The Wife He Never Married, the Wife He Always Came Home To Chapter 01

The Wife He Never Married, the Wife He Always Came Home To Chapter 01

I waited for Chase Vance to give me a wedding for what felt like forever, ten years, to be exact. We applied for a marriage certificate seven times. And canceled it seven times.

In our circle, we were the power couple, the ones who made it. He fought in underground matches to pay for my medical bills. I helped him build Vance Industries from nothing.

On our ten-year anniversary, I brought up the wedding and the certificate again.

He just rubbed his temples and tossed his blazer aside. “We’ll talk later. We’ve been married forever. Why are you still hung up on this?”

The words died in my throat. Is this what love turns into at the end? Just… nothing?

Water started running in the bathroom. Then his phone buzzed.

I don’t know what came over me. I picked it up. The contact name staring back at me was “Babe.”

“Hey babe, when are you coming home? Ethan says he misses you.”

My stomach flipped. Chase had a whole other Instagram account, well, another social media account for this world.

His feed was nothing like the one I knew. A wedding photo pinned at the top, both of them grinning. Roses he sent yesterday with a new ring hidden inside.

The water stopped. My nails had already dug deep into my palm.

I sent that woman’s handle to my assistant. “Dig up everything on her.”

***

When Chase came out, I had already put the phone back and fixed my face.

But he still noticed something was off right away. He let out this tiny, almost invisible sigh and rubbed my earlobe with his finger.

“Harper, why are you crying?”

Was I crying? I hadn’t even felt my eyes sting.

Yeah. More than ten years together. We knew each other better than anyone.

“Still stuck on the wedding and certificate thing? If it really means that much to you, fine. We’ll go take new photos.”

He sat down in front of me, like he was giving ground. But my mind flashed to those wedding photos of him and someone else.

My heart twisted. I gripped the couch cushion. “Forget it. Work’s crazy after the holidays. Neither of us has the time.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. A flicker of surprise crossed his face. “Get some rest.”

Then he went to the bedroom. No extra concern. No real talk.

The company was busy, yeah. But I still made time. I came home early and cooked all his favorite dishes.

The food got cold. He didn’t even glance at it.

Seven applications for the marriage certificate. Seven cancellations. Every time, a different excuse.

A last-minute business trip. Bad mood. Bad weather.

I laughed at myself. I couldn’t pretend anymore. “Just getting by” was a lie.

My phone buzzed with a message from my assistant. [Her name is Brittany Shaw. She lives at 202, Building X, Sunset Heights.]

…

First thing next morning, I went to Sunset Heights.

This was the second property Chase and I bought together. In my name. I still remembered how happy I was when we paid cash for it. I jumped into his arms.

He said, “This place is yours. If I ever screw up, you can come live here by yourself.”

Now he had his mistress living in it.

I stood by the building too long. An old lady next to me finally asked, “Honey, who are you looking for?”

When I said 202, her face lit up. “Oh, that family! They’re so in love. They invited the whole building to their wedding.”

“The other day, Brittany had a stomachache, and her husband ran straight from a meeting to check on her. Dude was freaking out.”

She kept going. Then the door to 202 opened.

“Brittany Shaw, right? Let’s talk.”

I shut the door behind me, blocking out their love story. But right there in the entryway, more vacation photos of them.

Brittany didn’t look surprised at all. She led me to the living room like it was nothing. Her eyes were pure challenge.

“I’ve been wondering when you’d finally figure it out. Took you long enough to get here.”

She pushed a glass of water toward me, all queen-of-the-castle.

The heat hit my face. I grabbed the water and threw it in her face. “I’ve been married to Chase for ten years. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Right then, a little boy by the bedroom door burst into tears and ran back inside.

When he came out again, he was holding two bright red marriage certificates.

“My mom is NOT the other woman!”

My eyes went wide. My hands shook as I picked up the certificates.

July 13th, five years ago. The day I lost my second baby. My water broke early. I was out in the suburbs and couldn’t get a cab.

I called Chase over and over. His phone was off. So that’s what he was busy with. Getting married to someone else.

Brittany held the boy and smiled at me. “We’re legally married, sweetie. Got the certificate. Had the wedding.”

“Things you never got, right?”

Her smug face kept swelling in my vision. I couldn’t take it. I slapped her.

The fingerprint lock beeped. The door opened.

Brittany cupped her cheek, eyes already wet. “Chase!”