A Marriage Beyond Reach

The reason why Ian Langham visited the hospital was to treat his migraine, even though it had been ten years since he suffered from it. However, he did not expect to see me at the hospital as well.

Ian's childhood crush, Jewel Hersch, was dressed exquisitely, and she had her arm around Ian's while looking at me daintily. It was as if I, Ian's legitimate wife, did not exist in that hospital ward. I laid quietly in bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

"It's just an argument. Can't you be more gracious about it?" Ian turned to look at the sign on the door, which stated 'Traumatic Orthopaedics', and he continued sarcastically, "Where's the trauma when none of your limbs are broken?"

When the car crash happened, the car tires crushed my hands. Those were the same hands that had massaged Ian for ten years. My right hand suffered a fracture, while my left was starting to feel numb. However, none of my hands suffered any surface wounds.

Ian pulled Jewel gently into his arms when a nurse's aide passed by to prevent Jewel from being bumped into, and he continued speaking without looking at me as he focused his eyes on Jewel. "You can have that villa in Oswin Gardens, and pick any car from the garage. I'll get someone to transfer both assets to your name.

"Come home once you're done pretending to be sick. You’ve not given me a massage for the past three days. Is this the way a wife should act?"

Ian's tone was cold and distant, and he acted as if he were dealing with a nanny who was on strike. My hands were the only cure for his migraine, and there was no other way around it.

Before we were married, I had just picked up massaging, and every time I practiced on him, it would end up with his hair getting into a great mess. He would make a fuss about it, saying I should not give him a massage without asking for anything in return, and he would shower me with gifts in any way he could.

However, somewhere down the line, something changed. The happy surprise I once got from the presents now felt like a payment to a prostitute after a night of service, and I was numb to it all. After all, Ian's affection now belonged to another woman.

My left hand still had some strength in it, and I forced myself to place my hand under my chin while laughing heartily, "I guess Mr. Langham's wellbeing isn't worth much if I can be bought over by a villa and a car."

Ian was enraged, but Jewel spoke coaxingly to him softly right away. "Maybe both of you should have a chat while I check if the migraine expert is here. Also, stop losing your temper at Tiana all the time. She's just pretending to be sick because she loves you."

He nodded adoringly at Jewel and only turned to look at me after Jewel walked out of the room. "You should learn from Jewel."

Jewel had grown up with Ian, but she spent most of her life studying overseas. She became Ian's assistant after graduation, and they started to develop feelings very quickly. Ian had a simple bedroom at the office, and it was between his and Jewel's offices.

It felt ridiculous that I would never forget to give him a head massage, even when I suffered horribly from my menstrual cramps, while all it took was a few suggestive words from Jewel to convince Ian that I was the one who should be learning from her.

I tried to hold back the intense pain from deep inside the bones of my left hand as I used it to wipe the sweat from my forehead. I lowered my eyes to hide my tears from him. "I'll make sure to learn well from Miss Hersch on how to be a better wife to the CEO."

Something I said must have triggered Ian, because despite looking at me coolly, there was a tinge of anger in his tone. "Stop using sarcastic words meant for petty women. No one can bear a woman as ungracious as you, Tiana." After that, he spouted something that struck me, "How uncouth."

I burst out laughing at those words. Those were the exact words Old Mrs. Langham had described me when I first started dating Ian. Back then, the young Ian gave his grandmother the cold shoulder for six months because of this. I turned away, laughing until I started tearing up. "It's been years, but your grandmother is still the best at criticism."