wife on paper

Leslie

"Miss Grayson, your grandfather wants to remind you that time is up. If you don't provide proof of marriage, you'll loose your position as his heir."

The call had arrived yesterday evening as I prepared dinner.

It was from Richard, my grandfather's butler.

It had been three years since I received a call from my family.

Three years ago, my grandfather and I had a disagreement. He was not pleased when I turned down the marriage he had arranged for me and insisted on marrying Austin, my husband.

I left and got married anyway.

For three years, he didn't call. And I, being as stubborn as him, didn't call either.

I wanted to prove to him that marriage didn't need to be convenient. I wanted to marry for love.

My grandfather said that love was a fickle emotion. That compatibility was the most important thing.

I didn't believe him then and was determined to prove him wrong.

Austin was a poor college student when we met. He had nothing but ambition and I found that more attractive.

He was genuine to me or maybe it's the fact that I craved genuine love so much that the little attention he gave me felt like everything.

Three years ago, I chose him over everything. I chose to leave my identity behind and claw my way to the top with the man I loved by my side.

My grandfather gave me an ultimatum; remain married to Austin for three years and I can take over the family business.

I never cared about the money, I only wanted to prove him wrong.

Now I stood at the entrance of Cox Enterprises — my husband's company — marriage papers tucked under my arm.

When we got married, we never got around to filing the papers. Cox Enterprises was barely a month old and both of us were consumed by it.

We dedicated everything to growing the company and as a result, the marriage papers remained unfiled for years.

Today that was going to change.

I was here to pick Austin up, then head to the marriage registry together to get our marriage certificate.

I smoothed my dress and smiled to myself, already imagining the look on his face when he saw me.

Two years ago, barely a year after the company was launched, Austin convinced me to step down from the position I held.

"I don't want my wife working herself to exhaustion every day. I want her to come home and rest. Leave the hard work to me."

I had agreed because I was tired and he was asking so gently.

So I stepped down.

I resigned from the company and trained Sally, his adoptive sister, to take my position.

I still helped him behind the scenes but he didn't know that.

I took the elevator up to the tenth floor.

The secretary outside Austin's office smiled warmly when she saw me.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Cox."

"Good afternoon." I smiled back. "Is he in?"

I asked out of courtesy. I was a co-founder of this company but that didn't mean I went around throwing my weight. That was something my grandfather taught me, an unwritten rule of the business world.

"Yes. He is in a meeting with Mr. Johnson."

Stephen was Austin's friend from college, now a CEO himself. We weren't exactly close, just cordial for Austin's sake.

I nodded and walked toward the door.

I was about to push it open when…

"Today is your anniversary with Leslie. It's also Sally's birthday." Stephen's voice carried through the gap, sounding amused.

"How are you going to choose this year? Entertain your wife on paper or your real wife?"

I stopped, my hand hovering over the door.

Wife on paper? I frowned.

"I love Leslie." Austin replied, his voice steady and unbothered.

"She is the one I want to spend my life with. But Sally has suffered a lot. Her parents died saving me." He explained.

As I stood there, I told myself I had misheard.

"You have already given her the title of your legal wife," Stephen said. "Leslie is only your wife by name. Don't you think that's unfair to her?"

The papers in my hand suddenly felt very heavy.

"Leslie has my love and Sally has my name. Giving her the title of Mrs. Cox will assure her that she is taken care of for life. I don't think that's unfair."

The floor shifted beneath me and I pressed my palm flat against the wall to steady myself.

Sally is Mrs. Cox?

She has always been Mrs. Cox?

What kind of a twisted joke was that?

"What about the baby?" Stephen pressed.

"When Leslie finds out that Sally is carrying your child, she will lose her mind. You know how much she has been wanting a baby."

A gasp escaped my lips and I pressed my hand over my lips.

"Leslie's body is weak." Austin declared.

“She has lost two babies already. I don't want her to suffer through that pain again.

But I need an heir and Sally is already pregnant. That solves the problem."

Sally was not only his legal wife but carrying Austin's baby? Then what was I?

The other women who couldn't carry a child?

"Austin." Stephen's voice was no longer amused. "We both know that Leslie didn't lose those babies on her own. Sally made her lose them and you didn't try to stop her."

The marriage papers slipped from my fingers.

So, I didn't just miscarry, someone deliberately made me loose my babies?

And Austin knew about it?

My mind travelled to four months ago when I lost my second pregnancy.

I had been careful throughout the pregnancy but somehow, I slipped while making dinner and that's how I lost my baby.

I had blamed myself, cried myself to exhaustion while Austin remained by my side, assuring me that it was not my fault.

Looking back, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Of course it was not my fault. He knew that well but couldn't look me in the eye and admit the truth.

"Sally is just jealous that Leslie has everything she wants," Austin said. "I will stay by Leslie's side. She doesn't need to have babies."

She doesn't need to have babies.

That line shattered something inside me.

He knew how desperate I was to have a baby and now he was saying I didn't need to have a baby? That he was enough? A cheating bastard was enough for me according to him?

“ I don't get it. Leslie is every man's dream. What do you see in Sally?” Stephen seemed not done asking questions.

Austin was quiet for a while and in that moment of silence, I held my breath, eager to hear his answer.

“ Leslie is like a phoenix you desperately want to tame. She is graceful, gentle and classy.

Sally is wild and sassy.

She also knows her place.”

So that was it? He wanted to have his cake and eat it?

I looked down at the papers scattered at my feet. Three years of what I thought was a marriage was lying there on the floor.

I bent down slowly and gathered every page. Straightened them against my knee. Pressed the edges together until they were neat.

Then I stood up.

The secretary was watching me from her desk with an expression I now recognized for what it was.

She had always known. She had always known Austin was legally married to Sally and I? I was a joke.

I tucked the papers back under my arm.

My grandfather had asked for proof of marriage.

I almost laughed.

Slowly, I turned around and walked back toward the elevator.

“ Mrs Cox…” The secretary started but I raised my hand, stopping her.

“ Don't tell him I came around.” I informed her, forcing a smile I wasn't feeling.

I didn't wait for her to reply. I strode to the elevator, fighting my tears.