Til Death... [Chan]

6

I fell to the ground feeling utterly defeated. I'd followed all of my mother's instructions on what it would take to be a perfect wife for my husband, and it hadn't worked. Chan had still abandoned me. I hadn't even made it a full day before he had decided I wasn't good enough.

I tried to think back to what I could've done wrong, but nothing came to mind...apart from biting his finger, but he seemed over that already.  He had left right after my confession about being fingered by the doctor, and it made me wonder if he had wanted someone wholly pure...someone who had never been explored by anyone before and would only ever be seen in that context by their husband.

Maybe I should've lied to him...told him that I'd never been touched before. It's not like I wanted the doctor to do that to me anyway. I could've convinced Chan of that if I had known that was what he wanted. Then again, maybe it didn't matter. Maybe in his eyes, I was already used up.

I was forced to face my shame head-on since I'd crumbled to the ground directly beside the floor-length mirror in the entryway. I didn't recognize myself in these skimpy lace garments. I wiped the smudged makeup from under my eyes and returned to the bedroom to find something else to wear...something more like me. I flung open the closet hoping to find my things, but I only found Chan's clothes. I fingered through collared shirt after collared shirt before deciding to just wear the one he'd discarded on the floor earlier. I buttoned it over the lace, feeling better already.

I returned to the entryway and stared at myself now that I was clothed. I smiled, but I could tell it was fake. But at least the fake smile looked like one a past version of myself would've drummed up. It was close enough to satisfy me for now.

I didn't know if there were any parts of the house I wasn't meant to see since Chan hadn't exactly given me a welcome tour. I decided to sit on the couch in the living room, hoping to see him walk back through the door soon. I considered leaving but my purse and phone were meant to be brought to the house with my other things, and I had no idea whether they'd already been dropped off already or if they were still at home...not home...my old house...this was my home now.

It grew to be dark outside, and Chan was still gone. I began to wonder if he'd ever come back. Maybe he had run away or maybe he'd decided to beg his parents to let him out of the marriage. Maybe he'd even ask for an annulment since my family had lured him in under false pretenses that I was a good, clean girl.

Regardless of the reason, I was growing tired of waiting and headed off to bed since I was feeling sleepy. He'd have to come to his room if he came back anyway.

I hadn't noticed earlier because of the stressful situation, but the bed was so soft. I turned off the lamp on the nightstand and stayed awake for as long as possible but before the hour was even up, my exhausted mind and body drifted away.
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"I know you're watching, so I know you know that we didn't," he barked into his phone.

My eyes snapped open as I looked around, realizing I was not in my normal bedroom, but in a new one. I could hear Chan shouting in the living room.

"Because you sent that fucking perv to her house! Do you know what he did to her?"

I crawled out of bed and tiptoed towards the door.

"He fingered her! He touched, Ophelia, and he had to pay for it."

There was silence as Chan listened to whatever argument the person on the other end was making. I cracked the door open to listen better.

"I really don't care what you do with him, Dad. He's your mess now."

What had Chan done? It sounded like he had beat the shit out of the creepy doctor. I hadn't even known that what he was doing was wrong...how stupid of me to have thought that it was normal for a doctor to penetrate a patient.

"Maybe we will; maybe we won't, but I bet you'll be watching to find out," Chan chuckled sarcastically.

I heard the familiar sound of his phone being tossed to the couch, and I tiptoe-sprinted my way back to bed. I curled under the comforter and pretended to be asleep. I wasn't in the mood to talk about what had almost happened earlier or the reason why it hadn't.

I heard the creak of the door followed by the sound of heavy fabric hitting the floor. I knew it must've been his pants again. My heart raced anxiously as I imagined the various scenarios that could take place. I just hoped he'd be gentle if he tried anything.

I felt the weight of Chan joining me on the bed and tried to maintain steady breaths, so he wouldn't know I was awake.

His fingers stroked gently through my hair. It was such a soft gesture that it surprised me.

"I'm so sorry, Ophelia," he muttered quietly. "I took care of it for you. He'll never touch you again."

My mind went in a million different directions. I couldn't help but wonder why he cared so much. Why did it matter to him if some doctor had gotten carried away? Why leave right away to beat him? What was the point?

Chan remained on the bed, delicately stroking my curls. Despite how relaxing his touch was, I was too nervous to fall asleep with him here. He was still a stranger. I was on edge and growing more and more frustratingly tired as the seconds turned to minutes and the minutes turned to hours. He seemed perfectly content to just sit here all night petting me.

Eventually, though, he leaned in and whispered, "Tomorrow will be better." His voice was full of certainty, and I knew in my heart that he truly believed it.

He placed a soft kiss on my cheek before leaving me alone in the bed again. His footsteps became fainter and fainter as he made his way down the hall.
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psa: i am sex-positive irl.  have as much sex as you want! any negativity around promiscuity is simply fiction for the character and their development...oh, and also for the plot 
<3