For my mother Eleanor’s birthday, I took her to a sushi bar. As soon as we entered, I saw a crowd of men gathered around a woman lying on a table. She was nude, with sushi arranged on her body. My blood ran cold as I pushed closer. It was my wife, Scarlett. Eleanor gasped and grabbed her arm. “Scarlett! How could you do something so shameless?” I tore off my jacket and covered her. “Get up. We’re leaving. Now.” Instead of gratitude, she slapped me hard across the face. “You bastard! Today is Julian’s grand opening, and you two have to ruin it? If his business suffers because of you, I’ll make your lives hell.” Around us, men were scrambling to pick up sushi that had fallen from Scarlett’s body, their eyes filled with crude desire. My mother was so enraged that her blood pressure spiked and she collapsed to the floor. I reached for my phone to call 911, but Scarlett snatched it from my hand and smashed it on the ground. “No ambulances! You’ll ruin Julian’s business.” 1 My rage soared. I slapped Scarlett across the face. “Are you blind?! Can’t you see my mother has collapsed? You disappeared to be a living sushi platter without a word-that shame was already enough. If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll see you in prison.” But Scarlett just called over two security guards, who immediately restrained me. I had no choice but to carry my mother, Eleanor, out. Yet Scarlett ordered the guards to stop us. “I told you to wait before calling an ambulance. Are you deaf? She just fainted; she’s not dying. But Julian’s bar is different. He’s invested everything. If you two jinx his opening, you’ll be to blame.” As she grew agitated, her oversized robe loosened, revealing more of her body. The men stared with renewed lust. “Damn, look at that figure. She’s a bombshell.” “No wonder her spineless husband doesn’t dare to touch her. He’s probably had his fill in bed.” “The way she’s defending her first love…I bet she’s been cheating for years.” “Typical. You can always tell.” “Haha, I’m dying of laughter!” The mocking laughter around Eleanor and me grew louder. My fists clenched. I was so furious I was about to lose control. I never imagined Scarlett would go work as a body sushi model for Julian. Before this, she had always been so conservative, so virtuous, never doing anything to embarrass me. “Get lost! Get out of my way!” “Let’s see who dares to stop us.” “Scarlett, if you love playing games so much, I’ll let you play this one to the end.” “What do you mean?” “Divorce!” With those two words, I stopped arguing with her, and carried Eleanor, rushing towards the exit. But Scarlett wouldn’t let me leave. I was surrounded by security guards. I raised my foot to kick away the person blocking me, but they outnumbered me. I was kicked to the ground. Thud! My mother fell with me. At that moment, my heart twisted with pain. I never thought I’d drag her into this. Seeing her pale and lifeless face, I was terrified and immediately screamed at Scarlett. “Call 911 for an ambulance now! My mother is-” “You still have five minutes.” Scarlett stubbornly refused to let us leave. She believed that if we went outside, we would call an ambulance from the front door, which would impact Julian’s business. At that moment, I grew to despise her even more. 2 I had completely lost control. I grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it to pieces. “You won’t let me save my mother, huh? Then I’ll smash this place instead.” “Let’s see who’s more stubborn, you or me.” If she wouldn’t let me out, I’d fight my way out. Scarlett saw the utter chaos on the floor, her chest heaving with fury. Her once beautiful face was contorted with rage. Ha. So Julian really meant that much to her? More than Eleanor’s life, more than our lives! “You’re being completely unreasonable! Your thinking is so backward. It’s just body sushi, right? Is it worth getting so worked up you could die?” “Thud!” I kept smashing things. Scarlett, furious, picked up a chair and hit me on the head. I cried out in pain and stumbled backward. When I looked back and met her eyes, they were burning with pure hatred, as if I were her mortal enemy. “Keep smashing! I’ll call the police and make you pay for everything.” “Damn it, isn’t Eleanor just faint? Well, I hope she dies from it.” The people around us were just reveling in the drama, further escalating the conflict between Scarlett and me. Not a single person stepped forward to help me, primarily because they were Julian’s friends. Another, more crucial reason was to watch Scarlett in her anger, her curves peeking out from under her loose robe. The commotion grew loud, and Julian rushed up from the first floor. “Ah! What’s going on? Why is my shop being trashed on opening day?” “It’s him!” One of the gawking men pointed at me. Julian’s eyes blazed with venomous anger when he saw me. “Alex, what the hell is wrong with you?!” “Why are you smashing my shop? Are you just determined to make my life miserable? You want to see me suffer, even if it kills you?” I let out a bitter laugh. “Whoever stopped me from getting my mother out, that’s the one who wrecked your shop.” When Julian saw Eleanor lying unconscious, not only did he not let us leave, he even praised Scarlett for her actions. “I bet she’s faking it. They must have planned this, mother and son.” “First, they come to cause trouble, then they use her ‘fainting’ as an excuse to trash my shop.” “Guards, get him!” Julian, with a malevolent stare, ordered the security guards to attack me. II shielded my mother’s body with my own, taking every blow on my back. From her tightly closed eyes, a silent tear actually flowed. The hand that had been gripping mine slipped to the floor. Scarlett’s gaze fixed on us. She was fighting herself, trying to suppress the urge to help, to stay calm and not act on her impulse. “Scarlett, make them stop!” “Eleanor is really dying! She loved you so much, why are you letting her down?!” “Don’t listen to him! It’s an act. Don’t you dare feel sorry for him.” Scarlett had wavered. She’d even taken a few steps toward us. But Julian’s words froze her in place. “Damn it, I knew you were lying.” In that moment, every shred of love and patience I had left for Scarlett turned to ash. I stood up, snatched up a shard of broken glass from the floor, and swung it in a wild arc at the guards surrounding me. They stumbled back, startled by the frenzy in my eyes. “Come on! Who’s not afraid to die? Step forward!” No one moved. They only backed away further, giving me a wide berth. I didn’t wait. I scooped my mother into my arms and ran. 3 Scarlett quickly chased after us. This time, she didn’t try to stop us. Only because the crucial opening hours were over did she finally let me find my phone and call 91
“Alex, you two go home first.” “I actually wanted to discuss it with you yesterday, but I was afraid you wouldn’t agree to me being a body sushi model!” “But do you know why?” “I owe Julian a favor. Years ago, when I was dragged into an alley and raped, he saved me. He got injuries that left him infertile, so he can’t be a father.” Julian got injured and became infertile saving her? I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt, but reality didn’t give me time to think. I urgently pleaded with Scarlett to take us to the hospital, but Julian rushed out and pulled her back. “Scarlett, hurry back and help me!” “Those men said if there’s no body sushi model, they’ll leave immediately.” Did he mean he wanted Scarlett to go back and continue being the body sushi model? I thought Scarlett would refuse for Eleanor’s sake, but the next second, she became incredibly serious, as if facing a dire emergency. “Okay, I’ll go back and calm them down right now.” I quickly called out to her, but she didn’t turn around once, walking away so decisively, so resolutely. At that moment, I finally understood. The thread of our marriage had finally snapped. As I rushed Eleanor to the hospital for emergency treatment, standing outside the operating room, I was consumed by anguish and panic. Two hours later, the doctor came out and told me. “Your mother already had heart problems, which is why she collapsed from anger.” Those words struck me like a bolt of lightning. Eleanor had heart disease? I genuinely had no idea! I walked in to see Eleanor. She was awake, her face pale and filled with pain. She looked up at me, her smile frail and tragic. “Alex, my son.” “I didn’t tell either of you…because I was afraid you’d worry. Afraid you’d go begging for money, trying to save me. Afraid you and Scarlett would fight over it. So….that’s why…” She was cut off as a wracking cough overtook her. I broke down. A sob tore from my throat as I rushed to her side and clutched her hand, my heart a knot of agony. Tears fell freely, streaking down my face and onto her time-worn hands. I shook my head. “My father left when I was young. You raised me through every hardship alone. Don’t you dare talk about being a burden.” “I will save you. I will.” Eleanor shook her head, crying. “My time is up. Please, don’t do anything foolish for me again!” “It’s because of what I said years ago that you chose Scarlett and gave up your career to stay home.” “I ruined you, Alex. It’s my fault.” A fit of coughs seized her. “I just beg you…I beg you, for the rest of your life, choose your own path.” As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes closed and her hand went limp. I grabbed her hand, calling out to her. But she didn’t respond. She never opened her eyes again. Doctors rushed in. Nurses pulled me away. All I could do was pray-that she’d open her eyes, just to stay alive. Then a thought flashed through my mind: a heart transplant for Eleanor.
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