Just before the holidays, my husband and I were supposed to be driving home together. I wanted the passenger seat, but he gave it to his female colleague and banished me to the back. "Isla gets carsick," he said, his tone final. "You’re the wife, Rose. You should be more understanding." He had completely forgotten that I was pregnant, right in the throes of debilitating morning sickness. Halfway through the drive, they started smoking, a deliberate act that forced the nausea to win. I threw up. Disgusted by the smell, my husband, Jason, decided to teach me a lesson. He abandoned me at a desolate rest stop. What he didn't know was that my family was already waiting for me there. This time, I was going home to get an abortion and file for divorce. Later, when Jason found out our child was gone, the regret drove him insane. … This year's holiday trip home was supposed to be just the two of us, a road trip in our own car. Jason left early that morning, and I assumed he was out buying some last-minute gifts for our families. I never imagined that when I opened the passenger-side door, I’d find another woman already sitting there. I recognized her from Jason's social media. A colleague from his department, Isla, I think her name was. Young, beautiful, and currently occupying my seat. Seeing me frozen in the doorway, Isla offered a sweet, saccharine smile. "Hi, Rose." Then, two male voices piped up from the back. "Morning, Rose!" Stunned, I looked at Jason, my eyes demanding an explanation. "Their hometowns are on the way," he said, avoiding my gaze. "It's just a ride-share, no big deal." "And you didn't think to tell me?" "I'm so sorry, Rose," Isla chimed in, her voice a soft, placating melody. "Jason was afraid you wouldn't agree, so he wanted to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Please don't be mad at him." Not wanting to make a scene in front of his friends, I swallowed my anger. "Fine," I said, my voice tight. "But Isla, you'll have to move to the back. I want to sit up front." "Rose," Jason cut in, his voice sharp with annoyance. "Isla gets carsick. As the wife, you can be considerate for once. Don't be so possessive." "Jason, I'm pregnant! The morning sickness has been hell, you know that!" My raised voice made Isla's eyes instantly well up with tears. "I'm so sorry, Rose," she whimpered. "I'll move to the back right now." Jason immediately put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Rosalind," he snapped, using my full name like a weapon. "You're just pregnant, stop being so delicate. Don't you know how to be a gracious host? Get in the back. Now." My fists clenched. The weight of their stares pressed down on me. I thought of the baby in my womb and my parents waiting for me at home, and I bit back the torrent of angry words. I said nothing, silently folding myself into the backseat. I didn't realize my silence was just the prelude to a symphony of humiliation. I was squeezed between two large men, but Jason didn't spare me a single glance. He was too busy laughing and chatting with Isla, their voices filling the car. Isla caught my eye in the rearview mirror, my discomfort obvious. She put on a show of concern. "Rose, are you too crowded back there? Maybe we can switch at the next rest stop." Before I could answer, Jason jumped in, a note of embarrassment in his voice. "She's gained a lot of weight with the pregnancy. Mike, Kevin, is she squishing you guys?" The two men, who had been manspreading and pinning me into the corner, shifted slightly. "Nope, we're good," they chuckled. "Great," Jason said, his voice cheerful. "Isla, don't worry about her. She's your senior, the wife. It’s her job to look after you guys." His words were like knives, each one twisting in my heart. From our first date to our wedding day, Jason and I had been so good together. Everything changed the day Isla joined his company. At first, she was just "the new intern." Then, she became "a bright girl, a fast learner." Soon after, he stopped saying her name altogether. Instead, Isla just started appearing in his photos, always standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, their smiles impossibly bright. I had confronted him about it so many times, only to be met with explosive impatience. "Rosalind! I work my ass off every single day, and I have to come home to your drama? Are you ever not exhausting?" "You're so damn suspicious, why don't you just chain me to the bed!" We had a massive fight that day. He stormed out and didn't come back for a week, leaving me, pregnant and hormonal, to cry myself to sleep every night. Now I saw it clearly. It wasn't my paranoia. It was his guilt. The emotional turmoil churned my stomach. I was terrified I would actually be sick, so I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sleep. But they, bored with the long drive, decided to start a game of "Name That Tune." The music blasted through the speakers, the noise making it impossible to drift off. I was caught in a hazy limbo until Mike's triumphant shout jolted me awake. "‘Wrong Love’! That’s ‘Wrong Love’! I've got five points!" he roared with laughter. He turned his head and met my irritated glare. His face fell. "Uh... Rose... you wanna play with us?" Jason cut him off. "Don't bother. She's incredibly boring. A total stick in the mud. She'd just kill the vibe." He forgot. He forgot that we met at a university club event, where he fell for me at first sight precisely because I was the most energetic and outgoing person in the room. He used to say he loved my cheerful spirit, that it gave him energy. Now, to save face for his colleague, he threw me under the bus without a second thought. "So what was it about Rose that made you marry her, Jason?" Isla asked, her voice a gentle prod. "A guy as amazing as you… she must have some special quality, right?" A faint, mocking smile touched Jason's lips. "She’s… domestic, I guess. A good caretaker." "Oh, so like a maid? But probably a really good one, right?" "Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. A maid." My nails dug into my palms. Staring at the back of their heads, at the easy intimacy of their banter, I gritted my teeth. "Someone as fun as you, Isla, would probably be a much better match for Jason, don't you think?" Isla whipped her head around, her eyes already brimming with tears. "Rose! How could you say that? You've completely misunderstood. I just look up to Jason as a mentor, that's all!" The tears began to fall in earnest. "I know, you must be jealous. It's normal, pregnant women are so emotional. For your sake, and for the baby's... Jason, you should just drop me off at the next rest stop. I can get a ride from there." Jason's face immediately softened with concern. He reached over to comfort her. "Isla, don't listen to her. My wife has some… issues. She says crazy things. Don't take it to heart." "You just stay right where you are," he assured her. "I would never abandon you." Then, he turned his head slightly, raising his voice to a snarl. "Rosalind! Why is your mouth so damn vicious? Can't you just sit in the back and be quiet? Do you have to guilt-trip Isla to feel good about yourself?" "You keep this up, and I'll kick you out at the next rest stop. Stop embarrassing me. No class at all. And to think they call you ‘the wife’." Mike and Kevin chimed in, rushing to Isla’s defense. "Rose, that was a really nasty thing to say. There's nothing going on between Isla and Jason, you can't just spread rumors like that." "Yeah, jealousy is one thing, but this is crazy. Does pregnancy really make women lose their minds?" Their words came at me from all sides, a barrage that left me no room to speak. Rage and nausea surged within me. I wanted nothing more than to get out of that car, but the highway blurred past the window, a high-speed prison. My voice trembled. "Jason, I am your wife!" "So what? Because you're my wife, I have to spoil you and cater to your every whim?" "Apologize to Isla!" A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I turned my head, ignoring him, and pulled out my phone. I found the name of the nearest rest stop on the map and sent it to my parents. I was done with this car. I was done with this ride. Jason saw me on my phone in the rearview mirror. He cranked the music up even louder. "Rosalind, you have time to play on your phone? Apologize to Isla, now!" "It's okay, Jason. I'm sure Rose didn't mean it," Isla sobbed. "Jason, I am not going to apologize," I said, my voice ice. "Rosalind, do you want me to throw you out on the damn highway?" he threatened. I stared him down in the mirror, my silence a wall of defiance. Finally, Mike broke the tension. "Hey, Jason, man, let's not do anything crazy on the highway. Don't want to get points on your license." That seemed to cool Jason off. "We'll deal with this when we get home," he muttered. I turned my head to the window, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. Whatever love I had left for him was evaporating with every mile. After my silence, the mood in the car grew heavy and awkward. Jason, having calmed down, tried a different tactic, his voice suddenly soft. "Rose, come on. We're all friends here, and we have a long way to go. Let's not make things weird over a few angry words, okay? You're the wife, the older one. Be the bigger person. Show everyone that my wife isn't some unreasonable shrew, alright?" I didn't answer. He tried again, his tone wheedling. "Be a good girl. When we get to the rest stop, I'll buy you those sour plums you love." I let out a short, sharp laugh. I still said nothing. Humiliated again, Jason's face hardened. He didn't speak to me again. The car fell silent. I drifted into a half-sleep, only to be jolted awake by the acrid smell of smoke. My eyes flew open. "Who's smoking? Don't you know I'm pregnant?" A plume of smoke wafted from the front seat. "Rose, I asked Jason for permission," Isla said. "He said it was okay." "Sorry," she added, not sounding sorry at all. "I just get stressed and need a cigarette. You'll just have to bear with it." "Rosalind," Jason's voice was cold. "You upset Isla. You made her stressed. You will bear with it." Hearing this, Mike and Kevin in the back started shifting. "Well, in that case, mind if we light up too? We're dying for a smoke." I stared at them, horrified, my voice shaking. "You want my baby to breathe secondhand smoke?" "It's just one cigarette, it's not a big deal," Mike said, blowing a cloud of smoke in my direction. He offered one to Jason. "Come on, man. You've been good for so long. Indulge a little." Jason took it without hesitation. "Just this once, then." "JASON! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND? THAT'S YOUR CHILD IN MY BELLY!" I screamed. Jason's hand froze. He passed the cigarette back. "Fine, I won't. You guys should put yours out, too." "Jason, please? Let me just finish this one?" Isla whined, her voice a seductive purr. "Alright," he sighed. "Isla, you can finish yours. After all, this is your wife's fault." "Hey! Well, we'll finish ours too then, there's not much left," Kevin added. Jason glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "Rose, just open the window a crack and let them finish. A little smoke isn't going to kill the baby." A sharp pain shot through my stomach. I stared at him in disbelief. "Jason, what kind of father are you?" "Rose, your husband is right," Isla chimed in, exhaling another puff of smoke. "Don't they say you should raise kids to be tough? If you start now, you'll probably have a super healthy baby." The smoke filled the car, a choking, disgusting miasma in the enclosed space. I couldn't hold it back any longer. I fumbled in my bag, pulled out a plastic bag, and vomited violently into it. The sound and the sudden, foul stench made everyone in the car recoil. "Ah! Don't get that on me!" Mike shrieked from beside me. "Oh my god, that smell is disgusting. I think I'm going to be sick," Isla complained. Jason's voice was panicked, but his words were a warning. "Rosalind! Don't you dare get that on my car!" In my haste, some of it did splash out. Tears from the violent retching streamed down my face, but I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. I had made them as miserable as they had made me, and I no longer had to suppress the urge to be sick.
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