[You little wildcat, you tore my underwear. Now, get me a new one immediately.]
Another message followed almost immediately. [Wait, it seems I don't have any more left here.]
Laura texted back. [Do you mind wearing Jerome's?]
Jock immediately replied. [Fuck, no! I can sleep with his woman but for the rest ….? Don't push it!]
[Fine. I’ll come by now.]
Laura glanced down toward me. She then stroked my face tenderly, got up and walked away.
I clutched the sheets and my tears broke through my defenses at this moment.
Back then, when Jock's company went bankrupt it was I who wanted Laura to help him. At that time, Laura hated him so much and told me to stay away from him.
In the end, Laura helped him for my sake. Yet now, here he was, repaying my kindness by stabbing me in the back when I was blind by screwing my wife. He was really an ungrateful person.
In an attempt to cheer myself up, I told myself that I would be alright because in seven days I would leave this place and never had anything to do with Laura anymore.
The next day, because Laura figured that I was still upset, she went out of her way to appease me. After breakfast, she forces me to go out.
She rented an entire bar and asked a lot of friends to come. Allegedly, she told them that she wanted to cheer me up.
Throughout the journey there, Laura never let go of my hand and gripped it tightly as if afraid I might stumble. She was recounting and on about the sweet memories we once shared.
I didn’t say a word. The bitterness and pain intertwined relentlessly within me.
I once believed I would grow old with her and never separate from her, only to discover it was all a cruel joke.
Laura believed that being a blind man there was no way I could satisfy her need. She craved excitement and a younger man so because I was over thirty years old, she moved her affection to Jock, who was four years younger than me.
The vow that she said on our wedding day had long forgotten.
However, the gaze that her friend threw at me was full of malice and disdain. I became even more heartbroken when I saw the banner that was hanging there.
It said "Happy Birthday, My Dear Jock!"
I pried her fingers off mine, one by one, with all the dignity I could muster. How ironic. Laura had promised the night was just for me, a gesture to cheer me up. However, it had all been a lie.