Chapter 3
When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.
The sunlight outside the window was piercing, yet I felt chilled to the bone.
Lena sauntered in, her high heels clicking.
“Sister, you’re awake?” she said.
“The doctor said your stem cells worked wonders. Look at my skin, isn’t it smooth and tender?” She stroked her cheeks boastfully.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her smug face.
“Oh, right,” Lena suddenly seemed to remember something and leaned in closer.
“Charles took all those artistic photos of you from before and shared them with his religious friends to study, you know. For designing some custom maternity dresses for me.”
“He said your body proportions are similar to mine, so he wanted them to use those as reference to make the most fitting and beautiful clothes for me.”
Those photos were taken years ago when Charles had been kidnapped by a gang of thugs and beaten bloody. They had forced me to take revealing photos to spare his life.
After that incident, Charles became devoted to his studies, not only improving his grades rapidly but also getting into a PhD program and later studying theology.
Seeing his lofty ambitions, I finally agreed to marry him after his 99th proposal.
Now, to please his new love, he actually took my shameful past and offered it up for others to ogle.
Lena watched my face turn deathly pale, her smile growing more smug:
“Don’t look at me like that. Charles is just doing it for the baby’s sake. He said those friends all praised your figure, just that it’s a pity you’re too prudish and don’t know how to be sexy.”
Lena didn’t seem to notice my distress, or perhaps she simply didn’t care.
She took out a dazzling diamond necklace from her crocodile skin handbag and dangled it in front of me: “Look, Charles bought this for me yesterday. He said it complements my skin tone.”
“He said someone with a healthy complexion like mine looks good in anything, unlike some people who are as pale as paper, with no vitality at all.”
She changed the subject, bringing up those photos again: “Charles said that although your old photos were artistic, they were still too conservative in the end.”
“The girls from our tribe are much more open-minded than you. Charles even said if he wasn’t worried about scaring you, he would have taken me to shoot much racier ones long ago.”
Lena glanced at me contemptuously: “Sister, I’m not criticizing you, but you’re just too old-fashioned, out of touch with the times. Charles may look like a devout Christian, all pure and abstinent, but his needs in that department are huge!”
She giggled shrilly, her voice grating on the ears.
“He said it’s because when he’s with you, he can’t get in the mood, can’t get excited, so he feels like he’s desecrating God.”
Lena leaned in even closer, her overpowering perfume making me nauseous.
“Do you know why Charles married you in the first place?”
“Because your grandfather and Charles’ grandfather were war buddies who fought against Russia together. The two old men hoped your families would be joined through marriage.”
Lena’s lipstick-stained mouth kept moving.
“Charles said touching you makes him feel like he’s dirtying his hands. If it wasn’t for the sake of completing his spiritual journey and putting on a show for others, he would have divorced you long ago.”
“A woman like you is just wasting oxygen by being alive. You might as well give up your place early, stop occupying a space you don’t deserve.”
She laughed raucously, the diamond necklace on her chest glittering painfully in my eyes.
“Oh, and you think your grandfather was some kind of good person? Back then, he…”
“Enough!”
A stern female voice interrupted Lena.
An older nurse strode in, her face livid: “Young lady, this is a hospital ward. Patients need peace and quiet! How can you make such a racket here? Have you no sense of decency?”
Lena was startled by this sudden scolding. She pouted, reluctantly sashaying out.
“Nutcase,” the nurse muttered under her breath before turning to me. “Mrs. Shaw, how are you feeling? If you’re uncomfortable in any way, just press the call button.”
I nodded woodenly.
The nurse sighed, tucking in my blanket before leaving.