Chapter 4

I wake up from my crying induced sleep. I check my bedside clock and it shows 6pm.

I grab my phone and find mised calls from Grandma and Carlos. I grab it and first call grandma. She answers on the 3rd ring.

"Hi, grammy." I weakly say.

"Selene, are you ready for the Howard benefit?" She asks. I look up to the ceiling and rub my face as I sigh.

"I'm not,"

"Why not?" She asks seeming quite shocked.

"You have to, this will be your first function as a couple. You need to show the world a strong unity. You are his wife, not Emma. You need to act like it and show her you are not one to trifle or walk all over."

I listen to her talk and as much as I'm avoiding conflict, I need to get my husband back. Take my place as Mrs. Black and show that mosquito that I'm not a person she can bite but hope to still stay alive.

~♡~

I look at myself in the mirror as my maid had just finished helping me with my make up. My phone rings and I pick it up.

"Are you ready?" Carlos asks me.

"Yes." I respond as I wear my shoes and give myself a once over look in the mirror before walking out of my room.

I find him downstairs in the foyer. He looks up as i walk down the stairs and whistles.

"Damn, you clean up really nice."

I just look at him and tell him we can leave. We get into his car and drive over to the party.

"What made you change your mind about going?" he asks as we drive over to the Howard estate.

"Grandma called and do you know what? she's right. I can't just let Emma get away with everything. Alexander is my husband, it may not be a love match, he may have plans of divorcing me when grandma passes and with the fact we aren't expected to have children during this marriage. He has no legal or moral obligation to me but for as long my name is still on that certificate. I need to act like and fulfill my duties as his wife." I ramble all of this to him. He just smiles and cheers me on and we both end up laughing and joking the whole ride there.

When we entered the gate and found so many cars and people around, as if it's a Hollywood movie premiere or met gala of some sort. We finally manage to enter the function. My husband is obviously coming with Emma, I won't even disturb them. I want Emma to enjoy her last night in his life with peace because starting tomorrow I'll be his wife and no one is coming in my way.

~♡~

I'm just from picking up Emma and she just won't stop blabbering about how she spent her day and what her friends did. I look out the window until we reached the Howard estate. The stopped in front of the red carpet and the driver opened the door for us, I walked out with Emma and paparazzi took pictures of me with Emma on my arm. We walked towards the door and found David Howard, a friend of mine outside with his father greeting guests.

"Alex. Emma. Where's your wife? I thought you would coming with her." he asks and his dad gives him a pointed look. Emma visibly shifts uncomfortably and I just shake my head.

We walk in and by some miracle the first thing I notice is my wife laughing with some other man.

She looks so beautiful in a pink dress that just brought out her hair and natural beauty making her shine even more.

She's drinking a glass of wine and standing to the side next to this man I have never seen nor met. This pisses me off, I don't know why. No, of course I know why, she's my wife.The wife that mostly avoids me, rarely smiles or looks at me but there she is comfortably smiling and laughing with a man that's not me.

"Let's go, I see dad over there." Emma whispers in my ear. I don't know why but her getting this close has just made me even angrier for some reason. I listen to her and we walk towards our parents who seem pleased with the fact that I came with her instead of Selene. During the whole walk to them I can't help but look to my wife and this man. I want to walk over to them and demand an explanation, no, take her away from him nd make her smile and laugh at me the same way she's doing for him. Bit I can't so much is at risk.

"I'm glad you too came together, you make such a lovely couple." Emma's mother states excitedly. I'm just hoping for a chance to leave this conversation.

I manage to escape our parents and we make rounds around the party meeting people and discussing business and politics. But every chance I get, I keep looking at my wife. it seems Emma and my parents haven't noticed her yet and I hope it stays that way but I'm going to pay my little wife a visit tonight.

~♡~

"Finally," I say as I kick my heels of my feet by the door in the entrance of the house. I stumble up the stairs to my room and entered the shower. Just as I got out I heard a car come up the driveway. I look out the window and I see my husband's car. I wonder what he's doing here. I had seen him at the benefit dinner. Watched as he came in with Emma, as they talked to their parents. Honestly they make such a perfect couple. They seemed to be matching, him in a dark blue suite and she in a dress of the same color. Picture perfect, I know tomorrow they'll be on every website post, magazine and talk show for what a perfect couple they would make. Everyone rooting for they're marriage, whilst me his actual wife is locked up in a tower like Rapunzel.

If it were up to Emma and hos family, I would be Cinderella but instead of the price searching for me, he would marry my step sister and I would just be the maid.

It hurt watching them tonight. What has he come here to do? Finally ask me for the divorce so that he can end up with perfect little Emma.

The door to my room burst open and my husband walks in to find me standing frozen by the window with only my bathing towel on. He seems angry about something.

Oh well, I better get on to packing.

~♡~

I look at her in her towel looking so small and lost. I'm just from dropping off Emma at her apartment, she tried to get me to spend the night and sleep with her by seducing me but it didn't work.

During the function, I would try and distract myself from Selene by drinking and Emma tried to take advantage of the fact that I'm drunk to try and get me to sleep with her but I couldn't, even if I wanted to or was that desperate. I spent the whole night, thinking of her, so many countless scenarios of her and me in my head. Ways to punish her so that she would never so much as look at another man let alone smile at him.

I don't know where this possessiveness is coming from, I don't know her well enough or even love her but all I know is that she is mine, no one else's.

"Who is he?"

"Sorry, what?" She responds seeming confused.

I walk towards her and standover her.

"That man you were with at the benefit. Who is he?"

she looked confused for a second before it finally seemed to dawn on her who I was talking about.

"Carlos Diaz, a friend of mine. We met through the diner I was working at when I was 16 as a waitress."

she responds whilst backing away and holding her towel even tighter to her body.

"You worked in a diner?" I asked shocked by this detail, it seems I don't know anything about her.

"Yes. After my parents died in the car accident I had to quite school and survive by working in a diner, they had left me in so much debt, it was the only way I could survive until Mrs. Smith, who's husband had died in that very car accident heard about me and took me in. She had no children and so adopted me and took care of my parents debt. it's through her that I met grammy." she states. I can't help but look at her, so she's telling me she was an orphan who had to quite school but was taken in by a kind woman who had just lost her husband too, in short she has no one but grandma, the woman who took her in and me. But all I've done is neglect and ignore her. I take a step back and truly look at her

"I'm sorry. I never knew." I state.

"It's okay, I never expected you to." She shyly states before leaving the room and coming back into the room in a one piece, bear like pajama suit. She looks adorable and honestly looking at her in it makes sense, it's something that just reflects her.

She climbs into bed asks if I'm spending the night and I say I am.

I walk into the bathroom and into the shower, right next to her products are unopened products I usually use, the fact that she has them in her bathroom is like a punch in my gut.

My wife, the wife I've been ignoring but who's been patiently waiting for me. Honestly I don't want to hurt her, she deserves way better than this.

I'm going to do right by her.

After my shower I walk back into the room and find her already asleep, I just switched off the lights and walked into the closet to find clothes in my size that suit my taste and were some sweatpants before climbing into bed.

I pull her body into my hands and hug her before whispering goodnight in her head and falling asleep