To the Love of My Life

Ruby became silent for a while, then turned her head and looked at Madeleine, who was driving. She asked, “How have you been with Howard lately?”

Not much changed in Madeleine’s expression, but she didn’t answer Ruby’s question either.

As the red light up ahead turned on, Madeleine stopped the car. She clutched the steering wheel and, after a two-second pause, reached into her bag. She pulled out a small, red booklet and tossed it onto Ruby’s lap: “Here.”

It was a marriage certificate. Ruby opened it and saw a photo of Madeleine and Howard Coleman inside, stamped with the official seal of the People’s Republic of China. Their names were written side by side, and the date was today.

Ruby closed the marriage certificate and turned to Madeleine, asking, “You two got married?”

“Yes, we did. I never imagined we’d get married before you and my brother. But compared to you guys, our wedding was embarrassingly simple: you had an engagement and a ceremony, while all Howard and I have is this certificate.” Madeleine finished speaking and mockingly hooked her lips into a smile. “But at least I have you. You have to accompany me tonight and celebrate my wedding night with me.”

Madeleine spoke with resilient cheer, but Ruby could only hear the bitterness in her voice. Ruby didn’t respond; she just put the marriage certificate back into Madeleine’s bag.

For the rest of the way, neither of them spoke.

Madeleine did say she wanted to have dinner with Ruby, and they did, but they just found a Chinese fast-food restaurant and had a quick meal before heading to the KTV.

Ruby was pregnant and couldn’t drink alcohol, so she told Madeleine she was feeling unwell and couldn’t drink. Madeleine didn’t push her but still ordered two large bottles of wine and gave Ruby a bottle of mineral water.

Coming to KTV meant singing, and Madeleine did just that. As soon as they entered the room, Madeleine grabbed the microphone and picked a few random songs to sing. Eventually, she walked to the karaoke machine and selected the song “Standing Where You Hurt Me.”

“She doesn’t want to take what others have, but her lover forces her to make mistakes. Love falls into despair, leaving more wounds… ”

There were many lines in this song, but Madeleine kept singing this verse over and over again. Finally, Ruby clearly saw tears streaming down Madeleine’s cheeks. When Madeleine’s voice choked, and she couldn’t sing any further, she threw the microphone aside and picked up a bottle of wine from the table. She drank it down like water, and only halfway through the bottle did she turn to Ruby, tears still streaming, and say, “Ruby, do you know? I finally have Howard, but I don’t feel good about it at all. To this day, I still remember the look on his true love’s face when she saw me and Howard lying in bed together.”