[Nighttime]
In the dim light of the bathroom, Anna pressed her back against the cool tiles, her fingers tangling in the chaos of her hair. A heavy weight rested on her shoulders, a burden that felt far too substantial to bear. The longer she lingered in her thoughts, the more she longed to vanish into the darkness.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, tracing a sorrowful path as she struggled to steady her breath. Had she been sitting there for an hour or two? Time blurred, each minute marked only by the turmoil raging in her heart.
All she felt was pain, hurt, regret, and a deep resentment towards the man who once promised her forever at the altar. Hatred bubbled inside her, twisted by the reality that she possessed all the qualities of a devoted wife, yet felt inadequate for lacking the one thing she thought defined her worth: fertility.
"I shouldn't have," she whispered, the words barely escaping her lips. Memories flooded back, vivid recollections of the messages she had read while Jack was fast asleep.
She had clung to him all day, pretending everything was normal, all while secretly yearning to catch a glimpse of his phone's password. Her instincts had proven sharp, allowing her to memorize the four-digit code, and anticipation coursed through her veins as night fell and Jack finally drifted into slumber.
Past eleven, Jack lay unaware beside her, his phone innocently resting in the drawer, a silent witness to her internal struggle. With swift hands, Anna unlocked the device, her heart racing as she ventured into the labyrinth of his messages.
The archived texts required a code of their own, but her earlier success had fueled her determination. Inputting the now-familiar numbers, she felt a thrill, but that thrill swiftly morphed into a chilling dread.
"Isabel." The name loomed in her mind, the very first in a list of messages that sang of betrayal. An unread message caught her eye: "Good night, my love."
Before her heart could catch up with her thoughts, she clicked on it, and the world around her began to crumble. As she scrolled through the exchanges, her heart plunged deeper and deeper, sinking into a void she feared she might never escape.
"My barren housewife," she uttered, words that she never imagined that Jack would type.
"I'd rather be with you than my barren wife." She recalled the full sentence and the tears resurfaced, clouding her eyes until they could no longer contain it.
"Divorce her, already!"
Even though she didn't know who Isabel was, Anna could picture the face of the lady who convinced Jack to get rid of her, and Jack, being the cheater that she never knew he was, agreed to this by responding.
"Give me some time to do it without hurting her so much."
"Too late Jack! You did such a good job at not hurting me!" She wanted to scream these words, but she went dumb for a second.
With her nostrils clogged and eyes swollen from countless tears, Anna pulled herself off the cold bathroom floor, steeling herself for what lay ahead. As she stepped out, her heart raced at the sight of the monster sprawled across her bed, Jack. All she wanted was to leap onto him and exert the revenge he deserved, a fate befitting someone who had ruined her life. In her mind, her heart had been shattered and shredded into irreparable fragments.
Staring at him, time seemed to stretch into infinity. After a moment of stillness, she quietly discarded his phone where she had found it and walked away, refusing to glance back.
In an uncanny twist, Adele's voice echoed in her head. She had never resonated with "Rolling in the Deep" quite like this moment. With trembling fingers, she retrieved a fruit knife from the kitchen cabinet, whispering fiercely,
"I will kill you, Jack."
Anna's gaze lingered on the blade, envisioning the blood stain that could mark its surface, would it be her blood or his? Either way, one of them would breathe their last tonight. Taking a deep breath to harden her resolve, Anna returned to the bedroom, standing at the edge of the bed where Jack lay peacefully asleep, oblivious to the storm brewing within her.
Her heart was heavy with rage, and her hands shook as she gripped the knife, torn between fear and fury.
"Your blood will not be on my hands, Jack," she murmured, grappling with the reality that she still felt something for the monster before her.
"Why do I still fucking want you to live? Why, Jack?" The scream escaped her lips before she even realized it.
"Anna?" Jack stirred, startled awake. Confusion morphed into horror as he processed the scene before him.
"What are you doing?" he gasped, inching closer, but Anna held her ground.
"If you come any closer, Jack, I swear I'll drive this knife into my chest!" She threatened, the blade aimed directly at her own chest.
"Please!" Jack's voice trembled. Waking up to a nightmare was not something he had ever envisioned.
"Don't hurt yourself. I'll give you whatever you want, just don't…"
"Shut up!" Anna screamed, her fury igniting the air between them.
"Anna…" he implored softly.
"Don't you dare say another word!" she interjected, pressing the knife closer to her chest as fear gripped Jack's heart. He sealed his lips, promising silence.
"Isabel is the mother of your child," Anna's voice trembled, cracking under the weight of her heartbreak.
"I'm just your barren wife, you'd rather be with her, wouldn't you? She's the one you wasted so much money on to prepare for a baby."
"Anna… please, I can explain…" Jack's desperation hung thick in the air.
"I said shut up!" she shot back, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You're just waiting for the right moment to divorce me, so I won't be hurt. I don't blame you."
The room crackled with tension as they both wept, sweat glistening on their foreheads despite the fan's relentless whir.
"Just give me the knife, Anna, please! I promise to explain everything if you stop pointing it at yourself. I love you, don't do this!" Jack's voice cracked with raw emotion.
"Shut up!" she snapped again, fury lighting her eyes, yet her stance wavered, it looked like she would turn the knife on herself. In a split second, Jack sprang forward, desperate to stop her.
But before he could reach her, the unthinkable happened. Time froze, and as he rushed to her side, panic coursed through him, his heart racing.
Is she dead? Is she still alive? The questions spun in his mind, and Anna felt the life seeping away. Surreal calm enveloped her as she fell to the ground, the world fading slowly. She glanced at Jack one last time, then succumbed to darkness.
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