His Lies

The fireworks on New Year's Eve burst outside the window, bathing the living room in a warm glow. I wrapped myself in the cashmere blanket Jason Collins had bought for me, waiting for him to return for the reunion dinner. The dishes on the table had been reheated twice; he said there was an urgent matter at the company and told me to wait. I rose to get some fresh air on the balcony, but then I heard muffled voices arguing near the entrance. It was Jason Collins' voice, carrying an impatience I had never heard before. "Why have you come? Didn't I tell you to stay at home?" A delicate female voice sounded, filled with grievance. "Jason Collins, I refuse to accept this!" Tonight is New Year's Eve—you should be here with me. That Fiona Scott—what right does she have to take my place? My footsteps halted; my fingertips gripped the Cashmere Blanket tightly. Fiona Scott is me—so what exactly does 'her position' mean? I pressed myself against the wall, held my breath, and dared not utter a sound. "Stop making unreasonable trouble," Jason's voice turned colder. "If it weren't for her, none of this would have happened back then." There is a reason I kept her. "A reason?" Are all the favors you show her part of that reason as well? The woman raised her voice, then swiftly lowered it, "Have you forgotten who caused her amnesia? Who brought on her heart condition?" "Those scars covering her body, and the uterus that was removed—aren't they all your doing?" Every word was like an ice pick, piercing mercilessly into my heart. I trembled all over, barely able to stand. Amnesia, heart disease, scars, infertility... these hidden torments of my married life—could all of them really have been caused by Jason Collins? "I haven't forgotten," Jason Collins's voice carried a hint of weariness, "but if it weren't for her father's interference back then, we wouldn't have reached this point." She brought it upon herself.