I Stepped Down From Their Little Trade

My husband, William Aldous, believed in fair trade. Every favor came with a catch. No matter what I asked him for, his first move was always the same. He would counter with a question. He would ask, “What’s in it for me?” One stormy night, my car broke down halfway home, and I was stranded on the side of the road. I kept my voice down and begged him to come get me. He laid out his terms without missing a beat. “Fine, I’ll come get you. But you’re pulling your name from the department’s outstanding employee award. Let Jolie have it.” Another time, a colleague framed me, and I took the blame. I asked William to pull the surveillance footage and clear my name. He stayed indifferent. “Clearing your name is easy. But you have to hand the project’s core over to Jolie.” In just one year, all those trades completely erased me from the company we founded together. Then came the last time. My mother was badly hurt and hospitalized. She needed surgery, and the only surgeon who could do it was his uncle, Harold Meyer. Before he could name his price, I touched my stomach and spoke first. “In exchange, I’ll sign the divorce papers. You can have Jolie.” Chapter 1 My husband, William Aldous, instantly pulled a face. His expression was dark. “What is it this time, Sonnet? There’s a limit to this kind of drama. Divorce isn’t something you casually bring up.” I stared at him blankly, and a flicker of confusion washed over me. I did not understand why he would react this way. After all, I had been playing by his rules the whole time. Each time before this, I was the one handing over what was mine, cutting a deal with him, just so Jolie Howard could get what she wanted. I pulled my name from the employee-of-the-month competition and handed over the project’s core that I had poured my blood, sweat, and tears into. Bit by bit, I was erased from the company we had built from the ground up. Here I was, putting my marriage on the line to save my mother. This was supposed to be exactly what he wanted. So, why was he upset? I was on the verge of crying, but I held it back. I just looked at him calmly. “I’m not trying to make a scene. This is how it’s always gone. I’m just giving you what you wanted, what Jolie wanted.” Hearing this, his tone softened a little. “Sonnet, are you still upset about what happened at the company? “Jolie isn’t like you. You’re strong and smart. You could walk out of here tomorrow and be just fine anywhere. “But Jolie’s fragile. She can’t handle pressure. She needs someone to support her and guide her along.” Hearing this, I did not know whether to cry or to laugh. I remembered the time when he had first met Jolie. She was overseas when someone had robbed her. She stood on the street, completely at a loss. William happened to be passing by. He chased after the robber and got her purse back. At that time, she was crying as she said to him cautiously, “Let me treat you to a meal to thank you, so we’re even.” It was just a simple gesture of gratitude, but William kept bringing it up after he came home. “Sonnet, you should learn a thing or two from Jolie. If you want someone’s help, you have to give something in return. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and softened his tone. “I’ll ask Harold to perform Wilma’s surgery. Rest assured.” He hesitated, as if he wanted to say more but stopped himself. After a long while, he said, “But Sonnet, here’s the deal. Give Jolie that rosary I got from the church six years ago. She hasn’t been well lately. She needs it.” I instinctively clenched the rosary in my pocket. Six years ago, I was in a car accident and spent seven days in the ICU in a coma. William drove through a blizzard to a church on the outskirts of town. He knelt at the altar all night, praying with the rosary, and brought it back for me. He was exhausted, but he stayed by my side and said, “Sonnet, as long as you’re safe, I don’t need anything else.” All these years, whenever I felt disappointed in this marriage, I would hold this rosary. I always believed that somewhere inside him, the William who once cared for me so deeply was still there. I finally realized that William had vanished the day he met Jolie. “Okay.” I suppressed the bitterness in my heart, took the rosary from my pocket, and gave it to him. When he saw me do that, he actually tried to comfort me for once. “Once things settle down, I’ll go back to the church and get you another one just like it.” I shook my head. “Don’t bother.” He could get an identical rosary. However, he was no longer the person he once was. I turned and rushed to the hospital. When I entered, I saw Jolie sitting by my mother’s bedside. She spoke to my mother with a smile on her face, yet every word was sharp. “Mrs. Elder, you haven’t heard? “William hasn’t set foot in that house in half a year. “Instead of letting Sonnet stay trapped in a marriage that’s already over, why don’t you convince her to get a divorce? Let William and me be together.” Chapter 2 My mother had just gone into cardiac arrest, and she could not take any kind of shock. She clutched her chest as her face rapidly turned ashen. The moment I saw her, my ears started ringing, and my mind went blank. I rushed in, hit the call button, and yanked Jolie to her feet. “Scram!” I shoved her out of the ward. Her back slammed against the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, “Sonnet, I was just worried about you...” “Leave now, or I’m calling the police.” Only after the medical staff arrived did my mother’s condition gradually stabilize. She held my hand and asked weakly, “Sonnet, is what she said true?” I forced a smile. “No. “Once you’re out of surgery, William and I are bringing you home.” She looked at me for a long time, then finally nodded. “Okay. I believe you.” I had just calmed her down when William called. “Jolie was just trying to be nice by visiting Wilma. Why would you push her?” I looked at my mother sleeping soundly in the hospital bed and lowered my voice. “She intentionally upset a woman with a heart condition, and you call that nice?” Jolie’s sobbing came through the other end of the line. “William, let it go. It’s my fault for not wording things right. Sonnet has every right to be upset...” “Whatever she said to you, that doesn’t give you the right to get physical. “I’ll tell you what. Sign the apartment in Bellevue over to Jolie. Consider it an apology.” My heart sank when he brought up Bellevue. That was the first apartment we bought when we had nothing. It was only six hundred fifty square feet. In the winter, cold air seeped through the windows. The kitchen was so small we could barely open the fridge and the oven at the same time. Yet, back then, we would cram onto that old couch and eat takeout, feeling like we had the whole world ahead of us. William once held me and said, “Sonnet, this was our first home together. Whatever happens down the road, I’m never letting it go to anyone else.” He was about to give our home to Jolie. I closed my eyes in resignation. “Okay.” My mother’s surgery was scheduled for three days later. Three days were long enough to sign the apartment over and end this marriage. I had the lawyer revise the divorce agreement, then slipped it in with the deed and stock transfer documents. Then, I returned to the company I had co-founded with William. The moment I walked up to the security gate, Olivia Smith, the front desk receptionist, stopped me. “Sorry, I can’t let you up without an appointment.” “I’m here to get Mr. Aldous to sign some paperwork.” “Then, please contact Mr. Aldous directly. I can only let you in once he approves.” I let out a self-deprecating laugh as I looked at the company logo on the wall, the one I had designed. Just then, a delivery driver walked in carrying a takeout bag. “Delivery for Ms. Jolie Howard.” Olivia swiped him through the turnstile and waved him in. “Ms. Howard is in the general manager’s office upstairs. You can take it straight up.” The delivery driver walked straight into the elevator and vanished from view. I, the founder, waited in the lobby for a full forty minutes before anyone finally cleared me to go up. Chapter 3 When I pushed the office door open, Jolie was sitting in my old chair. The project files on the desk were gone, replaced by a pink tumbler, a plush toy, and a photo of her with William. I still remembered that William had once said. “Sonnet, this office has the best light in the building. It’s the only one like it on the whole floor. It’s yours.” Jolie was sitting in the chair that used to be mine, discussing with William what to eat for dinner. “How about Japenine for dinner tonight?” He shook his head. “You always feel gross after sushi when it’s that time of the month. Let’s do something else.” “Pizza, then.” “Okay, sure.” It was not until they had finished deciding on dinner that they finally noticed me standing in the doorway. “Oh, you’re here.” He gestured with his chin. “Have a seat.” I did not sit. I simply placed the documents on the desk. He barely glanced at them before picking up a pen and signing. “Next time, don’t bother me with this small stuff. I’m busy, as you can see.” I looked at the signed divorce papers and let out a hollow laugh. “I won’t bother you again.” Not long after I left the company, a special notification popped up on my phone. William had posted a photo on Instagram. In the photo, he and Jolie were sitting in a pizza restaurant. She leaned against his shoulder, and he was smiling cheerfully. The caption read, [Happiness is having someone who’ll eat countless meals with you.] I froze, staring at the photo. Every anniversary, I would ask him if he wanted to post a photo of us together. He would always frown and say, “We’ve been together for years. When are you going to stop being so childish? “People who really love each other don’t need to prove it on social media.” Back then, I believed him. I even secretly reflected on whether I was being too sentimental or immature. Turns out, he was never against showing off his love publicly. He just did not want anyone to know he loved me. Chapter 4 I turned off my phone and went back to Bellevue to pack. This apartment would soon belong to Jolie. In three days, after my mother finished her surgery, I would take her and the child in my belly and leave this city. Halfway through packing, William called. “Get to the hospital now. It’s urgent.” I thought my mother’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. I rushed out without even grabbing a jacket. However, everything in my mother’s ward was normal. At the end of the hallway, William and Jolie stood along with Timothy Howard, the doctor in charge of my prenatal checkups. “What’s going on?” William handed me an amniocentesis result. “The test shows that the fetus has a severe chromosomal abnormality. The doctor is recommending termination.” My mind went completely blank. “How is that possible?” Every checkup during my pregnancy had come back normal. William, however, stared hard at me. His expression grew darker by the second. “You’re pregnant, and you’ve been hiding it from me this whole time?” I clutched the result as my fingers trembled uncontrollably. “I wanted to wait until my mom was out of surgery before I told you.” The truth was that I had wanted to tell him this news countless times. Yet, every time I came home, the apartment was either empty or Jolie was there. He frowned. “How could you make a decision like that without me?” “Luckily, Dr. Howard called me today about the results. If there’s something wrong with the baby, we shouldn’t have it. We can’t let the baby suffer just because you can’t let go.” I forced myself to stay calm. “I want the original lab results. I’m getting a second opinion at another hospital.” Timothy looked unbothered. “Amniocentesis is a diagnostic test. The error rate is extremely low. Every day you wait raises the risk of induced labor.” Jolie sighed and said, “Sonnet, my cousin is a doctor. He has no reason to make this up.” My legs went weak, and I could barely stand. So many nights, I dreamed about what our baby would look like. Doctors were not always right. Who was to say they got it right this time? Maybe the baby saw what his father was really like and decided he did not want to be born into this world. William was still trying to persuade me. “Sonnet, you’re this child’s mother. You have a responsibility to him. Do you want him to spend his whole life feeling like he’s less than everyone else?” I clenched my fingers. “The baby is yours, too!” “Precisely because he’s my child, I refuse to let him live in misery.” His tone was as calm as if he were discussing a failed project. In that moment, the last bit of hope I had left was extinguished. In the end, I still signed the surgical consent form. Before lying down on the operating table, I gently touched my belly. “I’m so sorry, little one. “If I ever get another chance, I promise I’ll find you a father who actually wants you.” Chapter 5 In the days after the surgery, it felt like the old William was back. He would get up early to make me chicken soup and bring it to my bedside. He would even blow on each spoonful until it cooled, then feed me. At night, he would stay on the couch in the living room and would not leave my side. “Sonnet, we’re still young. We can have more children later.” However, it did not last. The day of my mother’s surgery, everything fell apart. At dawn, Jolie called. William picked up, walked out to the balcony, and talked for a few minutes. When he came back, he looked agitated. “Something’s wrong with Jolie. I have to go.” I stayed quiet. After all, this was supposed to be the last day. Once my mother’s surgery was over, I would transfer her to another hospital and leave the city for good. After that, William and I would have nothing to do with each other. However, when the time for my mother’s surgery arrived, no one came to get her for surgery. I ran to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me, is the lead surgeon, Dr. Meyer, here yet? When does my mother’s surgery start?” The nurse glanced at me and replied, “Ma’am, you haven’t heard? Ms. Howard was feeling unwell this morning. Mr. Aldous had Dr. Meyer go see her first.” My blood ran cold. “What?!” “Apparently, Ms. Howard didn’t sleep well last night, and her heart rate’s a little unstable. Mr. Aldous said Dr. Meyer should check on her first. Your mother’s surgery can wait.” I frantically pulled out my phone and called William. It wasn’t until the twelfth call that he finally picked up. “William, my mom’s surgery—” Before I could finish, he cut me off, saying, “I’m well aware of Wilma’s condition. Harold will come once he’s finished checking on Jolie. Don’t get yourself worked up.” Then, he hung up before I could say another word. All that was left on the other end was the cold dial tone. I stood there, frozen in shock. A few minutes later, an ER nurse came rushing out. Her face was pale. “Patient in bed 302 has gone into shock. Prep for emergency resuscitation now!” The medical staff urgently called Harold for help. However, when the call connected, I heard Jolie’s weak voice. “William, I feel awful...” Right after that came William’s voice, tinged with irritation. “Sonnet, what kind of game are you playing now? Are you seriously putting on this whole act just so Harold will check on Wilma first?” “No, William, I’m not faking—” I wanted to explain further, but he hung up on me again. The double doors to the operating theatre swung open. The doctor stepped out, still in scrubs, and shook his head. His face was grim. “I’m sorry. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. We did everything we could.” In an instant, my world collapsed completely. I had lost my child, given up the rosary, and sacrificed my career. Everything that I had, I gave away. I played by his rules and compromised time after time. Yet in the end, just because Jolie had not slept well, I lost my mother forever. I laughed until I cried, then hauled my weak body through the paperwork and walked out of that hospital. It was not until the afternoon that William finally showed up at the ward with Harold. When he pushed open the door, the room was empty. My mother and I were gone. He frowned and said impatiently, “Where has Sonnet taken her mother? The surgery is about to start. What is she throwing a tantrum about now?” A nurse, Kelly Trent, beside him, looked grim and replied softly, “Mr. Aldous, Wilma Elder passed away.”