Fake marriage

Leslie 

I don't know how I made it downstairs without breaking down.

I sat in my car for a long time, eyes fixed on nothing as reality slowly dawned at me.

My marriage of three years was fake.

I spend three years of my life invested in something that never existed.

The marriage papers sat there on the passenger seat, glaring at me as if mocking me. I don't even remember putting them there.

Outside, people moved without any care in the world.

To them, it was a normal afternoon, a normal world. No one cared that my life had just crumbled like a sand tower.

After what felt like forever, I grabbed my phone and made a call.

“ Leslie? Are you alright?” 

That was her first question when the call connected.

My heart clenched painfully.

Hearing her concerned voice hurt more than the betrayal I witnessed earlier.

After two years. She never changed.

“ Are you free? I want to see you.” 

A moment of silence passed then…

“ I'll see you in our usual spot.” She said, I hummed in response before ending the call.

Thirty minutes later, I walked into a familiar bar and spotted a familiar face waving at me.

Nothing about her wild nature had changed even from this far.

Do you know what else hadn't changed, how she looked at me as I approached her.

She stood up and pulled me into a hug.

We stayed like that until I felt tears sting my eyes. That's when I pulled away, afraid that I'd break down in here.

Once settled down, I ordered a cocktail for myself.

I had taken the second sip when Lydia's piercing glare overwhelmed me.

“ What?” I asked without looking up.

“ You don't look fine. Did something happen with Austin?” Lydia asked, her voice suddenly turning cold.

I almost laughed despite my emotional situation.

How could I forget that those two never liked each other?

Austin said Lydia was a bad influence and Lydia never trusted him. She always said that he was a man who didn't deserve me.

Now, looking back, Lydia was right. He never deserved me. 

My silence was answer enough. Lydia slammed her hand on the table drawing the attention of other patrons.

“ That bastard! I knew he was no good for you.” She declared angrily.

I looked around to find people staring at us.

" Calm down, will you? You are scaring the others." I said in a small voice.

Lydia looked around and had the decency to look embarrassed.

" Leslie, I can't bring myself to calm down." She huffed.

" You don't even know what happened." I pointed out, amused.

She had already assigned the worst of Austin, not like he didn't deserve it.

" I don't and that's why you are going to tell me." She replied and I did exactly that.

I told her about the fake marriage, the children I lost, his affair with Sally and the child they were expecting.

By the time I was done, Lydia's face was red with anger. She looked like she could burger someone.

" I knew that bastard was up to no good. I knew he was a snake." She snapped.

" I'm going to kill him right now." She added, slamming her glass on the table.

"Lydia." I grabbed her wrist before she could stand. 

"Leslie, don't try to stop me. I can't swallow that disrespect." 

She declared.

“ No one is asking you to swallow it. He is not worth your anger.” I tried to console her, wondering how I ended up being the one to calm others down.

Lydia took her seat, chest heaving and eyes still blazing. I almost envied her. She was feeling everything I hadn't allowed myself to feel yet.

“ What do you plan to do next?” She asked and I shook my head, taking a swing of my cocktail.

“ I don't know.” I whispered.

I hadn't allowed myself time to think about my next step.

“ What? Don't tell me you still want to fight for him. Leslie, he fooled you with a fake marriage for three years.” Lydia pointed out.

“ Fight? I never fight for anything.” 

Austin already made his choice and I was going to respect it.

Lydia sighed at that.

I understood her concern. Afterall, two years ago, I chose to walk away from our friendship to focus on my marriage.

Thanks to Austin's insecurity, Lydia and I almost fell out.

I failed her once by choosing Austin over our friendship of years, how could I afford to fail her again.

Lydia leaned towards me, her gaze pinned on my face.

“ So does he know who you really are?" She asked.

I let out a short breath.

"I was going to tell him tonight. I thought filing the papers and coming clean about my identity would be a good anniversary surprise." I revealed, scoffing at how ironic saying that out loud sounded.

Lydia stared at me then she laughed. It was a short disbelieving laugh.

"So he doesn't even know what he threw away." She asked.

I didn't answer that. The answer was obvious.

In Austin's mind, I was an orphan who managed to get a scholarship and that's how I managed to study in the same school with him.

I had sold him that lie when we met and it had served me well throughout our fake marriage.

My phone lit up on the table and glanced down at the screen.

It was a message from Austin.

At first, I contemplated leaving it unread but finally decided against it.

“Hey love. Something came up at work. Won't make it home for dinner tonight. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. Happy anniversary.”

I stared at it for a moment then set the phone face down.

I didn't feel disappointed. I felt numb.

"He is not coming home tonight." I informed Lydia, chuckling.

Lydia's eyes narrowed. "He must be out celebrating with his real family." She pointed out then later realised she might have said something wrong.

“ That's not what I…” she started to explain but I cut her off.

"Don't be. That's the truth. He has a real family that doesn't include me.” 

Lydia watched me carefully. "Do you want us to crash the party?" She proposed.

Crashing the party sounded like a good plan, but not the best.

“ No need for that. 

I am going to crash his life instead.” I declared.