The other woman

~ SIENNA ~

        

I blinked once. Twice. Then many more times as I looked at the other pictures which showed the same man and woman in different sèx positions. 

        

When I managed to find my voice, I asked, “What is the meaning of this, Harry?”

        

That was it. It was like throwing a lit match into a pile of hay that had been soaked in gasoline. Harry turned beet red.

        

“You dare ask me what that is?! You whorè! I work my ass off everyday to give you the life I thought you deserve. And this is what you do when I’m away?” he barked.

      

“Harry, that is not me…” I started.

        

“Say what now?” he asked in obvious disgust.

       

“I know what it looks like but…”

        

“Oh, Sienna.” He sounded like his restraint was killing him. “Please, don’t insult my intelligence like this.”

        

“Where did you even get these?” I queried, still looking at the pictures in disbelief. 

        

“Does it matter?”

        

“Of course, it does!”

        

“If you must know, someone who is tired of keeping your secret sent them to my mail.”

        

“I don’t know what else to say, Harry. You were my first and I’ve never cheated on you. Ever!”.

        

“I can’t do this with you right now.” He rubbed his temple. “My secretary would have the divorce papers delivered to you. Please, sign them so we can both move on with our lives.”

        

With that, he was gone. While I stood there confused, hurt, and still fuckíng séx starved. 

        

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

        

~ TWO WEEKS LATER ~

        

“You should have called me immediately,” Margo consoled me, her hands rubbing up and down my back as I ruined her silk shirt with tears and catarrh. Beside us on the sofa, a newly opened pack of tissue laid already half empty. I was a wreck.

        

“You were away for work. I didn’t want to be a bother,” I muttered.

        

“Nonsense. I would have taken the next available flight back to Boston. What are best friends for?”

        

“Oh Margo…” I was going to say more, thank her for being here but I couldn’t get any more words out. My head ached and my eyes were swollen from crying. 

        

Harry had indeed sent me divorce papers. And he was taking everything. The house, the cars, the insurance, everything.

        

“I always knew he was up to no good,” Margo said with a sigh. “You never listened to my advice.”

        

From the beginning, Margo never liked Harry and every conversation I had with her about him ended in, “I wonder what you see in him.”

        

But I knew what I saw. A hardworking young man who didn’t come from a lot but was determined to make a lot come from him. Harry’s drive was ruthless and I bought into his vision, investing nearly my entire trust fund into his startup five years ago. 

        

I didn’t regret it. Joseman Constructions had grown in leaps and bounds and even gotten several national recognitions. The only reason Harry was in a financial mess now was because he made a bad investment — one I had warned him against.

        

“You insist it isn’t you in those pictures?” Margo asked.

        

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t blame even my best friend for doubting me. The woman in the pictures had my whole face; grey eyes, brown hair, freckles, widow’s peak and all. We had also decided they weren’t edited or fake pictures. 

        

Which meant either I was lying or there was someone out there who, for some reason, looked exactly like me. I would admit that the first one seemed more likely.

        

“It’s not me, Margo. I wouldn’t lie to you. I’ve never been with another man besides Harry.”

        

“In that case, we have questions and Harry will have to give us answers. Who sent the pictures? When and where were the pictures taken? He can’t just drop a huge accusation like this on you and disappear without giving you a chance to defend yourself. Where is he?”

        

“Definitely at his office.” 

        

Harry hadn’t slept at home since the day he asked for a divorce but I knew he would be at his company right now. There was nowhere else to find him on a Wednesday (or any working day) morning. 

        

The drive to Harry’s company was long and uneventful. I sat gloomily in the passenger seat while Margo drove with upbeat music on blast, probably to lift my mood. But nothing could lift my mood. Not music. Not the vibrant scenery of Boston as it blurred by. Not the cup of strawberry boba tea sweating in the car’s cup holder. 

        

I gave up everything for this marriage. My family. My inheritance. My meticulously planned future by my parents. Only to have it end over a false allegation of infidelity? 

        

On getting to the company, I noticed it was very busy right from the car park. Margo maneuvered her car into a luckily free spot and killed the engine.

        

“Doesn’t look to me like a company that’s struggling with clients,” she noted as she looked around. “Wait. Isn’t that Oasis news company?”

        

I followed her eyes and truly, a branded bus with the news company’s logo was parked at the exit gate with people packing equipment into it. It looked like they just finished a shoot. My heart dropped. Were they about to publicize the company’s bad fortune? That would discourage clients further and make things even worse for Harry. For us. 

        

I jumped out of the car and half-ran towards the company bus. A man was standing at the back, coiling a long cable.

        

“Hello!” I called out as he seemed engrossed in his task.

        

He raised his head. “Hello. Sam for Oasis news. How can I help you?” 

        

He obviously didn’t recognize me as the wife of the CEO of this company. Nobody would. Harry kept me hidden like a contagious rash while my ideas literally ran the business.

        

“Uhmmm… I see you have just concluded a shoot. Mind sharing what it was about?”

        

He seemed to think about it for a few seconds before answering with a shrug. “Joseman Constructions just closed a million dollar deal that is projected to nearly double their yearly revenue. This is after they closed another one with Harper Inc. last month. We just finished an interview with the CEO, Harry Joseman to find out how he’s able to do it all. Why do you ask?”

        

The man spoke fluently enough but with each sentence, it seemed his words began to run into each other. By the time he finished, all I could hear was an eerie high pitched ring in my head. Harry lied to me. The bad investment, the financial troubles, the nights of sleeping over at the office because he was ‘building from scratch’… everything was a lie. 

        

His company was swimming in profit yet he made us cut down expenses at home to save money? I was livid! 

        

“Are you okay, ma’am?” The reporter asked with concern. 

        

“Yes, thank you,” I mumbled as I dragged my feet away from him and towards the company building. It was even busier inside and nobody seemed to notice me. 

        

“Hey! You just left me,” Margo chirped as she ran up to meet me. “What was that about?”

        

I couldn’t answer and thankfully, she sensed my temper and didn’t say anything else. She just walked beside me until we reached Harry's office door. I was going to slam it open but sounds coming from inside the office stopped me. 

        

“I hope you like the gift, Cassy. I couldn’t have closed this deal without you. It is as much your win as mine.” The unmistakable voice of my husband spoke adoringly.

        

“Don’t say that, darling. You did all the hard work. I was just here to suck the stress out of you when it got too much. You work like a horse.” A female voice replied, dripping with honey.

        

“Do I fúck like one?” Harry laughed. 

        

Deciding I had heard enough, I pushed the office door open and it hit the wall with a bang. The sight before me sent bile up my throat. Harry was leaning back in his swivel chair and Cassy was sitting on his table, her legs spread open in front of him, giving him a good view of whatever was under her skirt. A designer boxed wristwatch was sitting on the table — definitely the gift.

        

Harry shot up from his chair on seeing me and I saw that his pants zipper was open and his díck was sticking out. There was no remorse on his face. Just surprise — and sweat. Lots of sweat, even with the air conditioning unit on.

        

“Well, now that you’ve found out, what next?” he commented offhandedly, tucking himself back in. 

        

I couldn’t believe my ears. Even in this moment, caught red handed cheating, Harry couldn’t be bothered to at least pretend he was sorry.

        

I was so angry, my body was trembling like a dry leaf in autumn. Forcing my legs to move, I closed the gap between us until I was standing in front of them. Cassy seemed more concerned with safeguarding her gift as she gathered it off the table. 

        

I raised a shaky hand and it landed on Harry’s cheek. Hard. “You lying cheating bastard!”

        

He stumbled backwards and brought his palm to his jaw. I really hoped I broke something. 

        

I was going to give him a good tongue lashing when I heard Margo gasp. I had even forgotten she was there. Before I could turn to see the reason for her gasp, I felt it. 

        

A slap from Cassy that instantly made my left cheek numb. I had no doubts her palm was now imprinted on my face.

        

“How dare you, Sienna!” she shrieked. “How dare you disrespect my man like that?!”