THE REVENGE SHE WORE

~AURORA~

Today happens to be my funeral.

Yet here I am, sitting in a luxurious black Mercedes-Benz parked across the street from the funeral home with fury in my eyes, staring at the building that holds my supposed corpse.

Beside me sits a man I only met three hours ago, my biological father. The man I never knew was still alive.

My name is Aurora Vale. And yes, by all accounts, I’m supposed to be dead.

Well, three days ago, I discovered that the life I had been living was an exquisitely designed deception.

~THREE DAYS AGO~

It was an ordinary Wednesday. I was in the laundry area, cleaning the dirt off Elena’s high-heeled shoes.

My sister-in-law had a talent for bringing the whole city into our house on the bottoms of her stylish shoes. She changed outfits as if it were an obsession. A minimum of five shoe pairs and ten outfits daily. Yet, I had never witnessed her doing even one load of laundry.

However, I was fine with it. I believed doing everyone's laundry was a component of my responsibilities as a housewife. I had come to terms with it a long time ago.

In fact, I even helped out at my best friend, Lily’s place whenever work overwhelmed her, tidying up without a second thought.

I was midway through cleaning the second heel when a recognizable voice came from the living room. Hugo. My husband. His affectionate, soothing voice resonated from the television.

I abandoned all and hurried toward the voice with my heart thrummed with love rhythm. The second voice, which I recognized just as swiftly, belonged to Lily, my best friend and a prominent anchorwoman. She's actively doing our dream job.

The television showed Hugo sitting opposite Lily. He donned a perfect wine suit, his smile serene and assured. Lily appeared beautiful as always. Everything about her was flawless.

At times, I felt a pang of jealousy. There was a time when I was beautiful as well. Prior to the onset of my eating disorder. Before my body turned into my confinement. Yet I could never hold any bitterness towards Lily. She consistently supported me, even when no one else did.

“Is your success solely due to your own efforts, or does your wife, whom you’ve never revealed to the public share in your achievements?” Lily asked, her tone calm.

“It’s all thanks to my wife,” Hugo answered without hesitation. “If not for her, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

My heart fluttered.

“Do you ever plan to show her to the world someday?”

“Very soon,” he uttered. “I can’t wait to have her standing beside me at every moment.”

I beamed happily. Even in front of a vast audience, he opted to speak kindly of me. For my protection. To respect me.

But there came the noise that consistently dampened my spirits. Elena’s biting, scornful laugh.

“Keep dreaming,” she scoffed with folded arms. “Hugo will never allow you to be seen. His pride is too large to display a fat, ugly housewife."

D*mn her!

How dare she mock me when all she did everyday was to survive on his younger brother's money without even having a marriage to call her own?

I turned toward her, my teeth gritted.

“You don’t need to remind me every single day,” I snapped, my tone icy and controlled. “You’ve made your opinion clear. But my husband? Has he ever once complained?”

She merely smirked back as if she had triumphed.

I returned to the laundry room, but my hands trembled as I continued scrubbing. My thoughts drifted back to earlier days, prior to the disorder and before everything began to fall apart.

During my early days at university, I was crowned the beauty queen of the campus in my year one and two. Everyone admired me. Boys constantly stumbled over themselves just to speak with me. However, when the condition began in my third year, everything changed.

I was no longer the girl they admired. I turned into a target. A subject of ridicule. Friends vanished. Murmured slights took the place of praises. It was a harsh reminder of just how changeable people's feelings can be. Only Lily, who was my friend and roommate, remained the same to me.

Amidst that, my mother passed away. She never mentioned to me that she had cancer. I barely arrived at the hospital in time to bid farewell. She only left me a necklace which I keep so well as heirloom. Afterward, I sensed that I was an empty shell. Sorrow added to the self-hatred. I never believed I would get through it.

However, Lily also connected me with someone from her hometown. A senior and my distant admirer who continued to see me as deserving despite my condition. That individual was Hugo. He was loving and caring.

I became infatuated with how he gazed at me as if I was important. We tied the knot soon after my graduation. And I allowed Hugo to bring his only sister into my house in the city that became our house.

At that time, Hugo owned nothing. Only concepts and a desire to create something. I trusted him so profoundly that I gave up my inheritance to invest in his startup. He came through three years later. His technology company skyrocketed, and unexpectedly, Hugo turned into a person every big company wanted to collaborate with.

Regardless, Hugo remained the same. He advised me to stay at home to prevent being harmed by the world's cruelty. I understood his intentions since he also makes a sufficient income to provide for the family.

My condition doesn’t allow me to conceive but Hugo stayed optimistic. He stated that we will attempt for ten years, and if there’s no progress, we will consider adoption.

But Elena never allowed me to find peace. She changed after the initial two years. Turned aggressive and resentful but Hugo always begged me to ignore her. I understood my husband and I calmly ingested her slurs and the disdain.

The loud sound of the water gushing from the tap jolted me back to the present.

Immediately after I finished the cleaning, I took a bath and prepared for the village market. I always avoid giving my husband processed food. He works so hard, so he merits eating healthy meals.

Once I go to the village market, I don't come back until the following afternoon.

I drove to the bus terminal and parked my car in the parking lot. The path was too bumpy for personal cars, so I always opted for the public bus.

The bus was, as usual, filled with vendors, farmers, and drowsy passengers. I sat near the back with earbuds in my ears waiting for the bus to fill up.

The bus was quickly filled up as usual and the journey started. But shortly after starting the journey, the bus came to a sudden stop.

We were trapped behind an extensive line of vehicles. This was an unusual occurrence.

“What's going on?” someone at the front inquired from the driver.

~AURORA~

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” the driver muttered. “No notice was given regarding the road closure today. Look at that… buses, cars… everyone’s trapped.”

A man in the third row stood up suddenly, clutching the metal pole for support. “Then get off and take a look!” he shouted. "I'm so exhausted. I’m insanely desperate to get home."

Murmurs of agreement rolled across the bus like a ripple.

The driver looked at the crowd in the mirror, frustration flashing in his eyes. “Let’s simply exercise patience,” he said with a forced calmness. “I cannot leave all of you on the bus, especially on this type of road. It’s overly risky."

The whispers intensified, growing with annoyance. The windows were open, yet the evening air was humid and thick, still holding onto the warmth of the day.

Then—

Tap…tap…tap…

A sudden rap on the window broke the tension.

A man in a yellow coverall stood outside, mud splattered on his boots and reflect