During the extreme heatwave, I delivered a substantial amount of precious supplies to my beloved fiancé. He claimed that his mom thought I was stingy and cheap. Both of them even had the audacity to come to my house and take over. Later, I discovered that my fiancé was the mastermind behind all the deceit. He not only sold the water and food his mom had given me at exorbitant prices but also handed my supplies to the other woman. He even locked his mom and me out, hoping the sun would bake us. But he forgot, neither his mom nor I are easily defeated. If he likes the other woman so much, they might as well bake together on the streets, clinging to each other, never to part. “Declan, did you get the supplies?” I sat in the shade of my house, sipping the precious water. The TV was showing news of heat-related deaths. I sighed, turned off the TV, and continued, “I spent quite a bit of money and resources to have them delivered…” Before I could finish, Declan interrupted impatiently. “My mom says you’re too stingy!” “How is this little bit of water enough for anyone?” This little bit of water? Does his mom realize how scarce water is now? I suppressed my irritation, screwed the cap back on, and carefully placed it in a cool spot. “Do you know how tight water is right now? If your mom doesn’t want it, she shouldn’t drink it!” “If they don’t want it, give it back, I’ll drink it myself!” At this point, Declan seemed to change his tune and quickly explained. “Babe, my mom might dislike you, but I don’t. You did stock up a lot of supplies before… How about sending a bit more over?” I looked at the storage room filled with water and food. I wasn’t short on supplies, but giving them to Declan was okay, giving them to his mom was not. I always thought his mom was a two-faced deceiver. Before the temperatures rose, his mom promised me five gifts and a $10,000 dowry. But what I got were three gifts, and the dowry never appeared. Yet, in front of me, she acted all polite. Whenever I went to their house, she prepared a table full of food and praised me for being a pretty girl. Even at the beginning of this ordeal, she kept thinking of me, telling me to take care of myself. She sure put on a good act, but now her true colors are showing. “Finish what you have first, then we’ll talk.” I hung up and walked to the window. Carefully, I pulled the curtain to peek outside. There wasn’t a soul on the street, just some bodies dried by the sun. Anyone going out at noon would either be dehydrated to fainting or be peeled like an onion by the sun. I quickly shut the curtain and lay back on my bed. My mother-in-law messaged me on SnapChat. “Rosalie, how have you been lately?” “Do you have enough to eat and drink? If not, I’ll have someone bring some over tonight?” I assumed she was being sarcastic, so I replied, “Sure, I’m about to die of thirst at home.” “Unlike you, who still have water to drink!” She immediately called, sounding genuinely worried. “Rosalie, are you okay? If you need anything, I can bring some supplies tonight.” “Sure.” I casually picked at my nails. She’s just saying that. Everyone knows she’s just pretending. But I didn’t expect that night she actually came with a bunch of stuff. Declan followed her, wearing his usual sour face. “I told you not to come. Do you want people to sleep or not?”
My mother-in-law gave me a helpless smile and then placed the bags in the living room. Even at one in the morning, both she and Declan were drenched in sweat. I handed a tissue to Declan to wipe his sweat, but my mother-in-law pulled him toward the door. “Rosalie, don’t be stingy with yourself. If you run out, I’ll find a way to bring more.” Then she urged Declan to go home. “Come on, it’ll be hard to travel once the sun’s out.” Declan stared at the slightly open storage room door. Then, with a smile, he pushed his mother’s hand away. “Mom, I’m staying. I want to spend more time with Rosalie.” I was surprised by Declan’s initiative. I was usually the one begging him to stay. His mother looked troubled. “But I can’t drive…” Awkwardly, she took the car keys Declan handed her, standing helplessly by the door. “Fine, stay here tonight.” I pointed to the guest room, “You can use this room.” His mother immediately agreed, “Thank you for the trouble.” I didn’t want to deal with her, so I waved her off and wrapped my arm around Declan’s as we walked to the bedroom. Since I was in a good mood, I decided not to fuss with her today. Declan held me, dreaming of life after the heatwave, assuring me he only loved me. His phone kept buzzing, so he reluctantly let go to reply to messages. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw he was texting a girl I didn’t recognize. “Who is she?” Declan quickly shut his phone. “I don’t know her.” He brushed it off. I still felt uneasy because I saw the word “baby.” Declan, seeing my disbelief, kissed my lips and swore nothing was going on. But I underestimated him and overestimated my own intelligence. The night passed, and it was another unbearably hot morning. Sweat soaked my pillow and sheets. I woke up to my mother-in-law knocking on my door. Groggy, I sat up and noticed Declan was gone. I opened the door, and she asked, “Rosalie, do you know where Declan went?” “I heard the door early in the morning, and even the car keys are gone…” Worried, I tried calling him, but his phone was off. “The sun’s so strong now; what if something happens to him…” I feared something had happened to Declan. But what on earth was he doing outside? Before I could think further, messages popped up in the residents’ group chat. “Such a good person! Now, water and food are worth a fortune, and someone’s willing to sell to us!” Attached was a picture of supplies. Everyone was begging for the contact details. “No rush, he’s on our floor. If you need anything, just wait; he’ll sell it to you.” Risking life for money, huh? I rolled my eyes but found the supplies in the picture oddly familiar. Evian water, Ferrero, and red-boxed eggs… They looked a lot like my stockpile.
I rushed to the storage room and opened the door. The neatly arranged food and water were now a mess. The supplies meant to last me through the summer were mostly gone. Declan had taken my supplies to make money? I stood there, stunned. I didn’t know how to face him. I had agreed yesterday that what’s mine is his. But I didn’t think he’d be so shameless. My mother-in-law knocked, pulling me back to reality. “Sorry to disturb you, but you have so much food and water…” I frowned and snapped, “Don’t get any ideas!” “That’s not what I meant!” She waved her hands, “I have plenty myself.” “I’ve just noticed Declan acting suspiciously lately, so I didn’t tell him.” I reflexively defended Declan, “Don’t talk about him like that!” Then I locked the storage room door with the key. Declan and I had been together since college. Other than his bad temper, I thought he had no faults. My mother-in-law opened her mouth, then closed it. Eventually, she asked, “So why did you send back some of the supplies I gave you yesterday?” “Bullshit! Besides last night, when did you send me anything?” I snapped. “Are you losing your mind, old lady? I sent you stuff the day before yesterday!” I rolled my eyes at her fake politeness. My mother-in-law, seeing my disbelief, showed me her SnapChat conversation with the delivery person, from booking to departure. It didn’t look fake. “The delivery guy almost left with the goods, but Declan stopped him. He said he missed you and wanted to deliver them himself.” “Shortly after, we received your supplies.” I clenched my fists, staring at her. “If you were so kind, why didn’t you send all five gifts?” Now it was her turn to be shocked. “I gave everything to Declan! Including your ten thousand!” “I know you don’t like me, so I thought I’d let him give it to you… He didn’t?” She showed me the purchase receipt and transfer details. It was all true. I deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping onto the couch, unwilling to accept it. Before I could process it, someone banged on the door. “Screw you! You’ve got supplies and sell them at high prices?” “If you’ve got good stuff, share it! Robbery is what this is!” The stranger pounded so hard it seemed they wanted to break the door. My mother-in-law and I jumped to our feet, startled, and looked towards the door. Then Declan’s voice came through. “Hey, buddy, take it easy. How about I sell you a bottle at a discount?” “I charge others five hundred bucks, but I’ll let you have it for three hundred a bottle, okay? I’ve only got two left, you…” “You’re asking for it!” The sound of fists hitting flesh followed. Just hearing it made me wince. “Help! Mom! Phoebe! Open the door and save me!”
Declan was pounding on the door, trying to dodge the man’s attacks. I was about to open it, but my mother-in-law shook her head, signaling me not to get involved. But the noise outside grew louder, and even Declan went silent. Terrified, I finally opened the door. My mother-in-law and I peeked outside to see what was happening. “Damn! None of you are worth a damn!” The man was huge and yanked me out the door with one pull. A wave of heat hit me, making me feel like I might faint. My mother-in-law quickly followed. “Boom!” We all turned to look at the door. Only to see Declan, who had been lying on the ground, back inside. With a “click,” he locked the door. The man was dizzy but sneered, “Is that what you call a man?” My mother-in-law wiped her sweat and banged forcefully on the door. “Declan, are you crazy? Open the door and let us in!” “Declan! Declan!” Despite the heat, my heart felt cold. “I don’t hit women,” the man said dismissively. He let go of me, picked up the two bottles of water from the ground, and went upstairs. The unbearable heat, combined with the exertion, made the burly man collapse. But he still held onto those precious bottles of life-saving water. “Declan, open the door! Do you want us to die here?” Sweat dripped from my mother-in-law onto the ground. Her breathing was already unsteady. I held her, telling her to stop banging on the door. “He won’t open it.” I felt strangely calm. “I see it now; he’s just a money-loving scumbag.” “So we need to conserve our energy. If we don’t, we’ll surely die from the heat in less than two hours.” My mother-in-law nodded, sitting down to catch her breath. My eyes stung, but I couldn’t cry. The man on the stairs lay motionless; he was probably dead. And as the sun moved west, more sunlight filled our hallway. Heat radiated from my body, my lips cracked, and I had no strength to stand. Thirsty… so thirsty… My mother-in-law had closed her eyes. I patted her, telling her not to sleep. I crawled over to the man to avoid the sunlight. He was dead, lying in a pool of water. I felt like crying, but my hand kept moving to grab the water. “I’m sorry…” I clutched the two bottles of water tightly and hurried back to my mother-in-law, letting her drink. We each had a bottle, gulping down the water like addicts. We drank every drop, yet the scorching weather still left us parched and dry. My eyelids grew heavier, and I was about to drift off when the door opened. “Come in!”
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