A Scam

"It's okay," she cooed, her voice soothing as she drew me close, cradling me against her chest. Her hand moved gently through my hair, an action meant to calm me, but the distress crashed relentlessly.

I tried to speak, to speak, but the words caught in my throat.

Her gentle ministrations continued until the frantic energy began to dissipate, leaving behind a weary stillness.

"Fetch Monique a glass of water," she instructed the servants. I drank the cool liquid gratefully.

"Come, sit next to me," she said softly, noticing that in my distress, I had unceremoniously settled upon her feet.

I shifted, taking a seat beside her, the reality of my mortifying display just now, finally getting to me. Every eye in the room was fixed upon me, the whole family, the maids, were all witnesses to my downfall.

Shame washed over me.

"I'm sorry," I choked out, the apology a whisper. "I'm so sorry for my entrance. I'm just… a bit overwhelmed. This is all so new. I feel like my life.... my whole marriage has been a lie."

"No, no, no, no," my mother-in-law interjected firmly, leaving no place for argument.

She took my hand, her touch surprisingly strong and reassuring, and placed it between us.

"Don't think like that, Monique. It hasn't been a lie. It hasn't been... Ryan loves you. You know this, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," I murmured, but with doubt. "I mean, I thought I did. But what I walked in on in my house… the way he acted towards me…"

"Don't worry about that," she said, "He was just startled, is all. You know how he hates surprises. I'm sure he would have acted differently had he known that you would be coming back today. He's just a little upset. After the two of you have calmed down, you will both have a nice civil chat, and this will all be water under the bridge."

I sniffled, I didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't even fully understand the meaning of her comforting words. All I knew, with a desperate certainty, was that I wanted my husband back.

"But how can you say that? You didn't see him. He has another woman, a mistress! He has been having her all these years. They have a child. She is pregnant. They're expecting another baby!"

"I understand what you're saying, dear," my mother-in-law said calmly. "I need you to relax. I know it's all-new, and you're still in denial, but that is the reality of things. It is true; Ryan does have another woman, a mistress. They do have a child together. They are expecting another child. But you are forgetting that you're the wife."

I narrowed my eyes at her, she nodded and continued,

"You are the woman he shows to the world. You are the woman he spoils, shows around, and gives everything she wants. You're the one with the titles, with the legacy, the rights. You are the one with everything. So why don't you stop thinking about the other woman and just think of yourself and Ryan, the man you love, your husband?"

"She doesn't get to call him that. You do." She said proudly.

"But I want to call him my husband because I love him! I want to call him my husband because he loves me! I want to be married to him, because what we have is real, not because I want to hold on to a title... He told me to leave! He kicked me out of my house, our house, a place we were supposed to have our family. Now he has in there another woman. He is going to raise his family with her!" I said shaking my head because what she said just didn't make sense to me right now.

"Like I said, just take a breath and relax. I'm sure he acted that way because you took him by surprise. If you had told him that you're coming back..."

"It wouldn't have changed anything!" I interrupted, my voice rising. "It wouldn't have changed that he has been lying to me for ten years! It wouldn't change the fact that he has a woman, another child! It wouldn't change the circumstances of this situation, of how I feel right now: so and totally shattered, confused, with no idea what to do."

"Oh, that's enough drama for the day," my sister-in-law, Lydia, intervened sharply. "We get that you're surprised. We get that you're hurt. How many times do you want to repeat that? We heard you the first time."

"Lydia!" Her mother offered a weak reprimand, but Lydia didn't back down.

"I mean, the cat's already out of the bag," Lydia continued, unbothered.

"She already knows about Ariana and Rianna and the future child. She already knows Ryan isn't in love with her. What is there to still lie to her about? She knows everything now, so now we don't have to pretend anymore. It was so much work to pretend to like her, to keep all that facade. I'm so glad it's all out of the bag now," Lydia said, dramatically throwing her hands up.

I looked at her, surprised, my head struggling to process her hurtful words.

"You knew?" I asked her, the question in a whisper.

She gave me a wide, wicked smile. "Of course, we knew. I have known Ariana all my life, practically. We used to be next-door neighbours. She's my best friend. Why wouldn't I know my own sister-in-law?"

Disbelief washed over me. I turned back towards my mother-in-law, desperately hoping she would refute Lydia's cruel words. Even though Lydia and I had always been polite towards each other, there had always been an underlying current, a sense that she harboured some dislike for me. It was never explicitly stated, just that gut feeling that someone didn't truly care for you.

I had often dismissed it, but now, the pieces were clicking into place with brutality. I turned back towards my mother-in-law again, my gaze pleading for a denial. But even before she spoke, I could see the confirmation in her eyes, a silent acknowledgement of Lydia's venomous truth.

My gaze then shifted to Mr. Bennett, who acted as if this entire scene was an inconvenience, his expression was a desire to be anywhere else.

Finally, finding my voice, I asked,

"So you all knew? You have all been playing me all this time?" The words tumbled out, laced with disbelief. Not believing.

I don't know why a part of me still clung to disbelief, but it did.

"Do not raise your voice in this house, young lady!" My father-in-law's sharp command cut through.

"Oh, that's what you care about," I spat, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "Suddenly, you're now aware of what's going on, aren't you?" I felt a shift within me.

The weak, lost woman who had walked in was replaced by someone hard, someone who acted on survival instincts.

"I have loved .your son deeply. I have supported him. I have given him everything. He was able to reach his dreams because of me. Because of my l....."

"And for that, we are thankful, Monique," my mother-in-law, interrupted, her tone surprisingly placid. "We're very thankful. That's why I have always been so close to you, always been so nice."

"So you did all because I have money? You're keeping me close so I could keep infusing everything I had into Ryan? So you could keep sucking me dry? Has it all been a scam? Have you all been scheming against me?"

"Okay, now that's too much," mother-in-law interjected, a strange, tone in her voice. "I just always really liked you... You grew up a different life than ours, than Ryan's. You were full of love. You were full of joy. You were kind. And I just, I loved that about you." She smiled sympathetically

" I'm sorry we had to lie to you, but you really wouldn't have agreed to just help Ryan and give him everything if he told you he was in love with another woman, would you?"

"Oh my God," I gasped, a wave of nausea rising within me.

I even wanted to gag for reasons I could never understand. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, watching everything.

"Are you insane? How did I not notice this all these years?" I snapped.

"Don't raise your voice at my wife." Mr. Bennett spoke, his voice laced with a dismissive arrogance

"This house... It's because of me, my father's money, my father's connections. Everything that Ryan has provided you, everything he has owns is because of me."

"Yes, it is, dear," Mrs Bennett nodded, offering what was supposed to be a sympathetic smile, but the glint in her eyes betrayed any semblance of genuine affection.

A cold resolve began to rise within me. Some clarity through the shock and hurt.

"I'm going to take everything back," I declared. "I'm taking everything back. Every single cent, every connection, I'm pulling them back. And then we will see what you're going to do out in the streets."