The Wife's Prison Sentence

1
I did three years in prison for my wife, Ava Deveaux. When I got out, my launch party bonus for her new company was a single dollar bill.
For a second, I thought it was a mistake. But then I saw my colleague, Leo Vance, open his envelope. He got a single bill, too. Relief washed over me, and I spent the rest of the day happily helping Ava with the grand opening.
That night, though, I was scrolling through social media when I saw Leo’s latest post. It was a picture of a check.
The caption read: “Cheers to the official launch! The boss is incredibly generous. A ten-million-dollar bonus to start things off right!”
The comments section was a flood of envy and congratulations, wishing him and the "boss" all the best.
When I confronted Ava, she didn't even try to explain. She just pushed me away.
"You just got out of prison, Ethan. It wouldn't look good for us to be public right now. Let's keep our marriage a secret for a while. At the office, you'll just call me Ms. Deveaux."
A moment later, her phone pinged. She’d just liked Leo’s post.
I wiped a tear from my eye and made a call to her biggest rival. "I'm in," I said into the phone. "From now on, I work for you."
…
"You were willing to do three years of hard time for Ava Deveaux's career," the voice on the other end said. "Why the sudden change of heart? Why come to me?"
"I seem to remember she promised you a department manager position when you got out. Are you sure you want to throw that away?"
I rubbed the cheap, crinkled one-dollar bill between my fingers, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.
"Yeah. I'm sure."
Just as the words left my mouth, Ava appeared in front of me, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"What don't you want anymore?"
I calmly ended the call and told her the truth. "The department manager position."
A flicker of something—relief?—crossed her complex expression. "Good. I was planning on giving it to Leo anyway. You can start as a junior assistant."
Her words made me frown. I had endured three years behind bars for her company. She had sworn to me, promised me that the manager role would be mine the day I walked free. Now, I was being demoted to an errand boy. And as she shattered that three-year-old promise, there wasn't a trace of guilt in her eyes.
A hot sting flooded my eyes, and a sharp pain bloomed in my chest.
Seeing my silence, Ava pulled a document from her briefcase and tossed it onto the coffee table.
"This is a secret marriage agreement," she said, her tone breezy and dismissive. "It's for the good of the company."
The words SECRET MARRIAGE AGREEMENT burned into my vision. The day before I went to prison, she had rushed me to City Hall to get our marriage license. The only thing that got me through those three years was the dream of the life we would build when I was free.
Now, it seemed I was an embarrassment. A secret to be hidden away.
I let out a silent, self-mocking laugh and reached for the pen on the table.
Ava's head snapped around. She frowned, watching my hand move toward the signature line. The man who had once wanted to shout their marriage from the rooftops was now signing it away without a second thought.
She instinctively pressed her hand down on mine, her next words catching me off guard. "You're not even going to think about it?"
Without looking up, I signed my name.
She stared at the signed agreement, a strange, unreadable silence falling over her. After a moment, she cleared her throat, her voice softening.
"Don't worry, Ethan. Once the company is stable, I'll make it up to you. I promise."
I gave a noncommittal grunt. Just then, the company group chat lit up.
An announcement: Leo Vance had been appointed the company's first Department Manager. Congratulations poured in.
[Leo, you've been by Ms. Deveaux's side this whole time. We all saw how hard you worked. You earned this!]
[I'm calling it now. Department Manager today, Mr. Deveaux tomorrow! We'll have to be extra nice to you from now on.]
Leo responded with a smug emoji, a silent confirmation. Then, another message popped up, this one clearly aimed at me.
[I think Ethan is the lucky one here. Gets out of jail and our boss gives him a job as an assistant. She's so generous!]
He knew the truth. This was pure mockery.
I forced my eyes away from the screen, only to see Ava staring at her own phone. The smile on her face was a kind of gentle, radiant warmth I had never seen directed at me.
It made me wonder. Was this secret marriage for the company, or was it for Leo?
To honor our new "agreement," Ava moved from our master bedroom into the guest room. She laid out other rules, too: We were not to be seen arriving in the same car. We were not to speak at the office, where I was only to address her as "Ms. Deveaux." And, most importantly, her relationship with Leo was "just an act for the public," and I was not to "make a scene."
After laying down the law, she disappeared for three days.
It wasn't until I called in sick with a fever that she finally bothered to phone me.
"You've only been back at work for a few days and you're already taking time off? Aren't you being a little dramatic?" she said, her voice sharp. "You'll have to get yourself to a doctor. I'm out of town on business. I can't take you."
It was exactly what I expected.
I mumbled a weak "okay."
But before I could hang up, a familiar male voice called out from her end of the line. "Ava, darling, can you come help me with my tie?"
She ended the call abruptly, but not before I heard the rustle of her moving quickly toward him.
I checked Leo’s social media. He had a new profile picture. It was a matching half of a couple's photo. Ava's was the other half.
I remembered all the times I had begged her to use a couple's avatar with me. She always had an excuse: it was tacky, childish, unprofessional.
For some reason, my silence seemed to drive her crazy. My phone blew up with a storm of texts and missed calls from her.
I sent a single reply: [I'm on my personal time. Please respect that, Ms. Deveaux.]
After getting an IV drip at an urgent care clinic, I went back to the office. As usual, my coworkers treated me with a cool distance, piling their grunt work onto my desk. In their eyes, I was just some ex-con lucky enough to be taken in by the boss. I was expected to earn my keep.
I took a deep breath and began clearing out my desk drawer. All the little couple's trinkets, photos, and matching mugs went into a black trash bag. If I'd known they would never see the light of day, I wouldn't have bothered bringing them.
I was on my way to the dumpster when Ava returned.
Before I could react, she grabbed my arm, her grip furious, and dragged me into the stairwell. Her eyes landed on the trash bag in my hand, and her face darkened.
"You have time to take out the trash, but you don't have time to answer my calls?"
The strong scent of a man's expensive cologne clung to her, and I instinctively took a step back. "I replied to your text," I said calmly.
My placid response seemed to ignite her rage. "Why would you call me 'Ms. Deveaux' in a text?"
What was the difference between a text and in person? She was the one who made the rule. Why was she angry that I was following it?
Seeing I had no intention of explaining, she let out a cold laugh. "You know I can't stand petty, insecure men, Ethan. Don't become someone I despise."
With that, she snatched the bag from my hand and slammed it onto the concrete floor. The crash echoed in the empty stairwell as she stormed away.
Staring at the shattered picture frame and the matching mugs we'd once bought, my heart fractured right along with them. Our years together were ending in the same broken heap.
I cleaned up the mess, then called a lawyer and had him draft divorce papers.
When I had the document in hand, I printed a copy and walked to her office. I was steeling myself to knock when the door swung open.
I met her cold, impatient gaze and held the papers out to her. "Sign this when you have a moment."
Ava didn't even glance at the first page. She flipped straight to the back, scrawled her signature, and handed it back as if it were a meaningless memo.
"You're coming with me to a client dinner tonight," she ordered. "Be useful. You'll be blocking drinks for us."
I was confused. Ava could drink anyone under the table. Why would she need me to run interference?
Before I could ask, Leo popped up from behind her, a smug grin on his face. "You're so thoughtful, boss! You remembered I have a cold and can't drink."
He casually sat next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. He glanced at me, then complained with a theatrical pout, "Ava worries too much. It's just a little cold, but she wouldn't let me work or drink. I had to beg her to bring me to this dinner."
Ava responded by playfully tapping his nose. "Just make sure you take your medicine later, and don't complain about it."
They looked exactly like a couple in the throes of a new romance. Her tenderness toward him was something I had never experienced.
Clutching the signed divorce papers, a strange sense of peace settled over me.
At the restaurant, after Ava exchanged pleasantries with our potential client, she began the introductions.
"This is Leo Vance, our department manager."
When she got to me, the client's brow furrowed. "I remember this man. He went to prison for financial fraud, didn't he? You're a very loyal person, Ms. Deveaux."
Ava tensed, shot me a look, and then forced a smile, offering no correction.
Throughout the dinner, she and Leo were practically glued together. She kept shooting me pointed looks, signaling for me to intercept any drinks headed his way.
At one point, another guest, noticing their intimacy, teased, "You two make a lovely couple, Ms. Deveaux. Are you married?"
The question hung in the air. Ava’s eyes darted to me, a flicker of uncertainty in them.
Then, almost in perfect unison, we both said:
"No."
Even though we'd given the same answer, her head whipped around to stare at me, her eyes wide with shock.
When the client excused himself to the restroom, my phone buzzed with a text from her: [It's all an act, Ethan. Don't take it personally.]
She might have been acting, but I was telling the truth. After all, she had already signed the papers.
I read the text and placed my phone face down on the table. Across from me, Ava started to rise, but I turned and headed for the restroom myself.
Coming out of a stall, I ran right into Leo. He stood with his arms crossed, the very picture of a victor.
"You're a pathetic excuse for a man, Ethan," he sneered. "Your own wife is so ashamed of you she won't even admit you exist. If I were you, I'd be too embarrassed to show my face."
I ignored him, washing my hands. "That's really not your concern, Leo."
I dried my hands and moved to leave, but he stepped in front of me, looking me up and down with disdain.
"Shouldn't the boss's husband be wearing something other than rags?" He feigned a look of realization. "Oh, right. I forgot. Ava must have spent all her money on my custom designer wardrobe. My bad."
The expensive labels he wore were a constant reminder of the difference between ten million dollars and one.
In that moment, all the bitterness and humiliation I had bottled up exploded. I turned and fled.
Back in the private room, I grabbed my coat, ready to leave.
"Don't go yet," Ava said, rushing to stop me, her voice suddenly gentle. "I'll drive you home later."
I was about to refuse when Leo burst back into the room, a look of panic on his face, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Ava let go of me and hurried to his side. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Leo frantically patted down his pockets and rummaged through his bag before crying out in alarm. "My watch! My custom timepiece is gone!"
The room descended into a flurry of activity as everyone began searching.
"It was a birthday gift from Ava!" Leo lamented loudly. "It's worth over three hundred thousand dollars! I can't believe I lost it!"
I didn't know what game he was playing, but I just wanted out. As I reached the door, he blocked my path.
"Let me just check your bag, Ethan," he said, a smug look in his eye. "Just to clear you of any suspicion, of course."
I knew I hadn't taken it.
"I'm tired, Leo. You can look for it yourself."
I tried to push past him, but he grabbed my bag. In the struggle, its contents spilled across the floor.
And there, among my scattered belongings, was a watch.
I stared at it in shock, then looked up to meet Leo's triumphant, mocking gaze.
"Why are you framing me?" I demanded.
I looked around. Everyone was staring at me with contempt. Especially Ava. Her brow was furrowed in a deep V, her eyes filled with disgust.
"I didn't take it," I said, my voice desperate as I looked at her.
But my words were meaningless against the glittering "proof" on the floor.
Leo picked up the watch, his voice filled with theatrical hurt. "This watch means so much to me, Ethan. How could you steal it? I thought prison would have changed you, but I see you're still the same criminal, willing to do anything for money. I don't think I can feel safe working with you anymore…"
His little performance turned the atmosphere in the room toxic. The client was the first to speak, his voice sharp with disapproval.
"Ms. Deveaux, I think we'll have to reconsider this partnership."
With that, he and his team stormed out.
I started to go after them to explain, but a sharp sting exploded across my cheek. Ava had slapped me.
I looked at her, stunned, but there was no regret in her eyes.
"I can't believe you're this greedy," she spat. "I brought you here to help, not to steal!"
Her words sealed my fate. Didn't she know me? After all these years, didn't she know my character? Had she completely forgotten why I went to prison in the first place?
Looking at the fury in her eyes, I knew she would never believe me. I gave a bitter, broken laugh and held out my phone to her.
"Then call the police."
She glanced at the phone, then back at me, her brow furrowed. She didn't move. In that long, silent stare-down, I felt like I was finally seeing the real her.
After a moment, she scoffed. "Unbelievable."
She turned her back on me, gently taking the watch and fastening it back onto Leo's wrist, murmuring soft, comforting words to him as she led him away.
I was left alone in the room with the wreckage.
I gathered my scattered belongings and went straight to the airport.
In the deserted terminal in the middle of the night, I was about to type up my resignation when a notification from Ava beat me to it. It was a termination notice.
Her message was laced with fury: [Don't bother coming into the office again. Stay home and think about what you've done.]
The absurdity of it made me laugh.
Without a second thought, I took a picture of the divorce agreement, signed by both of us, and sent it to her.
I attached a message:
[Ava, I wish you and Leo a lifetime of happiness together.]
[But first, you're going to finalize this divorce with me. Otherwise, I'll sue you for bigamy.]
The second the message sent, my phone started ringing. It was Ava. A frantic, desperate flood of calls.

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