6
In the middle of the night, Adeline was still peacefully asleep next to me as I quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed. Cora was alone at home, and she was pregnant. As I calmed down, a wave of guilt washed over me. My behavior during the day had been excessive. If I didn’t hurry back to make things right with Cora, she might start suspecting something about my relationship with Adeline.
I leaned over and gently kissed Adeline’s serene, sleeping face before leaving the hospital room.
Returning home, the living room lights were off. I quietly made my way to the bedroom in the dark, not even bothering to take off my shoes as I climbed into bed and whispered my apologies:
“Cora, it was wrong of me to lose my temper today. Adeline is very dear to my Eldest Brother and Sister–in–Law, and I was worried about not taking good care of her. Please forgive me.”
Usually, even if Cora was upset, she’d at least acknowledge she heard me with a simple “hmm.” But this time, there was only silence. I couldn’t even hear her breathing.
Confused, I turned on the bedside lamp. The warm yellow light illuminated the room, but I froze. The bed was perfectly made, with no sign of Cora’s familiar presence. I quickly sat up and looked around. The wardrobe door was wide open, and Cora’s side was empty. The vanity was bare, with no bottles or jars in sight.
Panic set in as I rushed barefoot to the bathroom. Cora’s usual toiletries were gone, and even the towel hooks were empty. I then ran downstairs to the living room, where the photo wall of our happy moments was now bare.
I picked up my cell phone, my hands trembling uncontrollably
number.
as
I dialed Cora’s number. But all I got was the cold message of a disconnected
I stood there, stunned, my mind in chaos. I kept reassuring myself, “Cora must just be angry and trying to scare me. There’s no way she really left. After all, she’s pregnant. No mother would joke about her own child.”
Thinking this, I relaxed a bit. I took a deep breath and my eyes instinctively scanned the sofa. With just one glance, my pupils contracted sharply, and I froze in place.
There, on the sofa, was a large, alarming stain of blood. The bright red color pierced straight into my heart like a sharp knife. My legs gave way, and I collapsed.
