I Left Before the Bells Rang

Tracy Baker, sprawled on the bed, caught sight of me peeking through the curtains.

She whispered to the man behind her, "Elias."

His voice grew harsh. "Call me Jim."

With a smug grin, she turned to me, her lips playfully shaping the name Jim over and over.

The wild man on the bed was nothing like the distant, cold man who had rejected me day after day for the past seven years.

I clamped my hands over my ears, but the groans from the bed sliced through, stabbing at my heart.

All through the night, until the first light of dawn, they did not stop. Only then did the two of them sink into a heavy sleep.

I stumbled out of the room, my body numb and frozen.

When I got back to the Johnsons', my son was at the breakfast table. He looked up at my haunted face.

With a flat voice, he said, "You're always so gloomy. It's irritating. Where were you last night?"

He was the spitting image of Jim Johnson.

"After Dad passed, you should've just stayed put, not gallivanting around, getting snapped by cameras and tarnishing our family's reputation."

Since he started talking, he had been right by my side in the prayer room, picking up a serious tone that was way beyond his years.

I used to find his seriousness kind of cute, like he was playing grown-up. Today, I saw something else in his eyes—disdain for me.

A wave of sadness washed over me. Seven years as a mom, and I felt like a total failure.

Numbly, I said, "I came back for some documents, to sort out the death certificate."

His face lit up, his voice suddenly lively. "Mom, you've finally seen the light!"

I managed a weak smile. "Seeing the light? What good does it do? You've all made up your mind."

He looked down, a guilty shadow crossing his face. "No matter what, you're still part of the Johnson family."

I could not help letting out a scornful chuckle.

Seven years back, when I first tagged along with Elias Johnson to join the Johnson family, I was over the moon.

Even after that night, when I drank Tracy's fiery wine and woke up feverish in Jim's bed, I was thrilled.

I thought it was destiny giving us a second chance.

Jim's eyes cut through me like ice. "Elias is Tracy's, and you think you can just sneak your way to the top?"

Even after he put a ring on it, he never warmed up to me again.

His voice was calm, almost detached. "You carry the Johnson name. That's all you'll ever have."

Then I understood. He despised me for stealing his shot at true love.

Marrying me was his last act of loyalty to Tracy.

In a twisted act of revenge, he moved into the prayer room the very next day after our wedding.

For seven long years, no matter how I poked and prodded, I could not thaw his frozen, faithful heart.