The master bedroom door was wide open.
Two naked bodies tangled together on the sheets.
They heard my footsteps.
Victor grabbed the bedside lamp and hurled it at me.
"Get out! Who told you to come in here?"
Alice looked up through tear-streaked eyes, her gaze sharp with the bitter fury of a woman reclaiming what she believed was hers.
"You two haven't even registered the marriage yet. Tonight, he's mine." She sniffled, her voice climbing. "You've been treating me like a joke this whole time, watching from your little throne. I think I'm owed some interest, don't you?"
"After all, we've done much more than this before. If you want to learn how to make him happy, I don't mind you watching. I'm sure he already bragged to your whole circle about taking my virginity, right?"
"Either do it or get out! Let me go home!"
A flash of guilt and regret passed through Victor's eyes.
"I'm the bastard here! Don't degrade yourself like this! I'm the one who wronged you. I shouldn't have lied."
Then he turned on me, his gaze vicious, as if everything were my fault.
But pretending to be poor hadn't been my idea. And their first time together? I hadn't known a thing about it.
Once, I would have lost my mind trying to explain myself. I would have seized every chance to clear up every misunderstanding, every shred of hostility he held against me.
But now, I simply picked up the lamp and set it back on the nightstand.
I pulled the door shut behind me, careful and quiet.
"Enjoy yourselves."
Then I turned and walked to the guest room.
One more night. That was all I had left.
I didn't sleep well.
In my dreams, I kept seeing the Victor from when we were young. Back when everything between us had been so good. Back when he'd never once said a harsh word to me.
A sob crawled up my throat, and tears burned the inside of my nose.
My whole body ached, sharp and bone-deep, as if I'd plunged into ice water.
I woke with a gasp, eyes red and stinging.
The first thing I saw was Victor's face, twisted with disgust.
The chill on my skin was unmistakable now. My hair was soaking wet, water dripping from the ends. I looked at the bucket in his hand.
The cold hadn't only been in the dream.
"Marina! How can you be this despicable? I told you I'd register the marriage with you tomorrow. Tonight was just a goodbye between her and me. I initiated everything. I forced her. It was all me. So why did you leak that video of us?"