Chapter 3

Marissa lost her balance and fell hard into the thorny bushes. After colliding with the stone steps by the road, she limped away. It was hard to hail a cab in this neighborhood in the countryside. They didn't stay here often and only visited during important occasions. Half an hour later, Joshua approached in his Maybach. Marissa hurriedly reached out to stop the car, but it whirred past her. Joshua thought the figure by the road looked familiar, but he was distracted by Roxanne's wandering hand. He pressed his lips together as he covered her hand. "Stop messing around. I need to hurry home. I'm worried about leaving Marie alone at home." "Hmph. You're playing favorites. We just got married!" Marissa walked for two hours in the neighborhood before she successfully took a cab to the hospital. When Joshua got the news and arrived, he found her with bandages on her head, swollen ankles, and trembling hands. "Marie, why didn't you wait for me to send you home? You shouldn't have left on your own, especially when you're blind. If something happens to you again, I won't be able to live with that." Marissa shut her eyes with an exasperated smile. She knew he'd live well without her—maybe even better. "Would you really follow along if I lost my life?" She had the urge to ask the question, but she held her tongue when Roxanne showed up at the door. She replied flatly, "I'm fine. I lost my balance. That's all." "You're not taking care of Marie. Cole, fire them all and hire new ones." Looking incensed, Joshua glared at Marissa's caretaker and bodyguard. He was greeted with silence. Unbeknownst to him, after Marissa regained her vision, she instructed her caretaker and bodyguard not to follow her around. She was just playing blind in hopes of drawing out more secrets from Joshua. Joshua and Roxanne spent the next few days looking after Marissa at the hospital. Yet, they always showed up holding hands, thinking she was blind. "Marie is blind and alone in the hospital. I'm worried. How about this? Let's set up an additional bed in her ward. I'll look after her." Joshua frowned. "Roxanne, you get cold easily, and it's chilly in the hospital. Listen to me and go home." But Roxanne insisted on staying. "I don't want to leave Marie in the care of others. Let me stay." After a long stare, Joshua backed off, looking exasperated yet loving. "Fine." Roxanne, who had promised to watch over Marissa, slept on the bed next to Marissa while hugging Joshua. Marissa could only snicker at Joshua's ability to love two women at the same time. … After two long, torturous weeks, Marissa was finally discharged from the hospital. When she got home, she smirked when she saw Roxanne standing there with luggage. Joshua explained coolly, "Roxanne insisted on moving in to take care of you when she heard you wanted to leave the hospital." But Marissa felt only resentment. Was Roxanne here to take care of her or Joshua? She wished she could call them out right there, but she knew she had to wait until Gabriel signed the divorce papers. Holding back her disgust, she agreed, "Fine. Stay. It's easier for you to take care of me that way." She was practically clenching her jaw when she spat out the last few words. However, Joshua seemed satisfied with the answer. He didn't pick up on her resentment at all. From then on, Marissa always encountered disgusting items at each corner of their bedroom, from torn stockings, wrinkled ties, to used condoms. The suggestive clues left behind by Joshua and Roxanne hinted at their increasingly outrageous behavior.