Anita stands over the bathroom sink, the cold water running over her trembling hands. The blood swirls down the drain, leaving faint red streaks on the porcelain, a stark contrast to the pale skin of her fingers. She splashes her face, the icy water biting into her skin, washing away the last remnants of blood that cling to her cheeks. Her eyes, reflected in the mirror, are empty, hollow—a void where emotion once resided. But within that emptiness, something flickers, a trace of remorse that lingers at the edges of her consciousness, barely strong enough to feel real. For a moment, she lingers, staring at her own reflection as if searching for a hint of the person she used to be. The face in the mirror is hers, yet it feels foreign, distant, as though she’s looking at a stranger.

She tore her gaze away, the sound of the water still echoing in the small bathroom. She turned off the tap, and the silence that followed settled around her. With a deep breath, Anita opened the door and stepped back into the dimly lit hotel room.

She tears her gaze away, the sound of the water still echoing in the small bathroom. She turns off the tap, the silence that follows settles around her. With a deep breath, Anita opens the door and steps back into the dimly lit hotel room.

She turns and walks over to the hotel room chair where her husband’s body sits slumped. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, she pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, knowing exactly where he keeps them. She has done this before, many times. With a practiced flick, she lights a cigarette and takes a drag, the familiar menthol taste filling her lungs as she stares blankly out the window.

“How did it come to this, huh?” she mumbles, her voice barely above a whisper. “I gave up everything for you, for us. My career… my dreams… all for what? For a family? We were supposed to build something together, but what did I get? A life full of lies and pain.”

She exhales a cloud of smoke, watching it swirl and dissipate in the dim light of the room.

“I wanted to be a mother so badly… and when we lost him, I thought I’d die too. But you… you didn’t even shed a tear. You just pointed fingers, made me believe it was my fault. Made me carry the weight of that guilt every single day. And I did, didn’t I? I believed you because I loved you… because I wanted to trust you.”

Anita’s hand trembles as she takes another drag, the ash glowing brightly with each unsteady pull.

“But it wasn’t me, was it? It was you. You and… her.” The words almost catch in her throat as she points at the woman lying in the bed. The woman’s naked body is drenched in blood, her once warm, smooth skin now stained a vivid red. “You two took my son away from me. And then you had the nerve to look me in the eyes and told me I was the one who failed. You broke me, piece by piece.”

She pauses, her eyes narrowing as she looks back at her husband’s body. His white shirt is soaked in blood, now a deep crimson red. His cold, empty eyes stare lifelessly into the void.

“And all this time… you’ve been cheating with her. The same woman who helped you take away our son. The lies, the deceit, the betrayal… it’s too much. I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been drowning in this hell you’ve created, trying to keep my head above water, but I’m done.”

She stubs out the cigarette on the windowsill, the ember fading with a final hiss. Anita’s voice drops to a whisper, cold and resolute.

“You took everything from me… now, I’m taking something back.”

quoted from page 251 of a novel titled “What Would You Do When Your Country Collapse”