"See, she drank the milk. Don’t worry. She’s been deaf for so many years; she’ll never recover in this lifetime." Jeremy’s cold mockery was particularly piercing.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
The man who once claimed to love me and promised to protect me for a lifetime was now holding another woman, mocking my old illness.
I buried myself under the blanket, sobbing uncontrollably. At some point, Jeremy came to the bedside.
He pulled back the blanket and upon seeing my tear-streaked face, he looked guilty and quickly gestured, "What’s wrong?"
I shook my head, telling him it was just that I was too tired lately. Jeremy picked up the milk, ready to feed it to me.
"Drink it, you’ll feel better and sleep well."
The milk had sleeping pills in it and once I fell asleep, they could have their fun without restraint in the house.
I hesitated, pushed his hand away and gestured, "I don’t want to drink it."
Worried he might suspect me, I rubbed my stomach and pretended to feel unwell.
Vanessa walked in, her face full of concern, but what she said was, "Gracie, you’re really being difficult. Is it so hard to just sleep quietly? All these years, Jeremy has really been suffering."