Chapter 3

Mark found me in the living room, looking through old photo albums. Leo, my son, was at a friend' s house.

"Sarah," he began, shifting his weight. He looked uncomfortable, but also... eager.

"Jessica is recovering so well with the treatment. The doctors are amazed. But she needs stability. Happiness. To aid her full recovery."

I waited. I knew what was coming.

"We were thinking... for her sake... if we got a quick divorce..."

My heart, which I thought couldn't break further, fractured.

"So you can marry her?" I asked, my voice flat.

He nodded, avoiding my eyes. "It would mean so much to her. And to me. We could be a proper family for Leo too. She adores him."

"And my parents?"

"They think it' s a good idea. For everyone."

Of course, they did.

"Alright, Mark," I said. The drug made me feel detached, watching this scene from afar. "Draw up the papers."

He looked surprised, then relieved. "You' re finally doing the right thing for everyone, Sarah. I knew you' d understand."

The papers arrived by courier the next afternoon. I signed them without reading. Mark was there, beaming.

"This is for the best," he kept saying.

When Leo came home, I sat him down. "Honey, Jessica is going to be looking after you a lot more now. Mark and I... we' re changing things."

"Can I call her Mom?" Leo asked, his eyes wide. Jessica had been lavishing him with attention, gifts, promises.

My own son.

"If you want to, sweetie," I said, my voice betraying nothing. "She' ll take good care of you."

He ran off to find Jessica, shouting, "Mom! Mom!"

Later that day, a sudden nosebleed started. Bright red blood dripped onto the pristine divorce papers Mark had left on the coffee table.

He walked in. "Sarah, really? Are you trying to get attention? You look fine. Jessica' s the one who' s been sick."

My mother, who' d come over to "help Jessica settle in," tutted. "Always so dramatic, Sarah. It' s just stress."

I fainted shortly after. When I came to, Mark was looking down at me, annoyed.

"Stop this, Sarah. You' re upsetting Jessica."

The medication was working perfectly. I looked fine. I was dying. And they were blind.