Chapter 4

Natalie turned and walked away.

Just like that, the whole thing was behind her.

Natalie, when it comes to that, I'm no match for you.

But this time, you killed an innocent child with your own hands.

I'm going to make you regret it.

For three days straight I stayed at the hospital, never so much as changing out of my clothes, looking after my cousin.

Maya had lost the baby. She was listless all the time, breaking into tears at the smallest thing.

Every time she looked at me, the guilt tore at her.

"I'm sorry, Maya. This is all my fault."

"Don't. Stop saying that."

She turned her face away.

"Well, isn't this cozy."

Lowell had arrived, carrying a bunch of white chrysanthemums.

He slotted them into the vase on the headboard.

"Marlin, Natalie called it exactly right."

"You vanish for days on end, and here you are, playing nursemaid to your precious cousin."

I glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Don't read into it. I was just passing by."

"Figured I'd let you know while I'm here. Next Saturday's Natalie's birthday. I'm throwing a party for her at the house."

"You want to come?"

He tilted his head at me, then broke into a wide grin.

"Though in your current state, I'd say you're hardly in the mood for a party."

"Your cousin did just lose a baby, after all."

"You think you're the one to blame, so I'll bet you'd love to put a knife through yourself."

I shut my eyes and refused to engage with him.

But Lowell just kept going.

"Marlin, are you still holding what happened against me?"

"That day really wasn't my fault."

"Natalie knew all along the baby in Maya's belly was never yours."

"But she staged that game anyway. If you want to hate someone, hate her."

I turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

He blinked.

"You didn't know?"

"That whole game that day, Natalie planned every bit of it. That soup you drank, she's the one who told me to put the drug in it."

"And not because she thought Maya was carrying your baby."

"She said she just couldn't stand how close you and Maya were. She only wanted to get back at her!"

"And at you too, of course."

In that instant every drop of blood in me went cold.

"Lowell."

I heard my own voice come out, almost shaking.

"You're a man too."

"One day you'll have a wife of your own, and children."

"You do something this rotten, and you're not afraid of what comes back to you?"

Lowell paused for a second.

Then he doubled over laughing.

"Comes back to me?"

"Marlin, you actually believe in that?"

"Let me tell you, there's no such thing in this world."

"There's only who's got what it takes and who doesn't."

"Natalie's got what it takes. She's got money behind her, resources, connections."

"I've got what it takes too. I can keep her happy."

"And you?"

"You've got nothing."

"You can't even count on your own parents. What are you waiting to come back on anyone?"

When he'd laughed his fill, he picked up his bag to go.

"Oh, right. Almost forgot."

"Natalie says she's already drawn up the divorce agreement."

"Under the property split, it says the husband walks away with nothing."

"She says when you married in you brought nothing, no bride price, no gifts."

"So naturally you leave with nothing."

"You won't even have a roof over your head."

Lowell left.

I pressed a hand to my chest, the ache almost more than I could stand.

And I couldn't bring myself to tell Maya, still lying in that room, the truth.

After a whole night of turning it over, I sent Natalie a message.

"Do you know whose baby Maya was carrying?"

"You have three days to come to the hospital and apologize to Maya."

"Otherwise, you made this disaster, so you can come clean up the mess yourself."

But after I sent it, nothing came back. Like a stone dropped into the sea.

Right up until the day of discharge.

Natalie was still off carrying on with Lowell.

She never came to the hospital, never said one word of apology to Maya.

I had just finished the discharge paperwork for Maya.

When I heard a wave of footsteps, all moving in step.

I turned. At the head of a column of people in matching uniforms was one figure, everyone else orbiting around him, his face taut with urgency.

He looked at me, his voice low.

"Where's my wife? Where's Maya?"