The Secret (Watty Award Winner) | ✔️

Nine - Sarah

Ch9 - Sarah

Several weeks passed without incident after the last explosive fight Sarah and Steven had shared. He became the perfect husband; vigilant and eager to please, just as he had promised. He fussed over her and her needs during the day and made love to her every night, whispering words of unending adoration.

If Sarah had believed the words he'd spoken, she would have been elated. However, she no longer considered herself that same naive girl, foolishly hoping for the best but expecting the worst from her beloved husband. She was a girl on a mission, and that mission was called survival.

Asking Steven for a divorce would never work - she knew that for certain. She had attempted  to bring up the subject a couple years ago, and had almost ended up in the hospital as a result. She was tired of being bullied by her spouse and longed to break the brutal cycle. But in order to do so, she knew she would have to be creative.

Every week, she tucked a little money aside in secret, enough to slowly build, but not too much so Steven would take notice. She planned every last step very carefully. If her strategy was not executed perfectly it would all blow up in her face, and that could be deadly.

When Steven arrived home from work, he found her busy in the kitchen, making dinner. "What are we having?" he asked, moving up behind her and kissing her on the back of the neck.

Sarah forced a giggle at his playful embrace. Over the past few months, she had mastered the role of happy, dutiful wife, "I've had to make cold cut sandwiches. I hope you don't mind, Steven, the stove is acting up again."

"Again? I wonder what's wrong with it. This is the second time this week it hasn't wanted to work," he observed, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Have you checked to see if the cable is plugged in properly?"

"I wasn't able to move the stove enough to peek behind. It's very heavy."

Steven chuckled, "My tiny, little wife - what ever would you do without me?"

'I could think of so many things, Steven,' she thought to herself.

"It's a good thing you don't live alone, you'd never survive in this big, scary world."

But hadn't she survived on her own after her parents died? How convenient he would forget.

Steven walked over to the stove and moved it slightly, inspecting the cord. "Well, it's plugged in alright, but it looks like the wire is fried. How the hell did that happen?" he asked, running his hand through his hair, confused. "We'd better not use it until I can get a repair man out here. I'll call one tomorrow."

Sarah smiled at him gratefully, "Thank you, Steven."  Perfect. That would give her just enough time to put her plan into action.

The next morning she heard Steven's bedside clock alarm at 4:00 am, just as expected. She laid very still, listening to him prepare for work. When she heard the garage door close forty minutes later, she hopped out of bed and grabbed the bag that was waiting for her from the top shelf of the bedroom closet. It contained everything she would need for the next several days. Peeking from the window, she watched as his navy BMW pulled out of the drive, making it's way down the tree-lined street underneath the dark, early morning sky.

Sarah wasted no time crossing off her morning to-do list. Grabbing the scissors, she retreated to the master bath. Cutting her waist length blonde hair to her shoulders, she flushed the evidence down the toilet. She retrieved the box of chestnut brown hair color that she'd hid in the bottom of her lingerie drawer and quickly spread it through her newly shortened hair. Setting her cell phone timer for twenty minutes, she continued on with her list of chores, using as little light as possible.

Moving the stove ever so slightly, she carefully drizzled the gasoline along the tampered cord, and for good measure, sprinkled a drop here and there throughout the entire house, paying close attention to her bedroom.

Sarah took a brief shower, just long enough to wash out the brown hair color, and selfishly wished she could spend more time underneath the warm, comforting stream. Who knew when she would have the luxury of bathing again?

Quickly, she dressed in black and ran a comb through her wet hair. What a shock it was to look in the mirror - she barely recognized herself! She had transformed her appearance in less than half an hour. The short, dark hair was a stark contrast from the extremely long blonde hair she'd worn only a few minutes before. She laced up her new tennis shoes and grabbed her bag, tossing it over her shaking shoulder.

There was one more thing she needed to do before she left the bedroom. Very slowly, Sarah twisted the wedding ring from her finger. She stared at it briefly before throwing the thin, gold band into the toilet. She pressed down on the handle and watched it disappear.

Her heart was beating so loudly; it felt like it would explode in her chest at any moment. Was she really going to do this? It was too late to turn back now - and besides, she didn't want to.

Walking into the kitchen, Sarah stood before the oven. Months of painstaking preparations played through her mind. All of her hard work was about to pay off.

Lighting the match had been easy.

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Thank you for your reads, comments and votes - every time you vote or comment, it helps my story to reach more people, and for that I thank you. :)

This chapter is dedicated to @FarahOomerbhoy, author of Aurora Firedrake - The Avalonia Chronicles and The Virtuous Princess here on Wattpad! You can read her stories by clicking on her picture near the dedication at the beginning of this chapter.