I Stepped Down From Their Little Trade

My husband, William Aldous, instantly pulled a face. His expression was dark.

“What is it this time, Sonnet? There’s a limit to this kind of drama. Divorce isn’t something you casually bring up.”

I stared at him blankly, and a flicker of confusion washed over me.

I did not understand why he would react this way. After all, I had been playing by his rules the whole time.

Each time before this, I was the one handing over what was mine, cutting a deal with him, just so Jolie Howard could get what she wanted.

I pulled my name from the employee-of-the-month competition and handed over the project’s core that I had poured my blood, sweat, and tears into. Bit by bit, I was erased from the company we had built from the ground up.

Here I was, putting my marriage on the line to save my mother. This was supposed to be exactly what he wanted. So, why was he upset?

I was on the verge of crying, but I held it back.

I just looked at him calmly. “I’m not trying to make a scene. This is how it’s always gone. I’m just giving you what you wanted, what Jolie wanted.”

Hearing this, his tone softened a little.

“Sonnet, are you still upset about what happened at the company?

“Jolie isn’t like you. You’re strong and smart. You could walk out of here tomorrow and be just fine anywhere.

“But Jolie’s fragile. She can’t handle pressure. She needs someone to support her and guide her along.”

Hearing this, I did not know whether to cry or to laugh.

I remembered the time when he had first met Jolie.

She was overseas when someone had robbed her. She stood on the street, completely at a loss.

William happened to be passing by. He chased after the robber and got her purse back.

At that time, she was crying as she said to him cautiously, “Let me treat you to a meal to thank you, so we’re even.”

It was just a simple gesture of gratitude, but William kept bringing it up after he came home.

“Sonnet, you should learn a thing or two from Jolie. If you want someone’s help, you have to give something in return. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and softened his tone. “I’ll ask Harold to perform Wilma’s surgery. Rest assured.”

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say more but stopped himself.

After a long while, he said, “But Sonnet, here’s the deal. Give Jolie that rosary I got from the church six years ago. She hasn’t been well lately. She needs it.”

I instinctively clenched the rosary in my pocket.

Six years ago, I was in a car accident and spent seven days in the ICU in a coma.

William drove through a blizzard to a church on the outskirts of town. He knelt at the altar all night, praying with the rosary, and brought it back for me.

He was exhausted, but he stayed by my side and said, “Sonnet, as long as you’re safe, I don’t need anything else.”

All these years, whenever I felt disappointed in this marriage, I would hold this rosary.

I always believed that somewhere inside him, the William who once cared for me so deeply was still there.

I finally realized that William had vanished the day he met Jolie.

“Okay.”

I suppressed the bitterness in my heart, took the rosary from my pocket, and gave it to him.

When he saw me do that, he actually tried to comfort me for once. “Once things settle down, I’ll go back to the church and get you another one just like it.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bother.”

He could get an identical rosary. However, he was no longer the person he once was.

I turned and rushed to the hospital.

When I entered, I saw Jolie sitting by my mother’s bedside.

She spoke to my mother with a smile on her face, yet every word was sharp.

“Mrs. Elder, you haven’t heard?

“William hasn’t set foot in that house in half a year.

“Instead of letting Sonnet stay trapped in a marriage that’s already over, why don’t you convince her to get a divorce? Let William and me be together.”