J maintained his cool telling himself not to act till the appropriate moment. His white lover, however, was shivering of fear. He listened closely as the footsteps stopped right in front of his door. Ah Seng might want to talk to him, he reasoned but he was not going to open the door no matter what. At least till he was able to cook up some sensible story, he waited for Ah Seng’s next move. It felt like eternity before he heard Ah Seng’s footsteps walked to his own room. Sighing quietly, a quick thought came to his mind. He waited till Ah Seng turned the doorknob, and he timed it that they turned their doorknobs together. Peeping out of his door, he waited till Ah Seng closed his bedroom door before whispering to Se Yi to hide in the bathroom. She understood his intention and tiptoed to the bathroom without hesitation.
As J splayed on his bed, he realized that it was a close shave. Had Ah Seng knocked the door, he would not know where to hide Se Yi except maybe at the back of his door. A splendid idea that he memorized for future contingency plan, the last thought before he dozed off.
Se Yi was still shivering when she entered the bathroom worrying why did her husband return earlier than he said he would. Thinking deep trying to cook up an excuse, she decided first of all she must cleanse herself. Her body smell would be a dead give away and not work with any plausible plan. She sat on the toilet bowl waited till most of her lover’s love concentrated seeds dripped out of her. Then she took a slow bath, lathering richly and grateful that she had clean undergarment on the standby. When she had showered and dried herself, after putting on her undergarments, she found that her T-shirt smelt of sweat and light sex scent too. How could she explain this? Her sharp mind reminded that she had not cleaned the guest room. Well a probable idea. There was none other that she could think of at that moment.
Quickly she left the bathroom for the guestroom and packed up the soiled bed sheet and two pillowcases. She went back to the bathroom and soaked them. Hesitating before leaving the bathroom door again, she took a deep breath and walked quickly to her bedroom.
Ah Seng was confused and suspicious. He was sure that he heard a loud POP sound when he was opening the front door. Then it went quiet, too quiet as though the occupants had purposely kept dead still. He mind told that his wife was in the doctor’s room and his jealousy raged. There were still senses remained in him admonishing that he should gather more evidence before making any move. The thought of checking the doctor’s room was so tempting and strong but he feared he might not be able control himself if his suspicion was confirmed. Rather than acting foolishly, after much contemplation, he returned to his own room while keeping his ear alert for any sound.
After a while, he heard soft yet distinguishable sound of showers. Then light footsteps crossing the corridor back and forth. And finally his wife entered their bedroom. He watched her closely as she removed his T-shirt that covered only part of her crotch. Normally she would run to him. But this time it was different. It reaffirmed his suspicion. His suspicion had turned into concrete fact when he made love to her that night. Though she moaned but he knew she was only acting because he did not feel anything when he inserted his love rod into her. She was not the same woman he knew before he left the clinic. He did show his frustration by halting and abandoning their so-called love making without ejaculating. Despite ardent encouragement from his wife, he just told her that he was tired. Pretending to sleep he thought about possible action he could take and how he was going to get the physical proof.
Ah Seng did not sleep much but his wife was different, like a log. He rose from the bed and check her garments. Not wanting to awake his wife, he did not turn the light on. He depended on his nose for the task. The first piece of evidence he found was the stinking T-Shirt she wore. It did not make sense that her undergarments smelt fresh and the T-shirt stank of sweat and he was certain scent of sex too. His heart was shattered and he wanted revenge.
On the other hand, Ah Ling was getting tired of Chung Han’s cold treatment. Her husband worked from morning till dusk and not bother to come back for lunch even though she prepared his favourite dishes. Only her daughter came back to pack the lunch for them. She felt her own daughter was neglecting her too. During the last two days, they hardly spoke more than twenty words. Her desperation was heavier by the hour that tempted her to call Se Yi. She had to be sure of her plan before making the call.
During last night dinner, she told Chung Han that she needed to go for prenatal check-up but he declined her request questioning why should go to the clinic again so soon. Being an uneducated woman, she had no logical excuse to leave the house. His instruction was clear that he did not like her to move around when she was carrying his child. His child, she thought, and not their child. Regrets began pouring into her heart. For the sake of her unborn child, she would tolerate his cold attitude and strengthened herself by believing that she would be able to stand all this and when she delivered, Chung Han would love her more. A self-delusion. If she had known what her husband was doing to her daughter, she would either have an abortion or kill both of them. Then maybe she would consider suicide later.
