- 14.
I stopped insisting on seeing my mom, but I became more listless. I started sleeping more, with less time awake. I thought it was time to say goodbye to Phoebe properly.
Maybe it was a final burst of energy, but in the following days, my body hurt more, yet my spirit improved. Perhaps hearing I was getting better made Cora restless. She came to the hospital when Wesley wasn’t around.
As soon as Phoebe saw her, she yelled, “No whores or dogs allowed here. You better leave now, or beat you so bad your mom won’t recognize you.”
But Cora acted differently, she suddenly knelt by my bed, crying and begging. “Sister Mabel, I’m pregnant with Mr. Miller’s child. You’re dying. Please be a good person this once and give my child’s father back.”
She was three months pregnant, and I’d been sick for three months. So Wesley, who said he needed me, had been indulging with another woman behind my back. Of course, why would he need a dying woman? He was just lying to me.
Luckily, I didn’t believe him.
I
Cora cried, reaching out to grab my arm. I was too weak, almost pulled from the bed. Phoebe protected me, getting scratched in the process.
Suddenly, someone grabbed Cora’s hair and yanked her away. Wesley, gritting his teeth, looked like he wanted to cat Cora alive, cursing. “Didn’t I say if you dared to mess with my wife, I’d kill you?”
It turns out Wesley Miller claimed he needed me, but then he turned around and was indulging in a carefree life with another woman. Well, why would he need a woman who’s about to die? He was only deceiving me. Luckily, I didn’t fall for it.
10:35 AM c
<
Cora Miller cried and tried to grab my arm. I was so weak, I almost got pulled off the hospital bed. Phoebe protected me, getting a few scratches in the process. Suddenly, someone grabbed Cora’s hair and yanked her away.
Wesley Miller clenched his teeth, looking as if he wanted to devour Cora, and cursed fiercely. “Didn’t I tell you, if you dare to mess with my wife, Ill make sure you regret it?”
Cora’s expression changed, and just as she was about to speak, Phoebe picked up a pillow and threw it at their faces, shouting in a breakdown, “Take this woman and get out!”
Wesley Miller dragged Cora away, telling me to wait for him to come back and explain. Who needs to wait for him? I don’t care at all. Phoebe looked down at me, quietly asking, “Sister Mabel, are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
I clutched my chest, pretending to be in pain, and whined, “My heart aches. I need to go shopping to feel better. She laughed at my antics, seeing I was in good spirits, and agreed to take me out.
I bought a roasted sweet potato and got into her small car. She’s a neat freak and never lets anyone eat in her car. But I took advantage of being sick, eating heartily and dropping crumbs on the seat. Phoebe gritted her teeth, pretending not to notice.
I directed her to a high–end bridal store. She’s getting married in the spring, but I probably won’t make it till then. I wanted to see her in a wedding dress. She didn’t ask why I brought her there; she just followed me inside with teary eyes.
We’re the best of friends; we have a deep understanding of each other. I picked out a strapless satin wedding dress for Phoebe. While she tried it on, I chose a bridesmaid dress for myself. After dressing, I squeezed into her fitting room to take a photo together, like I could still be there to see her get married.
My taste was spot on: Phoebe looked stunning in the wedding dress. I asked her if she wanted to buy it. She rolled her eyes and whispered, “Buy it? It’s way too expensive. Just take a few more pictures.
I smiled, left her to admire herself in the mirror, and secretly paid for the dress. She’s the best girl in the world; she deserves the most beautiful wedding dress. I held back the cruel pain in my chest, left the bridal shop, and took a cab to the cemetery to visit my mom.
Phoebe, this time it’s really goodbye. No jokes, no tears allowed.
After Phoebe Johnson passed away, Wesley Miller kept wondering. What was she thinking when she signed the body donation agreement? He never imagined that the day he dragged Cora away would be the last time he saw Phoebe. She looked at him calmly, as usual, as if she didn’t care whether he loved another woman.
But he always felt that was the moment Phoebe’s heart truly died. So, she didn’t wait for him to return, nor did she give him a chance to explain. Her body was taken away by the hospital; he couldn’t even keep a handful of her ashes. Phoebe was ruthless.
He regretted not telling her then that Cora was indeed pregnant, but it wasn’t his child. That night at the bar, she drank too much and was taken advantage of while intoxicated. By the time Wesley arrived, it was too late, Cora was a master at playing the victim. She claimed she wouldn’t have gotten drunk if Wesley hadn’t upset her, and she would never have experienced such a thing otherwise,
Wesley, of course, knew she was emotionally manipulating him, but seeing her crying pitifully, he suddenly thought of Phoebe. His heart softened. He helped put the scumbag who took advantage of her in jail and gave her money for an abortion. But he couldn’t give her anything
more.
He always thought Cora was a good girl. Though he spoiled her and she got a bit bratty, she was obedient. He never expected to raise a greedy snake that would bite him hard when he least expected it.
He wondered if Phoebe hated him when she died. Then he thought, she was the one who abandoned him first. What right did she have to hate him? In his dreams, he asked Phoebe over and over, “Why did you break up with me back then? You actually loved me, right?”
The next moment, Phoebe stood protectively in front of Phoebe Johnson, pointing at his nose and cursing, “Where the hell were you when she wanted to talk? Now that she’s gone, you come asking. Are you insane?”
Then Wesley woke up from the dream. He wasn’t afraid of Phoebe; he was afraid of hearing Phoebe Johnson say she stopped loving him long ago. His heart began having issues, and the doctor advised him not to grieve too much.
He said he wasn’t, that he was calm. He even started gardening. On his balcony, there were succulents Phoebe had once tended to. When bo found them, they were all dead. He heard succulents are resilient, so he wanted to try reviving them. At night, he would sit by the succulents, talking to them.
He once saw Phoebe doing the same on a sunny afternoon, hugging her knees and squatting there. When she turned around, she saw him coming back with another woman. Wesley slapped himself hard,
He started altering his memories, adding his presence to every solitary image of Phoebe. He would hold her tightly, kiss her gently, and always, always be there for her.
Later, at a party, he beat up a guy who cheated on his wife. His old friends cursed him, “Are you out of your mind? You change women all the time and call us scum. Why don’t you just die?”
He lost it, trashed the club room, and insisted they were talking nonsense. He loved his wife the most. Until they pulled up photos of him kissing Cora, he froze, then escaped in a daze.
He thought he must have been set up. He needed to explain things to his wife, he didn’t want her upset. Anger is bad for health. He rushed home, only to find a pregnant woman at his door–the one from the photos.
Fear crept in. Had she already found his wife? Did she say anything to upset her? He grabbed her hair, dragged her into the stairwell, and cursed, “Cora, aren’t you afraid of dying?”
He pushed her back, forcing her to retreat until she stumbled and fell down the stairs, Friends warned me to be careful, saying Wesley seemed truly attached to Cora. “He” was great; no one else could ruin his relationship with Phoebe.
Two weeks later, Wesley was sent to a mental hospital. His behavior was mostly normal. The only odd thing was he kept calling a broken lucky doll “wife. The doll was in ruins, glued together, full of cracks, with a missing place on its chest like it lacked a heart.
Wesley always placed it by his bedside, smiling at it. He asked, “Wife, why don’t you come visit me? Wes misses you.
“Do you miss me?”
After a pause, his eyes reddened, and he mumbled, “I forgot, someone without a heart can’t miss anyone.”
He suddenly remembered. Long ago, he lost Phoebe’s heart.
