Fragments

The Benefit of the Doubt

"Shancai, I'm home!" Daoming Si yelled as he wrestled his suitcase through the front door. He was greeted with silence. Ringing, oppressive, entirely unwelcoming silence. Strange. "Shancai?" He called again, perplexed, craning his neck to peer around the kitchen door as he searched in vain for his AWOL wife. He hoped she wasn't out, it was only 9am, Shanghai time anyway; his body clock still needed to adjust, as he was drained. It was possible that she was already out at her class. Then again, she didn't have class on the weekend... But she knew he was coming home today and she was usually waiting with open arms to welcome him back on the rare occasions they were separated. He had been away in London on business for the past week, attending endless mergers and acquisitions meetings that made him want to tear his hair out. He had missed his wife desperately, and was anxious to have her in his arms again. Next time, he was definitely insisting that she came with him, he couldn't bear being apart from her for so long - never again! He couldn't wait to kiss her, to hold her, just to breathe her in and feel comfortably whole again. He would never have imagined it was possible to love another person so unconditionally, but he was so smitten with his wife, he couldn't even verbalise it. In fact, he had even taken a red eye flight to ensure he was home at a reasonable hour, the last thing he wanted was for Shancai to be asleep when he arrived; after all, they had some catching up to do... It had been four months since they had tied the knot, four months of complete, perfect, entirely delightful marital bliss. The words Daoming Shancai still sent a thrill through him every single time, and he shivered as he lightly traced his wedding band, anticipating their heated reunion. Where was she? She usually ran to him the moment he came through the door, jumping into his arms and kissing his breath away in her joy to see him; this reverberating silence was not exactly the welcome he had been envisioning. He heard a muffled thump from upstairs, and a dazzling smile spread across his face as he realised Shancai must be upstairs; perhaps she was waiting for him in the the bedroom to properly celebrate his return... He took the stairs two at a time in his haste to reach her, his heart thrumming in anticipation as he sped into the bedroom.

Shancai was standing in front of the walk in closet, rifling quickly through it's contents; she didn't so much as turn her head when Ah Si entered the room, but he was so elated to see her, he didn't even notice. "There's my gorgeous wife!" He exclaimed cheerfully, his voice full of ardent affection as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He burrowed his face into her hair, nuzzling her as he inhaled her intoxicating scent, his fingers flexing against her stomach as he crushed her to him. How he had missed her! However, Shancai was like granite in his grasp, motionless as a statue even as his warmth washed over her. Ah Si pulled back in surprise as her lack of response registered; dread was blooming in the pit of his stomach at her sudden inexplicable indifference. She hadn't ignored him like this since the time he had beaten up her high school friend in a fit of jealous rage...What exactly was happening here? "Shancai....?" He queried in alarm when she pulled out of his arms without explanation, walking away from him without another word. Ah Si felt bereft at the sudden loss, gaping after her as she stiffly walked away, confusion and panic mingling in his mind as he racked his brains for a possible reason for her actions. He had messaged and called her everyday; admittedly, her responses for the last two days had been few and far between, but he had just assumed she was busy with school so he hadn't pushed her. He followed her into the main bedroom, confused and upset as he took in the sight before him. A huge pink suitcase was thrown open haphazardly on top of the duvet, filled to the brim with a wide assortment of Shancai's clothes. She was pulling items at random from her bedside drawers and stuffing them into the suitcase as Ah Si stood framed in the doorway, utterly bemused by her odd behaviour. "Are we going on a trip?" He asked in confusion, dread sinking deeper into his bones when he realised that only her suitcase was in sight; he had a bad feeling about this....

He swallowed in trepidation when Shancai barged past him into the en suite bathroom, shooting him a look that was overflowing with venomous ice. Ah Si's heart sank at her cold expression; clearly he had agitated her in some way, but how, he had absolutely no idea. He trailed after her like a lost puppy, wincing as she savagely threw bottle after bottle into a large toiletry bag; the sounds hit him like gunshots, and he couldn't stop his voice from breaking when he asked softly "baby, what's wrong?" His words acted akin to a match with gasoline; Shancai whirled on him immediately, and he was taken aback by the rage etched into her small features. A vein was throbbing in her temple as she spat at him "don't you dare call me 'baby'! You should have told me it would be like this, you bastard!" He was bewildered by her words and the implications behind them; his confusion must have been evident on his face as Shancai snorted in abject disgust, pushing roughly past him to launch the toiletry bag into her open suitcase with unnecessary force. What on earth was she talking about? Was she referring to his business trip? He had thought she understood that sometimes he would have to travel internationally for his ventures, however, by the sounds of it, this was what had irritated her; was all of this debacle simply a snitty response to her missing him whilst he was away? "I was only gone for a week," he muttered to himself agitatedly as he rubbed his finger under his nose in puzzlement. He followed her again, but was stopped in his tracks when Shancai slapped a thick glossy brown envelope unceremoniously to his chest, winding him slightly with her strength. "For you," she hissed, her eyes like chips of ice; Ah Si furrowed his brow in confusion, stung by the ire in her eyes. He fumbled with the envelope's contents, pulling out the thick sheaf of papers in mild interest; perhaps this would shed some light on why she was acting this way? However, the words at the top of the page burned indelibly into his brain, and he flung the envelope from him as if it was a venomous snake. "D.....d...divorce?" He stuttered, his lips beginning to tremble as his eyes began to sting uncontrollably.