I have been working as a professional organizer for three years. Today, I received an anonymous booking. The moment I stepped into the client’s apartment, I froze. Sex toys and intimate items were scattered all over the place. The scene was incredibly messy and suggestive. The young man standing in the living room rubbed his neck, looking embarrassed. “Sorry about the mess,” he said. “Please don’t mind it. My girlfriend is just… way too clingy.” Then, he started complaining, though his tone was filled with a mix of helplessness and bragging: “Her sex drive is off the charts. She just can’t keep her hands off me. Last time, we were literally in the middle of dinner when she suddenly jumped me.” “At night, she wears me out completely. I’m always the one who’s exhausted the next morning. I told her to tone it down, but she claims it’s just her way of showing love.” Looking at the chaotic, intimate mess in the room, a sudden chill ran down my spine. My fiancée, Sarah, had been with me for three whole years, but she was incredibly cold. She never allowed me to get close to her. I pushed down the bitter disappointment in my heart and got ready to start cleaning. Just then, the man’s phone rang. He grinned and showed me the screen. “See? Speak of the devil. She’s calling me again.” The caller ID displayed one clear name: Sarah. I completely froze. Wasn’t that… my fiancée?
The man turned around and slid into his bedroom to answer the phone. “Babe, miss me already?” “Then come over today.” There was a brief silence on the other end before a familiar female voice agreed. “But I can’t stay over tonight.” “I’ll make it up to you next time.” I stood frozen in the living room, mechanically putting on my face mask and gloves. A voice deep inside me desperately whispered that this was just a coincidence. It was just someone with the same name and a similar voice… I pulled out my phone and opened my Snapchat chat with Sarah. The last message was still her wishing me a happy birthday. I quickly typed: [What time do you get off work today?] After sending it, I locked the screen and went to work. The man’s flirtatious conversation kept drifting out of the bedroom, but I forced myself to pretend I heard nothing. Usually, time flies when I’m working, but today, every second felt like torture. By dinner time, I had finished organizing the living room. I forced a professional smile. “Mr. Marcus, your booking is for two days. I’ll come back tomorrow to finish the rest of the apartment.” Seeing the spotless living room, Marcus grabbed my hand, his eyes shining. “Wow, thank you so much!” “Just in time, too. My girlfriend is coming over soon. She’ll be thrilled to see the place this clean.” “Though, I guess I’m in for another wild, exhausting night with her…” I squeezed out an unnatural smile and left the apartment. Pulling out my phone, I saw a reply from Sarah sent five minutes ago. [I have to work late at the law firm today. I won’t be able to make dinner. I’ll be home late.] Working late again… Over the past six months, since she started her own law firm, she was always busy until midnight. But I had never doubted her. After all, Sarah had severe intimacy issues. It was so bad that she would literally throw up if she had any physical intimacy with a man. I gripped my phone tightly and let out a long breath, trying to calm the overwhelming bitterness in my chest. Right then, Sarah sent a second message: [Happy birthday, babe.] [I know your back always hurts from all the bending during your organizing work, so I ordered a massage chair for you. It should have been delivered to the house already.] [I’m so sorry I can’t be with you tonight. Once this busy season is over, I promise I’ll make it up to you.] Seeing the phrase “make it up to you,” my eyes stung. Sarah was always so thoughtful. Over the past three years, no matter how busy she was, she always cared about my health. How could a woman like her be the same person who was just flirting with another man on the phone? I must be too tired lately. My nerves were playing tricks on me. When I got home that night, a massive massage chair was sitting quietly in the living room. I lay down on it. As the rollers massaged my back, the tiny seed of doubt in my mind began to fade. Out of habit, I opened Instagram to do some mindless scrolling before bed. Suddenly, a newly posted update caught my eye. The poster was my client from today, Marcus. It was a headless bed photo. Under the dim lighting, he was lying down, holding his phone up for a selfie. A woman was lying on his chest, her face buried in the pillow, revealing only her bare, fair back. The caption read: [She said this is my compensation.] My breathing stopped instantly. The woman’s right hand was resting by the pillow. On her wrist was a delicate silver chain bracelet. Hanging from the bracelet was a tiny silver pendant. That bracelet was handmade by my late mother. She had made two. One for me, and she had personally put the other one on Sarah’s wrist, saying it was a gift for her future daughter-in-law. For three years, Sarah had never taken it off, not even when showering or sleeping. My whole body began to shake. My stomach churned violently. With trembling hands, I took a screenshot of the photo and sent it directly to Sarah. My fingers were so stiff that I could barely type: [When you were sleeping with him, didn’t you feel like throwing up?]
Less than a minute after the message was sent, Sarah initiated a FaceTime call. I took a deep breath and swiped to answer. On the screen, Sarah was still wearing her professional office suit. The background was clearly her private office at the law firm. “Babe, what kind of ridiculous screenshot is this?” She frowned slightly, her tone laced with exhaustion and frustration. “I’ve been in my office reviewing case files all night. I haven’t even had dinner yet.” “Are you just too tired from work lately? Why are you letting your imagination run wild again?” She panned the camera around. Her desk was piled high with documents. She was indeed the only one there. Looking at the red veins in her eyes, my tense nerves suddenly relaxed. A wave of immense guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry, Sarah… I just… that bracelet looked exactly like yours.” “Silly,” she smiled gently. “There are millions of similar bracelets out there. Go to sleep. I’ll be home soon.” In the middle of the night, I heard the front door click open. Sarah wrapped her arms around me from behind, whispering softly in my ear: “Stephen, happy birthday.” “Babe, I missed you so much.” A sudden, unnameable urge surged inside me. I turned around, returned her hug, and initiated a kiss on her lips. Sarah stiffened for a fraction of a second, but soon began to respond passionately. We kissed and touched in the dark. Everything was going incredibly smoothly. Just when I thought we were finally going to cross that barrier, Sarah suddenly pushed me away as if she had been electrocuted. She stumbled and rushed into the bathroom. Immediately after, the sound of violent, painful throwing up echoed from inside. I lay frozen on the bed. Her warmth still lingered on my skin, but my chest felt like it was being crushed by a heavy stone. It was hard to breathe. As expected, she still couldn’t do it. I shouldn’t force her… The next day, I gathered my emotions and went back to Marcus’s apartment to finish the job as agreed. Marcus was in an exceptionally good mood today, lounging around in a loose bathrobe and chatting with me: “Man, yesterday was such a close call. My girlfriend’s fiancé almost caught us!” My hands paused in the middle of folding a shirt. He continued to brag proudly: “But my girl is just too smart.” “To keep that idiot quiet, she literally dragged me to her office!” “You have no idea how thrilling it was on that office desk. When she was on FaceTime with her fiancé, I was literally kneeling right between her legs.” My brain went entirely blank. I quickly pulled out my phone and opened the screenshot of my FaceTime call with Sarah from last night. I zoomed in on the picture. Farther, and farther. Finally, in the shadow under the right corner of Sarah’s desk, I spotted the cuff of a pair of men’s sweatpants. It was the exact same pair Marcus was wearing right now! “What are you looking at?” Marcus leaned in, his eyes landing on my phone screen. He froze for a second, and the smugness on his face instantly vanished. He looked me up and down, a sudden realization dawning on him. “Wait… so you’re the fiancé?” “What was your name again? Stephen, right?” My blood ran cold as I stared dead at him. Marcus curled his lip, deciding to lay all his cards on the table. “Did you seriously think that ‘accident’ three years ago was some kind of destiny?” My heart squeezed hard. “What do you mean?”
“Think about it,” Marcus said, leaning back on the sofa and crossing his legs. “That alley didn’t even have streetlights. Why would Sarah conveniently walk past there in the middle of the night?” “Those thugs were hired by Sarah. She paid them to put on a show just so you would fall head over heels for her!” “What did you say…” I felt like I had fallen into an icy abyss. Three years ago, I was planning to confess my feelings to a girl I had liked for years, Aurora. On my way, Sarah blocked my path, holding a massive bouquet of roses, and confessed her love to me in public. I rejected her without hesitation. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I already like someone else, and I’m going to see her today.” I still remembered how Sarah’s face darkened instantly. She was always so proud. At the time, I thought she was just bowing her head in sadness. But I never could have imagined that on that very night, I would be brutally ambushed in that alley… “Too bad the actors took it too far,” Marcus sneered, leaning closer to me. “She didn’t expect those thugs to actually lose control and beat you half to death.” “Even though Sarah sent them to prison afterward, she’s been disgusted by you ever since.” “She told me that every time she looks at you, she pictures you pinned to the dirt, getting beaten up like a dog.” “She thinks you’re a coward. You have no backbone. How could she ever be attracted to a guy like you?” I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug deep into my palms. Marcus continued, his voice dripping with utter contempt: “She said a man who gets beaten like that and doesn’t even fight back is pathetic to look at.” “Unlike me. I actually know how to make her happy.” I stared at him without saying a word. My eyes were as cold as ice. Marcus was momentarily intimidated by my gaze, but he quickly recovered his smug expression.
“Sarah said being with you every single day makes her sick.” “It’s just that the incident was too high-profile back then. She couldn’t just dump you without people talking behind her back.” Marcus walked over, looking down at me. “Stephen, if you know what’s good for you, pack your bags and leave.” “Don’t wait for Sarah to kick you out. It’ll just be embarrassing for everyone.” Looking at him, I suddenly laughed. “What are you laughing at?” Marcus frowned. “I’m laughing at how stupid you are.” I stood up. I was half a head taller than him, and he instinctively took a step back. “Do you really think Sarah loves you?” I stared straight into his eyes. “She was willing to ruin my life just to get her way. What makes you think she won’t do worse to you when she’s done playing with you?” Marcus’s face turned pale. “What do you mean?” “She used a few thugs to destroy me. Do you honestly think she’ll use gentler methods on you when she wants to get rid of you?” I picked up my toolbox and walked out without looking back. At the door, I paused, but I didn’t turn around. “Good luck, Marcus.” Once out of the apartment building, I dialed a number at the very bottom of my contact list—a number I had only looked at in the dead of night. The phone rang twice before a voice answered. “Stephen?” The woman’s voice sounded surprised. “Aurora.” I leaned against the brick wall, looking up at the gray sky. “Can you do me a favor?”
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