(Sybil’s POV)John looked at me for a minute, probably trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. Then he turned to walk out of the bathroom. “I’m going to the hospital to see Willa,” he said. Finally, he was doing the right thing. He should have been with her the night before, not with me.I decided to stay in the bathroom for a few minutes, to give John the chance to get dressed and leave. While I was there, I thought that it would be a good idea to take a shower. I knew that it would help me feel better, both physically and mentally.After putting on some clothes, I went down to the dining room for breakfast. I didn’t really feel like eating, but I thought I should at least try. I hadn’t eaten anything for dinner the night before. I had only eaten some pretzels while I was at Darcy’s.My mother-in-law was already sitting at the table, staring at me as I walked in and sat down. “You look terrible,” she said, “but then again, it’s no wonder.” She clucked disapprovingly at me.I
(Sybil’s POV)Everyone said that a man will grant you anything after sex. I was presently trying to see if there was any truth to this theory. My husband John had come home earlier after being away on business for a month. As soon as he walked in the door, even before saying hello, he ripped my clothes off and dragged me into the bedroom. I went willingly. We rarely had sex as it was, and we both needed this right now, after being alone for all that time. We were making up for lost time, and there was a sense of urgency that wasn’t usually there. Afterwards, I lay on top of him, feeling his chest slowly rising under me. I was glowing after our lovemaking. I gazed at him and decided that now would be a good time to bring up what was on my mind. “Where is my anniversary present?” I smile playfully as I nuzzle into his chest.It wasn’t that long ago that I was working as his secretary until that fateful night when, after working long hours, we shared our first night together. That
(Sybil’s POV)I gawked at John, hurt by his words. “Trapped you? If I remember correctly, you were the one who decided that we should get married.”“That was before I knew how devious you were,” he spat, his eyes narrowed. “You only pretended to agree to the contract. I should have known you would do this to me!”“Do what?” I didn’t like this side of him at all.“Try to saddle me with a little brat! Then it would be impossible to make a clean break when our time is up.” John shook his head in disappointment at my perceived deception. I couldn’t figure out who could have possibly poked holes in all the condoms. All I knew was that I wasn’t capable of such a vile thing. “How many times do I have to tell you that it wasn’t me?”He glowered at me and shifted so that we were no longer touching. “I know it was you. Nobody else ever touches my stuff.”That last part was true. For as long as I’d known him, John was always a very private person. It was very clear from day one of our marri
(Sybil’s POV)After Mary left I got out of bed and put some clothes on. I was hungry, so I went down to the kitchen. I had made some ceviche earlier today, because I knew it was John’s favorite. I hadn’t known at the time that he would be home for our anniversary, but I wanted to be prepared just in case. He wasn’t around now to enjoy it, of course, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have some.After taking it out of the fridge, I served myself a plate. I sat down at the dining room table and poured myself a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I raised the glass in a silent toast to the death of my dream of being Mrs. John Rutherford for real.Mary suddenly burst into the dining room at full speed. “Pardon me, madam,” she panted, “but Miss Amelia is running a fever. The doctor is with her now.”I looked up at her in concern. “Oh, no!”Amelia was John’s little sister, although he was old enough to be her father. Their parents had her when they were close to fifty. From what I understood, after John
(Sybil’s POV)They both turned around when they heard the door open. I got a good look at the woman and immediately recognized her. It was none other than Willa Worthington, a famous actress who just happened to be John’s former fiancée. She had been abroad for the past three years, but evidently she had just returned.I was very well acquainted with her, too. We had known each other our entire lives. We weren’t exactly best friends growing up, far from it. My parents had worked as servants for her wealthy parents. I got along well with Mr. and Mrs. Worthington, and they had even offered to pay for my education, something that Willa clearly resented. We ended up going to the same schools, where she and her snooty friends used to torment me, making fun of me because my family was significantly less wealthy than theirs. I wasn’t really all that surprised to see how lovey-dovey John and Willa seemed to be with each other, to be honest. After all, our marriage had never meant anything
(Sybil’s POV)The driver and I were chatting away when all of a sudden, he went silent and stared at the rearview mirror. “Miss,” he said, “I think we’re being followed. Is it someone you know?”I turned around to take a look, and immediately recognized John’s car. “I’m afraid so.”“Would you like me to stop the car?” He gave me a look of concern.“Yes, please.” As soon as he stopped the car, I got out. I turned back to him. “Would you mind waiting? This will just take a minute.”“No problem, miss.” The driver nodded.I marched angrily over to John’s car. “What do you want now? Aren’t you needed at the hospital?”“Get in.” John gave me an icy stare, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.Against my better judgment, I got into his car, but not before making eye contact with the taxi driver. The driver seemed to understand that I would not need a ride after all, and drove away.John turned toward me once I was seated beside him. “You’re not wearing the earrings
(Sybil’s POV)Ignoring John’s statement, I continued walking down the stairs and out of the house. I couldn’t wait until this marriage - if you could even call it that - was over and done with.I went back to my place. Even after marrying John and moving in with his family, I had decided to keep the apartment where I had been living ever since I started working for him. I still spent time there sometimes, whenever I needed to get away from Mrs. Rutherford or just to take some time for myself.I sat down at my computer and got to work on preparing the divorce agreement and my letter of resignation. I couldn’t wait until John was out of my life for good!My phone rang. I sighed with frustration, thinking it might be John, but my spirits instantly lifted when I saw who it was. “Alex!” I exclaimed, happy to hear from him. John’s cousin Alex and I had met at school, and were close friends. He was the only son of John’s uncle, and had been in charge of the Rutherford Corporation’s overseas
(John’s POV)I couldn’t believe my eyes. My wife, who had always claimed to love Amelia and jumped at any excuse to spend time with her, was being unnecessarily cruel to the poor girl. Amelia was bawling her little eyes out, clinging to Sybil for dear life. I needed to set things straight. Sybil had the nerve to look upset, muttering platitudes to her about how it wasn’t her fault, that it was bound to happen. What had come over her? “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t mean it.” I gave Sybil an icy stare.Sybil disentangled herself from Amelia’s grip. “We’ll just be out in the hallway for a minute. It won’t take long.” Sybil grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door.“Why did you tell her that?” I asked her. “The kid has cancer, for fuck’s sake! Isn’t she suffering enough, without you scaring her like that?”“I was telling her the truth, John,” she said, “I’ll bring you the divorce agreement and my letter of resignation first thing tomorrow.” With that, she flounced back into Amelia’