His Tender Lies

As I witnessed this side of Francis that I had never seen before, I tucked away the pepper spray that I was holding.

All these years of struggling alone had taught me how to protect myself.

He had never protected me before, so there was no need for him to act like he cared all of a sudden.

I struggled to get on my feet. I wanted to leave, but my body wasn't feeling it.

I had barely moved a few steps when I collapsed at the door. As much as I tried, I couldn't move a single muscle.

"Sugar, I need sugar…"

Knowing I was suffering from hypoglycemia, I tried to reach for my bag. This was caused by a combination of malnourishment and anemia from selling my blood for cash.

I just needed a single candy, but Francis picked me up before I could do anything.

"I'll send you to the hospital."

I was put in the back seat, and there I sat silently.

Throughout our relationship, he never once sent me to the hospital personally. Even when I suffered a miscarriage, he merely dropped by to sign some paperwork.

In contrast, he would rush Whitney to the hospital even for the smallest issue.

I felt the soft leather seat of the supercar. For the first time in my life, I realized how comfortable it was to ride in a car.

In just ten minutes, we arrived at the hospital.

The lights were green the entire way, and thirty minutes had not even passed when we received my diagnosis.

I had no idea rich people had such privileges. Why did Francis waste five years of his life on me, just for a bet?

Those were five years of my precious life.

For so many years, I was toyed with like a dog.

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and checked the balance on my card.

Everything added up to only $858.

After five years of misery, I couldn't even afford a single plane ticket.

All I had was a cheating boyfriend, an empty wallet, and a broken shell of a body.

Every single one of them was pushing me towards the abyss.

But I held back my tears because the man behind all this suffering was right next to me.

For the first time in years, Francis stayed next to my bed the entire night.

That was until his phone rang. Despite being someone who was irritable in the morning, his voice was surprisingly gentle when he answered the call.

"Be a good girl now, I have something urgent to deal with. Go back to sleep if you'd like, I'll buy your favorite soufflé on my way back."

Whitney seemed to be crying especially loudly today. It took Francis ten minutes of coaxing before she started to calm down.

Sure enough, as soon as he hung up, an anxious look appeared on Francis's face.

"Scarlett, I…"

"Go, I can handle this on my own."

Somehow, my straightforwardness caught him by surprise. He hesitated in front of my bed for a while before choosing to leave.

As I watched him go, I made a promise to myself.

This time, I won't be waiting for your return.

The earliest flight out of this city would cost me a thousand or more dollars.

I had no choice but to ask my parents for help.

While I had everything packed, I couldn't find my driver license.

I remember Francis wanted to apply for a credit card while he was in debt, so he took my driver license with him.

I had no choice but to call Francis.

It wasn't until the third call that he finally picked up the phone.

"Where are you?"

Francis was reluctant to answer me, but Whitney's voice came over the line.

"Ms. Lane, we're at the water park. Would you like to join us?"

After confirming their location, I took the subway over immediately.

The place was lively and everyone was in their swimwear. Being the only fully-dressed person there, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

Francis enjoyed a portion of the pool to himself, which made him easy to spot.

I marched up to him and demanded, "I need my driver license back, Francis."

Before he could respond, his friends started making a fuss.

"Hey, isn't that Scarlett? Why don't you join us?"

Even Whitney, who was wearing a pink bikini, swam over.

"Care for a swim, Ms. Lane? You came all the way here after all," she said.

By no means was it a friendly invitation. I caught her winking at a nearby person after she finished her sentence.

Before I could react, I was pulled into the swimming pool.

While it was only four feet deep, for a person who couldn't swim, it might as well have been a bottomless abyss.

The farce was far from over. As I struggled to stay afloat, someone pulled off my clothes from under the surface.

Before I knew it, my entire body, including my surgical scars, was exposed to the world.

"Ah! What on earth is that?!"