The Fake Marriage

The year my mother and fathers mistress fell to their deaths, I cut off my family and followed Jake to New York. Broke back then, he gave me everything after years of struggle.

Near the anniversary of my mothers death, he said, Anna, Im moving the company to London. Will you be upset?

Touched, I told him to go ahead and set things up. Two months later, I was pregnant.

I secretly flew to London to surprise him. At his townhouse, I heard a familiar voiceSophie, my half-sister, the other womans daughter. Honey, are we staying here? she asked.

Jake replied, Yes. You and the baby are here. I couldnt leave.

My blood ran cold. I hid as they came out. He helped her, her bump clearly showing. He fussed over her, calling himself an overprotective first-time dad. The way he looked at her was how he once looked at me.

After they left, I wandered to my mothers old house and sat in the dark until Jake called. Anna, he asked gently, sleeping okay? I couldnt speak.

"No, Jake. I haven't been feeling well lately. When are you coming back to New York?"

"Not feeling well? What's wrong? Did you go see a doctor?"

He sounded so frantic. So worried.

If I hadn't seen that devastating scene with my own eyes, I would have instantly comforted him, told him I was fine, told him not to stress.

"I can't sleep. I have no appetite, and I keep throwing up. Jake... I think I'm pregnant."

The line went dead silent.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke. His tone was tight, edged with agitation. "Anna, I'm right in the middle of the most chaotic phase of the corporate move. This is a really bad time for a baby."

He paused, forcing his voice to soften. "Be a good girl. The pregnancy is still early. Go to a clinic and take care of it. Once we're fully settled back in the UK, we can plan for a family. Okay?"

I let out a broken laugh, swiping at the wetness completely covering my face.

"Are you saying it's a bad time for a baby, or is it just a bad time for my baby?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean! I told you, the timing is terrible. Why can't you just be understanding for once?"

I hung up the phone. I opened my laptop, pulled up the UK visa application site, and began filling out the forms. Under marital status, I selected 'Married'.

A line of glaring red text popped up on the screen. "The information provided does not match system records. Please verify and resubmit."

Thinking I had typed the marriage certificate number wrong, I entered it again.

Same red text.

I stared at the glowing screen for several seconds. My fingers were trembling uncontrollably as I clicked the dropdown menu and changed it to 'Single'.

Approved.

So, when Sophie called him her husband, she meant it legally.

And the courthouse wedding Jake and I had in Brooklyn three years ago was a complete fake.

When we got "married," Jake had told me the process in the States was incredibly streamlined. No officiant needed, no witnesses required, just signing some papers and getting a certificate.

I had trusted him implicitly. I never harbored a single doubt.

It turned out he had been playing me for a fool from the very beginning.

I booked the next flight back to New York. I dug out that flimsy, pathetic excuse for a marriage certificate. The whole room started spinning.

When I finally opened my eyes again, I was blinded by hospital white.

"Anna, you're awake!"

Seeing the mix of anxiety and relief in Jake's eyes made my stomach violently turn. I weakly raised my fists, pummeling his chest.

"Why! Why did you lie to me! The marriage certificate is fake! It's all fake! You legally married Sophie in London. I saw everything! You're a piece of trash, Jake!"

A flash of pure panic crossed his face.

"Anna... please calm down. Just let me explain..."

Smack. My palm collided with his cheek, draining the last ounce of my strength.

Jake pinned my wrists down, the words spilling out of him in a rushed frenzy. "Sophie had a terrible life. Everywhere she went, people treated her like dirt because she was an illegitimate child. Your dad came to me. He begged me to give her a legitimate status. But I love you, Anna. It's always been you. Once Sophie has the baby, I'll divorce her immediately, and we'll get properly married..."

I clutched my head, a raw scream tearing from my throat.

"Her mother killed my mother! Did you forget that?! My mother paid for your college tuition! Why would you help our enemy? Why!"

Jake yanked my hands away. A look of deep impatience settled over his features, and his volume spiked. "Her mother is dead too! Anna, can you not have an ounce of empathy? You're both victims in this, there is no right or wrong. You have me for the rest of your life. She has absolutely nothing. I just felt sorry for her. I couldn't let my gratitude to your mother blind me to basic human decency."

I went completely still. I looked at him, my eyes devoid of anything but dead ash.

"I'm going back to London."

There were too many things I needed to uncover.

The car ride from Heathrow Airport headed toward the suburbs.

"That townhouse is in Sophie's name. I've arranged a new place for you," Jake explained from the driver's seat.

"How many months along is she?"

The car jerked to a violent halt. I slammed my head against the dashboard. Pain and dizziness hit me simultaneously.

"What are you trying to do?" he snapped.

In the past, if I even got a paper cut, he would coddle me for hours. Now, his only concern was whether I posed a threat to Sophie.

I laughed out loud.

"When exactly did you two start screwing each other? Three years ago? Five?"

Humiliation tightened Jake's jaw. "Anna, what's done is done. Digging up the past is pointless. If you want to keep your baby, I won't force you to get rid of it. But I'm warning you, you will not lay a finger on Sophie's child."

That last sentence was a flat-out threat.

I thought my heart was already dead, but those words still sent a vicious, stabbing pain straight through my chest.

The second I walked into the new house, I saw Sophie. She was wearing a tight knit maxi dress, proudly jutting out her belly, standing right in the middle of the living room like she owned the place.

"Sis, you're back!"

Jake immediately rushed to her side, supporting her lower back. His tone was laced with gentle reprimand. "Why didn't you stay home and rest? What are you doing here?"

Sophie smiled softly, trailing her fingers down his arm. "The baby has been so good today, not kicking too hard. Don't be such a worrywart."

Jake pinched her nose. "You're acting like a kid yourself. I swear I can't handle you."

Sophie shot a sideways glance at me, acting entirely bashful. "Stop it, you're embarrassing me. My sister is right there."

I stood there like an unwanted guest, forced to watch their disgusting display of domestic bliss. Despite my best efforts, my eyes burned with hot tears.

A dull ache started pulsing in my lower abdomen.

"Does the deed to this house have my name on it?" I asked.

Jake guided Sophie to the plush sofa, settling her down before looking at me. "Of course it's yours."

I placed a protective hand over my stomach and took a deep breath. "In that case, I want everyone who doesn't belong here to get out of my house."

Jake's brow furrowed. Sophie's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"It's my fault. I just missed you so much since we haven't seen each other in forever. If you don't want me here, Sis, I'll leave right now."

She made a dramatic show of struggling to stand up, which sent Jake into a full panic.

"Sophie is your younger sister. You shouldn't treat her like this."

The rage I had been suppressing violently boiled over. I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I don't have a sister! My mother only gave birth to one daughter!"

Sophie buried her face in Jake's chest, her voice trembling with manufactured sobs. "Hubby, just let me go home. Please don't upset her anymore."

"I'll drive you back." He supported her weight as they walked past me, dropping his voice into a low, disappointed register. "I really hope you can get your emotions under control."

The front door clicked shut. I collapsed onto the couch, buried my face in my hands, and cried until I was completely hollowed out.

Jake didn't come back that night.

Instead, my phone lit up with a video message from Sophie.

[My pregnancy is making things difficult, but he was so worried about my needs, he insisted on helping me out like this.]

The video showed them in bed. I didn't need to watch the rest.

[Sis, do you think he'll be this attentive when your belly gets big too?]

A foul wave of nausea hit the back of my throat. I bolted to the bathroom, dry heaving over the toilet bowl.

Everything that had happened over the past few weeks felt like a twisted fever dream. I honestly didn't know what my next move should be.

Suddenly, there was a tiny flutter in my belly.

It was a kick. My baby's first movement.

Right then and there, I made my decision. I was keeping this child. But this baby would have absolutely nothing to do with Jake.

The next morning, I went straight to the sprawling estate of the man I had disowned. My biological father, Richard.

"I'm here to take back the shares of the family trust my mother left for me."

A flicker of guilt crossed Richard's face. "When you ran off five years ago, I already transferred your mother's portion to Sophie."

My stomach plummeted. "That belonged to my mother! What right did you have to give it to the daughter of a homewrecker!"

"Jake knew about it. In fact, it was his suggestion."

Jake...

When his tech company went public in New York, I had asked him to help me fly back to London to reclaim my mother's shares. At the time, he told me Richard had used a corporate loophole to buy them out at a rock-bottom price, and that he could only salvage a cash payout for me.

Why?

My mother had paid for his entire Ivy League education. He used to tell me she was like a second mother to him. He promised her he would protect me for the rest of his life.

How could a human being rot so completely from the inside out?

When I got back to the house, Jake was already there.

He walked over, reaching out to grab my hand. I sidestepped, letting his fingers grasp empty air.

"Exactly how many things are you hiding from me?"

He looked me dead in the eye, perfectly composed. "Aside from marrying Sophie, absolutely nothing."

I lost it. I threw myself at him, slamming my fists into his chest. "Liar! Liar! You told my father to give my mother's trust fund to Sophie! You gaslighted me for years! Who the hell are you, Jake? If you were skilled enough to play me for five years, why didn't you have the guts to lie to me for the rest of my life!"

"Anna, stop it! You have me! I'll make sure you never have to worry about money for as long as you live. But Sophie has nothing. She needed a safety net. Can you just let this go? We still have a life to build together. If you keep acting like a hysterical maniac every single day, who could possibly stand being around you?"

"If you can't stand it, then get the hell out! I never want to see your face again! Ah..." A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my stomach. I doubled over. "Take me... to the hospital..."

Jake's face drained of color. He reached out to catch me, but his phone rang.

"Hubby, my stomach is hurting so bad... please come back, I'm so scared..."

His entire demeanor shifted in a heartbeat. "Don't move! I'm on my way!"

He looked down at me. "Anna, Sophie is further along, she can't handle any stress. Stop throwing tantrums. Let me go check on her, and I'll come right back to you."

Without a backward glance, he sprinted out the door.

"Jake..."

I pulled out my phone with trembling, sweaty fingers and dialed emergency services.

"The baby is fine," the doctor told me later. "A few days of bed rest and you'll be okay. But you cannot afford these massive emotional spikes. The baby feels whatever the mother feels. For the sake of your child, you need to find a way to stay calm."

I exhaled a massive, shaky breath. "Thank you, doctor."

During my days recovering in the sterile hospital room, Jake didn't call once.

Instead, Sophie bombarded my phone with taunts.

"All I had to do was say the baby kicked, and he lost his mind with worry. Sis, there's no point staying by his side as a pregnant mistress with no legal standing. You should just leave. He's never going to divorce me."

For the sake of the life growing inside me, I locked my phone away and forced myself to breathe through the anger.

Once I was discharged and back at the house, I started packing. I was leaving. I would figure out the rest later.

Just as I zipped up my suitcase, Sophie let herself in.

"Glad to see you finally came to your senses, Sis. But you probably still have some lingering questions. I came over to clear things up for you."

She looked down, gently stroking her swollen belly. Her voice was terrifyingly soft.

"Actually, the night before you two flew out to the States? We slept together."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

"You must think it's impossible, right? Since he hated me so much back then. I went to his apartment with a bottle of whiskey to say goodbye. I told him I had no mother, I'd never get a dime of the family money, and I was doomed to be mocked as an illegitimate bastard for the rest of my life.

"He felt sorry for me. He drank glass after glass. When he got drunk, it just... happened naturally.

"But Sis, do you really think a black-out drunk man can perform? He knew it was me the whole time.

"So you see, you lost to me before you even got on that plane."

I stood glued to the floor. I had imagined a thousand different timelines, but I never thought the betrayal ran this deep.

On our flight to New York, Jake had been incredibly distracted. I thought he was just anxious about leaving his home country. Now I knew he was leaving a piece of his heart behind.

It was pathetic. I had spent the last five years treating him as my safe harbor. Trusting him unconditionally.

I was nothing but a spectacular, colossal joke.

Seeing the devastation on my face, Sophie smiled.

She slowly pushed up the sleeve of her designer cardigan, revealing an exquisite, vintage Cartier bangle on her wrist.

That was my mother's heirloom.

When the homewrecker stole it and sold it years ago, it vanished. Later, I heard it surfaced at a private auction in London. I had begged Jake to fly back and bid on it for me.

He had returned looking absolutely gutted, telling me he got outbid by an anonymous buyer. Because his startup was struggling, I swallowed my heartbreak and comforted him. I told him if my mother was watching over us, the bracelet would find its way back to me eventually.

"Figured it out yet?" Sophie whispered. "He fought tooth and nail in a bidding war to buy this for me. And he lied straight to your face. From the very beginning, you've always been second place."

I lunged at her.

"Give it back! Give it back to me!"

We grappled. In the chaotic shoving, my foot slipped. I crashed hard onto the hardwood floor. A blinding, agonizing cramp seized my lower abdomen.

A thick, terrifying warmth spread between my legs. The metallic scent of blood hit the air.

My baby...

Sophie immediately threw herself onto the floor and started screaming at the top of her lungs. "Ah! It hurts! Sis, why did you push me?!"

"Sophie! What happened?! Don't be scared, I'll get you to the hospital right now!"

Jake had arrived.

He didn't even look at me. He only had eyes for her.

Clutching my stomach, fighting through the blinding agony, I begged him. "I'm bleeding... my baby is dying..."

Jake finally turned his head. His eyes were a twisted mixture of disappointment and pure rage. His voice dropped to a sinister, chilling octave I had never heard before. "If anything happens to Sophie or my child, I will make you pay."

"Don't go..."

I watched helplessly as Jake scooped Sophie into his arms and bolted.

Before he turned the corner, Sophie's lips curled into a victorious smirk. She silently mouthed the words: You lose again.