“Don't you ever think you can leave me,” he continued, his voice now tinged with desperation and possessiveness. “I am your husband, and as long as I don't bring up divorce, you'll be my wife in this lifetime.”
“Oh, I see,” he said and paused. “It's because you think I'm cheating, so you want a divorce? You’re completely out of your mind. Even if you want a divorce, do you think your mother will allow it?”
“Where is she anyway?” Lucian demanded again. “Get her out here right now!”
Considering our impending divorce, I chose to ignore his outburst. I turned to Esther, who was standing stiffly– she covered all parts of her skin she even wrapped veil around her head, and asked, “Why are you here?”
As I directed my attention to Esther, Lucian's agitation escalated. He shouted at me, his words tinged with anger, “Where's your mom, Olivia? Tell her to come out! If she doesn't explain herself today, I'll call the police to sort this mess out.”
He approached Esther, his demeanor suddenly shifting to a softer tone. He spoke to her in hushed tones, his hand gently reaching out as if to comfort her. Esther, in response, slowly lifted her hand to remove the veil that concealed her face. The veil fell away, revealing Esther's complexion marred by angry red rashes, which shocked me.
Before I could ask anything, Lucian rushed to speak, “Just because you were jealous of her, you instigated your damn mother to poison her. Esther got lucky this time. What if she didn't survive next time? You've practically killed someone! How could I miss your wicked nature all this time?”
Lucian's words hit me like a bomb, leaving me shattered. Unable to contain my anger, I tried to speak, but Esther interrupted. “I know you were jealous, but there was nothing between Lucian and me,” she said, wiping away her tears. “Why did you want to kill me?”
“Olivia, get your mom out here right now! Esther deserves an explanation.” Lucian yelled in unbearable frustration. He threw the torn divorce agreement into the air. As the white fragments fell before my eyes, I felt like I was back to yesterday when Lucian tore up my mother's death certificate.
My eyes were red with tears, and I couldn't hold back my anger any longer. I stepped forward and slapped him across the face. “Who do you think you are to speak about my mom like that? Why do you keep accusing her?”