The Kiss of Oblivion
Chapter 1
After the 111th silent treatment from Jack, I
found two tickets to a play in his coat pocket.
He said coldly, “I wanted to surprise you for
your birthday. Since you found them, see you
on the weekend.”
That weekend, I dressed up and waited until
the play ended, but he never showed.
I checked my phone and saw a post from his childhood sweetheart, Lily: “Didn’t get
tickets, but he braved the storm to watch a
movie with me, so I forgive you!
“”
Before, I would’ve called Jack, crying and
demanding an explanation.
But this time, I was just exhausted.
A once–in–a–century rainstorm paralyzed the
city.
The theater was closed. I had no umbrella and
couldn’t hail a cab, so I hobbled down the
road in my heels.
My phone rang–it was Jack.
He asked impatiently, “Where are you? It’s
almost midnight, and you’re a married
woman.”
My silence fueled his annoyance.
“Are you mute, Grace?”
“I’m at the State Theater.”
Hearing that, Jack finally remembered our
date.
After a few seconds of silence, he said coldly,
“Send me your location. I’m coming.”
I didn’t want him to pick me up, but someone
bumped into me.
I fell, covered in mud, my left ankle swollen. I
couldn’t walk much further.
An hour and twenty–three minutes after
sending my location…
In the raging storm, I huddled miserably,
checking my phone’s messages one last time
L
before it died.
Jack never came, and he didn’t leave a single
message.
A kind driver eventually took me to a nearby
hotel.
After checking in and charging my phone, I reflexively opened Lily’s social media. She’d posted a new update half an hour ago: “Power outage? Doesn’t matter, my knight in shining armor escorted me back to my castle!
“The picture showed her father and Jack
having tea.
I blocked and deleted Lily.
Then, I did the same to Jack.
After six years of marriage, no matter how
many fights or silent treatments, I’d never
deleted Jack.
But this time, I was truly done.
Monday morning, I went to work from the
hotel.
<
As soon as I got to my desk, my boss looked
at me strangely.
“HR just told me you called in sick.”
Jack, the vice president, personally requested
my absence, so HR didn’t dare object.
I smiled and said I wasn’t sick.
During my lunch break, when I went to the
break room to make coffee, Jack
unexpectedly appeared.
He usually worked on the top floor and never
came down to see me.
This was unprecedented, but his expression
was cold.
