The car shook in front of me and the sound of their panting filled the air.
The husband I once believed to be devoted and loving had only seen me as a vessel to give birth.
——
The car windows fogged up layer by layer.
I lowered my gaze to the newborn in my arms as my heart sank into a dark abyss and the joy of being a first-time mother vanished in an instant.
"You're amazing," the woman said. "You swapped her prenatal folic acid for birth control pills and made her think she was the one with fertility issues."
The woman's voice dripped with smug delight. Then she asked, "When are you planning to divorce her?"
There was a brief pause before the man spoke, his tone devoid of any warmth, "After her postpartum recovery period."
He said it with just a few cold, heartless words.
I found it hard to believe that the man inside that car was my supposedly gentle and responsible husband, Mario Lombardi.
We had met through a blind date and he had pursued me relentlessly. When he pursued me, Mario showered me with gifts and flowers and rushed back from his work even though he had gone overseas just to spend the holidays with me.