His Wife His Secret My Escape

Im getting married, Brian.

I choked out the words, wiping the tears from my eyes with a cold, mocking laugh as he finally stepped into the hospital room.

The sun was already up. He looked pale, his face a mask of practiced concern as he leaned over me, whispering that we could always try again, that there would be other babies.

Dont be ridiculous, Paige. Theres no way youre pregnant, he had snapped over the phone just hours ago, his voice dripping with irritation. Im busy. Ill make up for your birthday later.

I had been standing on the stairs then, my hands slick with blood, my body shaking as I listened to the dial tone. Then, my foot slipped. The physical pain of the fall was nothing compared to the suffocating ache in my chest.

Im not actually going to marry Isabelle, Id heard him tell his friends in a leaked video only yesterday. He was laughing, that light, careless sound that used to make me melt. Shes just a pretty thing I keep around to stay entertained. Shes obedient enough, so Ill keep her for a few more years. If Isabelle doesn't like it, I'll clear her out.

The video Isabelle sent me showed Brianmy Briancarefully sliding a diamond onto her finger. They were at the courthouse, glowing, signing their marriage license. The timestamp on the screen was yesterday. My birthday.

I had waited all night for him. And all I got was proof that I was nothing more than a ghost in his real life.

Id spent nine years by Brian Montgomerys side. Id lost three pregnancies. In our social circle, I was the jokethe over-the-hill mistress, the "permanent girlfriend" who was never going to get the ring.

Six months ago, on his birthday, I found out I was pregnant again. Id hidden the test in a bouquet of flowers, ready to finally ask him to choose me. Id gone soft. Id chosen to believe his lies one more time.

Paige, trust me. This is the last time. I will marry you, hed promised, on his knees, after I tried to leave him the last time his friends mocked me.

And here we were.

A phone ringing muffled my declaration.

Brian was distracted. He only caught the word marriage. His brow furrowed, a look of bored indulgence crossing his face.

Marriage? Sure, Paige. Once youre back on your feet, well make it happen. Just heal up first.

He held up his phone, mouthed the word work, and turned his back on me to walk out into the hall.

I watched his retreating figure and let out a jagged, self-deprecating laugh. The caller ID flashing on his screen didnt say Work. It said Wife. Hed even changed his lock screen to a photo of Isabelle.

How could I have been so blind? How many times did I let him sell me the same lie?

The first time, his mother pointed a finger at me and told me I wasn't enough, then forced me into a clinic. The second time, hed crashed his car racing in the Hamptons; the shock alone cost me the baby. The third time, the doctor told me my uterine lining was too thin, that I might never carry to term again. Brian just held my hand and told me to wait.

I wouldnt wait anymore.

I pulled up my airline app and booked a one-way ticket. A sharp cramp twisted through my abdomen, but beneath the pain, I felt a hollow, terrifying sense of relief.

As I left the ward after my IV drip finished, I heard the nurses whispering at the station.

The girl in Room 2? The miscarriage? the young one sighed. I heard her husband on the phone. He said it wasn't her first time, that shes just being dramatic and hed buy her something shiny to shut her up.

The older nurse scoffed. Husband? Honey, shes just the side piece. Shes been trying to trap him with a baby for years. Now that shes wrecked her body, her dream of being a billionaires wife is officially dead.

Side piece? the other murmured. Shes thirty-three. Same age as me. My kids starting second grade.

They saw me then. Their faces froze in awkward silence.

I gave them a weak, empty smile. Im checking out.

Id heard the whispers for years. Id spent a decade training myself not to care, becoming numb to the labels. But hearing those words come out of Brians own mouth that was the red-hot blade that finally pierced my heart.

When I got back to the penthouse, the table was still set with the cold dinner Id prepared. The Lisianthus flowers were wilting. I felt a wave of nausea.

For nine years, Brian had only ever sent me those specific flowers. I thought it was 'our' thing. But yesterday, I realized Isabelles social media handle was Lisianthus_In_The_Clouds.

Every time he tucked a flower behind my ear with that tender look in his eyes, who was he actually seeing?

The door opened. It was Brians personal assistant, coming to fetch a specific bottle of vintage red for a celebration.

The bottle I had opened and started drinking alone yesterday.

The assistant looked panicked, unable to reach Brian on his cell.

Ill take it to him, I said, my voice eerily calm. Ill explain it in person.

I wanted to have one last drink to the happy couple. Or rather, the old couple made new.

Brians face went white when he opened the door to his private suite and saw me standing there.

What are you doing here?

I tilted my head and handed him the half-empty bottle of wine.

Happy wedding day, Brian.

I smiled, though it didnt reach my eyes. And goodbye. Im leaving tomorrow. Im going back home to get married.

Brians face darkened, a flash of suppressed rage flickering in his eyes.

Stop making a scene, Paige. Go back to the hospital. Ill explain everything later.

Wait. It was always wait.

I had waited until my youth was gone. I had waited until I was a "medical impossibility." I had waited until my reputation was dragged through the mud, moving from "secret girlfriend" to "homewrecker."

Isabelle appeared behind him, her hand sliding naturally, possessively, into the crook of his arm.

Paige! Come in, join the party. You know everyone here.

As soon as I stepped inside, the room fell into a heavy, mocking silence.

Oh, I didnt realize the theme for tonight was pajamas and hospital bracelets, one of Brians friends drawled, looking me up and down.

The girl next to him giggled. Shes organic, remember? Not materialistic like us. Dont men just love a fragile little flower?

Right. Clearly, we aren't in the same tax bracket. Let's not let our filthy money ruin her vibe.

The room erupted in laughter. My face burned, and my vision blurred behind a thin veil of tears. I knew they despised me, but they never used to dare insult me to my face when Brian was around.

Brian used to get angry. He used to protect me.

Now, he just stood there, his expression unreadable, doing nothing.

I dug my nails into my palms until it hurt. This wasn't my first time in this house. In our second year together, Brian got drunk on his birthday and told the driver to come here. When I tried to help him inside, hed blocked the door.

Let the driver take you home, hed muttered. Shes a clean freak. She doesnt like strangers in the house.

I hadn't even known who "she" was then. But when he started to get sick, I pushed past him.

Cant you hear me? Get the hell out!

He had shoved me so hard I hit the corner of a marble cabinet. The impact caused severe nerve damage in my left eye. To this day, its mostly light and shadows.

Brian had been devastated then. Hed apologized for weeks, put a condo in my name, showered me with gifts. But he never mentioned "her" again.

He wasn't over his ex-wife. He never had been. And I never had the right to ask.

Isabelle led me to a chair and handed me a cup of tea.

Dont take it the wrong way, Paige. I only came back to help Brian out. The marriage certificate? Its just a formality. Something to make his mothers final days a bit easier.

I froze, looking at Brian.

He finally spoke, his voice cold. My mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer two months ago. Shes in chemo. Its bad.

You know she never liked you, he added, as if it were my fault. She wouldn't agree to treatment unless I made things right with Isabelle.

I sat there, stunned. I knew nothing. I was never allowed to know.

Years ago, when his mother found out I was pregnant the first time, shed had me snatched off the street and taken to a clinic. When Brian found out, hed flown back, screaming at her.

If you touch a hair on her head again, youll lose your son forever.

The scar on his forehead was from the glass vase his mother threw at him that day. I had cried for him. He had held me and told me I was safe.

Now, that same Brian shoved a cup of tea into my hands. Drink this. Then Im taking you back to the clinic.

The glass was scalding. My hands shook, and the cup slipped, shattering on the floor. Hot water splashed onto Isabelles designer shoes.

Brian didn't even look at me. He lunged forward, grabbing Isabelle, his voice thick with panic as he rushed her toward the bathroom.

I tripped over a chair, falling onto the hard floor. My glasses slid off. Without them, the world was a smear of colors. I felt a sob rising in my throat.

I thought of the baby Id just lost. It had been healthy. Id already bought the tiny clothes, the little stuffed bear. Brian had been happy, too.

Until the day I had morning sickness at dinner, and hed looked at me and said, Maybe we shouldn't keep this one.

Id turned white. I asked him why.

Youre too tired, Paige. Youve lost weight. Its too much for you.

I didn't believe him. I pushed and pushed until he finally admitted his parents had changed their will. They were blackmailing him.

Just give me more time, Paige.

Hed begged. But I never really had a choice.

The next day, my manager at the bookstore called me, sounding terrified. Someone was causing a scene.

I rushed over, my body still aching.

It was Isabelles cousin, a girl who had been at the party the night before. The moment she saw me, she shoved a phone camera into my face.

Look, everyone! This is the owner of the famous Breeze & Bound bookstore. Her name is Paige. If youre ever looking for a place to find a husband who belongs to someone else, this is the spot. Put all your orders on my tab!

Can we get a discount, Paige? she sneered. My followers want to know: how many books do we have to buy to get the special service you provide?

I told her to leave. I tried to call Brian. He wouldnt pick up.

The cousin laughed.

Not answering? Brian and my sister are doing their wedding photoshoot today. Did he forget to mention that? I guess he didn't want a weeping mistress ruining the lighting.

My heart constricted. For the last six months, Brian had been "busy." Late texts, sudden hang-ups. It wasn't just work.

The cousin began reading the live comments on her stream.

The sugar daddy dumped her, so she crashed his wedding party. How pathetic.

She looks so classy, who knew she was such trash? Wow, Paige, youre trending.

She giggled, leaning in close. Of course shes trash. Her lady parts are probably scarred for life from all those accidents. I bet the whole store smells like a clinic.

If she were my daughter, Id have drowned her at birth, she read.

Oh, her mother wouldn't do that, the cousin mocked. Her mother is too busy living in that fifty-thousand-a-month private care facility Paiges services paid for.

I broke. I lunged forward and smashed her phone onto the pavement.

But there were ten more phones recording.

The cousin screamed, grabbed my hair, and slammed me into the ground. I felt her heel grind into my fingers.

You bitch!

Her friends joined in. They tore the store apart, throwing books, kicking me. I spiraled into the dark.

When I woke up, I heard Brians voice. I saw the blur of police uniforms.

Miss, can you tell us what happened? How did you get these injuries? an officer asked.

I tried to move my bandaged hand. Everything hurt. Brian leaned over and kissed my foreheada gesture that used to feel like love, but now felt like a cold needle.

Im so sorry, he whispered, his voice low and threatening. I shouldn't have missed the call. If your mother saw you like this, it would break her heart. Shed blame me for not protecting you.

He was using my mother to silence me.

I wanted to laugh. I didn't want to fight anymore. Even if I told the truth, they were the Montgomerys. They were untouchable.

It was a personal disagreement, I rasped to the police. Im not pressing charges. Well settle it privately.

The police left. The tension in the room turned freezing.

You went too far, Paige, Brian said, his voice like ice.

My heart hammered. I didn't call the cops. I didn't say a word. What more do you want?

Then, I heard a recording. My own voice.

Isabelle is a lying bitch! Shes the one who stole my man, she killed my baby, she deserves to die

It wasn't me. I had never said those things. The realization made my blood run cold. Theyd faked it.

Brian, you have to know that isn't me

The door swung open. Isabelle walked in.

Brian, stop being so moody. Youre scaring her.

She turned to me, her face full of false pity. Im so sorry, Paige. My cousin is young and impulsive. She heard the things you said about me and she just lost it. She was trying to defend my honor.

She bowed her head slightly. Ill pay for all the damages at the store. Just name your price.

When I didn't answer, Brians rage boiled over.

Paige! You were so loud on that recording, and now youre mute? This is your last chance. Apologize to Isabelle.

I grit my teeth. I have nothing to apologize for.

Brian let out a sharp, jagged laugh.

He pulled out his phone and made a call. Yeah. Send the crew to the back of the house. Cut down that Magnolia tree. Now.

No! I screamed, my voice cracking. Brian, you cant!

That tree my sister and I had planted it together before she passed away. She had been too weak to hold the shovel, so she just cupped the soil in her hands.

This tree is me, Paige, shed whispered. Ill always be with you. Youll see me every morning when you open the curtains.

Half of her ashes were buried beneath its roots. That tree was my only anchor.

When I had been drowning in grief after her death, Brian had held me. Hed put a ring on my finger.

Ive had this for a while, just waiting for the right moment, hed said then. You still have me, Paige. Im your family now.

Hed told me wed get married under that tree. That our children would play on a swing set beneath its branches.

I began to shake, biting my lip until I tasted blood.

Im sorry, I whispered.

I got out of bed and bowed to Isabelle. Please forgive me. I didn't mean it.

Isabelle sighed, looking at Brian with disappointment. Brian, shes clearly suffered enough. Youre being unreasonable.

She walked out, and Brian, fueled by a strange, frantic guilt, chased after her.

I collapsed back onto the bed, waiting for the vertigo to pass. I had to get out. I had to take my mother and disappear to some small town in the South where no one knew our names.

But when I took a cab back to the house, I saw the industrial truck.

Brians promises were worth nothing.

The Magnolia tree was already down. The trunk was sliced, the roots exposed to the air.

No! I lunged toward it, but it was too late.

I tried to call Brian, but my hands were shaking so hard I couldn't hit the numbers. A worker handed me his phone.

Brians voice came through. My mother talked to a fortune teller consultant. She thinks those trees are the reason for her illness. They have to go, Paige.

I started to laugh. It was a sick, hysterical sound. I retched, vomiting bile onto the dirt.

Then my phone rang. It was the nursing home.

Miss, a woman claiming to be your future mother-in-law came to see your mother today. She said she was family.

After she left, your mother she suffered a break. She slipped out of the facility. Weve called the police, but we cant find her.

My head spun. I ran.

When I reached the bookstore, a crowd was already there. The windows were plastered with screenshots from the cousins live stream.

My mother was huddled in the middle of the sidewalk, her hands over her ears, chanting: Im not crazy. My daughter isn't a whore. Im not crazy

I pushed through the crowd and grabbed her.

My mother had lost her mind after my father died in a trucking accident while trying to work extra shifts to pay for my sisters surgery. She didn't even recognize me half the time.

And now, Brians family had hunted her down.

The moms a nutcase, the daughters a slut. Like mother, like daughter, someone shouted.

They shouldn't be allowed to sell books. Its a disgrace to the neighborhood!

I tried to shield her. I tried to pull her away. But someone grabbed my injured arm, twisting it.

Hey! You broke my phone! Thats a thousand bucks, sweetheart. How are you gonna pay?

The crowd laughed, a dark, predatory sound.

Suddenly, my mother grabbed the mans phone and bolted. She ran toward the street, a frantic, confused smile on her face.

A screech of tires. The world went silent.

I tried to move, but my legs gave out. As the darkness took me, I saw a pair of boots.

Paige, Im so sorry. Im here