07: Never Loved You

→ Agatha ←

Oscar wasn’t home last night and I couldn’t sleep at all because deep down I kept refusing to believe what I saw. There had to be some other explanation.

I was still sitting in the living room when he finally walked through the door the next morning. He looked tired and exhausted, and of course he was after spending his strength on her last night.

His eyes landed on me and he rolled them like coming home to me was already an inconvenience.

I stood up the moment he saw me.

“Where were you all night?” I asked without moving from my spot.

He dropped his keys on the table and didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me the way someone looks at a problem they are tired of dealing with.

“It’s too early for this, Agatha. Don’t you think?” he said.

“I asked where the hell you were all night and I deserve an answer! Where the fuck were you last night!” The words tore out of my throat louder than I planned because I couldn’t control the rage anymore even though yelling at Oscar had always been a big no.

His hand closed around my throat and the force pushed me back until my shoulders hit the wall.

“What the fuck is your problem? Can’t a man get some peace and quiet or should I have to sacrifice that because I’m married to you, huh?!” he said with his face close to mine.

I stared into his eyes while the tears fell freely. The pressure on my neck hurt but the look in his eyes hurt even more.

“I saw you last night, Oscar,” I sniffed back my tears. “I saw you at the hotel with Naomi. I saw you two kiss. You’re having an affair with my sister.”

His expression changed instantly when he heard what I said, but it wasn’t shame or regret. It was pure irritation.

“You followed me?” he asked, clearly annoyed.

“You’re fucking my sister. Just say it. Come on and say it to my face!” I yelled.

He stared at me for a long moment and then let out a short, cold laugh that made my stomach turn.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag. You know, I’ve been waiting for this day. The day you realize that your sister is the one I love, and not you.” he said.

“Then why? Why did you marry me if you loved her? Why did you keep me tied to you if she’s the one you want?” I asked.

This is so unfair. I gave him everything and it still wasn’t enough.

Oscar stepped closer and cupped my face while my tears kept pouring.

“To make it clear, Agatha, I only married you because you have Naomi’s face,” he said. “I never loved you the way you thought I did.”

I stepped back. For a second I couldn’t even voice out the words I held back. I just stood there staring at him as everything I thought I knew about our marriage shattered into pieces.

“What did you just say to me?” I whispered.

“You heard me. You were the closest thing I could get to her. That’s all you’ve ever been. An ugly replacement with the right face,” he said.

“Oscar…”

Oh, he didn't stop there.

“Naomi is better than you in every way. She’s the worthy one, she’s a fucking gem. She knows how to satisfy a man and she’s good at everything. Next to her you look like a cheap photocopy." he said slowly, like he wanted me to understand that he meant every word.

Tears kept running down my cheeks. How could he say those things to me? How could he? I love this man. I loved him so much that I ignored every red flag and every cold night just to keep him.

“I’ll leave. I swear to God I’ll leave you, Oscar. I’ll walk out of this house right now if you can’t own up to what you’ve done like a man!” I said.

He looked me straight in the eye.

“Then leave.”

Those two words were all it took for my hopes on this marriage to shatter.

I stood there with my mouth open, waiting for him to take it back and say he didn’t mean it, but he just watched me like he was already irritated with the conversation.

Then Oscar turned and walked away from me.

~

I drove straight to my parents’ house with my foot heavy on the gas. The anger in my chest kept pushing me faster until the speedometer climbed higher than it should have.

I got there in fifteen minutes and barely put the car in park before I was out and pushed the front door open.

Naomi was sitting in the living room with Mom and Dad like nothing was wrong. They were chatting and laughing over whatever the fuck Dad was saying.

The second I saw her face I lost it.

“Oh, Agatha’s here.” Naomi smirked.

I crossed the room, grabbed her by the collar, and yanked her up from the couch. My palm connected with her face so hard the sound echoed through the room. This was the first time I had ever done something like that.

“Agatha…!”

“You fucking bitch! How could you?! How could you have an affair with my husband!” I yelled right in her face.

Mom and Dad didn’t look surprised by what I said, and that only confirmed what I already suspected. They knew all along. They had always known.

Naomi touched her cheek and then looked at me with the coldest smile I had ever seen on her face.

“Oh, you finally found out. Took you long enough.”

“How could you?” Ugly tears were already running down my face. “I’m your sister. Your twin sister! How could you do this to me!”

“No,” she said slowly, waving her index finger in front of my face. “You only have my face. You’re not my sister and I never considered you as one.”

I turned to my parents, desperate for someone, anyone, to take my side. Dad looked away while Mom kept her eyes on Naomi.

“How could you let this happen? What kind of parents are you? You’re supposed to be my family. How could all of you do this to me?”

“Don’t destroy your sister’s happiness, Agatha,” Mom said.

“Naomi has already been through enough. You will not make this worse for her, do you understand?” Dad added.

I stared at them in complete disbelief. They were really taking her side.

“She slept with my husband and you’re defending her? Do you even hear yourselves?”

Naomi stepped closer, still wearing that same cruel little smile.

“Oscar has always been mine and you’ve been too gullible to notice. Even back in college. You were just the one who happened to be available when I wasn’t. Do everyone a favor, especially Oscar and me, and get the hell out of his life. I deserve to be the one standing next to Oscar.m, not you. It was never you.”

I looked from her face to my parents. No one moved, no one tried to stop her, no one even looked sorry.

“I can't believe this! I… I don't believe this!” I staggered back, staring at Naomi. “I can't believe you would do this to me!”

Then I turned and walked out of the house.

---

I made it to the driveway before my legs gave out. I dropped to my knees right there on the concrete and the sobs tore out of me so hard I could barely breathe.

I sacrificed my career for a man who never loved me. I swallowed every insult he gave to me, every negligence towards our marriage, every time he made me feel like I was nothing.

I stayed quiet when he hurt me so the marriage would look perfect from the outside. I defended him to everyone. And the whole time my own sister was warming his bed, and my own parents knew. They watched me be a fool and said nothing.

They didn't do this to me. It was me, I did this to myself. If I wasn't so obsessed with the idea of Oscar choosing me, then maybe I wouldn't be in this mess.

I pressed my forehead to the ground and screamed until my throat burned.

What should I do? Where do I even go from here? It hurt. It hurts so much.

“Fuck all of you. Fuck every single one of you.”