Ms. Brook, Mr. Lane is back in the country! We've stopped him outside the airport."

Evelyn's eyes lit up at once, and her voice trembled slightly. "Send me the address. Don't let him get away."

After the call, Evelyn changed as fast as she could and headed out.

I quickly climbed out of the tub and staggered after her, blocking her way. I held the divorce agreement out in front of her.

"Sign this before you go."

Evelyn didn't even look at it. She shoved me aside and tried to leave. "Move!"

I gritted my teeth and forced the words out through humiliation.

"Your mother kept asking me when we're going to have a baby. If you don't want her to know you've been taking pills after every time, then sign it."

Evelyn stopped. She narrowed her eyes at me, as if she had not expected someone as meek as me to threaten her back.

She signed her name with a few quick strokes, then threw the document into my face. "Happy now?"

My heart tightened and I nodded.

She let out a scornful snort and left.

I held the agreement tightly and finally let out a sigh of relief.

From the first day of my arranged marriage to Evelyn, I had known she hated me and was always finding new ways to torment me.

But that was fine. She would be free very soon. This divorce agreement was my gift to her.