He Loved The Mistress First

The two-week cold war finally fractured at dinner when my husband, Zack, walked through the door.

He sat down, and his first words were a seismic shift in my reality: Ive fallen in love with my assistant.

All these years, and Jessica is the only one who makes me feel that spark againlike the very first time, he added, a flicker of excitement dancing in his voice that he didn't even try to hide.

I remained expressionless. I stood up, poured him a glass of lukewarm water, and sat back down to continue my meal as if hed just commented on the weather.

Zack seemed caught off guard by my silence. He blinked, staring at me for a few seconds before finding his voice again. "Don't get any ideas. Your place as my wifeas the mistress of this houseis secure. Thats never going to change."

I picked up a piece of glazed rib and placed it in his bowl. After a long beat of silence, I said three words: "Just eat dinner."

He didn't touch his fork. Instead, he pushed an elegantly boxed cupcake toward me, his tone bordering on a recommendation. "Try this. Jessica insisted I bring it home for you. Shes an incredible baker."

"Youll love it," he emphasized.

I set my chopsticks down and looked him straight in the eye, my gaze steady and cold. "Zack, Im severely allergic to eggs. Youve known that since the day we met."

The air in the dining room turned brittle.

Zack rubbed the bridge of his nose, a tell-tale sign of his fleeting guilt. "Ive been so busy lately. I forgot. Im sorry."

A bitter, jagged laugh threatened to spill out of me. He hadn't forgotten; he just hadn't bothered to remember.

Our first anniversary: he bought a cake. I spent the night in the ER, my throat closing up.

The second year of our marriage: I was recovering from a miscarriage. He made "healing" custard. I went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died on our kitchen floor.

Every year, he 'forgets.' Every year, I pay the price.

This year was the seventh.

I forced a thin smile and pushed the plate back toward him. "The food's getting cold. Eat."

He reached out, pinning my hand to the table. His eyes searched mine, flickering with something like irritation. "Evelyn, Im trying to talk to you about Jessica."

"After dinner," I said.

Zack suddenly slammed his hand against the wood, the sound echoing through the house. "Theres nothing to eat, Evelyn! Its always the same. Ribs and eggplant, night after night. No variety, no life. I am so damn tired of this routine."

I looked down at my plate, a dull ache blooming in my chest.

I remembered when we lived in that cramped studio apartment, counting pennies just to survive. Meat was a luxury we saved for weeks to afford. Id make ribs; hed make roasted eggplant. Back then, hed scrape the plates clean and swear he wanted to eat that meal every day for the rest of his life.

It turns out "forever" had an expiration date I wasn't told about.

Watching his chest heave with frustration, I spoke softly, my voice barely a whisper. "If thats how you feel, then we should get a divorce."

"Di... Divorce?" His brows knitted together, his anger replaced by a sharp confusion. "No. I don't agree to that."

"Yes, I love Jessica. But that doesn't mean Im leaving you. Youre throwing a tantrum, Evelyn, and its not going to work."

I turned away. I couldn't even remember when the man I loved had vanished. I only remembered that after the money came, so did the endless parade of "other women." I had screamed, I had fought, I had even confronted them. He never cared. Once, in a desperate, broken moment to keep him from walking out, I had even picked up a blade. He just looked at me like I was a theatrical nuisance.

But Jessica, his secretary, was different. She was the one he truly curated. He poured money into her, gave her resources, took her to high-level meetings, and personally refined her proposals. He had essentially announced to our entire social circle that she was "his."

When I had tried to make things difficult for her, he froze my credit cards for the first time. He was marking his territory. And I, the wife, was no longer part of it.

Seeing my silence, Zack pulled out his phone. "Is there something you want? That Herms bag you were looking at? Ill get it for you."

His tone was casual, a peace offering wrapped in leather. This was our cycle: he buys a gift, I accept the apology, and we pretend to be the golden couple again.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the doorbell rang.

Jessica stood there holding a tiered bento box, looking small and fragile. "Im so sorry to interrupt, Evelyn. Zack didn't eat all day at the office, and I was worried about his stomach, so I brought him some dinner."

The irony was a physical weight in my gut. "Hes already eating."

I moved to close the door, but Jessica stepped forward, a subtle smirk playing on her lips before she intentionally tipped the container, letting the hot food spill over her own hand and dress.

"Oh! Evelyn, I... I just didn't want him to go hungry. I didn't mean anything by it." Her eyes welled with practiced tears. "Its okay if you hate me, but the food... its such a waste..."

Zack was there in an instant, pushing past me to shield her. "Are you okay, Jessica? Did you burn yourself?"

She shook her head, leaning into him. "Its nothing, Zack. Please, don't let me come between you two. Your relationship is more important."

"Relationship?" Zack spat the word at me. "She doesn't care about us. If she did, she wouldn't be bullying you in my own home. Evelyn, she just brought me a meal. Do you have to be this cruel?"

They looked like a portrait of tragic lovers, and it made my eyes burn.

I remembered going to his office months ago, only to be blocked by Jessica at the door. She had "accidentally" spilled coffee all over me then, too. Zack had watched and told me to "stop being dramatic" and "let it go."

Now, the roles were reversed, but I was still the villain.

He looked at me with a profound, chilling disappointment. Then, without a second thought, he picked Jessica up in his arms and walked out the door.

At the threshold, he paused. He didn't look back.

"Evelyn, I remember when you used to be a kind person. What happened to her?"

What happened to her?

She spent every waking moment loving you. She underwent three grueling rounds of IVF, desperate to be a mother, to build a family with you.

And what did she get? A lost child, a body mapped in surgical scars, and a husband who treated her like a ghost. He had driven her to the edge of madness and now had the nerve to ask why she wasn't "kind."

As the sound of his car faded, I clutched my chest, gasping for air as the panic clawed at my throat. I calmly dumped the remains of our dinner into the trash.

I went to my office and pulled out my old portfoliothe life Id abandoned to be his wife. I dialed a number I hadn't called in years.

"Professor?" My voice broke. "Does your offer still stand?"

I booked a one-way flight for the following week. Looking around the house wed built, I finally felt the tether snap. I was leaving.

Zack didn't come home that night.

In the early hours of the morning, my phone buzzed. The background noise was a chaotic thrum of a nightclub. He sounded drunk.

"Evelyn... come get me. My stomach hurts. Its the ulcer."

"Call a doctor, Zack." I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned white.

"No. I want you to come," he slurred.

I didn't answer. I turned the phone off.

I remembered another night like this. I had rushed to a bar with medicine and warm ginger congee, only to find him using Jessica to block shots of tequila. When he saw me standing there, hed smirked and kissed her right in front of me.

"She came," hed whispered against Jessicas lips. "I win the bet."

The congee had shattered on the floor. I was nothing but a punchline to them.

My thoughts were interrupted by a notification. Jessica had sent me a photo. Zacks head was buried in her lap, his eyes closed in a drunken stupor.

He says only I give him that spark, Evelyn, the caption read. Its not that you arent beautiful. Its just that he cant breathe without me.

It had been ten minutes since his call. One moment he was begging for his wife; the next, he was in his "sweet escape."

It was a tired script. Every time I reached my limit, Jessica would find a way to twist the knife.

The last time I confronted Zack with her recordings and photos, he hadn't even looked up from his desk. "She just took those to make herself feel better, Evelyn. The angles are misleading. You just had a miscarriage; youre hormonal and overthinking."

He knew. He knew Id lost the baby while he was busy driving Jessica back to her hometown because "the mountain roads were too dangerous for her to drive alone."

When he finally saw me gasping for air that day, hed pulled me onto his lap. "Evelyn, it hurts that you don't trust me. No matter what I do with them, youre the one who matters."

Hed kissed my neck, his voice thick with a promise. "Just get healthy. Get your strength back, and well try for another baby. I promise Ill be home every night."

And he had been. For two weeks, he was the perfect husband. I, the fool, had softened. I had forgiven him.

But the "perfect" life lasted fifteen days. I found a video online of him at a karaoke bar, cradling Jessica, singing the lullaby I used to sing to him.

I checked our home security footage. Every night after I fell asleep, Zack would slip out of bed, drive to Jessicas apartment, and return before dawn.

When I slapped him, screaming about how disgusting he was, his eyes went dark.

"Jessica is afraid to sleep alone," he said, opening the door to leave. "I have to go to her."

Every time I remembered that moment, a chill settled in my bones. His heart hadn't just strayed; it had been transplanted.

I didn't call him for the next three days, and he didn't reach out. On the fourth morning, he walked into the bedroom carrying a designer shopping bag.

I handed him the divorce papers Id prepared. "The terms are set. Just sign them, and we can go to the courthouse."

He didn't even look at the folder. He held up a dress. "This just hit the runway. Put it on. Were going to my mothers for lunch."

I looked at the label. It was a brand I loved. Years ago, when we were poor, hed skip meals just to buy me a scarf from that house. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry that he still remembered my taste while actively destroying my soul.

When I didn't move, he stepped forward to help me dress.

"Zack, Im talking about a divorce."

"I heard you. Im not signing." He stiffened for a second, then took my hand with forced normalcy. "Lets go. Mom is waiting."

When we pulled into his mothers estate, I realized Jessica was already there. She was wearing a piece from a recent high-end auctiona dress I had pointed out months ago.

Seeing me stare, Jessica looked down sheepishly. "Zack, Ive never worn anything this expensive. I feel like I don't belong in it... maybe I should give it to Evelyn? I can wear her outfit. I don't want her to be angry with me."

I felt a surge of nausea. "If you don't belong in it, take it off."

Zack shot me a warning glance and patted Jessicas shoulder. "Ignore her. Keep it. Youre my executive assistant; you need to look the part. You both go sit with my mother. Im going to check on the kitchen."

Jessica flashed a triumphant smirk and brushed past me to the table. I ignored her and poured a bowl of soup for Zacks mother.

She took two sips, and suddenly, she collapsed. Her eyes widened, staring at me in shock. "Evelyn, you..."

I froze. Jessica was on the floor in an instant, kneeling by the old woman.

"Mrs. Sterling! Oh god, what's happening?" Jessica screamed, then turned her tear-filled eyes toward me. "Evelyn, I know you hate me, but how could you take it out on his mother?"

Zack rushed in, lifting his mother in his arms. He looked at me, his face a mask of cold fury. "What did you do?"

Jessica sobbed, pointing at the soup. "She drank the soup Evelyn gave her and just... Evelyn, you can kill me if you want, but don't hurt innocent people! Shes Zacks mother!"

Zack was checking Jessicas arms, noticing small scratches she must have given herself earlier.

"I didn't do anything! I don't know what happened!" I cried.

Zack didn't hesitate. He swung his leg, kicking me hard in the ribs. The force sent me reeling.

"Evelyn! My mother has been nothing but kind to you! How could you be this twisted?" He spat. "No wonder your parents abandoned you at birth. Youre malicious. You tried to force Jessica to lie for you, and when she wouldn't, you did this!"

The pain was blinding. I tried to reach for his mother. "I swear, I didn't"

Zack pushed me away with a sneer. "Still lying? My mother is lying there half-dead. Jessica is the kindest soul I know; you think shed make this up?"

I stumbled, hitting a pedestal. A heavy porcelain vase shattered, and I fell backward onto the shards. I felt the sharp sting of ceramic piercing my skin, followed by the warm, sticky sensation of blood soaking through my dress.

Zacks pupils contracted. He reached out as if to catch me, then stopped himself.

Jessica grabbed his sleeve, trembling. "Theres so much blood... will she be okay?"

"Don't worry about her," Zack snapped, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and something else. "Shes rotten to the core. Whatever happens, she deserves it."

He barked an order to his driver. "Take her back to the house. Lock her in her room. No food, no way out until shes ready to crawl on her knees and apologize. Watch her. I won't have her hurting anyone else."

He turned to Jessica, softening his voice. "Come with me to the hospital. If I leave you here, shell find a way to torment you again."

--------

I was dragged back to the house and locked in. My consciousness flickered, and it took hours for the fog to clear.

The cameras.

There had to be a way to prove it. I pushed through the pain, using every contact I had left to remotely access the Sterling estates security feed.

There it was. Clear as day: Jessica slipping a powder into the bowl when I turned to grab a napkin.

I pounded on the bedroom door, screaming for someone to listen.

The door finally opened, but it wasn't a guard. It was Jessica.

"Move," I hissed.

Jessica tilted her head, a mocking grin on her face. "Got your little evidence? Going to tell on me?"

She laughed and landed a sharp slap across my face. She gripped my chin, her nails digging into my skin.

"You want the truth out? Think about your best friend in the hospital first."

I recoiled. "What are you talking about?"

I grew up in an orphanage. I had no family. Only Becca. She was the one who protected me, the one who shared her food with me. Now, she was battling leukemia, waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

Jessica smiled. "Isn't it a coincidence? Beccas lead oncologist? Hes an old college friend of mine."

I stared at her, horror dawning on me. "Don't you touch her!"

She toyed with a lock of her hair, leaning in to whisper against my ear. "Then what is the great Mrs. Sterling going to do to keep me happy?"

My knuckles turned white as I clutched the phone with the evidence.

Slowly, I deleted the video in front of her.

I immediately arranged for Becca to be transferred to another hospital, but it was too late. That very afternoon, a "dosage error" occurred. Becca was gone before I could even say goodbye.

I found Jessica at a caf, looking serene. "Evelyn, come sit. Have some tea."

She was smiling. Around her neck was the locket I had given Becca for her birthday.

My hand shook with a rage so primal I couldn't speak. "Jessica. I will make you pay for this with your life."

She didn't flinch. Instead, she grabbed the balcony railing and leaned dangerously backward. "Evelyn, please don't kill me! I didn't do anything to Becca, I swear"

Zack came charging in, lunging to pull her back. "Ive got you, Jessica. Youre safe."

He turned to me, his eyes burning. "Evelyn, youre still at it? You want to kill her now?"

"Zack, she murdered Becca!"

Zacks gaze was freezing. "Wheres your proof?"

"I have a recording! I have"

"Enough!" He stepped up to me and delivered a blow that sent me spinning. "Poisoning my mother, framing Jessica... how long are you going to play this insane game?"

"Are you going to keep going until were all dead?"

I tasted blood in my mouth. I closed my eyes, a profound sense of hopelessness washing over me. Seeing me swaying, Zacks expression shifted for a fraction of a second. He pulled a black credit card from his wallet and tossed it on the table.

"Theres enough on here for a lavish funeral for Becca. Consider it my final respect to her. Just stop hounding Jessica, and we can still go back to how things were."

Even now, he thought I was just being "difficult." Even with a life lost.

I looked at him and began to laugha hollow, broken sound. "Zack. Just you wait."

--------

I hadn't even decided on my next move when Zack broke down my door the next morning.

"You are going to apologize to Jessica. Today."

He dragged me to a hotel suite, forcing my head down against the carpet until my forehead bled. The room smelled of sex and expensive perfume. Jessica was huddled on the bed, wrapped in a sheet, sobbing.

When she saw me, she crawled over and hugged my knees. "Its okay, Zack. I don't blame her. I did what she said... I went to see Mr. Vaughn. I even... I gave him my body, but he still won't sign the contract with you. Im so useless. Id do anything for you, Zack. Even die."

I looked at the open window and let out a dry rasp of a laugh. "Is that so? Then do it. Jump. Show us how much you love him."

Jessica scrambled toward the window ledge.

"Jessica!" Zack turned pale, rushing to pull her down. "Don't do something stupid!"

He turned and kicked me squarely in the stomach. "Evelyn, shes fragile! Why are you so bent on destroying her?"

"Youre both women. Why do you have so much malice in your heart?"

"Im so disappointed in you."

He carried Jessica out without looking back. But I saw it. Over his shoulder, Jessica flashed me a sharp, victorious smile.

After that, Zack stopped going to the office. He spent every hour with her. He, a man who detested animals, even went out and bought her a kitten because she said she was lonely.

I had begged for a dog for years. Hed always said no.

It didn't matter anymore. My flight was in two days.

I lay down to rest, but suddenly I felt a jolt. Everything went black.

When I woke up, my clothes were torn. My body ached with a familiar, violated pain. I closed my eyes and wept.

Jessica stood over me with a camera, grinning. "Imagine if these go viral, Evelyn. What will happen to the 'prestigious' Mrs. Sterling then?"

"Its time for a new wife to take the throne."

The last string of my sanity snapped. I lunged at her, dragging her by the hair toward the door. We collided with Zack in the hallway.

He looked horrified, then stepped in front of Jessica. "Evelyn! What now?"

"Zack, look at me!" I screamed, my voice raw. "She did this to me! She destroyed me! Are you still going to protect her?"

Zack grabbed my shoulders, his voice a low growl. "Calm down! Jessica was just upset; she lost control. Youve hurt her so many times... lets just call this even."

"Even?"

I pushed him away, tears streaming down my face. "What do you mean, even? Becca is dead! Ive been assaulted! And you call it even?"

I couldn't believe these words were coming from the man I had loved for a decade. The man I had treated as my sanctuary was the one who had sharpened the knife and driven it into my heart.

"Evelyn, I didn't hold you accountable for my mother or for what you did to Jessica. Don't be so petty. Stop playing the victim. You brought this on yourself."

I laughed, a jagged, terrifying sound, and grabbed Jessica, shoving her into my car.

"Then lets all die together."

I floored the accelerator, weaving through traffic until Zacks SUV forced me onto the shoulder of a high bridge.

I dragged Jessica out and pinned her against the railing. "Go to hell!"

"No!"

Zack sprinted forward. In his desperation to save Jessica, he lunged at me, his arms extended to shove me away from her.

I let his momentum carry me. I didn't fight it.

As I fell backward over the edge, a small, serene smile touched my lips.

Zack looked up, his face contorting in slow motion as he watched my body descend into the dark water below.