Shannon's POV
The sudden drop in temperature caught me off guard. Instinctively, I pulled my clothes tighter around me.
Across the room, Gale struggled to hide the smirk playing on her lips, but the glee and contempt in her eyes were impossible to miss.
"Rusty, don't blame Shannon, okay? It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten sick after drinking the soup," she said sweetly, like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
With every word out of her mouth, Rusty’s anger only intensified. He turned to me, demanding that I apologize.
But years of experience had taught me that arguing would only make things worse. The safest thing to do was to stay quiet, nod, and pretend to give in, then console myself in private.
As such, I lowered my head in silence, and that seemed to satisfy Gale.
But the truth? She wasn’t even sick. Making me miserable was just her way of entertaining herself.
As they walked off looking smug and victorious, I slowly forced myself up. But to my surprise, my head was now pounding, and I was burning up.
I took a fever medicine, barely keeping it down, and drifted off again. But sleep didn’t bring peace. All night, I was plagued by nightmares.
Then, just after sunrise, Rusty woke me. But seeing me grumpy, his brows knitted.
"Gale told me not to be mad at you last night, so I’m letting it go," he said, trying to sound generous. "Also, I canceled all my meetings today just to take you to the amusement park. I even went out early to get you breakfast. And now you’re upset with me?"
The way he twisted everything made me want to scream. I wanted to be blind again just so I wouldn’t have to see that fake concern on his face.
But I played my role, forcing a smile and saying a few half-hearted words to smooth things over.
With that, our conversation didn't last, and he helped me out of the room like nothing had happened.
The moment we stepped into the dining room, I froze.
Gale was already seated in my seat, wearing the maternity dress I used to wear.
When she saw Rusty holding my arm, her face instantly soured.
When their eyes met, guilt immediately washed over his face, and he let go of me. He then glanced at Gale with the same puppy-dog expression he always wore around her as if saying, "I already let go. See? Don’t be mad, baby."
Still, I stayed silent, pretending not to notice their little exchange. I fumbled for the nearest chair and sat down.
That was when Rusty suddenly sprang into action.
"Shannon, here. I already warmed it up. Drink it before it cools."
He placed the glass in my hand like he was the most thoughtful husband in the world.
Meanwhile, Gale, watching it all, looked like she was about to explode.
She then snatched the milk out of my hands and downed it in one go, glaring at me like she’d won some kind of twisted contest.
I had seen the whole thing. But of course, I acted as though I hadn’t.
"Rusty? Why’d you take the milk away?" I asked softly.
He hesitated, glancing back at Gale, clearly afraid to upset her more.
"It was getting a little cold. Don’t drink it. Just have something else."
Without waiting for a response, he shoved a sandwich into my hand and walked straight to Gale.
My fingers tightened around the sandwich until the bread squished in my grip.
He didn’t even bother making his excuses sound believable.
And then came the part that really turned my stomach.
Thinking I couldn’t see, Rusty leaned down and tilted Gale’s chin toward him. Without a moment's hesitation, he kissed her right there in front of me. Not a quick peck, but a deep, drawn-out kiss that lasted five long minutes.
When they finally pulled apart, Gale was gasping for air, her cheeks flushed with obvious satisfaction.
"Tonight, same place. I’ll make it up to you," Rusty murmured to her. "And don’t pout now, baby. You know I only do those things with you. You’re the only one who gets me going."
He thought I couldn’t hear.
But since I lost my sight, my hearing had sharpened. Every word cut straight through me.
Shannon's POV
And there they were, my husband and his mistress, feeding each other bites. So sweet that it made my stomach turn.
Meanwhile, I was chewing on a sandwich that tasted like cardboard.
Rusty had bought breakfast “especially for me.” Too bad it was slathered in ketchup, my least favorite thing in the world. But of course, it was Gale’s favorite.
Only after Gale was full and satisfied did Rusty finally remember my existence. He glanced over and noticed the barely touched sandwich in my hand. Assuming I was mad about the milk incident earlier, he looked like he was about to scold me, until his eyes landed on the burn on my arm.
The words died in his throat. All that was left was a flicker of tenderness.
“Shannon,” he said softly, “I cleared my entire schedule for you today. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, alright?”
Before I could say no, he was already leading me toward the car.
He opened the passenger door for me, but Gale beat me to it. She strutted over, slid right in, and made herself comfortable without even pretending to offer me the seat. Her spoiled, smug face said it all. She knew she belonged there, and no one was going to argue.
And Rusty didn’t.
In the end, I took the back seat.
Maybe out of guilt, he kept checking in on me during the drive, asking how I was feeling from time to time. He also made sure to drive slowly and smoothly the whole way, like he was showing me how considerate he could be.
But even as he was “caring” for me, his fingers were laced with Gale’s. At every stoplight, he would bring her hand to his lips and kiss it, his face glowing with affection he didn’t even try to hide.
He didn’t let go of her hand the entire ride.
When we arrived, he also reassured Gale over and over, promising not to touch me, not to do anything that would make her feel insecure. Only then did she agree to wait in the car while we went in.
And true to his word, he kept his distance. As we moved through the crowds, I hobbled along slowly with my cane, step by step. He did occasionally gesture to others to give me space, which I guess counted as being thoughtful.
He took me through all the attractions one by one. After each ride, he’d bring up a memory from our past as if reliving those moments would somehow mean something.
But for me, the sweetness was long gone. All that was left was a tangled mess of love and resentment.
He wasn’t the only one who knew this place inside and out.
This was where he’d confessed his love and proposed to me. Every turning point in our relationship had happened here. This place was the start of all my hopes, all my feelings for him.
Who would’ve thought hearts could change so easily?
The same man who once swore I was the only one for him, who said we’d be together forever, was now kissing someone else like I never existed.
And yet, he still insisted he loved me, that everything he did, all the lies, had been “necessary.”
That ridiculous contradiction hit its peak when we stood in front of the Ferris wheel.
“Shannon, do you remember this?” he asked, looking emotional. “People say if a couple kisses at the very top of a Ferris wheel, they’ll stay together forever. That’s why I confessed to you up there.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him he had the wrong girl.
I was mildly afraid of heights, so there was no way I would’ve accepted a confession up there.
His voice wavered with emotion as he turned to look at me, hoping to see some warmth in my expression.
But my face was blank.
He was stunned, caught off guard by my indifference. His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but then someone screamed in the distance.
A commotion broke out, and people started shouting and running. In the chaos, I nearly lost my balance, shoved around by the panicked crowd.
And what did Rusty do?
Upon hearing there was a fire, without hesitation, he ran straight toward the parking lot, toward Gale.
He left me, his blind wife, alone in the middle of a stampede, as if I’d just vanish or figure things out on my own.
But I didn’t cry this time or feel disappointed.
Instead, I slipped away in the chaos and hailed a cab home.
Shannon's POV
As soon as I stepped through the door and realized the house was empty, I rushed upstairs to the study. Standing in front of the safe, I didn’t hesitate. I wiped the sweat off my palms and entered Gale’s birthday as the code.
With a soft ding, the safe clicked open.
Inside, stacks of documents were piled high. After a brief pause, I locked the study door behind me, took out all the papers, and began flipping through them, snapping photos along the way.
Then I found it.
A medical document. My gut twisted the moment my eyes scanned the title. Something felt off. And as I continued reading line by line, the air around me grew heavier, then my heart sank.
Turned out, my baby was just a tool to save Gale.
And the worst part? Rusty knew.
He hadn’t intended for the baby to die, not at first. But even after learning how dangerous a premature C-section would be, he still signed the consent form without a second thought. He chose to deliver the baby early.
The man who helped give our child life also took it away.
Alone in that room, staring at the truth, I couldn’t stop the broken sob that slipped from my throat. My right hand trembled uncontrollably as I clutched the edge of the desk, trying to stay upright.
Thinking of that tiny baby I once held in my arms, my eyes blurred with tears, and my chest felt hollow, like something had been carved right out of me.
Suddenly, a piece of paper slipped from the pile and fell to the floor.
When I picked it up, my heart stopped again. Bold characters stared back at me, saying [Divorce Agreement]
I opened it and found Rusty’s signature was already there.
The space next to it was the only one left blank, waiting for mine.
So this was what he had prepared for me all along.
Before I could process it further, I suddenly heard his voice downstairs.
“Shannon? Is that you?”
I froze.
According to Gale’s social media, Rusty was supposed to be out with her, celebrating their ‘lucky escape’ after the fire. So why was he home?
His footsteps grew louder.
Panicking, I shoved all the documents back into the safe, shut it, and darted into the adjacent bedroom. By the time he reached the second floor, I was curled up under the covers, pretending to sleep.
The moment he saw me safe and sound, Rusty didn’t look relieved. Rather, he looked angry.
“Shannon, do you even realize what I went through? I turned the entire amusement park upside down looking for you! I was this close to calling the police! And the whole time, you were just here? Sleeping? You didn’t even think to let me know you were home?”
He sounded genuinely hurt, like I’d wronged him, like he was the victim.
But he had been the one who let go of my hand, who ran off to save someone else.
Even so, I gave him a small, empty smile and didn’t bother arguing.
“I did try to call you,” I said quietly. “But the crowd pushed us apart, and you know I can’t see. I couldn’t find you. I dialed your number, but you didn’t pick up. So I took a cab home and just waited for you here.”
He glanced at his phone then, and sure enough, dozens of missed calls lit up the screen.
Only then did he seem to remember that he’d been too busy comforting Gale to answer. When the phone kept ringing, he’d silenced it and tossed it aside.
Recalling that, his face softened with guilt, and he scrambled to justify himself.
“I... I was looking for you, too, you know. I didn’t stop. But anyway, we’re both safe now, and that’s what matters.”
Before he could say more, the Love Bell rang, which only meant Gale was calling him downstairs.
He hesitated for a beat, weighing his options, and just as I expected, he chose her.
But not without tossing a few parting words over his shoulder.
“Get some rest. I’ll bring you something to eat and come back to keep you company later.”
Once he left, the room fell silent again.
I pulled out my phone and opened a hidden surveillance app. After entering Gale’s birthday as the password, I accessed the live feed from the first-floor camera.
Yes, I always knew there was a hidden camera downstairs.
Rusty had installed it himself, said it was for my safety, that he wanted to be able to check on me at all times, so I never questioned it.
Didn't expect I could use this to my own advantage.
