While Ruslan was away at work, Thea’s facade crumbled like a brittle mask. After preparing meals, she would deliberately place the bowls on the highest shelves, well out of my reach.
Hunger would eventually force me to wheel over, staring helplessly at the food perched above me like an unreachable prize.
Catching me in that moment, Thea would saunter by with a feigned look of surprise.
“Oh, I forgot you’re disabled and can’t stand up!” she would exclaim, her voice laced with mockery so sharp it could cut glass.
Her eyes sparkled with malicious delight, the mockery dripping off her words like poison.
But when Ruslan returned home each evening, she would don her mask once more, transforming into the picture of a devoted caregiver.
I would wake to the sound of her creeping into the room, boldly slipping under the covers beside Ruslan.
When he stirred and noticed her, his voice would drop into a frantic whisper.
“Are you out of your mind? Aurelle is right here!” he hissed, panic etched into every word.
But Thea would cling to him like ivy, her tone syrupy and sweet. “The baby in my belly misses you,” she murmured, her audacity boundless.
I could no longer endure the charade. My eyes snapped open, piercing through the dark.
“Keep it down. I’m trying to sleep.”
Ruslan froze before hurriedly ushering her out, stumbling over his words.
“She’s just sleepwalking.”
Watching him stand there, flustered and at a loss, stirred something bittersweet in me.
Once upon a time, he had been a clean-cut, earnest young man. I remembered how his hand trembled slightly when he first held mine, how his shy whisper carried promises as eternal as the stars.
He had whispered in my ear that even if the world crumbled, he would love me until death.
And when the accident left me paralyzed, he had stayed by my side, resolute and unwavering.
“As long as you don’t disturb me, it’s fine,” I said at last, turning my back to him and closing my eyes.
The next morning, I woke to find the back of my shirt dampened by his tears.
During breakfast, his gaze flitted toward me, hesitant and full of unspoken words.
After we finished our meal, he finally broke the silence.
“Aurelle, let’s make your birthday a grand celebration this year, shall we?”