All for One Bowl of Fish Stew

"But so what? You lost a baby, while I haven't lost anything. Luke still protects me and loves me.

"Did you know that when the accident happened, the first person Luke ran to was me? He held me and said, 'Ruby, don't be scared.' Yet he didn't even once look at you."

My hands, hidden under the blanket, clenched into tight fists.

"You must really want to kill me right now. But too bad—you just took your medicine."

As she spoke, she pulled out a long, thin needle from her pocket.

"Do you think it'll hurt if I stick this into your hand?"

She grabbed my wrist with a smile and drove the needle deep into the back of my hand.

A sharp pain shot through me, and my eyes flew open. I stared at her coldly, as if she were already dead.

I startled her so badly that she froze, completely dazed.

In that split second, I summoned every ounce of strength left in me and slapped her hard across the face.

Ruby was shell-shocked. She stumbled back several steps, clutching her cheek and staring at me in disbelief.

"You're actually awake? And how dare you hit me?"

Just then, the hospital room door burst open, and Luke rushed in. The moment he saw what was happening, his expression changed. At the same time, he pulled Ruby into his arms protectively.

"Cynthia, what are you doing?"

Ruby burst into tears, looking utterly heartbroken.

"Luke, I'm so scared. Cynthia hit me," she said through sobs.

"It's okay. I'm here now," Luke murmured soothingly to her, but his gaze toward me turned colder by the second.

I looked at the back of my hand, where the needle had pierced through, and suddenly felt an eerie calm wash over me.

"Luke, take a good look—I'm your wife, and I just lost our baby. So, I'm the one who needs protecting the most," I stated the facts calmly.

He seemed to be caught off guard by my words, for his expression flickered with guilt and unease.

But Ruby, who was still nestled in his arms, only wept harder.

"Luke, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come to see Cynthia. I was just worried about her."

Her act of innocence made whatever guilt Luke had just felt vanish in an instant.

He turned to look at me with a frown. "Cynthia, Ruby just came to see you out of kindness. Why do you have to be so aggressive?"

I trembled with rage at the self-righteous look on his face.

But I knew there was no reasoning with this man anymore.

I pointed at Ruby and said coldly, "Get her out."

Ruby bit her lip pitifully, her eyes glistening as she looked at Luke.

"Luke…"

He patted her back gently and said, "Why don't you head out first?"

Ruby glared at me resentfully, looking back with every step as she walked away. Soon, only Luke and I were left in the room.

He turned to face me, exhaustion and helplessness written all over him.

"Cynthia, can you please stop being so difficult?"

It was that same line again. In his eyes, all my pain and despair were just me being difficult.

"Luke, I'll say it one more time—I want a divorce."

"It's never going to happen." His refusal was absolute. "I'm not divorcing you."

"Why?"

"Because I love you," he replied.

I laughed.

"You love me? Is loving me cheating on me during my pregnancy? Or defending that murderer after I lost my baby? Or locking me up here and controlling me with sleeping pills?"